Regeneration of Natural Forests in the Hindu Kush Range: A Case Study of Quercus baloot Plants in Sheshikoh Oak Forests, District Chitral, Pakistan

Abstract

Regeneration of oak (Quercus baloot Griff.) forests is an issue of concern in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in general and Sheshikoh Valley of District Chitral in particular. The oak forests cover has been continuously deteriorated and depleted due to uncontrolled grazing, low moisture content of soil, and overusage of the plant as fuelwood and are hence the major contributors toward the failure of oak regeneration. The present study was aimed to asses’ different treatments and their impacts on the growth and regeneration of oak forests. This study was conducted in oak forests of Sheshikoh Valley, Chitral, where four plots of 2-acres each were established. Each plot was treated with separate treatment, that is, fencing, mixed treatment (fencing and fertile soil), fencing and trench treatment, and control plot and their regeneration capacity was studied and compared with each other. The data was collected in March and September between 2011 and 2015. The result showed that the number of plants in the first plot (fencing) were 23, with an average height of 43 inches and a diameter of 11.7 mm. In the second plot (fencing and fertile soil), 40 plants grew with an average height of 42 inches and a diameter of 10 mm, whereas in the third plot (fencing and trench), 45 plants developed with an average height of 48 inches and a diameter of 13 mm. However, the fourth plot (nontreated plants) showed poor germination with 8 plants, with an average height of 8.5 inches, and the diameter of plants was 3.7 mm. Therefore, the survival rate of plants in the first, second, and fourth plots remained unsatisfactory at the end of the research. In conclusion, the third treatment (fencing and trench) was the best suitable practice to stabilize oak forests in their natural zones.