NATURAL REGENERATION STATUS OF FOREST COMMUNITY AT DANDACHALI FOREST, TEHRI FOREST DIVISION IN NORTH WEST HIMALAYA UTTRAKHAND, INDIA Pankaj Lal*, J. S. Butola and V. P. Khanduri College of Forestry, Ranichauri V.C.S.G. Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry (Uttarakhand), India. Abstract Studies on forest vegetation pertaining to diversity, natural regeneration status of plant communities. The present investigation was conducted in Dandachali forest of Tehri Forest Division, North-Western part of Himalaya. Surveys and sampling of the vegetation were done using standard ecological assessment methods with an aim to study plant species natural regeneration pattern at community level. nineteen woody species (19) in 6 forest communities viz., Pinus roxburghii-Quercus leucotrichophora mixed, Pinus roxburghii, Pinus roxburghii- Rhododendron arboreum mixed, Cedrus deodara- Pinus wallichiana mixed, Cedrus deodara- Rhododendron arboreum mixed and Rhododendron arboreum- Quercus leucotrichophora mixed, have been recorded in 16 sites between 1482- 2200 m asl. Among the communities, total tree density ranged from 263.34-1493.33 Ind ha -1 , TBA 260.2- 310.7 m 2 ha -1 . All the communities showed optimum regeneration of dominant species. Total seedlings density ranged from 280-2470.0 Ind ha -1 and saplings density 140-446.7 Ind ha -1 . R. arboreum – C. deodara showed maximum regeneration in terms of higher seedling and sapling density in this community. Key words : Regeneration, recruitment, seedling, sapling, status. Introduction The Phytosociological characters express the quantitative information on analytical characters, composition and pattern of distribution of the species (Saxena, 1982; Ralhan et al., 1982; Sharma and Kumar, 1992). It is useful to collect such data to describe the population dynamics of each species studied and how they relate to the other species in the same community. Regeneration dynamics is one of the thrust areas for intensive research. The plant diversity and regeneration status of particular forests is baseline information for the management and conservation of biodiversity. Regeneration studies are important in view predicting structure and composition of the species. Regenerating forests can be characterized by presence of seedlings, saplings and trees of different age groups, from young to old (Chauhan, 2001; Chauhan et al., 2001). Characteristic of size and age distribution provides important information about regeneration probability of a species. Successful regeneration of tree species might be considered to a function of three major components: (i) ability to initiate new seedlings, (ii) ability of seedlings and saplings to survive and (iii) ability of seedlings and saplings to grow. Measurement of these parameters provides an insight into the regeneration of species in a forest community. Natural regeneration is a central component of tropical forest ecosystem dynamics and is essential for preservation and maintenance of biodiversity (Getachew et al., 2010, Rahman et al., 2011). Several authors have predicted regeneration status of tree species based on the age and diameter structure of their population (Khan et al ., 1987; Bhuyan et al ., 2003). Successful management therefore depends on good natural regeneration of valuable species. The final goal of these research programs should be to evolve methods to harmonise the rates of exploitation and regeneration. Study area The study was carried out in Dandachali forest of Tehri Forest Division, Tehri Garhwal (district), Uttrakhand (State) part of North West Himalaya. Tehri Forest Plant Archives Vol. 18 No. 1, 2018 pp. 885-892 ISSN 0972-5210 *Author for correspondence : E-mail : lalpankajforestry@gmail.com / pankajlalforestry@rediffmail.com