Article Changes in Soil Chemistry and Foliar Metabolism of Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus deodara) and Himalayan Spruce (Picea smithiana) along an Elevational Gradient at Kufri, HP, India: The Potential Roles of Regional Pollution and Localized Grazing Rakesh Minocha 1,* , Alexandra R. Contosta 2, Gregory B. Lawrence 3 , Ravinder K. Kohli 4,†, Subhash C. Minocha 5 and Stephanie Long 1 1 USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, NE-4505, Durham, NH 03824, USA;
[email protected] 2 Earth Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA;
[email protected] 3 U.S. Geological Survey, New York Water Science Center, Troy, NY 12180, USA;
[email protected] 4 Botany Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160011, India;
[email protected] 5 Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +1-603-868-7622 † Present address: Vice-Chancellor, Amity University, Mohali 140306, Punjab, India. Citation: Minocha, R.; Contosta, Abstract: We investigated changes in soil chemistry and foliar metabolism of Himalayan cedar A.R.; Lawrence, G.B.; Kohli, R.K.; [Cedrus deodara (Roxb. Ex Lamb.) G.Don] and Himalayan spruce [Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss] Minocha, S.C.; Long, S. Changes in trees along a steep elevational gradient in the lower Himalayan Mountains at Kufri, Himachal Soil Chemistry and Foliar Metabolism Pradesh (HP), India. The foliar and soil samples were collected from four locations along a 300 m of Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus deodara) elevational gradient at ridge, high-, mid-, and low-elevation sites within the forested Shimla Water and Himalayan Spruce (Picea Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary that provides water for the city of Shimla, HP,.