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Chapter 2: Extracts of Working Plan Configuration of Ground:
Water Supply:
The tract is is chiefly mountainous with narrow valleys alongwith tributaries of river Satluj flowing through the tract. The main valleys are Tattapani, Karsog, Sainj Bagra, Khaneval Bagra & Katanda. The altitude varies from 663m at Firnoo to highest 3124m at Chanjwara. The prominent ridges of the area are Manjudhar, Katanda Galu. The prominent streams are Karsog Khad, Kotlu Khad, Gumma Khad.
The main streams and their tributaries originating in the high hills covered by well stocked tracts of silver, fir, spruce, deodar, kail & ban oak have perennial water supply. The main streams in the tract are Karsog Khad, Kotlu Khad, Gumma Khad, Chhatri Khad and Satluj river through lift. The streams which originate from dry ridges or low lying chil areas and have inadequate vegetative cover generally get flooded during rains & dry up in summer. The agricultural lands are mostly rain fed except Karsog, Nanj, Kotlu, Fernoo, villages with meagre irrigation facilities. Flash floods are common almost in all the streams and nalas.
Climate: By virtue of elevation the climate vary from temperate at high elevation to sub tropical at lower elevation where summer is very hot. The cold climate prevails in high hills during winter. The winter last from December to February when heavy snowfall occur at high altitude and heavy frost in the lower areas. The month of March is cool and dry but temperature rises rapidly from April and continues till the break of monsoon by the end of June or beginning July. The heavy rains sometimes cause havoc which result in soil erosion, land slides and flood. From April to June when the temperature is high the probability of forest fires is very high in Chil areas. Young plants in the nurseries and plantations suffer from persistent drought and large scale mortality is noticed in areas with sandy and dry soils. The natural springs run dry and thus causing there by a problem of water for raising nurseries. Autumn (September –October) are dry months All the areas above 1000m experience severe frost, especially in the depressions during winters.The high hill areas experience snow during November to February, many plants get uprooted or broken. In young regeneration areas frost lifting is also noticed. But the snow is very helpful for augmenting ground water and is very useful to forest growth.
Rights and Concessions: The rights and concessions of the local people in various DPFs have been recorded in the settlement reports. The state has permitted certain kind of usages (Bartan) in the forest, to meet the reasonable domestic and agricultural requirements of the people, in the matter of grazing and forest produce The bartans are appendant to cultivated land assessed to land revenue or the land revenue of which has ben assigned. The bartanis subject to the condition that the bartandars will be responsible for the protection of the forests for which the bartans are exercised. In case of failure, the rights can be curtailed or suspended. Another condition attached with bartans is that, the forests whether demarcated or un-demarcated can not be burnt to get fresh growth of grass. The following are sone of the important Bartans admitted in the settlement reports. People depend upon forests for their requirements of timber for construction & repair of houses and agricultural implements, fuel, grazing, grasses,
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fodder, fallen leaves for medicinal herbs fruits etc.
