The snowmelt timing is a major factor controlling plant phenology in alpine regions. Presently, the warming is pushing forward snowmelt timing which may influence species’ seasonal cycle throughout ...the alpine landscape of Himalaya. Nevertheless, very few studies have studied the response of species’ phenology to advanced snowmelt in the Himalayas. The present study investigated different alpine species’ responses to early snowmelt present in different alpine communities. Five communities were identified and two sites were selected in each community (early snowmelt: ES, late snowmelt: LS) with a 50 × 50 m plot marked permanently for species monitoring. The observations for phenophase initiation and durations of all species were recorded fortnightly. Kruskal–Wallis test was performed to examine species-specific differences in phenophase durations. Pairwise differences were tested with Dunn’s post hoc test. The present study hypothesized early snowmelt advances and lengthens phenophases timing and duration in all alpine species. The results showed that phenophases initiations and duration were earlier and longer in ES sites for the majority of species but no significant relationship was found between snowmelt timing and species’ phenophase duration. Many species showed two distinctive phenophases (reproductive and fruiting). The divergence was higher in the reproductive phenophase than in other phenological stages. Hence, it seems that the early snowmelt is an important driver influencing the early spring phenology of herb species, the species-specific effects of already happening phenological adjustment for higher reproductive success in the current warming of alpine meadows points towards other limiting factors too that remain to be better understood.
The snow duration in high-altitude ecosystems is under pressure due to the rapid warming in Himalaya, thus bringing changes to the snowmelt regime. This study aims to assess the impact of early ...snowmelt on species composition, diversity and phenology in different alpine communities
.
Based on snowmelt timing (7–14 days), two sites, viz. early snowmelt and late snowmelt, were identified in five selected communities each, and within each site, 50 × 50 m permanent plot was marked. Twenty-five, 1 × 1 m quadrats were randomly laid within the plot to record the data on abundance and phenology of species. A total of 80 species were recorded across the sites. The early snowmelt sites had higher species diversity than late snowmelt sites in all communities. Similarly, plant density was higher in early snowmelt sites (61–527 individuals m
−2
) than in late snowmelt sites (52–548 individuals m
−2
). The initiation and duration of vegetative and reproductive phenophases of a majority of species have advanced and lengthened over the past few decades in the study area. Early snowmelt appears to influence early growing herb species’ vegetative and reproductive phenology. Some species have already advanced and lengthened their vegetative and flowering phenophases, especially those germinating immediately after the beginning of snowmelt, which could be due to the warming of meadows and less difference in diurnal changes in temperature.
Traditional knowledge (TK) in Ladakh encapsulates a repository of experimental wisdom cultivated over millennia. Despite this cultural wealth, dwindling interest among the younger generations in the ...region's age-old practices underscores the urgency to document TK. The current study investigates the diverse usage of plants in Surru, Wakha and Lower Indus valleys of Western Ladakh exploring the influence of socioeconomic and ecological factors.
A stratified random sample approach was adopted to select 540 respondents for gathering information of useful plants through interviews and questionnaires. Participant observation, questionnaires, open-ended and semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. Free listing was done to create an extensive list of plants and their uses. Ethnobotanical metrics such as relative frequency of citation (RFC), relative importance index (RI), cultural value (CV) index and cultural importance (CI) index were computed to assess species applicability. Additionally, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized to discern significant differences in knowledge levels based on valleys, gender, education and religion using TK as a response variable.
Altogether, we recorded 246 plant species under various ethnobotanical uses from Western Ladakh. These include medicinal (126), fodder (124), wild ornamentals (86), food (81), fuel wood (54), dye (20), religious (31) and others (34). Novel plant reports include Berberis brandisiana Ahrendt and Dactylorhiza kafiriana Renz. The dominant plant family is Asteraceae with 35 species. Suru valley exhibits the highest number of cited plants followed by Wakha-chu and Lower Indus valleys (192, 168 and 152 species, respectively).
