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Natural vegetation comprises forests, shrubs and grasses, and is determined by climatic conditions and soil types. The climate of Pakistan is too dry for forests, except in the northern hilly and sub-montane belts. Soil formation on the hill slopes is a prerequisite for forest growth, but human practices in these areas have contributed to erosion, rather than to soil formation. Ruthless wood-cutting, over-grazing, and the annual removal of grass cover from the slopes are all processes which handicap soil formation and the development of forests. As a result, there is a marked deficiency of tree-cover in Pakistan.
Temperate Forests of Naran, PakistanPakistan forest resources consists, among others, one of the oldest and second largest Juniper forests in the world. Juniper trees are considered among the oldest growing tree species, often termed as living forest fossils,and can live for more than 3000 years. Situated in Suleiman Range of Baluchistan, these Juniper forests grow in extreme dry and rugged environment between elevations 2000-3000 meters.Distribution of Forests in PakistanOverall Pakistan forest resources are limited, covering only 4.8 percent of total land area, which is far below the optimal standard of 25%, forest cover for a country. However scarce, forests of Pakistan are very rich in terms of biodiversity and present a unique blend of tree, shrub, grass and animal species, living across various ecological (climatic) zones from sea level in the south, to high altitude alpine pastures of the north.Most of the natural forest resources of Pakistan are concentrated in the mountainous regions of the north covering Himalaya, Hindukush and Karakoram ranges, where more than 60% of the country natural forest resources are found.Temperate Forests of Nathiagali, PakistanThe rest of forestry resource is distributed among the south-western mountains of Baluchistan, plains of Punjab and Sindh and the coastal areas of Arabian Sea in the south.Ecologically Pakistan is distributed into nine ecological zones depending mainly on moisture availability, temperature, elevation and soil conditions. The broader classification of ecological zones of Pakistan consists of Alpine zone, Temperate zone, Sub-Tropical and Tropical zones and Costal zone. Each ecological zone offers specific environmental, topographic and climatic conditions required to support particular trees and plants species.Alpine pastures of deosai, skardu, PakistanThis greater variety of climatic conditions of Pakistan is a natural gift and is greatly enriching its biodiversity of flora and fauna. Based on the distribution of these specific ecological conditions the forests of Pakistan are classified into nine major forest types, which, for the sake of simplicity, can be clustered into five broader groups, as described below;-
