Indian Himalayan Region Research Articles

CAUSES, IMPACTS & MITIGATION MEASURES FOR FLASH FLOODS IN INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION

The Himalayas is the crown of India but Because of its inherent characteristics and climatic conditions, the young Indian Himalayan region is vulnerable to a variety of natural disasters. Risks include varying degrees of earthquake severity, floods or flash floods, and glacial lake eruptions. The Uttarakhand flash flood of 2013 caused by a glacial lake outburst is considered the worst disaster of the decade. Flash flood 2021 Chamoli (Uttarakhand) caused by an avalanche, Amarnath flash flood July 2022 caused by a cloud burst, Leh flash flood 2010 caused by a cloud burst are some recent examples of flash floods in the Indian Himalayan region which shows that flash floods are getting frequent in hilly regions. The best use and exploitation of land and water resources are provided through flood risk management, which is essential for a nation's economy and sustainable development. In India, measures have been developed to lessen the negative consequences of flooding in plains by emphasizing flood risk management. However, due to the difficult terrain, restricted accessibility, and low degree of monitoring, flood risk management in hilly areas is still in its early stages. The last several decadal floods have demonstrated that only building safeguards alone could not provide sufficient safety from such catastrophes. There is a need for a such framework that can efficiently manage these calamities. The research aims to analyze the various causes that trigger flash floods in hilly regions, the consequences of such events, and their level of impact. The study discusses various guidelines, policies, and strategies for risk reduction to analyze the gap & challenges that are crucial in effective flood management. Keywords: GLOF, Flash Floods, mitigation measures, Himalayan Regions, IHR, Risk Reduction, Uttarakhand, Kedarnath,

Establishment of GLORIA sites in Indian Himalayan Region: diversity and distribution of lichens

Establishment of GLORIA sites in Indian Himalayan Region: diversity and distribution of lichens

Mapping biodiversity conservation priorities for threatened plants of Indian Himalayan Region

Mapping biodiversity conservation priorities for threatened plants of Indian Himalayan Region

Indigenous Peoples’ Psychological Wellbeing Amid Transitions in Shifting Cultivation Landscape: Evidence from the Indian Himalayas

Recent changes in the shifting cultivation landscape (SCL) of the Indian Himalayan region—a global biodiversity hotspot—is of great concern due to their implication to conservation and economic development of the region and their impact on ecosystem services as well as the wellbeing of the region’s inhabitants. The present study investigated the changes in land use in the SCL and their impact on the psychological wellbeing of the indigenous people of the region. Longitudinal data for over 15 years on land-use patterns and cross-sectional data from 481 respondents across 52 villages representing six states in India’s North East that are part of the Indian Himalayas were utilized for the study. To analyze subjective wellbeing, Cantril’s self-anchoring scale was used, followed by focused group discussions to triangulate the self-reported responses. Results reveal that the respondents were aware of the effects of landscape changes on their psychological wellbeing. These changes mostly represented a decline in shifting cultivation (SC), land ownership, food systems, social cohesion, cultural fulfillment, the diversity of cultivated native plants, and the availability of wild edible plants. Although the decline in SCL led to a gain in the area under green cover, it led to a marked decline in the diversity of cultivated and wild edible plants. This, the respondents perceived as adversely impacting their wellbeing. Empirical analysis established positive effect of SC on the psychological wellbeing of the respondents. However, a decline in SC seemed to have had an adverse impact on the perception of their wellbeing and thus increasing the migration. Therefore, optimized and ecosystem-based approaches and frameworks of socio-ecological systems are essential to harmonize the ecosystem services with wellbeing of the people.

Predicting the suitable habitats of Elwendia persica in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)

Rare, Endemic and Threatened (RET) species with naturally small populations are always at high risk of extinction, especially during the climate change process. Climate change phenomena are also identified as a strong driver in the habitat shift of many medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). The expected consequences of climate change are so dangerous that some key species can move to extinction. Therefore, the quest for suitable habitats of such species is taken as a challenge by various ecologists and conservationists. This study aims to predict the suitable habitats of Elwendia persica (Boiss.) Pimenov & Kljuykov, a threatened species for current and future climatic scenarios in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). The assessments for current and future climatic scenarios are accessed on the optimistic Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 (RCP 4.5). The MaxENT algorithm has helped to predict the suitable habitat of the species in the study area. The model has predicted 1.12%, 2.37%, and 0.98% of the total study area as highly suitable habitats in current (2000) and future (2050 and 2070) climatic scenarios. South-eastern facing slopes are considered as the most suitable areas for the species in the Indian Himalayan Region. Our results show that suitable habitats of the species may increase upto 2050, and subsequently decrease.

