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HIMALAYA
Home to the world’s highest mountains, including Mt.
Everest. The mountains rise abruptly, resulting in a
diversity of ecosystems that range from alluvial
grasslands and subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine
meadows above the tree line.
Overview
Where?
Stretching in an arc over 3,000 kilometres of
northern Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the
northwestern and north-eastern states of
India
Basic Info!
Ecosystem
• The forest types vary across the expanse
• Scrubs, subtropical dry evergreen, dry deciduous forests.
• The abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mountains from less than 500
meters to more than 8,000 meters results in a diversity of
ecosystems that range, in only a couple of hundred kilometres,
from alluvial grasslands (among the tallest in the world) and
subtropical broadleaf forests along the foothills to temperate
broadleaf forests in the mid hills, mixed conifer and conifer forests
in the higher hills, and alpine meadows above the tree line.
• The timber line varies from west to east due to the weather
conditions. The monsoon falls in the western parts
Climate
• Other than the obvious cold mountains...
• Rainfall varies from east to west, 2000mm,
most rainfall from monsoons are expended in
the east- leaving drier conditions in the west.
Biodiversity- Plants
• Of the estimated 10,000 species of plants in the
Himalaya hotspot, about 3,160 are endemic, as are
71 genera.
• The largest family of flowering plants in the hotspot
is the Orchidacea, with 750 species
Biodiversity- Vertebrates, Mammals..
• About 300 mammal species have been recorded in the
Himalayas, including a dozen that are endemic to the hotspot.
Red panda
(Firefox)
endemic to
Himalaya’s,
Nepal, Bhutan,
S China and
Burma.
Biodiversity-Vertebrates, Mammals...
• Nearly 980 birds have been recorded in the hotspot, but only
15 are endemic.
the chestnut-breasted partridge- endemic
to Himalaya’s
Human Impacts
• In recent years deforestation in the foothills and the Middle Himalayas and
overgrazing on the high pastures have led to soil erosion and other
environmental problems.
• Today, remaining habitat in the Himalaya is patchy. The steadily increasing
population in the hotspot has led to extensive clearing of forests and
grasslands for cultivation, and widespread logging.
• Other threats to biodiversity and forest integrity include mining, the
construction of roads and large dams, and pollution due to the use
of agrochemicals.
Conservation
• Today, several protected areas — Corbett National Park, Manas
National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Chitwan National Park, and
Sagarmatha National Park — have been distinguished as World
Heritage Sites for their contribution to global biodiversity.
• In Nepal, 21 protected areas cover at least 26,666 km² of land.
Chitwan, which was established as the country’s first national park
in 1973, is well known for its tiger and greater one-horned
rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis, EN) populations.
• Investment in biodiversity conservation in the Himalayan Region
comes primarily from national governments, bilateral and
multilateral agencies, and international and regional NGOs.