Climate change causes an unprecedented increase in glacial retreats. The melting ice exposes land for colonization and diversification of bacterial communities leading to soil development, changes in ...plant community composition, and ecosystem functioning. Although a few studies have focused on macro-level deglaciation impacts, little is known about such effects on the bacterial community succession. Here, we provide meta-barcoding-based insight into the ecological attributes of bacterial community across different retreating periods of the Gangotri glacier, western Himalaya. We selected three sites along a terminal moraine representing recent (~ 20 yrs), intermediate (~ 100 yrs), and late (~ 300 yrs) deglaciation periods. Results showed that the genus
Mycobacterium
belonging to phylum
Actinobacteria
dominated recently deglaciated land. Relative abundance of these pioneer bacterial taxa decreased by 20–50% in the later stages with the emergence of new and rising of the less abundant members of the phyla
Proteobacteria
,
Firmicutes
,
Planctomycetes
,
Acidobacteria
,
Verrucomicrobia
, Candidatus TM6, and
Chloroflexi.
The community in the recent stage was less rich and harbored competitive interactions, while the later stages experienced a surge in bacterial diversity with cooperative interactions. The shift in α-diversity and composition was strongly influenced by soil organic carbon, carbon to nitrogen ratio, and soil moisture content. The functional analyses revealed a progression from a metabolism focused to a functionally progressive community required for bacterial co-existence and succession in plant communities. Overall, the findings indicate that the bacterial communities inhabit, diversify, and develop specialized functions post-deglaciation leading to nutrient inputs to soil and vegetation development, which may provide feedback to climate change.
Presently, it is debated if regional conservation efforts can alone resolve the ecological problems that global climatic changes could bring. Biological invasion is one of such concerns. In the ...present study, we modeled how change in global climate and regional anthropogenic pressure can impact the distribution of invasive
Lantana camara
in the Upper Ganga valley of the Western Himalaya (India). The forest in the study area was stratified into 1 km
2
grid and two 15 m radius plot were located in each of the forest types in the grid, for recording Lantana presence. In total, 2221 plots were sampled covering 22% of forest. We used predictors representing the climate, forest patch size, fire and natural disaster variables for modeling the species distribution using maximum entropy algorithm. We further simulated 12 future landscape scenarios based on the global trends of these parameters. The present species—environment relationship was projected to these future landscape scenarios. Lantana was presently estimated to spread in 231 km
2
of the study area. It invaded larger forest patches in the sub-tropical region, and smaller disturbed forest patches in the warm and cold temperate region. Increased distribution of Lantana was projected across all the future scenarios. The study revealed how global climate changes and regional anthropogenic pressure can have a synergistic effect on the expansion of invasive species in the future. It thus questions the efficiency of conducting only regional efforts in absence of global initiative to reduce the greenhouse gases emission.
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.
Differences in the number of alien plant species in different locations may reflect climatic and other controls that similarly affect native species and/or propagule pressure accompanied with delayed ...spread from the point of introduction. We set out to examine these alternatives for Himalayan plants, in a phylogenetic framework. We build a database of alien plant distributions for the Himalaya. Focusing on the well‐documented regions of Jammu & Kashmir (west) and Bhutan (east) we compare alien and native species for (1) richness patterns, (2) degree of phylogenetic clustering, (3) the extent to which species‐poor regions are subsets of species‐rich regions and (4) continental and climatic affinities/source. We document 1470 alien species (at least 600 naturalised), which comprise ~14% of the vascular plants known from the Himalaya. Alien plant species with tropical affinities decline in richness with elevation and species at high elevations form a subset of those at lower elevations, supporting location of introduction as an important driver of alien plant richness patterns. Separately, elevations which are especially rich in native plant species are also rich in alien plant species, suggesting an important role for climate (high productivity) in determining both native and alien richness. We find no support for the proposition that variance in human disturbance or numbers of native species correlate with alien distributions. Results imply an ongoing expansion of alien species from low elevation sources, some of which are highly invasive.
