Dec20,2023
Oaks are an anomaly in a largely tropical country like India, but they form the backbone of the temperate moist forest biome occurring between 1,500 m and 2,700 m in the Himalayas.
Five oak species are found in the Western Himalaya of which the most widespread one is the banj oak or Quercus leucotrichophora
Banj oak grows mixed in with species such as rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum), Indian horsechestnut (Aesculus indica), angyaar (Lyonia ovalifolia) and kaafal (Myrica esculenta)
The banj oak forest can be talked of as a cloud forest of sorts. At the mid-elevational altitudes, precipitation is triggered easily by the warm moisture-laden winds hitting cool forest surfaces in the Himalayas.
The leaves of the banj oak are also favoured by the locals for composting and fodder. Banj leaf litter makes a very good fertiliser because much less nitrogen and phosphorus is withdrawn by the tree at the time of leaf-fall
The oaks of the Western Himalaya are mostly evergreen, maintaining a dense canopy through the year as a strong flush of new leaves comes in before the old leaves are shed.
Banj oak is often compared with its competitor, the chir pine, at the same altitude
The increased vulnerability of banj oak to all the changes around it lead to further questions about what happens to the animals that depend on it