Conservation prioritization of forest communities and habitats in the Pahalgam range of Kashmir Himalayas

The plant community composition and other phytosociological characteristics of the vegetation were studied at all four blocks of the Pahalgam range of Lidder forest division at varying altitudes from 1900m to 3400m amsl. The vegetation analysis was carried out by stratified random sampling. Quadrats of 50 x 10m, 5 x 5m and 1 x 1m for trees, shrubs and herbs, respectively, were laid at different sites. A total of 70 plant species belonging to 38 families were recorded from the study area out of which 16 were tree species, 10 shrub species and 44 herb species. The prioritization of communities and habitats through quantitative and qualitative assessment of vegetation is prerequisite for starting any conservation and management programme. Therefore, an attempt has been made to; (i) identify the communities and habitats; (ii) evaluate them for species richness, native, endemic, economically important and threatened species; (iii) prioritize communities and habitats for conservation. Twelve (12) communities and Eight (8) forest habitats distributed between an altitudinal range of 1900–3400m amsl were recorded. 50% of the total communities were coniferous, 25% broad-leaved and 25% mixed. The communities and habitats have been evaluated by using different attributes like species richness, native, endemic, economically important and threatened species. Based on these attributes forest communities and habitats have been prioritized. Among the recorded communities, Betula utilis community showed highest Conservation Prioritization Index (CPI) value of 62 followed by Betula utilis-Prunus tomentosa community and Acer caesium-Prunus tomentosa community with CPI value 58 each and were thus having the highest priority for conservation. Among the recorded habitats, Grassland habitat showed highest CPI value of 52. Hence, it is necessary to regularly monitor the forest communities and habitats with high Conservation Prioritization Index value (CPI).