Diversity, endemism, indigenous uses and threat status of medicinal plants in Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh, North Western Himalaya, India

Indian Himalayan Region is known globally since the Vedic time for its rich resources. Due to less accessibility to basic facilities, communities of the Himalaya are well adopted with forests for curing various ailments. The present study has been conducted in Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh. A total of 330 medicinal plants belonging to 85 families and 263 genera were recorded. 40 species were native to the Himalayan Region and 27 species were native to the Himalayan Region and other biogeographical regions, together, 01 species was endemic, 23 species were near endemic. Leaves, roots and whole plants were utilized in majority of cases. The analysis revealed that maximum species were used for fever, skin diseases, cough, dysentery and stomach problems. Acorus calamus, Berberis asiatica, Cheilocostus speciosus, Cinnamomum tamala, Gloriosa superba, Pittosporum eriocarpum, Rauvolfia serpentina, Terminalia chebula, etc. were identified as threatened species. Due to habitat degradation, biological invasion, over-exploitation and changing environmental conditions, the populations of these medicinal plants are facing high pressures. Therefore, identification of Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs), frequent monitoring of habitats, extraction trend of medicinal plants, education, awareness and participation of the local inhabitants have been suggested.

Impacts of Hydropower on Seasonal Rhythms of Diatoms in Indian Himalayan Region

Impacts of Hydropower on Seasonal Rhythms of Diatoms in Indian Himalayan Region

Design and application of a multi-hazard risk rapid assessment questionnaire for hill communities in the Indian Himalayan region

Abstract. The Indian Himalayan region (IHR) is prone to multiple hazards and suffers great loss of life and damage to infrastructure and property every year. Poor engineering construction, unplanned and unregulated development, and relatively low awareness and capacity in communities for supporting disaster risk mitigation are directly and indirectly contributing to the risk and severity of disasters. A comprehensive review of various existing survey forms for risk assessment has found that the survey questionnaires themselves have not been designed or optimised, specifically, for hill communities. Hill communities are distinctly different from low-land communities, with distinct characteristics and susceptibility to specific hazard and risk scenarios. Previous studies have, on the whole, underrepresented the specific characteristics of hill communities, and the increasing threat of natural disasters in the IHR creates an imperative to design hill-specific questionnaires for multi-hazard risk assessment. The main objective of this study is to design and apply a hill-specific risk assessment survey form that contains more accurate information for hill communities and hill-based infrastructure and allows for the surveys to be completed efficiently and in less time. The proposed survey form is described herein and is validated through a pilot survey at several locations in the hills of Uttarakhand, India. The survey form covers data related to vulnerability to earthquake (rapid visual screening), flood, high wind, landslide, industrial, non-structural falling hazards and fire hazards in the building, and climate change. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of this study states that the proposed form has the advantages of being self-explanatory and pictorial, includes easy terminology, and is divided into various sections for better understanding by surveyors. This survey form has the weakness of being limited to specific hazards. There are opportunities for the form to be applied to other Himalayan countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. When it is applied internationally, the options available in the questions may differ. The application process confirmed that the survey questionnaire performed well and met expectations in its application. The form is readily transferrable to other locations in the IHR and could be internationalised and used throughout the Himalayas.

Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Indian common bean accessions using microsatellite markers

AbstractCommon bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important crop of family Fabaceae used as a potential source of proteins, fibres and minerals. Thus, characterization of existing germplasm is useful for improvement and conservation. The Indian Himalayan Region harbours plentiful varieties of common bean, but it is nearly unexplored till date. In the present study, physical and genetic diversity of common bean was examined. Fifteen newly designed chloroplast microsatellite (cpSSR) markers were used to assess genetic diversity and population structure in 119 common bean individuals from 20 diverse accessions gathered from Uttarakhand, India. Significantly, positive (p< 0.05) relationship of seed weight was found with seed length (r = 0.813), seed width (r = 0.692) and seed length- width ratio (r = 0.694) using Pearson correlation analysis. A total of 20 alleles were identified using eight cpSSR markers. Mean number of alleles per locus (Na = 1.55), effective allele number (Ne = 1.370), expected heterozygosity (He = 0.213), average polymorphic loci (10.9) and Shannon information index (I = 0.313) were estimated based on cpSSR data. Maximum genetic diversity (He) was recorded in the AKJ/KK/DP/Jhalla/23 accession and minimum in the AKJ/YB/PS/Supi/43 accession. Bayesian-based STRUCTURE evaluation using cpSSR-based information partitioned 20 accessions into two distinct clusters which were also supported by neighbor-joining cluster analysis. These cpSSR markers also demonstrated transferability among other members like Vigna radiata, Macrotyloma uniflorum, Glycine max, Vigna mungo of Fabaceae family, therefore can be used to monitor their genetic heterogeneity. The findings from the study might be valuable to identify elite common bean accessions for production, conservation and future breeding programmes.