manure,
building
stone,
various
Encroachments: Man is responsible for the destruction of forest. Encroachment is one of the malafide actions of man that cause a considerable damage to forest. The local inhabitants, sometimes, indulge in nefarious activities like illicit felling of trees or setting fire to the forest adjoining their cultivations to increase their land holding. The Inhabitants: The density of human population is generally confined to the lower portion including valley in the lower tract. While the population is sparse on high hills and in the interior valleys. The main vocation of the inhabitants is mainly agricultural. The population of the areas is increasing steadily. The agricultural practices are old but people have adopted the modern techniques to some extent. The land holding are invariably small with the result the tract is not self sufficient for good grain production. The extent of irrigated land is almost insignificant and the people depend on monsoon rains. In some parts of this division, farmers undertake cultivation of potatoes, peas, tomatoes which provide additional income. The apple orchards have become increasingly popular in the tract above 2000m which is a source of good income to the growers. The majority of the people in these valleys and hills are poor and to supplement their meagre income, they work as labourers with forest, public works department, irrigation-cum-public health and block development works. Flora and Fauna: The Revised Working Plan of Karsog Forest Division cover Sub Catchments (Sh, Si & Sk (Magroo Range). The Vegetation/Forests: General description of the Growing Stock: The composition and condition of the crops varies considerably with the altitude and aspects of the tract. Thus the vegetation met with the tract
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shows great variation. In the low lying areas of the tract, scrub forests occur and as the elevation rises Chil becomes the dominant species, higher up in the division Deodar appears mixed with oaks and further upwards Kail, Spruce and Fir forests are met with both in mixture and in pure form. According to the general classification of the forests based on H.G. Champion & S.K. Seth’s classification of forests types are found in the tract :Major Group 1. Dry tropical
Type Group
2. Mountan e subtropical 3. Montane tempera te forests
9 – Sub tropical pine forests
5 – Tropical dry deciduous forests
12 – Himalayan moist temperate forest
Sub Group 5 – B Northern tropical dry deciduous forests -
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Forest types 5B/C2 Northern mixed deciduous forests. 5/B/DSI Dry deciduous scrub forests. 5B/52 Khair sisoo forests. 9/C1b Himalayan chirpine forests. 9/C1/DS2 Sub tropical scrub forests. 12/CIa Ban oak forests. 12/CIb Mohru oak forests. 12/CIc Moist deodar forest. 12/DId Western mixed coniferous forests. 12/C1f Low level blue pine forest. 12/CI/DSI Oak scrub.
5B/C2 Northern dry mixed deciduous forest: The scrub forests are mainly found in southern & western parts of the tract, areas adjoining Tattapani. The forests are generally confined between 600m to 1300m. The canopy is irregular, the trees having poor growth and relatively shorter boles, rarely
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exceeding 10m in length. Ghanghar.
This type is represented in D-100
The important species in preponderance are: - Anogeisus latifolia, Emblica officinalis, Acacia catechu, Cassia fistula, Dalbergia sissoo. Grewia optiva, Bauhinia racemosa, Terminalia belerica, Bombax ceiba, Syzygium cumminii, Ficus bengalensis, Melia azadirachta. The other associates are Lannea coromandelica, Engelhetia colebrookeena, Feronia limonia, Casearia elliptica, elacourtya indica, Malloutus phillippinensis, Nyctanthes arbortristis. The shrubs commonly found are: Carissa spinarum, Dodonea viscose, Woodfordia fruiticosa, Justica adhatoda, Murraya koenigii, Zizyphus nummularia etc. Euphorbia royleana occurs on rocky out crops and over grazed sites. Climbers commonly met with are Bauhinia vahlii, Pueraria tuberose, Caesalpinia decapetala. 5B/DSI Northern dry deciduous scrub forests: It is a degraded stage of Northern dry deciduous forests which is subject to lopping. It is characterized by abrupt broken soil cover of shrubs like Carissa, Randia, Dodonea etc. The typical example of this type is D -223 Tundal balh. 5B/S2 Khair Sissoo: This type is represented along river Satluj in D-100 ghanghar as a river in fringe vegetation on alluvial deposits which get submerged during monsoon and usually retain moisture throughout the year. The growing stock of khair and sissoo is poor with density of 0.1 to 0.2. The crop is mainly young. The characteristic species are Dalbergia sissoo and Acacia catechu. The associates are Moringa oleifera, Phoenix sylenstris and undergrowth consists of Zizyphus nummularia, Justicia adhatoda, Murraya koenigii etc.The air and soil temperatures are high owing to radiations from exposed rocks and sands, Xerophytic grasses like Sachharum spontaneum are common in this type.
