Ecological consequences of land use change: Forest structure and regeneration across the forest-grassland ecotone in mountain pastures in Nepal

Sharma, Lila Nath; Vetaas, Ole R.; Chaudhary, Ram Prasad; Måren, Inger Elisabeth

doi:10.1007/s11629-013-2849-4

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The type of land-use practice has not changed, i.e. transhumance, husbandry, agroforestry and grazing, but the intensity has reduced substantially due to outmigration of local people (CBS 2014;Bal Kumar 2003;Sharma et al 2014a). In contrast, there has been no discernible shift of the tree limit in the control area (a change of 1 m is less than the error in the estimation of elevation).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land-use change under a warming climate facilitated upslope expansion of Himalayan silver fir (Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach)

Suwal

Shrestha²,

Guragain³

et al. 2016

Plant Ecol

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Global warming is triggering some species to shift towards the poles or higher elevations, but spatial translocation is also influenced by land-use regime or intensity. The Himalayan climate is getting warmer and land use has changed, reducing in intensity in some areas. We estimated the upper species limit (USL) and tree limit of Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach and assessed whether these have changed over recent years. We hypothesise an upslope shift in response to enhanced temperature and changes in land-use intensity. Our four transects were located in treeline ecotones of two protected areas in Nepal, namely Manaslu Conservation Area (3 transects) and Gaurishankar Conservation Area (1 transect). Transects (20 m wide) ran from the USL of A. spectabilis down towards the treeline and beyond to the forest line. Length of each transect varied depending on local conditions. Co-ordinates, elevation, height and age of each A. spectabilis individual along the transects were recorded. We noted an upward shift of both the USL and the tree limit. The rate of shift was ca. 20 m per decade for the USL and 12 m per decade for the tree limit in the area of reduced land-use intensity and in the area with no change in land use, 5 m per decade for the USL, but almost nil for tree limit. The seedling density was higher below the treeline than above. Reduced intensity of land use was the dominant factor in upslope shift of A. spectabilis at both the USL and the tree limit.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land-use change under a warming climate facilitated upslope expansion of Himalayan silver fir (Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach)

Suwal

Shrestha²,

Guragain³

et al. 2016

Plant Ecol

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“…The results also showed a gradual decline in Austroeupatorium and tree seeds from the FGE towards the open grassland, indicating a facilitative effect of Austroeupatorium cover for the establishment of forest species in these degraded grasslands. Previous studies claimed that ecotones (spatial transition or boundary zone between two adjacent communities) are speciesrich due to favorable microhabitat conditions, which differ from the adjoining communities (Odum, 1971;Sharma et al, 2014). However, this occurrence cannot be generalized as a consistent feature among all ecotones that exist between different land use types (Kark and van Rensburg, 2006;Walker et al, 2003;Lloyd et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Austroeupatorium inulifolium invasion alters soil seed bank in anthropogenic grassland: a case study from Sri Lanka

2017

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Abstract:Austroeupatorium inulifolium is aggressively invading many land use types in the Knuckles Conservation Area (KCA) in Sri Lanka. The Cymbopogon nardus dominated grasslands, often demarcated by native forests, are the most vulnerable. The present study quantified the soil seed bank and the standing vegetation of these highly invaded grasslands. Forest-grassland edge (FGE) has been identified as the starting point for this invasion, and therefore sampling was carried out twice at different distances from the FGE towards the grassland (0, 10 and 30 m). The soil seed bank showed high seasonality with higher abundance and richness in the wet season than in the dry season. Interestingly, the dry season soil seed bank was dominated by native species (78%) while the wet season seed bank was dominated marginally by exotics (52%), with the highest contribution from Austroeupatorium. The scarcity of tree seedlings was noticed during the study. Austroeupatorium and tree seeds showed decreasing trends from the FGE towards the invasive grassland, and were evident in the seed bank as well as in the standing vegetation. Despite similar trends, the soil seed bank and the standing vegetation of invasive grasslands showed low similarity in terms of richness and abundance due to the dominance of a single species.The results suggest that Austroeupatorium invasion has the potential to alter the existing vegetation in these highly degraded grasslands and influences their succession over time.

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“…By most estimates, the majority of rangelands in the HKH are regularly grazed beyond their carrying capacity (Dong et al 2007;Harris 2010;Ho 2001). Overgrazing not only alters the vegetation composition, but also has other impacts such as soil erosion and degradation, declines in soil nutrient content and carbon storage, and altered stream flow regimes (Aryal et al 2015;Dong et al 2010;Sharma et al 2014;Wen et al 2013). Livestock grazing in HKH rangelands may be unsustainable (sometimes with irreversible damage to land and plant resources) not only because of total numbers of livestock, but also due to seasonality of grazing patterns, short-and long-term grazing intensities, and the composition of livestock herds (Ho 2001;).…”

Section: Unsustainable Grazingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Change to Mountain Sustainability in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Wang

Kunze

et al. 2019

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

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Ecological consequences of land use change: Forest structure and regeneration across the forest-grassland ecotone in mountain pastures in Nepal

Cited by 15 publications

References 52 publications

Land-use change under a warming climate facilitated upslope expansion of Himalayan silver fir (Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach)

Land-use change under a warming climate facilitated upslope expansion of Himalayan silver fir (Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach)

Austroeupatorium inulifolium invasion alters soil seed bank in anthropogenic grassland: a case study from Sri Lanka

Drivers of Change to Mountain Sustainability in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

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