11.

10
HIMACHAL PRADESH
11.10.1 Introduction

The State of Himachal Pradesh has a geographical area of 55,673 sq km, which constitutes 1.69% of the
geographical area of the country. The State lies between 30º22'N to 33º12'N latitude and 75º45' E to
79º04' E longitude and is bordered by Jammu & Kashmir in the North, Punjab in the West, Haryana in the
South and Uttarakhand in the Southwest. The State has international border with China in the East.
Predominantly a mountainous State in the western Himalayas, the State has three distinct regions viz
the Shiwaliks with altitude upto 1,500 m, middle Himalayan region between 1,500 m to 3,000 m and the
Himadris higher than 3,000 m. About one third of the area in the State is permanently under snow,
glaciers and cold desert. The tree growth is minimal in this region due to harsh conditions. The average
annual rainfall is about 1,800 mm. The temperature varies from sub-zero to 35°C. The Satluj, Beas, Ravi,
Chenab and Yamuna are the important rivers of the State. The State has 12 districts all of which are hill
districts. There are three tribal districts. As per the 2011 census, Himachal Pradesh has a population of
6.86 million accounting for 0.57% of India's population. The rural and urban population constitutes
89.97% and 10.03% respectively. Tribal population is 5.71% of the State's population. The population
density of the State is 123 per sq km which is much lower than the national average. The 19th livestock
census 2012 has reported a total livestock population of 4.84 million.

TABLE 11.10.1 Land Use Pattern

Land Use Types Area (in 000' ha) Percentage
Geographical Area 5,567
Reporting area for land utilization 4,576 100.00
Forests 1,126 24.61
Not available for land cultivation 1,127 24.64
Permanent pastures and other grazing lands 1,511 33.01
Land under misc. tree crops and groves 64 1.39
Culturable wasteland 122 2.66
Fallow land other than current fallows 22 0.49
Current fallows 54 1.18
Net area sown 550 12.02
Source: Land Use Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, (2014-15)

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Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh
11.10.1.1 A Brief Overview of Forestry Scenario
As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the forests in Himachal Pradesh belong
to eight Type Groups which are further divided into 39 Forest Types. The forests in the State can be
broadly classified into coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests. Distribution of species follows
altitudinal zonation. The vegetation varies from dry scrub forests at lower altitudes to alpine pastures at
higher altitudes. In between these two extremes, distinct vegetational zones of Mixed Deciduous
Forests, Bamboo, Chir Pine, Oak, Deodar, Kail, Fir and Spruce are found. More than 95 species are
endemic to Himachal Pradesh and characteristic of Western Himalayan flora, while about 5% (150
species) are exotic, introduced over the last 150 years. The State Government aims at bringing 50% of the
geographical area under forest cover. Being a forest fire sensitive State, a detailed standard operating
procedure called 'HP Forest Fire Manual – Prevention and Control' has been published by the State in
2018.

Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the State is 37,033 sq km of which 1,898 sq km is Reserved Forests, 33,130 sq km
is Protected Forests, and 2,005 sq km Unclassed Forests. In Himachal Pradesh, during the period 1st
January 2015 to 5th February 2019, a total of 959.63 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry
purposes under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF&CC, 2019).

The Protected Area network in the State has five National Parks, 28 Wildlife Sanctuaries and three
Conservation Reserves, which cover 15.10% of geographical area of the State.

11.10.2 Forest Cover

Based on the interpretation of IRS Resourcesat-2 LISS III satellite data of the period Oct to Dec 2017, the
Forest Cover in the State is 15,433.52 sq km which is 27.72% of the State's geographical area. In terms of
forest canopy density classes, the State has 3,112.71 sq km under Very Dense Forest(VDF), 7,125.93 sq km
under Moderately Dense Forest (MDF) and 5,194.88 sq km under Open Forest (OF). Forest Cover in the
State has increased by 333.52 sq km as compared to the previous assessment reported in ISFR 2017.

TABLE 11.10.2 Forest Cover of Himachal Pradesh FIGURE 11.10.1 Forest Cover of Himachal Pradesh
(in sq km)
Non-forest
Class Area % of GA 71.71%

VDF 3,112.71 5.59

MDF 7,125.93 12.80
OF 5,194.88 9.33
Total 15,433.52 27.72
Scrub
Scrub 315.28 0.57 0.57

OF VDF
9.33% 5.59%
MDF
12.80%

VDF MDF OF Scrub Non-Forest

11.10.2.1 Forest Cover inside and outside Recorded Forest Area (or Green Wash)
The State has reported extent of of recorded forest area (RFA) 37,033 sq km which is 66.52% of its
geographical area. The reserved, protected and unclassed forests are 5.13%, 89.46% and 5.41% of the
recorded forest area in the State respectively. Due to non-availability of digitized boundary of recorded
forest areas from the State, the updated Green Wash from SoI toposheets which is 14,024.98 sq km has
been used as proxy to the RFA boundary and the analysis of forest cover inside and outside this area is
given below.

