Phytosociology of Important Non-Timber Forest Product Woody Species in Western Himalaya

The region of the Indian Himalaya is rich in NTFPs that serve a variety of purposes and satisfy the needs of rural residents. The current study was conducted in the Lansdowne Forest division of Pauri Garhwal in western Himalaya. Atotal of 28 trees and 17 shrub species were reported during field survey. These plant species were also categorized on the basis of their utilization pattern by local people from secondary literature. This study reveals that the species with the highest total basal cover in this region for tree species was Shorea robusta (9,3082.04), while Albizia lebbeck had the lowest (134.55 and for shrub species the highest was found in Murraya koenigii (4.71/25m²) and the lowest was found in Woodfordia fruticosa (0.07/25m²). The species with the highest frequency among trees was Shorea robusta (47.50%) and with the lowest frequency was Aegle marmelos (2.50%), followed by Albizia lebbeck (2.50%), Anogeissus latifolia (2.50%), and Bombax ceiba (2.50%) respectively, while the species with the highest frequency among shrubs was Lantana camara (45%) and with the lowest frequency was Carissa opaca (2.50%) followed by Cestrum aurantiacum (2.50%) and Glycosmis pentaphylla (2.50%), respectively. Shorea robusta had the highest density (101.88 ha^-1), while Aegle marmelos lowest (0.63 ha^-1), followed by Albizia lebbeck (0.63 ha^-1) and Bombax ceiba (0.63 ha^-1), respectively. However, for shrub, Eupatorium adenophorum had the highest density (2.0/ 25m²), while Carissa opaca had the lowest (0.05/25m²). The tree with the highest importance value index was Shorea robusta (59.13), and the lowest was Albizia lebbeck (1.83). The shrub the highest importance value index was Lantana camara (49.36) and Glycosmis pentaphylla had the lowest (1.43).