Floristic Diversity of the Himalaya in Relation to Climate Change: Status, Values and Conservation

Abstract

The Himalayan region is very well known for the unique ecosystems. TheIndian Himalayan Region (IHR) forms the major part of the Himalayanregion. The vegetation along an altitudinal gradient comprises of tropical,sub-tropical, temperate, sub-alpine and alpine types and supports a greatvariety of forests with unique species that vary from east to west and from lowto high altitudes. The present study is based on the review of literature andsurveys in some parts of the IHR. A total of 10,503 species (10,452 speciesof Angiosperms and 51 species of Gymnosperms) are reported from theHimalayan region. The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) represents 18,940species of plants representing Angiosperms, Gymnosperms, Pteridophytes,Bryophytes, Lichens, and Fungi. A total of 6745 species of Angiosperms (604trees, 1049 shrubs & 5092 herbs) belonging to 225 families, 1768 genera arerecorded from the Trans, North-West and West Himalaya based on surveysand review of literature. Diversity of the orchids, medicinal plants, wild edi-bles, other economically important plants, factors affecting floristic diversity,impact of climate change and conservation initiatives have been discussed.