Linking forest successional dynamics to community dependence on provisioning ecosystem services from the Central Himalayan forests of Uttarakhand

The study examines the relationship between Ecosystem Services (ES) supply and vegetation dynamics through a series of five vegetation types representing a hypothetical successional sequence (i.e., Grassland, Pine, Pine-Oak mix, Open Oak, Dense Oak). We quantified and compared the dependence of local livelihood on provisioning services from forests at each level of succession and the resource extraction methods used to obtain desired products through a structured social survey covering 19 villages and 702 households in Tehri Garhwal and Dehradun districts of Uttarakhand. We found that broad leaved oak forests (covering 38.5% of total 57,516 ha of the study area) were the most important vegetation formation supporting local livelihoods. Meanwhile, the extraction of services from other early successional vegetation formations was significantly lower than oak forests, both in terms of number and quantities. Notably, the highest dependence was on fuel wood, fodder, and stall inlay (animal bedding), most of which were provided by dense oak forests. The high dependence on vegetation to support household needs and subsequent resource extraction through grazing, lopping, cutting, collection, and fire, act as unsystematic management techniques in the study area, maintaining the vegetation in its present form. An understanding of ecosystem service supply from each level of succession and the resource extraction methods used to obtain desired services can assist forest managers to choose the best suited management regime depending on their aim and stakeholder demands.