Assessment of Pinus gerardiana tree carbon stock in Chilgoza forest of Suleiman range, Pakistan

51-58

Artikel

200210122

Pakistan Journal of Forestry 2020, 70 (1) ; Jrg. 70 ; 1 (2020) , 51-58

Pinus gerardiana is known for its high value edible seeds (nuts), locally called as “Chilghoza”, rich in carbohydrates and proteins. It is native to the north-western Himalaya and is distributed in eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and north-western India, growing at altitudes ranging between 1800 and 3300 m. It is often associated with the Blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) and Deodar (Cedrus deodara). In Pakistan these forests are mainly located in the dry temperate zone of the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya region i.e. Sherani Area (Suleiman range) on the border between Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), South Waziristan, Chitral, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jamu & Kashmir (Sherani and Urooj, 2019). As the potential economic benefits of Chilghoza to local livelihoods is worth billions of rupees annually thus economic importance is always given priority and its most important role of the maintenance and protection of vital ecosystem services (e.g. carbon storage and climate change mitigation, soil and flood protection, wildlife habitat, water recharge, watershed conservation and water flow regulation, fodder, etc) are still not accounted properly. Therefore, this study was conducted to ascertain the carbon stock of Pinus gerardiana at the landscape level. The study was conducted in Chilghoza Forest of Suleman Range.