Gorrie, Robert MacLagan

2018-09-13T15:58:12Z

2018-09-13T15:58:12Z

1930

I. The habit of growth of the deodar (Cedrus Deodara, Loudon) alters entirely between the two extreme conditions of monsoon rainfall in the outer hills and winter snowfall as the only precipitation of the Tibetan border. In the outer hills it keeps to the best drained spurs and ridges, while in the inner hills it seeks the gentler slopes and cooler aspects which retain their snow-beds longest into the spring.

II. The plant associates of the deodar alter completely between these two extremes, except for the blue pine (Pinus excelsa,: Wall.) which accompanies the deodar throughout and retreats uphill toward the snow -beds of the inner ranges in a siìilar manner.

III. The deodar's capacity as a timber producer alters markedly with climatic changes, and these alterations have now been correlated with the changes in its plant associates.

IV. For practical use in the field, the deodar itself is the best indication of the quality class of any existing crop, and it is proposed to employ vegetation lists; only in the determination of the site quality class, where the existing crop is an abnormal one. The plants which indicate optimum conditions for deodar may be summarised as follows:-

Moist Zone (deodar in mixed crops with spruce and blue pine) Adiantum Capillus -Veneris, Linn and venustum, Don. Ainsliaea aptera, DO. Arundinaria falcata, Nees. Asparagus filicinus, Buch -Ham. Fragaria yesca, Linn. Primula. denticulata, Sm. Smilax parvifolia, Gall. and vaginata, Deena. Spiraea bella, Sims. and vestita,ffall. Urtica dioica, Linn. Viola Patrinii, Ging. and serpens,Wall. Wulfenia Amherstiana, Benth

Dry and Arid Zones (deodar in pure crops). Artemisia vestita, Wall. Asparagus gracilis, Royle. Astragalus chlorostachys, Lindl. Atropa Belladonna, Linn. Bupleurum Candolliï, Wall. and lanceolatum, Wall. Desmodium tiliaefolium, G.Don. Fragaria yesca, Linn. Indigofera Gerardiana, Wall. Lilium polyphyllum, D.Don. Philadeiphus tomentosus, Wall. Polygonatum multiflorum, All. and verticillatum, All. Polygonum affine, D.Don and molle, D.Don. Thalictrum foliolosum, DC,, javanicum, Blume., and minus, Linn. Viola Patrinii, Ging. and serpens, Wall.

V. In employing the vegetation lists presented in this paper, the ground flora in any given deodar crop or planting area should be studied and compared with the listed normal for the area, according to its position in the moist, dry, or arid zone, and the pecularities of the common plants should be referred to in the analysis (CHAPTER VIII)

VI. As the ground flora of deodar crops with a complete canopy consists largely of herbs, it follows that the whole of the ground cover, including herbs, ferns, and grasses as well as shrubs, should be studied for guidance in sylvicultural work.

VII. Experience has shown that the drier types of deodar forest require a slower and more gradual method of regeneration than the orthodox Shelterwood System, and that marking for felling must be governed largely by the necessity for providing side shade against the hottest sun until young crops are established. , study of the component plants of the ground cover will give useful indications as to the amount to which any given crop should be opened up.

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/32335

The University of Edinburgh

Annexe Thesis Digitisation Project 2018 Block 20

The Sutlej deodar: its ecology and timber production

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

DSc Doctor of Science