Disparities in plant use understanding are evident among different groups, prompting further investigation through intercultural comparisons. Plants such as Arnebia euchroma, Juniperus semiglobosa, and Artemisia species emerge with cultural importance. Gender, valley affiliation, religious background and the remoteness of a village all influence local plant knowledge. These variations are linked to socioeconomic disparities among communities.
The present study attempts to investigate the phenological changes of herbaceous plant species in early snowmelt microsite and late snowmelt microsite in treeline ecotone (3200-3300 m asl) at ...Tungnath, western Himalaya. Four sites, each with two microsites (early snowmelt: ES and late snowmelt: LS) were selected and within each microsite, 3 quadrats (1x1m each) were permanently laid and studied for phenology. Eighty-six species were recorded, of which the proportion of perennial forbs, hemicryptophytes and natives was 90, 84 and 70%, respectively. The early phenophase was noticed in the majority of species in ES microsite than that of LS microsite and the timing of different phenophases varied among microsites. The vegetative phase peaked July (75.6%), while flowering, fruiting and seed maturation phases peaked in August (72.1% and 23.3%, respectively) and 71% species attained the senescence during September. This indicates that species might adapt to the different adaptation to a warming climate. Immediately after the snowmelt 10 species were observed in flowering, while 11 species were in the bud development phase. Comparing 13 common species of the present study with those of past in same or similar study areas indicates that timing and duration of vegetative and flowering phenophase (77% and 69%, respectively) have advanced and lengthened, while fruiting and seed maturation have shortened. Furthermore, phenophase initiation has advanced for flowering (69% species), fruiting (46% species) and senescence (38% species) phases. It seems that the early snowmelt influences spring phenology of herb species on the microsite level and may continue to influence the overall phenology of species for the whole growing season in timberline.
Forage selection decisions of herbivores are often complex and dynamic; they are modulated by multiple cues, such as quality, accessibility and abundance of forage plants. To advance the ...understanding of plant–herbivore interactions, we explored foraging behavior of the alpine lagomorph Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Pika bite counts on food plants were recorded through focal sampling in three permanently marked plots. Food plant abundance was recorded by traditional quadrat procedures; forage selection was estimated with Jacob's selection index. Multiple food-choice experiments were conducted to determine whether forage selection criteria would change with variation in food plant composition. We also analyzed leaf morphology and nutrient content in both major food plants and abundantly available non-food plants. Linear regression models were used to test competing hypotheses in order to identify factors governing forage selection. Royle's pika fed primarily on 17 plant species and each forage selection decision was positively modulated by leaf area and negatively modulated by contents of avoided substances (neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin and tannin) in food plants. Furthermore, significance of the interaction term “leaf size×avoided substance” indicates that plants with large leaves were selected only when they had low avoided substance content. The forage selection criteria did not differ between field and laboratory experiments. The parameter estimates of best fit models indicate that the influence of leaf size or amount of avoided substance on pika forage selection was modulated by the magnitude of predation risk.
Pastoralism plays an important role in the ecology of alpine habitats and the economy of rural people in some regions of India. The pastoralists move from lower altitudes of the Himalayas to higher ...alpine regions in summer and return back to lower altitude villages with the onset of autumn. The forested areas along the routes of transhumant pastoralists are affected by anthropogenic pressures, viz. grazing by livestock and tree lopping by the herders for fuelwood. To demarcate such areas and evaluate the effect of anthropogenic disturbances, a preliminary documentation of the routes is needed. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires to elucidate the information from herders visiting Niti valley, Western Himalayas. The interviews found that most of these herders had common stopovers following a similar route to the valley from their respective villages. More than 70% of herders made their transit camps at Niti village and adjoining areas. They stay there for a few days and then the majority move on to higher alpine pastures of Geldung. The rest either stay back at alpine areas near Niti or in the alpine areas adjoining Gamsali village. These stopovers are areas which experience maximum anthropogenic pressure during livestock migrations, and the vegetation is the most affected. Documentation of migration routes will help identify such areas of high pressure and develop management plans to minimize the disturbances.
