Effect of Altitudes on Soil and Vegetation Characteristics of Pinus roxburghii Forest in Garhwal Himalaya

The present study was conducted in Pinus roxburghii forest in the District Tehri Garhwal of Uttarakhand State to assess the soil properties, forest species composition and volume along altitudinal gradients. The study revealed that the moisture content and water holding capacity of soil increased with increasing altitudes while bulk density (BD) reduced with increasing altitude. The higher proportion of soil texture was contributed of sand > clay > silt in each altitude. The soil pH of entire forest was acidic in nature. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen increased with increasing altitude. Phosphorus and potassium has not shown any trend with altitude. The associated shrubs in Pinus roxburghii forest were Rhus parviflora, Carissa opaca, Berberis aristata, Lantana camara and Rubus ellipticus. The highest and lowest density of P. roxburghii was recorded in top and middle altitude respectively. The total basal cover (TBC) and volume of P. roxburghii was reduced with increasing altitude.