1. Introduction

Offering numerous goods and services to a common man, forest genetic resources (FGR) play an important role not only in the mitigation of pollution but also by offering a good source of revenue to the national government. Pakistan has forest cover of about 4.8%. Forests help to monitor the flow of rivers in the north and regulate siltation in two important dams. Forests trees also meet the demand of small scale farmers for fodder, timber and fuelwood as almost 90% of the firewood requirements are met from trees grown on farmlands. With an annual increase of 3%, the total population would be around 150 million by the end of 2003 and evidently the demand for timber and fodder would increase along with an increase in livestock especially among the poor rural communities who depend on these forests. The natural forests also provide good shelter for important medicinal herbs as well as suitable habitats for wildlife. Although the forest area is small, stands of all forest types occur in Pakistan ranging from arid zones to dry/wet temperate ecosystems. Forests of Pakistan are spread over 4 263 000 ha. Based upon altitude and rainfall pattern, forests can be broadly classified into the following four categories:

1.1. High altitude coniferous forests

The high altitude coniferous forests lie between 1200 to 3200 m asl. with a small percentage (<25%) of broad-leaved species. Important coniferous genera include Abies, Pinus, Cedrus and Picea while few major associated broad-leaved genera include Acer, Betula, Fraxinus and Taxus. The total area of such forests is 1 928 000 ha, which constitutes about 45.2% of the total forest area. These forests provide an array of products as shown in Table 1 below:

Table 1. Multiple uses of high altitude coniferous forests in Pakistan

1.2. Low altitude (<1200 m) broad-leaved species forests

These forests cover an area of 520 000 ha of irrigated and foot hill plantations in Punjab and Sindh consisting of Populus sp. (poplar), Dalbergia sissoo (shisham), Bombax ceiba (semal), bakain, mulberry and Eucalyptus. The aridity is mostly compensated by irrigation.

1.3. Agroforestry plantations

Farmers have been planting trees on their lands for centuries. Recently, these activities have been accelerated by the Forestry Planning and Development Project (1985 – 1996) and are continued now under forestry sector projects in each province. The most common species are eucalypts, bakain, semal, poplars, acacias, Prosopis, shisham and mulberry. The local requirements of farmers for fodder, fuelwood and poles are readily met from trees planted singly or in rows or in block plantations.

A modified form of agroforestry system called “Hurry” is also practised in Sindh where 2-4 acres of land is set aside to raise plantations of Acacia nilotica only. Poles are exclusively used as pit props in coalmines. These plantations cover an area of about 200 000 ha. Farmers have also started to establish their own nurseries about two decades ago to increase tree cover especially on marginal lands.

1.4. Coastal and riverine forests

Located in the extreme southern part of Pakistan as well as along the banks of rivers viz. Indus, Chenab and Ravi, these tracts are rich sources of species like poplar and acacias. The coastal areas consist of valuable species of Ceriops tagal, Aviecienia officinalis and Rhizophora mucronata, which had been badly affected by river pollution in the recent past. A survey has indicated that nearly 21% of the coastal forests have been degraded to the extent that has adversely affected regeneration and growth of these species. The scarcity of water as well as the diversion of river flow due to construction of dams have degenerated Populus euphratica forests along riverbanks. There is a need to conserve this valuable genetic resource immediately. Such forests are spread over 345 000 ha.

Shelterwood system is generally used to manage natural stands of coniferous and broad-leaved species while irrigated plantations are managed through clear-cut felling by the provincial forest departments. Permission has to be obtained from the Forest Manager in case a tree has to be cut on a farmland by any farmer. Trees planted on road and canal sides are also looked after and managed by the Forest Department. Currently national afforestation programmes are in operation to encourage tree cover on private lands through community participation. The scrub forests with sparse vegetation cover about 1 271 000 ha and mainly constitute of scattered arid zone species like Zizyphus, Acacia, Prosopis and Olea. These plantations have undoubtedly reduced demand pressure of timber (as poles) and fuelwood on state forests.