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Himachal Pradesh
TABLE 11.10.3 Forest Cover inside and outside Recorded Forest Area or (Green Wash) in Himachal Pradesh
(in sq km)
Forest Cover inside the Recorded Forest Area Forest Cover outside the Recorded Forest Area
(or Green Wash) (or Green Wash)
VDF MDF OF Total VDF MDF OF Total
2,771 4,948 2,919 10,638 342 2,178 2,276 4,796
26.05% 46.51% 27.44% 7.13% 45.42% 47.45%
*in case of Himachal Pradesh Green Wash boundaries have been used.

FIGURE 11.10.2 Forest Cover inside and outside Green Wash in Himachal Pradesh

6,000

4,948
5,000

4,000
Area in sq km

2,919 Inside GW
3,000 2,771
Outside GW
2,178 2,276

2,000

1,000
342

0
VDF MDF OF

TABLE 11.10.4 District- wise Forest Cover in Himachal Pradesh (in sq km)

2019 Assessment Change

Geographical Very Mod. Open Total % wrt 2017
District Scrub
Area (GA) Dense Dense Forest of GA assessment
Forest Forest

BilaspurH 1,167 21.70 190.72 168.28 380.70 32.62 5.70 1.70

TH
Chamba 6,522 767.89 1,012.51 674.76 2,455.16 37.64 12.16 20.97
H
Hamirpur 1,118 38.91 102.84 213.15 354.90 31.74 41.90 12.31
H
Kangra 5,739 298.76 1,288.65 766.78 2,354.19 41.02 157.19 15.66
KinnaurTH 6,401 79.81 329.28 236.90 645.99 10.09 22.99 60.37
H
Kullu 5,503 586.08 879.25 510.96 1,976.29 35.91 -10.71 23.88
TH
Lahul & Spiti 13,841 15.00 30.87 114.48 160.35 1.16 -32.65 15.37
H
Mandi 3,950 368.51 756.98 647.53 1,773.02 44.89 12.02 1 9.96
ShimlaH 5,131 745.74 1,090.30 583.37 2,419.41 47.14 20.41 30.37
H
Sirmaur 2,825 130.22 689.96 570.69 1,390.87 49.23 3.87 56.98
H
Solan 1,936 41.44 444.54 404.31 890.29 45.99 24.29 49.38
H
Una 1,540 18.65 310.03 303.67 632.35 41.06 76.35 8.33
Grand Total 55,673 3,112.71 7,125.93 5,194.88 15,433.52 27.72 333.52 315.28

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Himachal Pradesh
TABLE 11.10.5 Forest Cover Change Matrix for Himachal Pradesh (in sq km)
2019 Assessment Total ISFR
Class
VDF MDF OF Scrub NF 2017
Very Dense Forest 3,088 20 2 0 0 3,110
Moderately Dense Forest 18 6,613 54 0 20 6,705
Open Forest 7 493 4,714 0 71 5,285
Scrub 0 0 0 264 44 308
Non Forest 0 0 425 51 39,789 40,265
Total ISFR 2019 3,113 7,126 5,195 315 39,924 55,673
Net Change 3 421 -90 7 -341

Main reasons for the increase 333.52 sq km in forest cover in the State are plantation and conservation
activities.

TABLE 11.10.6 Altitude-wise Forest Cover in Himachal Pradesh (in sq km)

Altitude Zone (m) Geographical Area VDF MDF OF Total Scrub

0-500 2,925 13 458 360 831 (5.39%) 14
500-1000 7,625 220 1,912 1,589 3,721 (24.10%) 62
1000-2000 9,628 694 1,679 1,552 3,925 (25.43%) 124
2000-3000 8,101 1,814 2,225 1,057 5,096 (33.02%) 28
3000-4000 6,848 372 848 625 1,845 (11.96%) 70
>4000 20,546 0 4 12 16 (0.10%) 17
Total 55,673 3,113 7,126 5,195 15,434 315
(based on SRTM, Digital Elevation Model, 30 m, 2016)

