Fires break out in Dharamsala pine forests
Dharamsala, June 15
Forest fires broke out in pine forests in and around Dharamsala on Saturday, leading to destruction of forest wealth and wildlife in the region.
The Fire Department faced a tough time in controlling the fires and preventing these from reaching residential areas.
This has once again highlighted the problem of high concentration of pine forests and lantana around Dharamsala, which has been proving to be a major cause for forest fires in the region for many years. In the Dharamsala circle, lantana has spread across 35,000 hectares. Besides, pine forests cover 20 per cent of the total forest area of Dharamsala.
However, the Forest Department has not made any effort to replace the pine forests with indigenous species.
As temperatures soared in the area, pine forests near Dharamsala catch fire. Fire tenders have to work overtime to douse the flames. The fire is caused due to dumps of dried-up pine needles that have piled up in the area and are highly inflammable.
The Forest Department has been planting pine trees in the forest area for a few decades due to the better survival rate of trees.
The pine forests have created problems for farmers as well as the Forest Department as these have allelopathic impact. Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which pine trees produce bio chemicals that do not allow any kind of vegetation growth in surroundings. There is hardly any undergrowth of grass in the pine forests.
Besides, there is generally heavy deposition of dried pine needles under the trees. These needles are highly inflammable and easily catch fire, especially during the summer when temperatures remain high.
Sources said in case the government makes it mandatory for brick-kiln owners and cement plants to use certain portion of pine needle fuel, it would generate the demand for bio waste of pine trees.
Experts also feel that the government should impose a complete ban on plantations of pine trees in the mid Himalayan region. With this, the percentage of pine forest in the region can be reduced over a period of time.