This paper deals with the floristic structure and plant-community composition in relation to environmental gradients in the Tso Kar basin, an ∼300 km2 area of the Changthang plateau. A total of 131 ...sites covering various landscape units—namely, sandy plains, marsh meadows, moist meadows, scrub steppe, fell-fields, and stream courses—were intensively sampled by using random quadrats of 1 m2. In addition, these sites were searched for the presence of other vascular plants. In all, 232 species of vascular plants belonging to 38 families and 101 genera were collected and recorded from the study area. Poaceae (39 species), Asteraceae (27 species), Cyperaceae (25 species), Brassicaceae (14 species), Fabaceae (12 species), and Ranunculaceae (12 species) are the dominant families. It is interesting to note that the study area has a very high monocot:dicot ratio (1:2). Analysis of Raunkiaer's life-forms reveals that the area is dominated by two growth forms—namely, 57% hemicryptophytes (perennial grasses and sedges) and 24% chamaephytes (dwarf herbs and matted shrubs). The density of stems ranges from 28 to 744 plants per square meter. Species richness varies from 4 to 15, and diversity values are from 0.143 to 1.679. Among communities, the highest similarity (57.5%) is between Scirpus-Carex and Scirpus-Kobresia-Ranunculus. Conservation implications of the findings and the need for a participatory approach of the rangeland management are discussed.
The present paper deals with the vegetation communities and their diversity patterns in Chenab valley, the buffer zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, ...India. A total of 42 sites were selected randomly based on the landform heterogeneity of the area. Eight forest communities with overlap among vegetation types and also various plant associations were noticed through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) following PAST program and two shrub communities identified separately were, Berberis and bamboo. The range of density in various forest communities was from 203-545 trees ha-1 and total basal area from 17.5-71.7 m2 ha-1. The range of species richness of tree layer, shrub layer and herb layer was from 2-14, 1-10 and 4-14 and diversity from 0.693-2.304, 0.514-2.052 and 1.202-2.583, respectively. The distribution pattern of trees, shrubs and herbs shows that the species were evenly distributed in most of the sites and the ß-diversity of the present study area is 7.4. Rhododendron and Taxus, the undercanopy species facilitated the regeneration of Chimnobambusa falcata, while the conversion of lower girth class individuals to higher girth class individuals is steady and progressive. Though, evergreen and deciduous species had good population of seedlings and saplings, but the conversion to next girth class was very poor due to the high anthropogenic pressure. The present study reveals that the forest vegetation in Chenab valley is better than that of other parts of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, for which conservation strategies have been discussed in the paper.
Individuals of Tawny Fish-Owl (Ketupa flavipes) were sighted and photographed in a sacred grove in Zemithang, Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh during nine months fieldwork between June 2017 and ...February 2018. Previous records from ebird have only listed the occurrence of Tawny Fish-Owl from Pakke Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh. The present sighting is the first photographic evidence from Tawang district in Western Arunachal Pradesh. The record shows the importance of sacred groves in the conservation of wildlife, which is threatened due to an upcoming hydroelectric power project in the area.
The objective of forest management in the tropics, in recent decades, has shifted from timber production to biodiversity conservation and maintenance of life support system. However, past forestry ...practices have greatly influenced the structure of plant communities, preponderance of foreign invasive species, populations of high value medicinal plants as well as other non-wood forest products. We assessed the abundance and distribution of medicinal plants in managed and undisturbed forests of Dehradun Forest Division (DFD), Uttarakhand (India). A total of 80 transects (each 1 km long) were laid in various categories of forest types in DFD. This paper deals with distribution, availability and regeneration status of five commercially important species viz., Justicia adhatoda, Aegle marmelos, Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia bellirica and Terminalia chebula, across different forest types. The study reveals that open canopy forest patches, Lantana infested patches and Acacia catechu-Dalbergia sissoo (Khair -Shisam) woodlands in the eastern part of the DFD have excellent potential for the production and sustainable harvest of Justicia adhatoda. Areas those are less suitable for timber production viz., open hill forests, have greater potential for conservation and development of Aegle marmelos, Phyllanthus emblica and Terminalia bellirica. For the production and management of high value medicinal plants in the DFD these ecological considerations need to be kept in mind.