2.1 study sites
This study area was in Kedarnath Valley (30°31. 44.7” N and 30°58’64.5” N, and 79°6’ 21.1” E, to 79° 02’028.95” E) in the Rudraprayag district of the central Himalaya. The study area has undulating topography with altitudes ranging from 1,335 to 1,609 m.a.s.l. The average annual rainfall was 1971 mm, with the most (70-80%) rainfall occurring during June–September which triggers large numbers of landslides in the area. The area receives medium to massive snowfall during December-February months. The temperature range from 8.32 to 13.15 C in winter (December to February) months and 27.75 to 32.54 C in summer (May to July) months. The soil was brown-black, sandy loam, podzolic in nature (Cambisols, USDA Soil Taxonomy), and high organic matter content, low bulk density, and large boulders were common in the area (Joshi & Garkoti 2020; Joshi & Garkoti 2021a). Emergent trees (up to 20 m tall) dominate the forest, which is a mix of evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous, i.e., nitrogen-fixing Alnus nepalensis D. Don,Rhododendron arboreum Smith, Lyonia ovalifolia (Wall.) Drude, Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus, Pyrus pashia L,Myrica esculenta Buch.- Ham. ex D.Don, Symplocos paniculata Miq, Litsea umbrosa Nees (Joshi & Garkoti 2021b). The important shrubs are Berberis aristata DC, Rhus parviflora Roxb, Pyracantha crenulata (D.Don), Carissa congesta Wight, Cotoneaster microphyllus Wall. Ex Lindl, andRubus ellipticus Sm., and the main herbs are Arthraxon lanceolatus (Roxb.) Hochst, Ainsliaea aptera DC., Erigeron bellidiodes L., Craniotome versicolor Rchb., Cyperus rotundus L., and Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng.