Chandra Prakash Kala

Abstract

The alpine meadows of the Uttaranchal Himalayas are well known for rich floral and faunal diversity. In order to study the alpine meadows of Uttaranchal Himalayas, the Valley of Flowers National Park (VOF; protected from livestock grazing) and the Khiron Valley (seasonally grazed by livestock) were selected. This paper reports plant community composition and species diversity in the VOF and Khiron Valley using stratified random quadrats of 0.25 m². TWINSPAN was used for identifying the plant communities and Shannon Wiener Index (H') was used for species diversity. The central valley portion in the VOF that falls between 3,300-3,700m elevations obtained 9 plant communities whereas the Khiron Valley, located at similar elevation, obtained only 7 plant communities. In VOF, species diversity was higher (H'=2.93) than the Khiron Valley (H'=2.77). Plant species diversity decreased with elevation in both protected and unprotected alpine meadows. The results are discussed along with the management implications.

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Chandra Prakash Kala

Abstract

Phenology of alpine plants was studied in the sub-alpine and alpine zone of the Valley of Flowers National Park and Hemkund, located in the Western Himalayas. Transects were laid in both the areas and monitored for phenology at every 30 days interval. A total of 95 flowering plant species were found on the transects, of which 84% were forbs, 14% were evergreen shrubs and undershrubs, and remaining 2% were grasses and sedges. The vegetative phase peaked in June and from the same month flowering phase also increased in the valley. July and August were the best months for flowering. The prominent vegetative phase peaked earlier (in June) in the cushion forming forbs than in other forms. The growing season was longest at lower altitudes and decreased with increasing altitude from sub-alpine forest to alpine meadows.

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