Characterization and pathological analysis of Flavobacterium tructae recovered from farmed rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792), in the Indian Himalayan Region

Characterization and pathological analysis of Flavobacterium tructae recovered from farmed rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792), in the Indian Himalayan Region

Spatial Assessment of Soil Erosion Risk Using RUSLE Embedded in GIS Environment: A Case Study of Jhelum River Watershed

The watershed area of the Mangla Reservoir spans across the Himalayan region of India and Pakistan, primarily consisting of the Jhelum River basin. The area is rugged with highly elevated, hilly terrain and relatively thin vegetation cover, which significantly increases the river’s sediment output, especially during the monsoon season, leading to a decline in the reservoir’s storage capacity. This work assesses the soil erosion risk in the Jhelum River watershed (Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), Pakistan) using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation of (RUSLE). The RUSLE components, including the conservation support or erosion control practice factor (P), soil erodibility factor (K), slope length and slope steepness factor (LS), rainfall erosivity factor (R), and crop cover factor (C), were integrated to compute soil erosion. Soil erosion risk and intensity maps were generated by computing the RUSLE parameters, which were then integrated with physical factors such as terrain units, elevation, slope, and land uses/cover to examine how these factors affect the spatial patterns of soil erosion loss. The 2021 rainfall data were utilized to compute the rainfall erosivity factor (R), and the soil erodibility (K) map was created using the world surface soil map prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The slope length and slope steepness factor (LS) were generated in the highly rough terrain using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model (SRTM DEM). The analysis revealed that the primary land use in the watershed was cultivated land, accounting for 27% of the area, and slopes of 30% or higher were present across two-thirds of the watershed. By multiplying the five variables, the study determined that the annual average soil loss was 23.47 t ha−1 yr−1. In areas with dense mixed forest cover, soil erosion rates ranged from 0.23 t ha−1 yr−1 to 25 t ha−1 yr−1. The findings indicated that 55.18% of the research area has a low erosion risk, 18.62% has a medium erosion risk, 13.66% has a high risk, and 11.6% has a very high erosion risk. The study’s findings will provide guidelines to policy/decision makers for better management of the Mangla watershed.

Study of Freeze-thaw Induced Damage Characteristic for Himalayan Schist

Abstract The freeze-thaw (F-T) induced deterioration in rocks affects their durability, leading to various landslides, rockslides, and avalanches. The study focuses on estimating loss in rock strength using mineralogical properties under the influence of multiple F-T cycles. The rock samples were collected from F-T affected north Indian Himalayan region. The rock specimens were subjected to multiple F-T conditioning (0th, 10th, 20th and 30th F-T cycles). The mineralogical properties (such as mineralogical indices and textural indices) and mechanical properties (such as uniaxial compressive strength; UCS and Brazilian tensile strength; BTS) were calculated before and after F-T conditioning. A correlation was developed among the various strength properties and mineralogical properties. The result shows a strong relationship between the UCS and BTS with mean grain size. Further, results were used to develop a mathematical model, based on mineralogical parameter and decay function, to predict the rock strength under the influence of multiple F-T cycles.

Diversity Assessment, Utilization Pattern and Indigenous uses of Plants in Shri Naina Devi Conservation Area in District Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, North Western Himalayas

