Plantation drive undertaken by J&K Forest Department in the arid cold region of Ladakh have led to sprouting of innumerable groves that harbor even wild lives across Ladakh, but one of the most remarkable achievements is the successful growth of wild willow in hundreds of acres of land at an altitude of 14000 feet on Changthang tableland since 1962.
Performance of different high altitude plant species was observed in avalanches affected area at the top of Jawahar Tunnel (3200 m amsl) situated on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway near Banihal, J & K.
Willows have been growing in Kashmir Valley and other adjoining temperate areas of India since time immemorial. The willow constituted an important tree species to mankind in view of its multipurpose usage. Introduction of wicker and bat willows from England during early 20th century and their multiplication in suitable areas of Kashmir Valley acted as a boon to the willow based cottage industry.
Global warming risks from emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by anthropogenic activities have increased the need for the identification of ecosystems with high carbon sink capacity as an alternative mitigation strategy of terrestrial carbon sequestration. The agroforestry sector has received recent attention for its enormous potential carbon pools that reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The Nubra Valley (Trans-Himalayan region) is covered with more than 575,000 agroforestry plantations (willow and poplar). These species have been found to sequester more than 75,000 tonnes of carbon.
willow trees are drying up in the Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh. The Himalayan Forest Research Institute (hfri), Shimla, says that in the past decade more than 3,000 trees have died from aphid
