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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.