FOREST

an area of land dominated by trees and plants.

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 Importance of Forest
• Lower down temperature • Sources of fire / fuel
• Provide shade wood
• Consume Carbon dioxide • Sources of herbs
and provide Oxygen • Natural habitat for wild
• Contributes in life
precipitation • Provide recreation
• Increase soil fertility • Attract tourist
• Barrier against floods and • Regulates water supply to
storms reservoir and rivers
• Prevent soil erosion and • Employment for people
land sliding in forest-based industries
• Sources of fruits
• Sources of timber
(furniture)
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 FOREST TYPES
PRODUCTIVE FOREST PROTECTIVE FOREST

Mainly natural forests Mainly planted by people / man-made

forest

Random plantation Linear plantation found mostly along roads,

railway lines, parks etc.

Closed canopy Open canopy

High commercial value Low / little commercial value

Mainly used for extraction of timber, fruits Main function is to protect the soil and
and other products prevent it from erosion / blowing away,
lower down temperature, increase soil
fertility etc.

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 ALPINE FOREST
• Found above 4000m (snowline)
• Trees have stunted growth due to low temperature and less sunlight
• Roots spread sideways on thin soil to absorb more nutrition and to
have a better grip on the ground
• Upward branches to attain more sunlight
AREAS
• Northern Areas ( Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan and Gilgit-
Baltistan)
SPECIES
• Juniper, Silver Fir, Birch etc.
USES
• Fire / fuel wood only.

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 CONIFEROUS FOREST
• Found between 1000 to 4000 m in altitude.
• Evergreen forest
• Less leaf-fall provide less humus (less contribute in increasing soil fertility)
• Conical in shape
• Sloping branches, prevent snow accumulation
• Small, thick, leathery and needle-shaped leaves to check excessive transpiration.
• There are significant number of broad-leafed deciduous trees as well.
AREAS
• Northern Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kohistan, Shangla, Swat), Rawalpindi, Islamabad,
Murrree, Balochistan Mountains (Quetta and Kalat dividions)
SPECIES
• Fir and Spruce found at the highest altidudes, Deodar and Kail at Intermediate heights and Chir in the Lower
regions.
• Chilghoza and Pencil Juniper found in Balochistan
• Broad-leafed deciduous trees like Oak, Maple, Willow, Poplar and Walnut
USES
• Important source of Timber
• Environmental protection
• Natural habitat , breeding grounds and conserving centres for birds and wildlife
• Add to scenic beauty, attract tourist
• Sources of fruits and herbs
• Fire / fuel wood Safia Karim
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SUB-TROPICAL SCRUB FOREST
• Found at the height of up to 1000 m, hills and foothills
• Vegetation in patches of dry mixed scrub
• Sub-tropical broad-leafed and tropical thorny species.
AREAS
• Gujrat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi and Attock (Punjab), Mansehra, Abbottabad, Mardan,
Peshawar and Kohat (KPK),
SPECIES
• Phula, Kao, Chestnut, Juniper, Walnut, Chir etc
USES
• Commonly use as Fire / fuel wood.
• In limited amounts used as timber.
• Watershed protection
• Fire / fuel wood.
• Grazing purposes

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 TROPICAL THORN FOREST
(RAKH)
• Low height (6-10 m)
• Dominated by thorny hardwood
• Deep roots to search for water
• Scanty vegetation due to water shortage.
AREAS
• In plains of Punjab and Sindh
SPECIES
• Acacia, Tamarisk and Salvadora.
USES
• Commonly use as Fire / fuel wood.

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 RIVERAIN OR BELA
FOREST
• Linear plantation along the banks of the rivers
• Normally high-yielding commercial hardwood species.
AREAS
• River Indus and its Tributaries.
SPECIES
• Shisham and Babul.
USES
• Sources of timber, making furniture and agricultural
implements.
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 BELA
FOREST

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 MANGROVES FOREST
• Broad leaves with drip tips
• Leathery texture to minimize transpiration
• Low trees and shrubs grown on the tidal mud flats
• Roots spread into sea-water and survive in salty water
• In better water areas trees rise to 6-8 m but their general average height is 3 m
• Stunted growth of trees in Indus and Hub delta because of dumping of industrial, agricultural and chemical waste
into Arabian sea.
• Limited species survive in polluted water
AREAS
• Coastal and Deltaic areas of Sindh (esp. Indus Delta) and Balochistan (esp. Hub Delta)
SPECIES
• Timar, Chauri or Kirani and Kunni.
USES
• Fire / fuel wood
• Coastal communities use them as Timber
• Breeding ground of fish and shrimps.
• Camel and livestock feed on the leaves of mangroves.
• Fallen leaves provide nutrition for marine life
• Protect coastline from erosion, storm damage and wave action.
• Barrier against intensity of earthquakes and tsunamis by absorbing shock waves.

