Comparative regeneration status of Pinus gerardiana in two forest-use types of sulaiman mountain range near pak-afghan border region: Historical,current and future perspectives

Pinus gerardiana wall. ex d.don is valuable commercial species with sparse distribution all around the world. in the sulaiman mountain range of pakistan,p. gerardiana faces many threats affecting its regeneration status and sustainable conservation. the aim of study was to evaluate the competing regeneration and expansion pattern of p. gerardiana in two different forest-use types (b ased on anthropogenic pressure) in sulaiman mountain range. seventy plots were randomly selected in each forest. average regeneration density was significantly greater in the (low anthropogenic area) (85.76 ± 6.67 no ha-1) than the (high anthropogenic area) (4.30 ± 0.98 no ha-1). determining the basal area (m2 ha-1),significantly higher value was recorded in low anthropogenic area (2.69 ± 0.14,p<0.01) in comparison to high anthropogenic area (1.43 ± 0.10,p<0.01). average height of the trees was significantly higher in the high anthropogenic area. shannon evenness and simpson diversity indexes were determined based on the size of the dbh classes of the species. for low anthropogenic area,shannon evenness and simpson diversity index were recorded as 0.8355 ± 0.02 and 0.6109 ± 0.01 respectively while for high anthropogenic area the two indexes were recorded as 0.7429 ± 0.03 and 0.5109 ± 0.02 respectively. overall the regeneration of p. gerardiana in the high anthropogenic area is in a critical state of condition. hence,there is an urgent need to consider and take into account the alarming situation and to ensure the sustainability of these forests by enforcing strict laws through community involvement. © 2017,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.