The Indian Himalayan region is one of the largest biodiversity hotspot in the world. In IHR most of the communities are lived in remote or rural area and are totally dependent on natural resources to fulfill their daily needs. Natural resources such as plant diversity is used as food, medicine, fodder, dye yielding, fuel, timber, rituals and various other function. Shri Naina Devi conservation reserve situated in Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh has not been yet explored for plant diversity. The present study is carried out to assess the plant diversity and their utilization pattern and indigenous uses of the plants. A total 121 species recorded belonged from 107 genera and 57 families. Among these species shrub (26 spp.), tree (48 spp.), herb (47 spp.) were present. The families, Fabaceae (11 spp.), Asteraceae (10 spp.), Moraceae (8 spp.), Poaceae (7 spp.), Lamiaceae (4spp.), Solanaceae (4 spp ), Myrtaceae (4spp.) Brassicaceae (1 spp.); Euphorbiaceae (3 spp.); Rosaceae (3 spp.) were rich species. Among genera, Ficus (7 spp.), Allium (2 spp.), Bauhinia (2 spp.), Acacia (2 spp.), Cassia (2 spp.), Phyllanthus (2 spp.), Rumex (2 spp.), were the dominant genera. 91 species were of multipurpose utility and 30 species were monotypic. The species were used as medicine (107 spp.), food (27 spp.), fuel (37 spp.), fodder (57 spp.), ornamental (24 spp.) timber (9 spp.) and religious (6 spp.) by the inhabitants of the area. This paper gives the scientific name of wild plants along with common names, local names, family, life form, indigenous uses and plant part used by the local inhabitants of the area. Plant parts used such as whole plants, roots (including rhizomes and tubers), leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and stems by the local people for curing various diseases.

Developing a model for residential water demand in the Indian Himalayan Region of Ravangla, South Sikkim, India

Climate change and increased demand for human needs have led to drinking water scarcity in the cities and towns located in the Indian Himalayan region. This paper aims to address the challenge of drinking water security by proposing a model of water demand among households in Ravangla town of South Sikkim, India. Our field survey results indicate that the water demand increases significantly due to the number of household members between the age of 18 and 60. Further, we find that the number of taps in the household is positively and significantly correlated with water demand. Number of water taps, storage capacity and the water consumption are positively related. However, we did not find any such strong association with the number of toilets in the household. The GIS maps of South Sikkim shows the areas with households that will soon face acute water stress and drinking water insecurity. In order to address the scarcity of water in these regions, policymakers may develop plans like rainwater harvesting to ameliorate the situation through a GIS based decision support system.

Population biology, ecological niche modelling of endangered and endemic Pittosporum eriocarpum Royle in Western Himalaya, India

Pittosporum eriocarpum, an endemic, endangered, and multipurpose tree of the Indian Himalayan Region, is found in restricted pockets. The available studies on the species reveals that the studies are mostly focused on taxonomy and ethnobotany/resource use patterns. Therefore, the present study assessed the populations; analyzed the physico-chemical properties of soil; developed Ecological Niche Model; and standardized seed germination protocol for conservation. Sixteen populations of P. eriocarpum were surveyed and sampled in Himachal Pradesh. The density of P. eriocarpum ranged from 10 to 40 Ind/ha, it was highest in the rocky habitat (15 Ind/ha) and west aspect (40 Ind/ha). Pinus roxburghii, Pistacia chinensis ssp. integerrima, Grewia optiva, Albizia lebbeck, Quercusoblongata and Bauhinia variegata were major associated trees. Soil was analysed for the physico-chemical properties. In most of the populations,P. eriocarpum was in the form of saplings and seedlings. P. eriocarpum density had a significant negative correlation with pH. To predict potentially suitable habitats for P. eriocarpum, species occurrence data, bio-climatic variables, and the maximum entropy distribution modelling approach were used. The model's results revealed that 9.37 % of Himachal Pradesh is appropriate for species reintroduction. Both GA3 and KNO3 were highly effective for increasing germination and decreasing MGT and played a significant role in the seed germination. Despite the high viability of seeds, species cannot regenerate and spread in their native environments. This might be a result of overexploitation, intensive grazing, and competition among associated species. For in-situ conservation, regular monitoring and complete habitat protection are recommended.

First Comprehensive Report on the Occurrence of Various Fungal Diseases in Seabuckthorn from Uttarakhand, India

Seabuckthorn is a general term given to the deciduous shrub tree Hippophae Linn. It is one of the most magical plant resources with higher value of economy and ecology. It is also known as “wonder plant” due to its multifarious benefits. Therefore, seabuckthorn should serve as a measure to safeguard medicinal and nutritional plants, to conserve biodiversity and environment and to generate sustainable income source for local people. Diseases and insects are the major factors affecting the success of seabuckthorn cultivation. Control measures depend on proper identification of diseases and their causal agents. Proper disease diagnosis is therefore vital as without proper identification of the disease and the disease causing agent, disease control measures are waste of time and money and can lead to further plant losses. Despite although there are a few reports available regarding the pathological aspect of Hippophae spp. in India, but there is no systematic study on distribution and severity of diseases occurring on Hippophae salicifolia D. Don in Uttarakhand. Hence, a systematic study was undertaken on the occurrence of diseases on Seabuckthorn plant which are responsible for negatively affecting the yield and quality of a magical plant of Indian Himalayan Region.

