TREE RING STUDIES OF PINUS WALLICHIANA A.B. JACKS. OF KASHMIR POINT RESERVE FOREST OF TEHSIL MURREE: A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The dendrochronological studies of Pinus wallichiana A. B. Jacks. of Kashmir Point Reserve Forest of Tehsil Murree, Pakistan were carried out. Due to the thickness and elevation of the forest, it was divided into upper and the lower stand. Fifty cores were taken from both stands. Using the Velmex Measuring System all the samples were cross dated. The sample cores had scares, cracks and narrow rings which represented that the plant had gone through temperature flux, wild fires, water scarcity etc. The regression analysis of the values was done and the corresponding graphs were plotted against age of trees and the Dbh of the trees. The results showed the variance in age and the growth rate. In upper stand minimum age of the tree was 14 years and the maximum age of the tree was 505 years and the variation in the Dbh was from 46.8 to 2.28. In lower stand minimum age of the tree was 64 years and the maximum age of the tree was 330 years. While the variation in the Dbh of lower stand was from 37.2 to 12. Similarly, the graphs were plotted against average growth rate of trees and the Dbh of trees. The variation in the growth rate of the upper stand was from 0.25 to 0.07 inch/year. The variation in the growth rate of lower stand was from 0.22 to 0.08 inch/year. According to the results of regression analysis the area was under stress conditions due to various environmental factors.