Gymnospermous Forests of The Indian Himalaya (Diversity in Relation to Habitat Evolution in Conifer Species, Reproductive Biology of Living Conifers and Indian Conifers: Ecology and Environment)

Forest tree species often exhibit intra-specific variations occurring within and between populations in a species of natural range of distribution. The main factors influencing variability within tree species are: (i) the size of species range, (ii) the amount of environmental diversity within the range, (ii) the extent of discontinuities in the range, (iv) and the factors giving rise to little variability in large range species.

Intra-specific variations in the form of wild gene resources are valuable to the forester or for a forestation work and to the tree breeder for genetic improvement. Information is provided for the reproductive biology of tree species. There are two systems of reproduction i.e. sexual and asexual. The sexual process involves the self and the cross pollination. The seed propagation and the asexual pollination mean vegetative propagation and apomixes. Many Indian species can be easily propagated or cloned through cuttings, grafting, layering and coppicing. Information is also given about the general Reproductive Biology of the gymonospermous forest trees.

Forest cover in the Himalaya has considerably diminished resulting in poor natural regeneration. The essential part now is large-scale forest plantations especially in and around water catchment regions of the Himalaya.