Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
Encyclopedia
The Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude grasslands and shrublands around the world....

 ecoregion of the elevations of the northwestern Himalaya of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

Setting

Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows cover 49400 sqkm at elevations between 3300 and 3600 m (10,826.8 and 11,811 ft) in the northwestern Himalayas. They are found in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

 and Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

 in northwestern India and northern Pakistan, particularly in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

.

Flora

This ecoregion's flora is composed mostly of krummholz
Krummholz
Krummholz or Krumholtz formation — also called Knieholz — is a particular feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes. Continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds causes vegetation to become stunted and deformed...

 and herbaceous plant
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

s.

Various rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...

s live in the scrub habitat near timberline, as do juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...

s and birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...

es. Although several species of rhododendron are recorded in this ecoregion, they are represented by a lesser greater diversity than in the eastern Himalaya, where 60 species are reported in the Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
The Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle to upper elevations of the eastern Himalayas. It occurs in southeastern Tibet and northeastern India.-Setting:...

.

Genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...

 of herbaceous plants include Doronicum
Doronicum
Doronicum is a genus of the botanical family Asteraceae.-Selected species:*Doronicum altaicum*Doronicum atlanticum* Doronicum austriacum Jacq.*Doronicum briquetii* Doronicum cacaliifolium Boiss. & Heldr....

, Delphinium
Delphinium
Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The common name, larkspur, is shared with the closely related genus Consolida...

, Gentiana, Meconopsis
Meconopsis
Meconopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. The species have attractive flowers and have two distinct ranges. A single species, Meconopsis cambrica , is indigenous to England, Wales, Ireland, and the fringes of Western Europe. The other 40 or so species are found in the...

, Pedicularis, Anemone
Anemone
Anemone , is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae in the north and south temperate zones...

, Aster, Polygonum
Polygonum
Polygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...

, Primula
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...

, and Mertensia
Mertensia
Mertensia is a genus of about 40 species of perennial herbaceous plants with bell-shaped blue flowers opening from pink-tinged buds. This is one of several plants commonly called bluebell.The genus is named after the German botanist Franz Carl Mertens....

. Scree
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...

 habitats include Caragana
Caragana
Caragana is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and eastern Europe.They are shrubs or small trees growing 1-6 m tall...

, Saxifraga, Draba
Draba
Draba is a large genus of cruciferous plants, commonly known as whitlow-grasses. There are over 400 species:*Draba abajoensis Windham & Al-Shehbaz*Draba × abiskoensis O.E.Schulz*Draba × abiskojokkensis O.E.Schulz...

, and Gypsophila
Gypsophila
Gypsophila —commonly known as baby's-breath in the United States and Canada, "soap wort" in the United Kingdom, elsewhere Gypsophila—is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa. Many species are found on calcium-rich...

.

Fauna

Eighty mammals species are reported in this ecoregion. It contains prime habitat for the snow leopard and the Tibetan wolf. Other mammals include the ibex, markhor, blue sheep, tahr, and Himalayan marmot.

There are 172 bird species in this ecoregion. Important birds include the lammergeier, golden eagle, Himalayan griffon vulture, snow partridge, Tibetan snowcock, and Himalayan snowcock.

Conservation

This ecoregion is well-preserved because of high elevation, difficult climate, and lack of trees. Protected areas include:
  • Pin Valley National Park
    Pin Valley National Park
    Pin Valley National Park is a national park located in Spiti region of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The park is located in the cold desert area of the Spiti valley, in the Lahul and Spiti district within the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...

  • Great Himalayan National Park
    Great Himalayan National Park
    Great Himalayan National Park is the newest addition to India's national parks, located in Kullu region in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The park was...

  • Kishtwar National Park
    Kishtwar National Park
    Kishtwar National Park is a national park located in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. it is bounded to the north by Rinnay river, south by Kibar Nala catchment, east by main divide of Great Himalaya and west by Marwa river....


External links

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