Environmental variables vis-a-vis distribution of herbaceous tracheophytes on northern sub-slopes in Western Himalayan ecotone

Abstract

Background: In the northern hemisphere, the north face of the mountains has a high diversity of species which is attributed to the moist and shady conditions at the north face. Other environmental variables may also influence the species diversity on the northern faces of the mountain and therefore needs to be studied in detail. The northern slopes represent three different sub-slopes-north, north east, and north west. During the current investigation of Pir-Panjal and Dauladhar ranges in Bhadarwah valley, fine-scale studies on the relationship between vegetation and four variables (soil pH, moisture content, electrical conductivity, and steepness) were conducted. The study determined the role of these variables on the vegetation of three different sub-slopes. The sampling was done at the confluence of two communities (forest and grassland) at three sites on the northern sub-slopes of the lesser stratum in western Himalayan. Results: The result revealed that rich herbaceous diversity prevails on the lesser Himalayan stratum (Bhadarwah valley). As many as 65.8% species differ from site to site, whereas species commonality among the sites is minimum. The role of environmental variables on the species composition at different sub-slopes of the north mountain face is deduced through canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Conclusions: The availability of solar light increases air and soil temperature on the north east-facing slope. All the environmental variables (soil pH, moisture, electrical conductivity, and mountain steepness) are insignificant at pure north face for the species composition. Therefore, it can be concluded that some other environmental variables may influence the species composition which are needed to be further investigated.

Soil C, N and P stocks and stoichiometry under different vegetation on the surface of the Leshan Giant Buddha

“…The mutual promotion of plants and soils often exacerbates the weathering of the open-air stone, thus threatening the stone carved landscape. Nevertheless, due to the uneven distribution of stone carved landscape structures and the complexity of the micro-environment, there are significant differences in environmental conditions and resource levels in varying locations (Arellano et al, 2016;Pandita et al, 2019). Although the fact that many open-air stone carved landscapes are blessed with strong artistic value and religious meaning (Twilley 2006;Pillans and Fifield 2013;Waragai 2016;Lawonn et al, 2017;Lebedeva and Brantley 2017), far less information has been documented for the stocks of soil organic matter and nutrients based on current literature.…”

Distinct microbial communities across a climatically versatile summit in the Lesotho highlands

“…Consequently, soils retain less moisture, and vegetation is generally more tolerant to warmer and drier conditions on north‐facing slopes than on opposing south‐facing slopes (Måren et al, 2015; Paudel & Vetaas, 2014). In contrast, south‐facing slopes retain moisture for longer and are cooler, supporting more shade and moisture‐tolerant vegetation (Erdős et al, 2012; Pandita et al, 2019). These variations in species composition and richness of vegetation across mountain slope aspects also affect the quality and quantity of litter and organic matter available within the soil (Jakšić et al, 2021; Xue et al, 2018).…”

Predicting the potential distribution of Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo-an important medicinal orchid in the West Himalaya, under multiple climate change scenarios

“…However, in the Himalayas, a 1.5˚C temperature increase was documented in the final quarter (i.e., of the twentieth century [9], with warming potentially reaching 5˚C by the end of the twenty-first century [9,10]. This rise is alarming because Himalayan floras are alienated to specific elevation gradient/microhabitat conditions [3,11]. The shift in the climatic envelope is expected to bring significant change in the resident species habitat conditions, leading to changes in species richness, population structure, and those unable to cope are likely to face local extinction [1][2][3].…”