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JAVAID AHSAN AND M.I.R. KHAN 



pi 





. 1 wlf» 



tbskjr- 



Figure 3. Pinus wall ichi ana growing in xeric habitats; A. 

 with Cedrus deodara and Abies pindrow in Dir, B. with C. 

 decdara in Chitral, C. with A. pindrow and Picea smithiana 

 in northwest Swat, and D. in Parachinar. 



The above description indicates a clear distinction in the three 

 types of blue pine habitats. It is also quite evident that blue pine in 

 West Pakistan is very plastic and is adaptable to extreme habitats. 



The forests of Parachinar, with intermediate soil characteristics, 

 intermediate climatic conditions, and variable vegetation, although geo- 

 graphically isolated from other zones, form a connecting link between the 

 blue pine of Sulaiman range and that of Chitral, Dir, and Swat. It 

 can be hypothesized that the two isolated southwestern populations of 

 blue pine were once confluent. In the course of time, drying up of the 