Several reasons have been proposed for why alien species richness patterns vary across the globe, but they are rarely compared in a comprehensive test. Here we build a complete database of Himalayan alien plant species and show that both location of introduction and climate per se are likely important in explaining elevational and geographical patterns of species diversity.
The Sowa-rigpa system of traditional healing has been practiced from time immemorial in western Ladakh but its existence is in jeopardy today. Documentation of information on various aspects of this ...system such as treatment methods, materials used for medicine and socio-cultural aspects is needed to ensure the long-term survival of this system.
Extensive field surveys were conducted from March 2009 to June 2011 in three different Valleys of the Kargil district. Interviews with traditional healers, village heads and local people were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires and participatory observations to assess the current status of traditional medicine system. Plant specimens were collected from the field for identification and herbarium preparation which were later deposited in herbaria for future reference.
160 plants were recorded to be used by traditional healers of Western Ladakh. Traditional healing system (THS) is taking care of 30% of public healthcare. Only 36 traditional healers are left in this region of which 67% was found along the Wakha-chu Valley, followed by the Lower Indus Valley (17%) and the SuruValley (16%). The transfer of knowledge to the next generation is very low (25%) in Kargil. Low income and continuously deteriorating social status of healers has contributed to the decline of this system.
Lack of interest in young generation in adopting this system may pose a threat to the survival of Sowa-rigpa. Integration of this system with the modern healthcare system and more government support may prove effective to enhance its deteriorating conditions.
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Payment for ecosystem services (PES) has emerged as a promising tool to participatory natural resource management and sharing of benefits among the stakeholders. However, very few successful models ...of PES are available for replication. This study deals with an analysis of a PES model currently operational in the Dhauladhar Range, Western Himalaya, where upstream villagers are paid for maintaining the spring-shed that supplies drinking water to the downstream township. To understand the flow of various ecosystem services (ES), institutional mechanism, and governance, we conducted an in-depth analysis of this project. The study identified lack of monitoring and weak governance as factors affecting smooth operation of PES. To revamp the PES model more effectively at the present and new sites in future stakeholder integration, valuation of ES and inputs in terms of capacity building of primary and secondary stakeholders would be critical.
The geographical patterns of species richness and underlying mechanisms are among the central issues of ecology. The Himalaya, a global biodiversity hotspot, lacks spatially explicit representation ...of plant richness patterns and predictor environmental covariates. The rugged Himalayan terrain limits large-scale field surveys, we, therefore, disentangle the role of remotely sensed environmental proxies for characterization of Plant Functional Types (PFTs) and prediction of plant richness in an alpine area in Western Himalaya. Alpine plant richness was recorded in cluster plots (10 random quadrants of 1 m
2
in approximately 1-ha area) across 97 sites in Pithoragarh district in part of the Western Himalaya (India). The dominant PFTs were mapped based on support vector machine classification of Landsat 8 image. The satellite-derived climate, landscape, and topographic variables were correlated to plant richness using generalized linear model (GLM) with poisson distribution to unravel species richness-environment linkages in the study area. The dominant PFTs mapped were herbaceous meadow,
Danthonia
grassland,
Kobresia
sedge meadow, moist scrub, and dry scrub. The GLM based plant richness model explained 70% variation in alpine plant richness. The environmental factors such as vegetation vigor, elevation, landscape diversity and moisture were observed to influence alpine plant richness of the study area. The study presents a valuable baseline spatial database for judicious management of alpine plant resources and climate change studies.
The local environment defines the traditional designs and color of buildings in remote wilderness areas. Color, an integral element of the traditional architecture, is related to the culture, ...experience, perception, and beliefs, which forms a part of the traditional knowledge of the user. Some ethnic groups have been using some specific color patterns in their houses for generations, which have been carried forward in their traditions and customs. Recognizing this, a study to document the color preference and motivations for the preference of specific colors by an ethnic community residing in the interior valleys of western Himalaya was conducted. By group discussions, 13 indicators, which further merged into five motivation categories, were identified. Semistructured interviews (n = 159) were conducted to assess the perception of selected ethnic groups toward color preference. This study reveals that color preference in architecture is influenced by psychological and sociocultural reasons that vary with gender and age classes.
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