Age of Himalayan cedar outside its natural home in the Himalayas

Abstract

The Himalayan cedar popularly known as deodar (Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don) is endemic to Hindu Kush, Kara koram and western Himalaya. Natural distribution of this species in the western Himalaya is restricted to areas receiving winter snow and summer monsoon rain fall. With the decreasing amount of win ter snowfall from northwest to eastern part of the Himalaya, the deodar gradu ally disappears in natural forests. In sci entific studies, Garhwal is taken as the natural eastern limit of Himalayan cedar in the western Himalaya1. But, excep tions to this also exist in the literature as indigenous forests of Himalayan cedar were reported in 1924 in Karnali Valley, West Nepal2. However, Bhattacharyya et al? while studying tree core samples of Himalayan cedar from Giri Gaon (29 45'N and 82 10'E), Nepal, could establish only 265 years (ad 1714-1978) chronology.