"Tree Species assemblages, stand structure and regeneration in an old-growth mixed conifer forest in Kawang, western Bhutan" Thesis by Attila Biró was defended in this year. He explored the temperate conifer forests of Bhutan. These conifer forests are key habitats for numerous endangered and highly vulnerable species, such as Eastern Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana), coffin juniper (Juniperus recurva var. coxii), red panda (Ailurus fulgens), bengali tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), satyr tragopan (Tragopan satyra) or Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus). High variability of climatic, topographic and edaphic conditions in the Himalaya lead to remarkable compositional heterogeneity within the temperate conifer zone in Bhutan. However, the currently used classification system of high altitude conifer forest types is based on predominant species, according to the vegetation zones devided by Grierson and Long (1983). This conventional classification distinguishes blue pine, fir, hemlock, spruce and juniper-rhododendron temperate coniferous forest types.
