By Supriya Sharma
“Taking care of the environment is not an obligation- our environment is our life”- by Sadhguru
Forestry in India is a vital rural industry and a significant environmental resource. From the forest-rich countries of the world. India is at 10th position. These top 10 countries cover 67% of total forest area of the world. Presently, forest degradation is also the matter of serious concern.
The forest played an important role in early Indian literature. Yajnavalkya Smriti written before the 5th century AD prohibited the cutting of trees and if a tree is cut punishments were prescribed for such action. The Kautalya’s Arthashastra written in the Mauryan period, says about the need of forest administration. It also says how a forest is important for a successful kingdom.
India is a huge and diverse country, its land area includes region with some of the world’s highest rainfall to very dry deserts, coast line to alpine regions, river deltas to tropical islands. India is one of the 17 mega biodiverse regions of the world.
India forest types include tropical evergreen, tropical deciduous, swamps mangroves, sub-tropical, montane, scrub, sub-alpine and alpine forests. Therefore forest support a variety of ecosystems with diverse flora and fauna.
Forest in Jammu and Kashmir- The forests vary according to the climatic conditions and the altitude. The Jammu foot hills extend beyond Nagrota to Jhajarkotli and manifest a transition from semi-deciduous tropical. The spatial distribution of different types of natural vegetation of J&K state is divided into Temperate forests, Alpine pastures and Subtropical forests.
The Temperate forest covers the northern slopes of Pir Panjal have the dominance of deodar, blue-pine and the Jhelum Forest Division (stretching over Gulmarg and Lolab valley) is dominated by cedar, fir and spruce species of conifers. Therefore on the beneficial part, the temperate forests are utilized for timber, fuel wood, charcoal and house construction.
The lush green and nutritious grasses of alpine pastures are utilized by the Gujjars and Bakarwals (goat herders) who practice transhumance. They stay in pastures upto the middle of September, depending on the prevailing temperature and precipitation conditions.
The subtropical rain forests are confined to the Shiwaliks and lower slopes of the Middle Himalyas. Due to rainfall and favorable moderate climate and edaphic factors, there is a wide range of vegetations. The bushes and scrubs both are present in these region. The dominant species of subtropical forests are teak, sal, shisham, pipal (Ficus religious). Silver pine, Tun, Mohowa, Khair, thorny bushes, climbers, evergreen shrubs and tall grasses locally called as Khar. Most of these species are broad-leaved deciduous type. The trees shed their leaves in the months of January, February and March. Over the last some decades, these has been a sharp decline in forest cover in JKUT. If this is not arrested in time, it have severe repercussions for the UT. The Government and other stakeholders must therefore come together to save this wealth.
‘Going to the Forest is going Home’
(The author of this article is PhD Research Scholar, Department of Zoology, University of Jammu)
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