DEHRADUN: The Himalayan birch, or bhojpatra, has carried words across centuries. Ancient sages used its bark to write religious and medical texts, while manuscripts in Kashmir’s Sharada script were also recorded on it. Now, a study of forests in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region warns that this historic tree — and several other native species — may struggle to produce a new generation.
More than 22 per cent of the 41 tree species assessed showed no regeneration, researchers found. In these cases, mature trees remained, but researchers found no seeds or young plants beneath them. The finding raises concerns that some species could decline or disappear locally if current pressures continue.
The study was conducted at 24 sites across forests in Uttarkashi and Tehri districts, at elevations ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 metres. Led by retired professor Chandra Mohan Sharma of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, it was carried out by Dr Yashwant Singh Rana and Dr Om Prakash Tiwari. Their paper, Forest structure and regeneration responses to altitudinal and disturbance gradients in the temperate Garhwal Himalaya, was published in Springer Nature’s Discover Forests in September.
The survey covered deodar, three oak species, rhododendron, Himalayan fir, blue pine, chir pine, yew, maple and bhojpatra. Researchers recorded between 411 and 840 mature trees per hectare, 587 to 3,655 saplings and 944 to 6,572 seedlings. The figures varied by site and level of disturbance.
The researchers classified regeneration as good for 34.25 per cent of species, normal for 12.33 per cent and poor for 16.10 per cent. A further 14.73 per cent were increasing in new locations, while 22.60 per cent showed no regeneration.
“Where we found more seedlings, we generally found more saplings too,” Tiwari told TNIE. “But in several places, the transition from seedling to sapling, and from sapling to mature tree, was weak.”
Human pressure was strongest in lower-elevation forests and near villages, the study found. Residents collect wood for fuel and leaves for fodder, graze livestock and lop branches. Fires, sometimes deliberately set, can further damage young growth.
Forests at higher elevations were generally less disturbed, but researchers said pressure was increasing there too as people travelled to summer pastures and built temporary shelters, sometimes using timber from Himalayan fir and kharsu oak.
Bhojpatra grows at elevations of about 3,000 to 4,500 metres and is found in places including Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, as well as near Hemkund Sahib, the Valley of Flowers and Tungnath-Chopta. Bhojvasa, on the route from Gangotri to Gaumukh, takes its name from the tree and is surrounded by birch forest.
“Bhojpatra is listed as endangered by the IUCN, and commercial felling has been prohibited by the government,” Tiwari said.
Its bark was valued for writing partly because it could preserve manuscripts for long periods. The study’s findings suggest that protecting mature trees alone may not be enough: forests also need conditions in which seeds can germinate and young trees can survive.
Nearly one in five species — including maple, bhojpatra, walnut, oak, kail and poplar — had no seeds or seedlings, the study found. Canopy cover exceeded 75 per cent in less-disturbed forests but fell below 40 per cent in heavily affected areas.
In moderately disturbed deodar forests, researchers recorded 1,833 seedlings and 1,013 saplings per hectare; numbers dropped under greater pressure. They warned that regeneration needs protection.
