Tree Species Richness, Diversity and Biomass in Farmland and Forest of Kosi-watershed, Kumaun Himalaya, India

We studied  tree species richness, diversity, community composition and biomass densities on farmland and forest sites of Kosi watershed, Kumaun Himalaya. For phytosociological analysis, sampling quadrats (n=60) of 10 x10 m size were randomly placed in three farmlands and three forest sites of the watershed. On farmlands, Quercus leucotrichophora was the dominant tree species with the highest IVI of 83.13 followed by Grewia optiva (76.09). On the forest sites, IVI ranged from 11.89 (Cupressus torulosa) to 145.36 (Pinus roxburghii). Tree density (N ha-1) ranged from 460 ± 25 to 510 ± 23 and 720 ± 34 to 860 ± 56 under farmlands and forest sites, respectively. Species richness varied from 13-14 and 06-10 in farmlands and forests, respectively. Tree species diversity (Shannon diversity index) ranged between 2.10 to 2.40 and 1.51 to 1.95 under farmland and forest sites, respectively. Biomass densities (Mg ha-1) of tree species varied from 156.79 to 161.14 in farmlands while 208.93 to 639.29 in forest sites. Practicing agroforestry i.e. growing trees in farmlands can be a useful strategy for biodiversity conservation as the species diversity was comparatively higher under farmlands.