Betula Utilis - Version 2014.3. Shaw, K., Roy, S., & Wilson, B. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, pages 194535/0+. 2014.
abstract   bibtex   
[Excerpt] This species has a wide distribution and is common. However, it is exploited for its medicinal uses and over exploitation is particularly high in parts of its range. It is not thought that these threats are large enough to impact upon the species across its whole range. In the Chinese Red List (2014) this species is assessed as Least Concern. It is assessed here as Least Concern. [::Common Name(s)] [::]English - Himalayan Birch [::Taxonomic Notes] Betula utilis, B. jacquemontii and B. albosinensis, are clearly closely related, and have been recognised in the past as separate species, subspecies or varieties. All are tetraploid and, although the extremes are very different, it is often difficult to distinguish between them. They are here treated as subspecies of B. utilis: B. utilis ssp. utilis, B. utilis ssp. jacquemontii and B. utilis ssp. albosinensisBetula jinpingensis is doubtfully distinct from B. utilis. [::Range Description] This species is more or less continuously distributed from Afghanistan (Nuristan and Safed Koh) and northern Pakistan in the west, along the Himalaya and through the western Chinese Heng Duan mountains in northwestern Yunnan and southeastern Yunnan in the south, to Sichuan, Hubei and east to Hebei province in northern China. It is absent from the northerly refugia of Japan and the adjacent Amur-Ussuri region on the Asiatic mainland. [::Countries] Native:Afghanistan; Bhutan; China (Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tibet (or Xizang), Yunnan); India (Arunachal Pradesh, Darjiling, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Sikkim, Uttaranchal); Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Nepal; Pakistan; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan [::Population] This species is common in the Himalayas, Afghanistan and Kashmir to western China. Population density varies depending on habitat within its range. Although there are no known hard data on the population across the full range of this species, it is reported that in the Mankial Valley Hindukush Range, Pakistan, 85\,% of the population has decreased and now it remains in very few localities in this Valley. [::Habitat and Ecology] A tree to 20 m, this species often grows at high altitudes, frequently on slopes with unstable soils or under high snow pressure. In the Himalayas it is found at high altitude temperate forest amongst Abies, Alnus, Pinus,~Quercus and Tsuga. Seedlings have been found on disturbed ground and~on the rotten trunks of fallen trees. At higher altitudes (3,000 m asl) it is found in groves and closer groupings. In the Outer Himalayas it occurs in a mixed forest at all exposures, frequently among scattered conifers, with an undergrowth of shrubs, for example~Rhododendron. In the drier Inner Himalayas pure stands of this species are encountered on north-facing (shady) slopes.~This species grows in forests with minimal precipitation because these forests do not rely on the monsoon rains, but are supplied by snow melt. The typical bent growth of Betula utilis~is caused by snow pressure. [::Use and Trade] This species is a valuable timber tree of commercial importance. The wood is hard, dense and rather~brittle, with the heartwood pinkish or light reddish brown, with a silky~lustre. The wood is used for various building purposes; bridges are made of the branches, and the trees are lopped for fodder. The main use of this species is for fuel.~In Pakistan the leaves are used as fodder for cattle.~In the past, the outer bark was a substitute for paper, mainly for the inscription of religious texts. Today this 'paper' continues to have many uses, such as for packaging, roof construction, making umbrella covers, as a bandage, cigarette paper, and for various religious Hindu ceremonies.~This tree is regarded as a sacred plant in the Himalaya region. Parts of the tree have medicinal uses; the bark has carminative and antiseptic properties and an infusion of it is given for hysteria, part of the bark is applied to cuts, wounds and burns, and water boiled with bark is taken in cases of jaundice and used as drops to relieve earache. A paste of the resin is applied to boils. People in the Kumaon region of Utter Pradesh, India, west of Nepal, use the resin for contraceptive purposes. [::Major Threat(s)] The main threat to this species is over exploitation as it is a high value medicinal plant.~In the Mankial Valley Hindukush Range, Pakistan, 85\,% of the population has decreased and now it remains in very few localities in the Valley.