TABLE 11.10.7 Forest Cover in different slope classes in Himachal Pradesh (in sq km)

Slope (in degrees) Geographical Area VDF MDF OF Total Scrub

0-5 6,362 69 438 551 1,058 (6.86%) 27
5-10 5,614 149 801 713 1,663 (10.78%) 27
10-15 6,424 282 975 730 1,987 (12.88%) 36
15-20 7,274 417 1,079 728 2,224 (14.41%) 44
20-25 7,570 497 1,082 690 2,269 (14.69%) 47
25-30 7,224 520 1,000 612 2,132 (13.81%) 46
>30 15,205 1,179 1,751 1,171 4,101 (26.57%) 88
Total 55,673 3,113 7,126 5,195 15,434 315
(based on SRTM, Digital Elevation Model, 30 m, 2016)

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Himachal Pradesh
FIGURE 11.10.3 Forest Cover Map of Himachal Pradesh

76°00'E 77°00'E 78°00'E 79°00'E

JAMMU & KASHMIR

33°00'N

33°00'N
Chamba Lahul & Spiti

CHINA

Kangra
32°00'N

32°00'N
Kullu

Hamirpur
Una Mandi

Kinnaur

Bilaspur

Shimla
Solan
31°00'N

31°00'N
PUNJAB
UTTARAKHAND

Sirmaur
LEGEND
Very Dense Forest
Mod. Dense Forest
Open Forest
HARYANA Scrub
Non-Forest
Water-bodies
District boundary
State boundary
Capital

76°00'E 77°00'E 78°00'E 79°00'E

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Himachal Pradesh
TABLE 11.10.8 Wetlands inside the Recorded Forest Area (or Green Wash) in Himachal Pradesh
(in ha)
Wetland Category No. of Wetlands Total Wetland Area
Inland Wetlands - Natural
Lake/Pond 4 17
Waterlogged 2 3
River/Stream 44 6,207
Sub - Total 50 6,227
Inland Wetlands -Man-made
Reservoir/Barrage 9 1936
Tank/Pond 4 6
Waterlogged 1 3
Sub - Total 14 1,945
Wetlands (<2.25 ha) 49 49
Total 113 8,221

Total Recorded Forest (or Green Wash) Area (in ha) 14,02,498
% of Wetland area inside Recorded Forest (or Green Wash) Area 0.59%
(analysis based on the National Wetland Atlas: India, 2011)

11.10.3 Forest Types & Biodiversity

Forest Type Maps of 2011 have been refined in the recently completed exercise by FSI. Percentage area
under different forest types of Himachal Pradesh as per the Champion & Seth classification (1968),
according to the latest exercise are presented in the following table.

TABLE 11.10.9 Percentage area under different forest types of Himachal Pradesh
SI. No. Forest Type % of Forest cover
1. 3C/C2b(I) Bhabar-Dun Sal Forest 1.13
2. 5/1S2 Khair-sissu Forest 0.01
3. 5/DS1 Dry Deciduous Scrub 0.80
4. 5/DS3 (Euphorbia Scrub) 0.03
5. 5/E9 Dry Bamboo Brake 0.49
6. 5B/C1a Dry Siwalik Sal Forest 0.51
7. 5B/C2 Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest 12.70
8. 9/C1a Lower or Siwalik Chir Pine Forest 10.40
9. 9/C1b Upper or Himalayan Chir Pine Forest 3.76
10. 9/C1/DS1 Himalayan Subtropical Scrub 0.47
11. 12/1S1 Alder Forest 0.02
12. 12/2S1 Low Level Blue Pine Forest 2.79
13. 12/C1/DS1 Oak Scrub 1.31
14. 12/C1/DS2 Himalayan Temperate Secondary Scrub 0.67
15. 12/C1a Ban Oak Forest (Q.incana) 4.43
16. 12/C1b Moru Oak Forest (Q.dilatata) 0.07
17. 12/C1c Moist Deodar Forest (Cedrus) 11.40
18. 12/C1d Western Mixed Coniferous Forest (Spruce, Blue Pine, Silver Fir) 14.03
19. 12/C1e Moist Temperate Deciduous Forest 0.81
20. 12/C2a Kharsu Oak Forest (Q.semecarpifolia) 0.20
Contd.

