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Forest Ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir State

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Book cover Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir State

Part of the book series: Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation ((TOBC,volume 18))

Abstract

Forests play critical ecological and socio-economic roles by providing life-supporting ecosystem goods and services to humankind, including provisioning (e.g. food, fuel and timber), regulating (e.g. climate, water and soil conservation), and cultural (e.g. recreation) services. In the recent past, increasing anthropogenic pressure on forest ecosystems has altered their structure and functioning. The present chapter deals with the forest ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state, with an aim to analyse their vegetation composition, structure, distribution, current threats and conservation needs. Six major forest types can be recognized in the J&K; these are (1) subtropical dry evergreen, (2) subtropical broad-leaved, (3) subtropical pine, (4) Himalayan moist temperate, (5) Himalayan dry temperate and (6) subalpine forests. Currently, the forest ecosystems in J&K are increasingly impacted by a variety of human disturbances, such as deforestation, habitat loss and fragmentation, land encroachment, biological invasion, fire, overexploitation of forest resources and overgrazing. Hopefully, the present synthesis on forest ecosystems of J&K will provide a baseline for scientific understanding of their rich biodiversity to enable undertaking effective initiatives for long-term conservation and management of these fragile ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Head, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir for providing working facilities. The support of the research scholars at the Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, University of Kashmir, is highly acknowledged. The financial support by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad, India under the project Measurement of Vegetation and Biomass Parameters Under Vegetation Carbon Pool Assessment is also acknowledged. Thanks are due to the Principal Chief Conservator Forests, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, India, for permission and support during field work in the study area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biodiversity and Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Shiekh Marifatul Haq, Anzar A. Khuroo, Akhtar H. Malik, Rameez Ahmad & Maroof Hamid

  2. Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Irfan Rashid & Ghulam Hassan Dar

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  1. Shiekh Marifatul Haq
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  2. Anzar A. Khuroo
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  3. Akhtar H. Malik
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  4. Irfan Rashid
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  5. Rameez Ahmad
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  6. Maroof Hamid
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  7. Ghulam Hassan Dar
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Correspondence to Anzar A. Khuroo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Ghulam Hassan Dar

  2. Centre for Biodiversity and Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Anzar A. Khuroo

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Haq, S.M. et al. (2020). Forest Ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir State. In: Dar, G., Khuroo, A. (eds) Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir State . Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation, vol 18. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9174-4_8

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