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 IRRIGATED FOREST
• Economically important species are planted in large blocks of the
same species
AREAS
• Changa Manga near Lahore, Wan Bachran in Thal area, Chicawatni
in Sahiwal district and Ghulam Muhammad and Guddu Barrage
SPECIES
• Shisham, Babul, Eucalyptus etc. are normally preferred.
USES
• Important source of Timber
• Environmental protection
• Fire / fuel wood

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IRRIGATED
FOREST

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A. Coniferous
B. Subtropical Scrub
Forest
C. Tropical Thorn Forest
/ Rakh

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 Forest products
• Timber used for Furniture making
• Fuel / Fire Wood used for Cooking and Heating
• Minor Products include;
• Resin, it is a Fluid in the tissue of a Chir Plant that
become solid on exposure to air, used for making
Varnishes.
• Mazri; used for making Mats, Baskets and for
Packing Purposes.
• Ephedra is a medicinal Shrub used by
Pharmaceutical factories.

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 Deforestation
• Cutting down of trees or destruction or
removal of forest.

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CAUSES OF Deforestation
Forests are cleared to;
• Grow crops / farming /agriculture
• Mining
• Increase urbanization
• Industrialization
• Development of Infrastructure
• Timber (Furniture)
• Fire / Fuel Wood
• Overgrazing

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EFFECTS OF Deforestation
Ecological

Climatic
Species
Air Pollution Habitat Loss Expossed Soil Change Leading
Extinction
to more aridity

Environment Increased
Water Erosion Wind Erosion
Loss Surface Run-off

Silation i n
Floods
Reservoirs

Loss of
Disrubs Water
Property and
Supply
Crops

Low Crop Yield Loss of Food

May Lead to
Starvation

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SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM CAUSED BY
Deforestation
• Supply irrigation facilities to the deforested areas.
• Plant species of trees which grow rapidly.
• Supply Natural Gas to the Northern areas to ease the pressure on the forest.
• Creating awareness among people by the Government Agencies, Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs) and Community Workers about the importance of forest and
hazards of deforestation.
• Reversed land for Fuel wood plantation only to save valuable species of trees.
• By improving techniques for raising nurseries and planting trees (Deforested areas could
be regenerated in a short period)
• Selecting cutting methods by logging companies.
• Restrict use of bulldozers and heavy destructive machinery in forests.
• Strict enforcement of forest laws
• Enforcement of village/farm forestry programmes.
• Urban forestry programmes which include planting of tress along main roadsides and in
open spaces.
• Planting fruit trees on the slopes of the hills would provide fruits and protect the
environment.
• Terracing, Contour ploughing and strip farming can help to reduce soil erosion.

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 Terracing / terrace farming

• Terrace farming is a
technique in farming where
a sloped surface is cut into
flat layers, resembling a
series of steps.

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 Contour ploughing
• Contour ploughing involves
ploughing across hilly fields rather
than up and down the slopes of a hill
• Each row prevents water from
running down the slope and taking
the topsoil

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 Strip farming
• Strip cropping is a method of farming which involves cultivating a field
partitioned into long, narrow strips which are alternated in a crop
rotation system. It is used when a slope is too steep or when there is no
alternative method of preventing soil erosion.

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 Afforestation projects in
Pakistan

Objective:
• Afforestation of ecologically critical areas which
are under the threat of constant land degradation.

Afforestation Projects may consist of;

• Selection of areas to be afforested
• Management of plantations
• Development of ways of using forest products

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• Nurseries producing seedlings are spread throughout the
project area.
• Project officers are responsible for supplying plant seedlings,
protection of afforested areas and carrying out planting.
• They also motivate local communities to plant trees.

• Government of Pakistan and NGOs have started a number of

important projects which include;
• Tarbela/ Mangla Watershed Management Project (aims at
the afforestation of badlands in catchment areas of the Tarbela
and Mangla Dams, Soil conservation and sustainable
agricultural system are the other main components of the
project)
• Mega project in forestry sector “Rachna Doab Afforestation
Project” has been started by Government.
• An Afforested Campaign in Baltistan during 1995 started by
AKRSP (Agha Khan Rural Support Programme) successfully
planted 830000 trees.

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 Sustainable forestry
Management of forest resources in such a way as to ensure that we will
be able to obtain the things (resources / products) we want from the
forests on regular basis while conserving the natural environment. It
implies continuous production of things such as wood, water, wildlife
habitat, recreational opportunities and so on.

Measures / Way to Achieve Sustainable Forestry

• Trees vary in their rate of growth to maturity, mainly due to varying
climatic conditions. Trees must not be cut down at a rate faster than
they can be replaced.
• Every tree cut down must be replaced with a sapling from a
nursery.
• When forested areas have to be cut down for essential human
requirements then new areas of forest must be planted to replace
them.

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