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Himachal Pradesh
 SI.No. Forest Type % of Forest cover
21. 12/C2b West Himalayan Upper Oak/Fir Forest 0.07
22. 12/DS1 Montane Bamboo Brakes 0.06
23. 12/DS3 Himalayan Temperate Pastures 4.36
24. 12/E1 Cypress Forest 0.02
25. 13/1S2 Populus / Salix Forest 0.02
26. 13/C1 Dry Broadleaved and Coniferous Forest (Q.ilex- P. gerardiana) 0.04
27. 13/C2a Neoza Pine Forest (P.gerardiana) 0.63
28. 13/C2b Dry Deodar Forest (Cedrus) 1.19
29. 13/C3 West Himalayan Dry Temperate Deciduous Forest 0.00
30. 13/C4 West Himalayan High Level Dry Blue Pine Forest (P. wallichiana) 0.65
31. 13/C5 West Himalayan Dry Juniper Forest (J. macropoda) 0.79
32. 14/C1a West Himalayan Sub-Alpine High Level Fir Forest 0.92
33. 14/C1b West Himalayan Birch/Fir Forest 3.37
34. 15/C1 Birch/Rhododendron Scrub Forest 0.29
35. 15/C2 Deciduous Alpine Scrub 0.05
36. 15/C3 Alpine Pasture 13.96
37. 15/E1 Dwarf Rhododendron Scrub 0.02
38. 16/C1 Dry Alpine Scrub 0.97
39. 16/E1 Dwarf Juniper Scrub 1.57
40. Plantation/ TOF 4.99
Total 100.00

11.10.3.1 Assessment of Biodiversity

Findings of the rapid assessment of Biodiversity carried out at the national level for natural forests
during September 2018 to May 2019 as part of the forest type mapping exercise is summarized below in
table 11.10.10 and table 11.10.11 in respect of Himachal Pradesh.

TABLE 11.10.10 No. of species observed during the rapid assessment

Plant Type Number of Species
Tree 116
Shrub 99
Herb 109

TABLE 11.10.11 Shannon-Wiener Index of Tree, Shrub and Herb species in different Type Groups of
Himachal Pradesh
Shannon-Wiener Index
SI.No. Forest Type Group
Tree Shrub Herb
1. Group 3- Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests 1.95 2.15 1.71
2. Group 5- Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests 2.87 2.13 1.95
3. Group 9- Subtropical Pine Forests 2.63 2.17 1.89
4. Group 12- Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests 2.95 3.25 3.48
5. Group 13- Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests 2.03 2.56 2.51
6. Group 14- Sub Alpine Forests 1.64 1.83 1.87
7. Group 15- Moist Alpine Scrub 0.17 * *
8. Group 16- Dry Alpine Scrub 0.87 2.34 2.30
* adequate number of sample plots were not available

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Himachal Pradesh
11.10.4 Fire Prone Forest Areas
Geographical area under different classes of forest fire proneness are given in the following table.
TABLE 11.10.12 Forest Fire Prone Classes (in sq km)
Sl. Forest Fire Geographical % of Total
No. Prone Classes Area forest cover
1. Extremely fire prone 0.00 0.00
2. Very highly fire prone 4.76 0.03
3. Highly fire prone 220.4 1.18
4. Moderately fire prone 1,204.52 4.59
5. Less fire prone 35,829.66 94.20
Total 37,259.42 100.00

FIGURE 11.10.4 Fire prone forest areas under different fire prone classes

LEGEND

State Boundary
Extremely Fire Prone
Very Highly Fire Prone
Highly Fire Prone
Moderately Fire Prone
Less Fire Prone

11.10.5 Tree Cover

Forest cover presented in the section 11.10.2 accounts for tree patches of size 1 ha and more having
canopy density more than 10%. However, trees occurring in patches of size less than 1 ha including
scattered trees are assessed through sampling based methodology. Tree cover in Himachal Pradesh has
been estimated as given in table 11.10.13.

TABLE 11.10.13 Tree Cover in Himachal Pradesh

(in sq km)

Area
Tree Cover
829

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Himachal Pradesh
Tree cover of Himachal Pradesh has increased by 7 sq km as compared to the previous assessment
reported in ISFR 2017.

11.10.6 Extent of Trees Outside Forest (TOF)

Trees outside Forests (TOF) refer to tree resources found outside the forests as defined in the
Government records. FSI maps forest cover using satellite data and assesses tree cover outside forests
using sampling based method. Forest Cover outside the recorded forest area is derived using
boundaries of RFA or Green Wash. Extent of TOF therefore may be estimated as the sum of extent of
forest cover outside the recorded forest areas (RFA) and tree cover as given in the preceding section.