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9/CI(b) Himalayan Chil Pine forests: In the tract chil forests occur between 1200m to 1800m with annual rainfall varying from 800mm to 1400mm. At lower limits the Chil occupies northern slopes and restricts to cooler places but above 1200m Chil occurs in all aspects, although its density and quality on southern & south western slopes and along ridges is rather poor. The best chil forests, in fairly compact blocks, are met adjoining Karsog, Churag & Pangna. Chil occurs in variety of soil formations developed from tertiary sand stone, quartzite, gneiss and shale. Chil occurs on bare rocks and shallow soils where is stunted but attains large dimension & site quality II crops on quartzite. Most of the chil forests have been felled and give the look of PBI felled area or PB IV. Natural regeneration of Chil is good, well supported by Chil panting. The associates near lower limits are Lannea coromondelica, Pistacia, euphorbia royleana. The common shrubs found are Berberris, Rubus, Carrissa opaca, Reandia tetrasperma, Zanthoxylum alatum, Woodfordia floribunda etc. 12 CI (a) Ban Oak Forests: Ban oak forests are widely distributed in the tract and occur between an altitude of 1000m to 2300m. The occurrence of ban oak shows a wide altitudinal distribution. Fairly extensive pure patches of ban oak with excellent growth are met with in D-236 Pathrevi, D-237 Katanda, D-261 Garjub and D-259 Lotla. Besides growing in pine compact patches, ban grows in nalas/depressions as an under story in Chil & Deodar forests. The ban has been subject to severe lopping, hackling and felling. The regeneration of ban oak is not satisfactory due to heavy grazing. It is a protected species now. However, dry standing and uprooted ban trees, if available are being worked for extraction of fuel wood and charcoal to meet the requirement of charcoal/fuel wood in the tract. The common associates of ban oak are; Rhododendron arboretum, Lyonia ovalifolia, Persea odoratissima, Litsea umbrosa, Myrica nagi, Quercus glaucea etc. In nalas and shady localities deciduous species like Cedrela serrata, Pyrus
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pashia, Aesulus indica, Acer villosum also get associated. Undergrowth consists of Berberris lyceum, Indifofera heterantha, Sarcococca saligna Lonicera quinquelocularis, Desmodiam tillifolium etc. Hervaceous flora is rich on most northern slopes and generally consists of Pilea umbrosa, Valerana wallichii, Viola species. Arisaema walichii, Salvia glutinosa, ferns and grasses. The climbers frequently met with are Rubs, Vitis himalaya, Rosa moschata, Hedera helix, Clematis Montana etc. 12/CIC Moist Deodar Forests: These forests occur generally between 1600m to 2300m and form the most valuable commercial forests in this region. On the northern aspect and along nalas deodar descends to even lower altitudes while on southern aspects it ascends to 2600m. The deodar forests occur on all geological formation but have shown excellent development on granite/gneiss. Kail is mixed on hotter situations and drier slopes. Spruce comes up occasionally in the top storey along nalas in this tract as in D – 27 Mahasu. Good deodar forests are found in D-27 Mahasu, D-19 Shalog, D225 Dhamoon and D-234 Sundru etc. The overall quality of the crops is II/III and average density varies from 0.4 to 0.6. Selective marking of good deodar trees in the past have caused irregular crop. Natural tree generation is fairly good. Due to biotic factors deodar is being replaced by associate Kail. There is generally a paucity of under wood in deodar forests, and where ever present, consists of scattered Ban near its lower and middle zone of distribution and Mohru/Kharsu near its upper limits of distribution. Deciduous broad leaved trees occasionally met with in the nalas are Cedrela serrata, Ulmus villosa, Alnus nitida, Aesclus idica etc. 12/CI(d) Western Mixed Coniferous Forests: This is commonly referred to as mixed coniferous forest but also includes pure spruce, spruce-silver fir, spruce-deodar and deodar – kail formations. This type occurs above the deodar zone
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between altitudes 2100m and 3000m in the interior of nalas. The trees are often of fine growth and quality II & III. The stocking is fair and for convenience of description of this type, the same ius sub divided into the following sub types. Spruce – Deodar forests: Along the upper limits of deodar zone, spruce grows mixed with deodar, the former predominates in nalas and in shady places and later mainly along ridges. Kail also comes in such trees along the spurs which are too dry for deodar & spruce. The deciduous broad leaved trees occasionally found are Aesculus, Acer caeslum, Cedrela serrata and Ulmus villosa etc. The biotic interference plays an important part in determining the proportion of deodar & spruce in these forests. In areas adjoining the