BLUE PIXE IX PAKISTAN 



155 





1" $r 



?3g 





i 



Figure 2. Pinus w alii ohi ana growing in highly xeric habitats; 



A. on limestone cliffs in the Sulaiman Range of climatic zone I, 



B. in the Himalayan rain shadow in Gilgit of climatic zone II. 



MESIC HABITAT 



The mesic habitat constitutes the largest proportion of the blue 

 pine range in West Pakistan. It contains all of the areas of climatic 

 zone IV including Murree, Hazara, southern part of Azad Kashmir, and 

 eastern part of Swat (Fig. 4). The blue pine in this habitat is associated 

 with Abies pindrow (Royle) Spach, Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G.Don, Juglans 

 regia L. , Picea smithiana Boiss., Aes cuius indica Colebr. , Querous 

 dilatata Lindl., and Querous inoana Roxb. At low altitudes, Pinus 

 roxburghii Sarg. appears while at higher altitudes Taxus baeoata L. may 

 also occur. Lauracea spp., Litsaea spp . , and Machilus spp. are found 

 locally in the moister forests. Evergreen Euonymus and Ilex are commonly 

 associated with oak. Other common genera of the undergrowth are 

 Indigofera, Lonicera, Rosa, Desmodium, Viburnum, Strobilanth.es, Impatiens _, 

 Seneoio, Dipsacus, and Heraoleum. Soils in this habitat have generally 

 been derived from slate, shale, quartz, and sandstone formations. They 

 are intermediate to coarse textured and are generally acidic with a pH 

 ranging from 5.4 to 6.4. 



