Litter Production, Decomposition, and Nutrient Release in Subalpine Forest Communities of the Northwest Himalaya

Table 1

Geography and soil characteristics of selected stands in subalpine region.

Parameters	Forest stands
	Acer-Rhododendron	Quercus-Quercus	Abies-Quercus	Rhododendron-Sorbus
	(PAR)	(PQQ)	(PAQ)	(PRS)
Mean elevation (m asl)	3265	3293	3304	3383
Location	30°28′03′′–30°28′08′′ N 79°20′35′′–79°20′46′′ E	30°28′29′′–30°28′32′′ N 79°21′10′′–79°21′20′′ E	30°28′25′′–30°28′33′′ N 79°21′30′′–79°21′39′′ E	30°28′19′′–30°28′25′′ N 79°20′59′′–79°21′01′′ E
Aspect	North	South	South-East	South
Forest type	Moist temperate	Moist temperate	Moist temperate	Moist temperate
	Semievergreen	Evergreen	Evergreen	Semievergreen
Species richness
Woody species	4	2	4	4
Herbaceous species	9	10	8	9
Density (ha^−1)
Woody species	750	690	640	1,260
Herbaceous species	76,000	71,000	56,000	111,000
Dominant species^*	Acer caesium(54.67), Rhododendron arboreum(37.33)	Quercus floribunda (96.87)	Abies spectabilis(47.83), Quercus semecarpifolia (49.27)	Rhododendron campanulatum(79.44),; Sorbus microphylla(18.18)
Other associated species	Litsea elongata,Taxus baccata	Quercus semecarpifolia	Quercus floribunda, Taxus baccata	Betula utilis, Taxus baccata
Soil^#
Soil texture	Sandy loam	Loam	Sandy loam	Loam
Soil colour	Reddish brown	Brown	Dark brown	Brown to dark brown
Soil moisture (%)	55.41 ± 6.07	48.78 ± 7.38	49.67 ± 6.16	51.37 ± 6.80
WHC (%)	69.44 ± 5.26	66.58 ± 6.87	69.47 ± 7.09	70.87 ± 6.49
pH	6.65 ± 0.29	6.66 ± 0.22	6.45 ± 0.43	6.66 ± 0.15
N (%)	0.69 ± 0.13	0.58 ± 0.15	0.59 ± 0.23	0.52 ± 0.15
P (Kg ha^−1)	13.33 ± 5.79	13.47 ± 3.29	10.87 ± 2.86	10.12 ± 3.73
K (Kg ha^−1)	245.10 ± 26.66	233.00 ± 28.59	249.81 ± 25.64	251.46 ± 20.73
OC (%)	1.99 ± 0.30	2.30 ± 0.32	2.26 ± 0.44	2.19 ± 0.24

Values in parenthesis are percent of total stand density, ^#±-S.E., = 8.