Forest In Pakistan

Coniferous Forest
 Coniferous Forest
The coniferous forests occur from 1,000 to 4,000 m
altitudes. Chitral, Swat, Upper Dir, Lower
Dir, Malakand, Mansehra and Abbottabad districts khyber of
Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Islamabad district of
the Punjab are the main areas covered with coniferous
forests. Silver fir (Abies Alba), spruce (Picea smithiana),
deodar (Cedrus deodara), blue pine (Pinus wallichiana), chir
pine (Pinus roxburghii) are the most common varieties. The
Coniferous forests also occur in Balochistan hills. Chilghoza
pine (Pinus gerardiana) and juniper (Juniperous macropoda)
are the two most common species of Balochistan.
 Tropical Thorn Forests
The tropical thorn forests are dominated by
xerophytic scrubs. They are most widespread in
the Punjab plains but also occupy small areas in
southern Sindh and western Balochistan. They
are mainly used for grazing purposes,
watershed protection and fuelwood. Common
species are vann (Salvadora oleoides), khejri
(Prosopis cineraria), kair (Capparis aphylla), etc.
 Sub-Tropical Dry Forests
The sub-tropical dry forests are found in
the Attock,
Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Jhelum and Gujrat distri
cts of the Punjab, and in the Mansehra,
Abbottabad, Mardan, Peshawar and Kohat distri
cts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa up to a height of
1,000 m. In Balochistan, they are confined to
the Sulaiman Mountains and other hilly areas.
Dominant tree species are phulai (Acacia
modesta), kau (Olea cuspidata) and hopbush)
(Dodonaea viscosa)
 Irrigated Plantations
The irrigated plantations were first developed
in 1866 at Changa Manga in Lahore. Today they
occupy about 226,000 ha. Sheesham (Dalbergia
sissoo), mulberry (Morus alba), babul (Acacia
nilotica) and species
of Eucalyptus and Populus are the common tree
species grown in the irrigated plantations.
 Riparian Forests
The riparian forests grow in narrow belts along
the banks of River Indus and its tributaries. They
are more commonly found in Sindh and to some
extent in the Punjab. Babul (Acacia nilotica),
Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo) and Tamarax
dioica are the most common species. Khejri
(Prosopis cineraria) and Populus euphratica are
some other species. They are mainly used for
lumber.
 Mangroves Wetlands
The mangrove wetlands are located in
the Indus River Delta. Other saltwater wetlands
are located on the coast of Balochistan such as
at Sonmiani and Jiwani. These
support mangrove forestry, mainly of
species Avicennia marina as well
as bamboo species and marsh grasses
of Apluda and Cenchrus.
Images