Age-Girth Stand Structure of Himalayan Fir and Growth-NDVI Relationship in the Treeline Transects of Western Himalaya: An Ecological Perspective

Chinthala BD, Singh A, Shekhar M, Tomar N, Phulara M, Yadav A, Pandey P, Ranhotra PS, Bhattacharyya A, Joshi R, Singh CP (2023)

Publication Type: Authored book

Publication year: 2023

Publisher: Springer Nature

ISBN: 9789811944765

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-4476-5_19

Abstract

Subalpine forests are the important indicators of climate change and the future biomass stock under forest densification and treeline advancement. Analysing the stand structure and growth behaviour of trees is essential for the assessment of the functioning and sustainable management of forest resources. We provided the girth and age stand structure of Abies spp. (silver fir) from the treeline ecotone in the moist transects of Western Himalaya, and the relationship between fir growth and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for assessing the forest health. The age and girth class analysis of fir trees from the four different treeline transects revealed the presence of mixed age and girth classes within the treeline ecotone. Fir trees were established around 200 years ago in the transects with subsequent densification, but the fir treeline showed static behaviour during the later part of the twentieth century. We also found variations in the girth size increment with age amongst the fir trees, which is statistically significant for the fir trees growing near treeline ecotone. The relationships between the tree-ring width chronologies and NDVI suggested the role of temperature in controlling forest health. Such studies could help in extending the existing vegetation cover records to more past for better evaluation of changes in forest health and interaction with climatic conditions.

Involved external institutions

Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences IN India (IN) G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBPIHED) IN India (IN) University of Lucknow IN India (IN) Indian Space Research Organisation IN India (IN)

How to cite

APA:

Chinthala, B.D., Singh, A., Shekhar, M., Tomar, N., Phulara, M., Yadav, A.,... Singh, C.P. (2023). Age-Girth Stand Structure of Himalayan Fir and Growth-NDVI Relationship in the Treeline Transects of Western Himalaya: An Ecological Perspective. Springer Nature.

MLA:

Chinthala, Bency D., et al. Age-Girth Stand Structure of Himalayan Fir and Growth-NDVI Relationship in the Treeline Transects of Western Himalaya: An Ecological Perspective. Springer Nature, 2023.

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