Abstract
The timberline ecotone experiences a large number of micro-habitats manifested by the action of snow, wind, topography, aspect and anthropogenic pressures and exhibits a sharp ecological gradient of biotic and abiotic components. These changes in micro-habitat, such as compaction of soil, replacement of herbs with grasses and consequent increase in root growth, impede the growth of tree species and affected the sensitive taxa at timberline. During baseline information collection on the structure and composition of timberline vegetation at a timberline ecotone in outer fringes of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, we came across all three species of Cypripedium at a single site, i.e. birch (Betula utilis) forest. This is the first report of these three species (C. cordigerum, C. elegans and C. himalaicum) occurring at a single locality.
Highlights
Co-occurrence of all three species at one site implies that the micro-habitat conditions at the site are congenial for the growth of these species and vegetation structure as well populations of these three taxa
Pithoragarh RudraprayagDibrugheta to Deodi, 3700-3800 Dibrugeta & Phari ki dhar (Nanda Devi NP), 3750 Byans Garbyang Tungnath, 3365 Kedarnath, 3800
Summary
A unique patch of timberline ecotone with three species of Lady’s slipper orchids in Garhwal Himalaya, India. The timberline forms one of the most prominent ecological boundaries in the Himalaya that marks the upper limit of the forest vegetation between 3300-3600 m in the Western Himalaya and 3600-4000 m in the Eastern Himalaya, and represents an ecotone between the subalpine and alpine zone. The timberline ecotone marks a gradual recession from close canopy forests to stunted forests or krummholtz along the increasing gradient of altitude and exhibits a sharp ecological gradient of biotic and abiotic components. This zone experiences the climate of temperate as well as alpine region and creates a large number of micro-habitats manifested by the action of snow, wind, topography, aspect and anthropogenic pressures.
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