Himalayan Alpine Vegetation, Climate Change and Mitigation

Abstract

The Himalaya are experiencing the most drastic global climate change outside of the poles, with predicted temperature increases of 5–6°C, rainfall increases of 20–30%, and rapid melting of permanent snows and glaciers. We have established a 1500 km trans-Himalayan transect across Nepal, Bhutan, and the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), China to document the effects of climate change on alpine plants and peoples. Data show that Himalayan alpine plants respond to environmental and climate change variables including elevation, precipitation, and biogeography. People use alpine plants mostly for medicines and grazing. Climate change threatens rare, endemic, and useful Himalayan plant species and is being monitored into the future. Mitigation of climate change in the Himalaya takes place, without conscious reference to climate change, through carbon negative livelihoods informed by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) including conservation of sacred sites, afforestation, tree crops, and soil carbon sequestration through incorporation of mulch and manure.