Forests are an important part of Pakistan’s ecosystem. They are part of the local ecosystem, and they provide us with essentials like air, water, wildlife habitats, stable oils, and wood. 

What's more?

Forests add great value to the country's landscape by providing recreational activities for people. Forests also help create jobs in tourism because people can travel there for adventures.

Pakistan's personal go-to source of information wants to keep you updated. They are divided into groups, including tropical rainforests, temperate rainforests, and coniferous forests. These groups have specific types of animals living in them. All these forests grow in different areas of Pakistan and we will tell you where they are and what the climate there is like.

Major Types of Forests in Pakistan 

Pakistan has many different forests. They are full of natural scenery. The major types of forests are:

• Littoral and Swamp Forests
• Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests
• Tropical Thorn Forests
• Subtropical Forests 
• Subtropical Pine Forests 
• Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest 
• Himalayan Dry Temperate Forest
• Alpine Forests 

Littoral and Swamp Forests 

Littoral and swamp forests are found near the coasts of the Arabian Sea. These forests have low-height trees. They are called mangrove forests because they have exotic trees, like the Avicenna marina, which is also called grey mangrove or white mangrove. There are 207,000 hectares of swamplands in Pakistan.

Littoral and Swamp Forests Location - 

Mangrove forests are found near the banks of the Arabian Sea, so it is only natural to find these swamplands around the many beaches in Sindh, especially Karachi, and Pasni.

Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests 

Tropical dry forests are tall trees that have leaves. They are almost like other deciduous trees because they lose their leaves during the summer. 

When you look at them from the air, these forests look just like other forests in Pakistan. Floristic composition is one of the similarities that these forests share with other types of Pakistani forests.

These forests are home to many trees and plants, such as lannea, bombax ceiba, sterculia, plum trees, mallotus, and acacia. Meanwhile, the typical vegetation of shrubs found in that region includes adhatoda, gymnosporia and indigofera.

Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests Location 

In Pakistan, there are not many forests. But there are some forests in dry areas. It is only found in a few places near the foothills of Rawalpindi.

Tropical Thorn Forests 

Primarily found in dry forests, tropical thorn forests are dense and have scrub-like vegetation. The forests of Pakistan often contain this type of forest. This is because they are mainly located in areas that have warm temperatures and less rain. 

The three main traits of a thorn forest are:

• There are deserts in places that get less than 70 cm of rain.
• Thorn forests are bushes that have long roots. The roots reach the water under the ground for staying hydrated.
• Thorny forests are usually made up of trees with leaves that minimize water loss. These kinds of trees might be called acacias and palms and cacti.

Tropical Thorn Forests Location 

Tropical forests in Pakistan are divided into groups that depend on the climax vegetation. They usually grow near the Indus basin plains and some districts in Sialkot, Gujrat, and Jehlum. This is because the temperature during summers in these total areas is about 35 degrees Celsius.

Previously, thorny forests were found in the north and northwestern parts of Pakistan. They were close to rivers. Now, riverain forests are not so common. The trees move around depending on the season instead of sticking to one place like before.

Subtropical Broad-Leaf Evergreen Forests 

Some forests in Pakistan are subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forests. These types of forests have plants like olive trees and acacia Modesta and Dodonaea. 

The total land cover of these forests in Pakistan is about 1,191,000 hectares. One of the best features of these forests is that they are xerophytic which means dry.

• A tree in this forest can grow over 75 feet in 5 years.
• The forest canopy is where many, many animals live. For example, monkeys.
• Under the canopy of a forest, you can find animals like snakes and big cats.
• All layers of these forests are different and are home to many invertebrate species.

Subtropical Broad-Leaf Evergreen Forests Location 

You are most likely to see these forests in Pakistan near the foothills and lower slopes of the Himalayas. They mostly live around salt ranges, Kala Chitta Mountain Range, and Sulaiman Range.

Subtropical Pine Forests 

Subtropical Pine Forests are forests with a lot of different kinds of trees. These forests can help you if you want to survive in many climates. They have pine trees and other plants that need variable conditions to grow. Sometimes these forests catch fire because they are so dry.

Subtropical Pine Forests Location 

This type of forest is spotted in Pakistan between 900 meters and 1700 meters. It is seen in the Western Himalayas, also called the Punjab Himalayas.

Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest

Pakistan's national tree is the Deodar. This tree is found in the Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests. These forests have a variety of other types of trees, such as oak and deciduous broad-leafed trees.

Pakistan has two different forests: the lower and upper zone. The lower zone is home to Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Picea smithiana, and abies pindrow. The upper zone has pindrow and q. Semecarpifolia.

Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest Location

Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests are found in the Western Himalayas. They are only found between 1500 meters and 3000 meters, but not in the northwest regions.

Himalayan Dry Temperate Forest 

Himalayan dry temperate forests have a lot of types of trees. In Pakistan, you can see coniferous and broad-leafed trees. There is both dry zone deodar, Pinus gerardiana (locally known as chilgoza tree), and Quercus ilex in this region. 

On the higher division, you are most likely to spot blue pine communities. Forests with blue pine, abhal, shupa, shur, and some picea smithiana grow in the driest inner tracts.

Himalayan Dry Temperate Forest Location

Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests are found in the northwestern Himalayan Range. The weather is usually dry.

Alpine Forests

Alpine Forests are found in mountainous areas where it is very wet. The trees are small and there is lots of snow. 

There are two types of Alpine Forest in Pakistan: sub-alpine forest and alpine scrub. Some features are that the trees are small, there is lots of snow, and the soil has thin leaf litter on top.

• This type of forest is found throughout the Himalayas and is about 3,350 meters high.
• There are three species of trees in this region. The first is abies spectabilis, followed by birch, and finally Bhuj.

Alpine Forests Location 

Alpine Forests are found in just a few areas of Pakistan. They include Chitral, Dir, Swat, and Gilgit. 

Now that you know about the types of forests in Pakistan, here is some more information. We will look at how much forest there is in each province of Pakistan. Keep on scrolling to see it all!

Total Covered Forest Area in Each Province of Pakistan

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that in Pakistan, about 52% of forests are in Punjab, 30% are in Sindh, 8.5% are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 7.5% are in Balochistan.

Types of Forest Found in Various Provinces of Pakistan 

As per the latest stats released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there are different types of trees in different states in Pakistan. The table below lists them all.

Pakistan has 4 million hectares of forest. But only 4% of the country is covered with trees and plants. We don't think about this! However, we should focus on other things like planting more trees and plants in Pakistan during the Billion Trees Campaign.

We talked about how important forests are for our environment. The hectares of land of the forest cover is filled with natural resources. They give us food and shelter. They prevent soil erosion and various studies are carried here as well. 

Forests are a great gift from nature to us, and they provide homes for animals in Pakistan. The forestry sector offers great economic benefits. In these forests, you can find some of the country’s most amazing animals, which include mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects.