An ordination of the forest communities in Nainital catchment of Kumaun Himalaya.

Evergreen forest communities distributed within 1580-2600 m above sea level (asl) in Kumaun Himalaya were studied. Quercus leucotrichophora A. Campus, Q. floribunda Lindl. ex Rehder Q. semecarpifolia J.E. Smith and Pinus roxburghii Sarg. are the dominant tree species in banj-oak, tilonj-oak, kharsu-oak and chir-pine forests, respectively. Total density for tree, shrub and herb layer varied from 3.7 to 10.5 (individual 100 m(-2)), 2.0 to 38.8 (individual 100 m(-2)) and 5.5 to 44.0 (individual m(-2)), respectively. A total of five forests types (27 stands) were identified in the field on the basis of species richness and species diversity by applying polar ordination method. The diversity value fortree, shrub and herb layer ranged from 0 to 3.62, 0.36 to 3.85 and 1.23 to 4.21, respectively. Present study indicates the spatial patterns of vegetation in different forest communities at different altitudes.