TABLE 11.10.14 Extent of TOF in Himachal Pradesh (in sq km)

Forest Cover outside the RFA/GW Tree Cover Extent of TOF
4,796 829 5,625

11.10.7 Growing Stock in Forest

Growing stock in the recorded forest areas (RFA) in Himachal Pradesh is given in the table 11.10.15.
Diameter class-wise distribution of top 5 species in numbers derived from the forest inventory data is
presented in the table 11.10.16

TABLE 11.10.15 Growing Stock in Himachal Pradesh (in m cum)

Growing Stock (GS) % of Country's GS
Growing Stock in Recorded Forest Area 347.07 8.12
Growing Stock in TOF 25.19 1.53

TABLE 11.10.16 Diameter class distribution of top five species inside RFA in Himachal Pradesh (in '000)

Sl.No. Species Dia class (cm)

10-30 30-60 >60
1. Cedrus deodara 48,821 16,723 3,546
2. Pinus wallichiana 30,849 11,563 3,808
3. Quercus leucotrichaphora 74,936 12,287 622
4. Pinus roxburghii 50,408 18,922 1,969
5. Mallotus philippinensis 24,768 72 0

11.10.8 Carbon Stock in Forest

The total Carbon stock of forests in the State including the TOF patches which are more than 1 ha in size
is 252.36 million tonnes ( 925.32 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) which is 3.54% of total forest carbon
of the country. Pool wise forest carbon in Himachal Pradesh is given in the following table

TABLE 11.10.17 Forest Carbon in Himachal Pradesh in different pools (in '000 tonnes)

AGB BGB Dead wood Litter SOC Total

1,10,045 30,745 2,559 2,711 1,06,300 2,52,360

11.10.9 Growing Stock of Bamboo

Bamboo bearing area and growing stock inside the recorded forest area (RFA)/ Green Wash in the State
which include culms of 1 year age and above are given in the table 11.10.18

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Himachal Pradesh
TABLE 11.10.18 Growing Stock of Bamboo in Himachal Pradesh
Growing Stock (GS) % of Country's GS of Bamboo
Bamboo bearing area inside RFA/Green Wash (in sq km) 650 0.41
Total number of culms (in millions) 485 1.23
Total equivalent green weight (in 000’ tonnes) 1,975 0.71

11.10.10 Dominant tree species in Trees Outside Forests (TOF)

Top five species in numbers in Trees Outside Forests in Himachal Pradesh in Rural and Urban areas are
given in the table 11.10.19 and table 11.10.20 respectively

TABLE 11.10.19 Occurrence of top five tree species TABLE 11.10.20 Occurrence of top five tree species
in TOF (Rural) in Himachal Pradesh in TOF (Urban) in Himachal Pradesh
Relative Relative
Sl. No. Species Sl. No. Species
Abundance (%) Abundance (%)
1. Pinus roxburghii 21.83 1. Pinus roxburghii 11.53
2. Acacia catechu 9.05 2. Morus species 9.07
3. Grewia oppositifolia 8.79 3. Grewia oppositifolia 8.16
4. Cedrus deodara 5.36 4. Mangifera indica 6.64
5. Quercus leucotrichophora 3.64 5. Cedrela toona 5.15

11.10.11 Invasive Species

Invasive species as assessed from forest inventory data are presented in the table 11.10.21.

TABLE 11.10.21 Major invasive species in the State inside the RFA/Green Wash in Himachal Pradesh (in sq km)
Sl. No. Species Estimated Extent
1 Lantana camara 654
2 Ageratina adenophora 39
3 Ageratum conyzoides 36
4 Melochia corchorifolia 30
5 Dioscorea deltoidea 29
Invasive species are given in terms of their estimated extent.

11.10.12 Quantified estimation of Dependence of People living in forest fringe villages on forests in
Himachal Pradesh
Through a nation-wide study, FSI has done estimation of dependence of people living in the villages
close to forest for fuel wood, fodder, small timber and bamboo in quantified terms for each State & UT of
the country (Please refer to Chapter 10 in Vol. I for details). The estimated quantities of the four produce
for Himachal Pradesh is given in the table 11.10.22

TABLE 11.10.22 Estimation of Dependence of People in Forest Fringe Villages on Forests in Himachal
Pradesh
Fuelwood Fodder Bamboo Small Timber
(tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (cum)
5,92,761 32,55,579 593 11,264

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Himachal Pradesh