Provisioning Ecosystem Services of Rhododendron rich forests in Western Himalayas

Himalayan forests are an important component of the global biodiversity and play a crucial role in maintaining the overall ecosystem balance. Rhododendron species belonging from the Ericaceae family are found at an altitude of 1500m-3000m in the Himalayan region and act as an important keystone species in the Himalayan ecosystem with high ecological and medicinal value. The present study focuses on highlighting the provisioning ecosystem services offered by the Rhododendron species which not only provide a range of services to the local community but its extraction for the commercial utilization provides many livelihood opportunities to the Himalayan native communities. However due to the high demand for the Rhododendron products and services there has been a rampant harvest of the species in the Himalayan region and as Rhododendron forests are an important keystone species in the Himalayas it is vital to maintain the forest health and vitality of the species as it plays a key role in maintaining the Himalayan ecosystem balance. Hence our research focuses on the assessment of the provisioning ecosystem services of Rhododendron species and to provide various conservation strategies for its sustainable utilization.