@incollection{shawBetulaUtilisVersion2014,
  title = {Betula Utilis - {{Version}} 2014.3},
  booktitle = {The {{IUCN Red List}} of {{Threatened Species}}},
  author = {Shaw, K. and Roy, S. and Wilson, B.},
  year = {2014},
  pages = {194535/0+},
  abstract = {[Excerpt] This species has a wide distribution and is common. However, it is exploited for its medicinal uses and over exploitation is particularly high in parts of its range. It is not thought that these threats are large enough to impact upon the species across its whole range. In the Chinese Red List (2014) this species is assessed as Least Concern. It is assessed here as Least Concern. [::Common Name(s)] [::]English - Himalayan Birch [::Taxonomic Notes] Betula utilis, B. jacquemontii and B. albosinensis, are clearly closely related, and have been recognised in the past as separate species, subspecies or varieties. All are tetraploid and, although the extremes are very different, it is often difficult to distinguish between them. They are here treated as subspecies of B. utilis: B. utilis ssp. utilis, B. utilis ssp. jacquemontii and B. utilis ssp. albosinensisBetula jinpingensis is doubtfully distinct from B. utilis. [::Range Description] This species is more or less continuously distributed from Afghanistan (Nuristan and Safed Koh) and northern Pakistan in the west, along the Himalaya and through the western Chinese Heng Duan mountains in northwestern Yunnan and southeastern Yunnan in the south, to Sichuan, Hubei and east to Hebei province in northern China. It is absent from the northerly refugia of Japan and the adjacent Amur-Ussuri region on the Asiatic mainland. [::Countries] Native:Afghanistan; Bhutan; China (Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tibet (or Xizang), Yunnan); India (Arunachal Pradesh, Darjiling, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Sikkim, Uttaranchal); Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Nepal; Pakistan; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan [::Population] This species is common in the Himalayas, Afghanistan and Kashmir to western China. Population density varies depending on habitat within its range. Although there are no known hard data on the population across the full range of this species, it is reported that in the Mankial Valley Hindukush Range, Pakistan, 85\,\% of the population has decreased and now it remains in very few localities in this Valley. [::Habitat and Ecology] A tree to 20 m, this species often grows at high altitudes, frequently on slopes with unstable soils or under high snow pressure. In the Himalayas it is found at high altitude temperate forest amongst Abies, Alnus, Pinus,~Quercus and Tsuga. Seedlings have been found on disturbed ground and~on the rotten trunks of fallen trees. At higher altitudes (3,000 m asl) it is found in groves and closer groupings. In the Outer Himalayas it occurs in a mixed forest at all exposures, frequently among scattered conifers, with an undergrowth of shrubs, for example~Rhododendron. In the drier Inner Himalayas pure stands of this species are encountered on north-facing (shady) slopes.~This species grows in forests with minimal precipitation because these forests do not rely on the monsoon rains, but are supplied by snow melt. The typical bent growth of Betula utilis~is caused by snow pressure. [::Use and Trade] This species is a valuable timber tree of commercial importance. The wood is hard, dense and rather~brittle, with the heartwood pinkish or light reddish brown, with a silky~lustre. The wood is used for various building purposes; bridges are made of the branches, and the trees are lopped for fodder. The main use of this species is for fuel.~In Pakistan the leaves are used as fodder for cattle.~In the past, the outer bark was a substitute for paper, mainly for the inscription of religious texts. Today this 'paper' continues to have many uses, such as for packaging, roof construction, making umbrella covers, as a bandage, cigarette paper, and for various religious Hindu ceremonies.~This tree is regarded as a sacred plant in the Himalaya region. Parts of the tree have medicinal uses; the bark has carminative and antiseptic properties and an infusion of it is given for hysteria, part of the bark is applied to cuts, wounds and burns, and water boiled with bark is taken in cases of jaundice and used as drops to relieve earache. A paste of the resin is applied to boils. People in the Kumaon region of Utter Pradesh, India, west of Nepal, use the resin for contraceptive purposes. [::Major Threat(s)] The main threat to this species is over exploitation as it is a high value medicinal plant.~In the Mankial Valley Hindukush Range, Pakistan, 85\,\% of the population has decreased and now it remains in very few localities in the Valley.},
  keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13621353,betula-utilis,conservation,forest-resources,iucn,iucn-least-concern-lc},
  lccn = {INRMM-MiD:c-13621353}
}

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