Biodiversity of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in the protected landscape of Nandhour, Uttarakhand, India

An appraisal of butterfly species composition in terms of comparative diversity richness in various habitat types was conducted in and around the Nandhour Wildlife Sanctuary of Terai Arc landscape in Uttarakhand. During the two years of survey period (March 2018–February 2020), a total of 89 species of butterflies belonging to families Nymphalidae 43 species, Pieridae 15 species, Lycaenidae 13 species, Hesperiidae eight species, Papilionidae seven species, and Riodinidae three species were recorded, of which 46 species represented new records for the Nandhour Landscape. Butterfly diversity and richness were highest in dense moist & open dry riverine forests and lowest in human settlements & agricultural land. No significant differences in the number of species were found in moist mixed deciduous forest, subtropical Chir Pine forest, moist Bhabar Sal forest, moist Shiwalik Sal forest, and plantation forest. Eight species are endemic to the Indian Himalayan Region.

Indigenous Knowledge of Lichens can Improve Human Life in Tribal Areas of Arunachal Pradesh: A Case Study

The higher eastern Himalayan regions of India exhibit the luxuriance of different lichen taxa together with other group of plants. The“Punpun” is a common name of lichens used by the Sherdukpen tribe of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern IndianHimalayan regions. The punpun or lichens are gorgeous in nutrients and contains biologically active compounds belonging to variouschemical clades. The tribal people have gigantic traditional knowledge about lichens thus allowing them to use different types oflichens to fulfil their dietary need along with medicinal prospects. The present information was collected during the field visit to thearea between the years 2017-2021. The tribal people in the area prepared some delicious diets from the punpun and served as nutritiveethnic food to tourists visiting there. Though tribal people have great knowledge of lichen uses, but they lack the acquaintance ofappropriate species proficiency. The tribal people provided the detailed methodologies and application of lichens which may be usefulin near future for bioprospection and herbal drug development. The present case study is presented with an aim to encourage thetribal people to investigate further applications of lichens to improve the life of surronding inhabitants and to make them aware of theimportance and conservation of lichen species.

A new distributional range of Abraxas antipusilla Inoue, 1995 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from Eastern Himalaya, India

Based on Indian Himalayan expeditions, the species Abraxas antipusilla Inoue, 1995 is reported for the first time from Eastern Himalaya, India. After two decades, differential diagnoses of males and females are presented in comparison to Abraxas pusilla Butler, 1880. Redescriptions of male and female genitalia are given. An annotated summary on habitat preference and distributional ranges for both species is emphasized within the Indian Himalayan Region.

Development of a TVF-EMD-based multi-decomposition technique integrated with Encoder-Decoder-Bidirectional-LSTM for monthly rainfall forecasting

Accurate forecasting of rainfall is extremely important due to its complex nature and enormous impacts on hydrology, floods, droughts, agriculture, and monitoring of pollutant concentration levels. In this study, a new multi-decomposition deep learning-based technique was proposed to forecast monthly rainfall in Himalayan region of India (i.e., Haridwar and Nainital). In the first stage, the original rainfall signals as the individual accessible datasets were decomposed into intrinsic mode decomposition functions (IMFs) through the time-varying filter-based empirical mode decomposition (TVF-EMD) technique, and then the significant lagged values were computed from the decomposed sub-sequences (i.e., IMFs) using the partial autocorrelation function (PACF). In the second stage, the PACF-based decomposed IMFs signals were again decomposed by the Singular Valued Decomposition (SVD) approach to reduce the dimensionality and enhance the forecasting accuracy. The machine learning approaches including the bidirectional long-short term memory reinforced with the Encoder-Decoder Bidirectional (EDBi-LSTM), Adaptive Boosting Regression (Adaboost), Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN), and Random Forest (RF) were used to construct the hybrid forecasting models. Also, several statistical metrics i.e., correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error (RMSE), and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and graphical interpretation tools were employed to evaluate the hybrid (TVF-EMD-SVD-RF, TVF-EMD-SVD-EDBi-LSTM, TVF-EMD-SVD-Adaboost, and TVF-EMD-SVD-GRNN) and standalone counterpart (EDBi-LSTM, Adaboost, RF, and GRNN) models. The outcomes of monthly rainfall forecasting ascertain that the TVF-EMD-SVD-EDBi-LSTM in the Haridwar (R = 0.5870, RMSE = 118.4782 mm, and NSE = 0.3116) and Nainital (R = 0.9698, RMSE = 44.3963 mm, NSE = 0.9388) outperformed the benchmarking models.