villages heavy & indiscriminate lopping has resulted in development of read hearts and knots in the timber. The composition of undergrowth and herbaceous flora is almost the same as in deodar forests except that it is thicker especially in nalas & mesophytic species predominate. The crop in this type in the tract is variable but middle-aged trees predominate, the typical example being D 236 Pathrevi C2 c. Spruce – Kail Forests: Spruce & Kail occur in intimate mixture as well as compact pure groups, kail coming on warm situation, dry ridges while spruce confining to cooler places & higher elevations. The typical examples of this type are D 22 Chhadaini Daint, D 297 Surahi. Spruce – silver Fir Forests: Stocking in these forests is poor and regeneration is deficient. These forests are confined to higher zone between 2500m to 3000m with fir predominating in upper ridges and spruce on the lower limits. 12 C1(f) Low Level Blue Pine Forests: Extensive kail forests more or less occur pure between 1500m to 2500m extending to high elevation on drier & hotter ridges. The quality of the crop is II to II/III and density varies from 0.3 to 0.6. The crop shows good diameter and height growth. In many cases profuse regeneration of deodar, kail has come up mainly
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as aresult of sowing. On warmer slopes, species like Berberris and Indigofera occurs as common undergrowth. Status of Natural regeneration Chir Pine Forests: The species covers more than 40% forest area of the division. The status of regeneration is satisfactory. Only one forest (PB I) viz. D 43 Kaneri C1(61.30 ha) has been felled during the plan under revision and the progress of regeneration is satisfactory to good. Felling of PB IV(181.38 ha) area has been carried out in the plan period as these forests were fully regenerated. In Chil forests of this division, natural regeneration is not a problem except for the forests located close to habitations. In the plan under revision, 2819.37 ha were kept in PB IV which now has risen to 5206.11 ha which depicts that 2386.74 ha regenerated area has been added. This clearly shows that the status of natural regeneration is more than satisfactory. Deodar – Kail Forests: The forest occupies about 21% of the forest area. The natural regeneration is not a matter of concern in these forests, although there has been degradation in the stock due to heavy biotic pressure resulting into fair regeneration in the forest close to habitations. No Deodar – Kail forest has been felled in the plan period. In the plan under revision, 661.86 ha were kept in PB IV which is now 1301.04 ha which depicts that almost equal regenerated area has been added. This clearly shows that the status of natural regeneration is satisfactory. Fir – Spruce Forests: These constitute less than 1000 ha area and are not being managed separately. In the plan under revision, these were included in Deodar – Kail working circle but due to its less proportion, these species are being protected. Natural regeneration of these species is in general a problem. Occularly, the status of regeneration of these species is scanty to scattered.
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Oak Forests: Ban oak is the main species covering about 15% of area. The Oaks are fully protected species of the state. Natural regeneration of oaks is a problem due to indiscriminate lopping (mainly Ban Oak). Lopping leads to poor flowering and seed formation. Seed dormancy, eating of seeds by birds and wild animals aggregate the process of natural regeneration. All the oak forests are being protected to maintain the moisture regime of soil. Fauna: The main Wild Life species found in the area are:Animals: Leopard or Panther, Himalayan Black Bear, Brown Bear, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat, Himalayan Pine Marten, Jackal, Red Fox, Ghoral, Musk Deer, Kakkar, Sambhar, Indian Wild Bear, Monkey, langurs, Indian Percupine, Giant Indian Flying Squirrel, Indian Hare. Birds: Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagle, Monal, Cheer Pheasant, Chakor, Koklas, Kaleej Pheasant, Red Jundle Fowl, Western Tragopan, Black Partridge, Wood Cock. Non Timber forest Produce: The main non timber forest produce found/extracted in the division are Resin, Medicinal plants, Cedar oil, grass. The main emphasis/focu on medicinal plants. To conserve and augment existing non timber forest produce including medicinal plants resource in its natural habitat and to encourage cultivation of commercially important species of medicinal plants on private lands. To introduce economically important non timber forest produce species suitable to the locality. The entire tract is rich in many useful shrubs, herbs, fungi which are have been exploited from time to time. The area produces large quantities of Banafsha, Kakar singhi, Anardana, Guchhi, Rakhal, Lichens, Berberis roots etc.
Comprehensive CAT Plan of Satluj River Basin