MoisttemperateandsubtropicalforestsofKashmirareveryimportantecological zones of western Himalayas. Local forest reserves are the most important natural resource of the area being the only source of fuelwood, timber, medicinal plants and livestock forage for the mountain communities. The forest cover of area has experienced about 75% decline duetomultidimensionalsocio‐economicandenvironmentalfactors.Areadeserves immediate and special attention for conservation and sustainable use of forest ecosystem. Present study was conducted in forest and alpines of Bagh district, Azad Jammu & Kashmir to investigate species distribution patterns, community structure, diversity, ethnomedicinal practices and anthropogenic pressure. 18 villages in upper and lower valleys of study area weresurveyedtoinvestigatethecommunitydependenceaswellasutilizationofforest ecosystem including herd size, grazing area, fuel wood consumption, timber extraction and ethnomedicinal practices. 13 moist temperate, 3 subtropical and 4 alpine sites were studied indetailbyusingstratifiedsystematicsamplingtocollecttheprimaryspeciesdata, geographical characteristics and anthropogenic interactions. A total of 171 species belonging to 56 plant families were recorded from the area. TreelayerwasdominatedbymembersofPinaceae(Abiespindrow(12%IVI),Pinus Wallichiana (6%), Quercus dilatata (2%), Quercus incana (1.7%) & P. roxburghii (3%)); shrub layerbyViburnumgrandiflorum(5%)&Sarcoccocasaligna(3%);whereasherblayerwas dominatedbyPoaceaegrasses(Poaalpina(6%),P.pratensis(4%)&Arthraxonprinioides (2%)) and herbslike Sibbaldia cunneata (2%), Fragaria nubicola (3%) and Trifolium repens (2%). Population showed a uniform monotonic response about the use of medicinal plants. Atotalof94plantspecieswerereportedofhavingethnomedicinalutilizationinlocal communities. Area population showed an average family size of 9; herd size, 3; land holding 2.2acres;andgrazingareaof0.41acres/cattle.Annualfuelwoodconsumptionof10.2 metric tons/household; 2.97 kg/capita/day was recorded in the area. Timber consumption of 288.4 cft/house hold was recorded in post 2005 earthquake reconstruction activities with a further demand of 139.5 cft per household. Forest stands showed an average basal area of 69.01m2andtreedensityof190/ha.Animmensetreefellingactivitywasindicatedbyan average stem/stump ratio of just 1.62. Retarded forest regeneration patterns was indicated by a seedling count of 124/ha. Species richness for the whole area averaged 36; Simpson’s diversity,0.91;Shannon‐Wiener’sdiversity,1.82;Menhinick’sdiversity,1.34;Species evenness, 0.51; and Degree of community maturity, 45. A persistent grazing pressure along with significant erosion activity was observed at all the sites. Theimpactofenvironmentalfactors(altitude,aspect,slope)alongwith anthropogenicdisturbancestimuli(Treefelling,erosion,fuelwoodextraction,overgrazing) on vegetation dynamics was investigated and correlated by multivariate analyses (CCA). CCA showed a total inertia of 3.308 accounting for 88.7% of species‐environmental correlation. Altitudeanddistancefromthedisturbancestimuliappearedtobethemainfactors controlling species distribution patterns. Thequantitativephytosociologicalattributesandregenerationpatternoflocal forestsandalpineswerefoundtobefarlessthantheotherHimalayanregionsinIndia, Kashmir, China and Nepal, indicating high anthropogenic pressure and disturbed community structure. The favourite fuelwood speciesandrare medicinalherbs are facinga persistent exploitation which can lead to their local extinction from the area. Governmental authorities donothaveanyconservationpolicyforthenativefloraandforestreserveswhichis resulting in continuous depletion of already under pressure forest. It is the need of hour to develop and implement a practical conservation management policy for the sustainable use of local forest reserves, so that they can be protected, rehabilitated and preserved for the future generations.