Abstract
The spatiotemporal remotely sensed data are extremely valuable for detecting changes in vegetation cover, land use/cover classes, snow, water bodies and other terrestrial features. Mapping of tree line, vegetation line, Snow line and its shift analyses can help in better knowing the trend of climate change scenarios. The present paper deals with a change analysis pattern in tree line, alpine pastures and snow line for a period of 1972 to 2016. The study was carried out in two block i.e., Munsiyari and Dharchula of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand Himalaya using Landsat data of the listed years. The study showed that the from 1972 to 2016 there is mean increase in tree, grassland/pastures and snow line. The mean upward shift of the tree line was highest in Munsyari block (4504 m) and Dharcula block lowest (2856 m). Magnitude of upward shift in terms of elevation range showed that at many places in the Munsyari Block, the upward shift of the tree line crossed 419 m, during 44 years interval. Grassland are found at an elevation of 1400-5754 m interval during 1972, 1523-5780 m interval during 1998 and 1742-6090 m interval during 2016. This included great expanses of pure meadows (grasslands), flowering herbs and scattered miscellaneous vegetation. The vegetation near the snow line and in the proximity of the glaciers was rather thin, scattered, apart from the mosses and lichens. The snowline during 1972 is an elevation of 2939 m, 2991 m for 1998 and 3132 m for 2016.
Highlights
Alpine pasture/grassland, meadows or Bugyals, in higher elevation range between 3,300 m (10,800 ft) and 4,000 m (13,000 ft) of the Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, where they are called "nature’s own gardens”
This study confirms that there is an upward shift of vegetation in the alpine zone of the Himalayas
The present study proposes the spatiotemporal study of alpine meadows of Pithoragarh district which is one of the district of Uttarakhand state
Summary
Alpine pasture/grassland, meadows or Bugyals, in higher elevation range between 3,300 m (10,800 ft) and 4,000 m (13,000 ft) of the Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, where they are called "nature’s own gardens”. The topography of the terrain is either flat or sloped. The surface of these Bugyals is covered with natural green grass and seasonal flowers. They are used by tribal herdsmen to graze their cattle. During the winter season the alpine meadows remain snowcovered. The Bugyals present a riot of beautiful flowers and grass. As Bugyals constitute very fragile ecosystems, particular attention needs to be given for their conservation
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