The Sixth Interdisciplinary Biogeographic Expedition of the St. Petersburg Association of Scientists & Scholars to the Western Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India (October 2022)

Abstract

A biogeographic expedition to the state of Himachal Pradesh (India) in October 2022 is briefl y described. It was organized by the Center for Himalayan Research of the St. Petersburg Association of Scientists & Scholars (SPASS) and also took place under the auspices of the Russian Association of Researchers of the Himalaya and Tibet. In a row, this was the 6th interdisciplinary SPASS expedition to the Western Himalaya and the 4th SPASS expedition to Himachal Pradesh. Participants explored the central and eastern parts of this state. Particular interest was shown in the transition zone from the Indus basin (Sutlej River and tributaries) to the Ganges basin (Tons River and tributaries). Observations were made in the fi eld of botany, zoology (herpetology, ornithology, entomology) and veterinary science. Attention was paid to the distribution of Oriental and Palearctic species of plants and animals, plant communities of various types. The vertical zonation from subtropical forest to the cold high-mountain desert near Tibet was studied.