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Premise of the Study: With biodiversity and rates of climate change among the highest, the eastern Himalaya are critical for understanding the interaction of these two variables. However, there is a dearth of longitudinal data sets that address the effects of climate change on the exceptional alpine biodiversity of the Himalaya.<br>Methods: We established permanent alpine vegetation monitoring plots in three mountain chains of the Hengduan Mountains, the easternmost Himalaya, which have warmed 0.03-0.05°C yr<sup>−1</sup> since 1985. Recently, we resampled plots (176 1-m² quadrat plots and 88 sections of 11 summits in three Hengduan mountain chains) to measure changes in vegetation after 7 years.<br>Key Results: Over 7 years, Tibetan alpine vegetation increased in number of species (+8 species/summit; +2.3 species/m²), in frequency (+47.8 plants/m²), and in diversity (+1.6 effective species/m²). Stepwise regressions indicated that warmer temperatures, southerly aspects, and higher elevations were associated with greater increases in these vegetation metrics. Unexpectedly, Himalayan endemic species increased (+1.4 species/m²; +8.5 plants/m²), especially on higher-elevation summits. In contrast, the increase in relative abundance of non-alpine species was greater at lower-elevation summits. Plants used by local Tibetans also increased (+1.3 species/m²; +32 plants/m²).<br>Conclusions: As in other alpine areas, biodiversity is increasing with climate change in the Himalaya. Unlike other areas, endemic species are proliferating at the highest summits and are indicators of change.
Background: The ethnic groups in Gilgit-Baltistan have been utilizing local resources in their centuries-old traditional healing system. Most tribes within these ethnic groups still rely on traditional healing systems. We aim to understand the current status, uses, and abundance of medicinal plants, associated traditional knowledge, and trade. Materials and methods: The study incorporated over 300 local community members (70% men and 30% women) in focused group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and homework assignments for 8th to 12th grade students to document traditional knowledge (TK) in six districts in Northeast Pakistan. We calculated various indices such as informant consensus factor, use value, relative frequency of citation, and CoKriging. These indices, along with repetitively used medicinal plants, were used to analyze differences in studied locations. Results: Most of the community members still rely on traditional medication in the study areas. However, we found the highest number of medicinal plants used in Skardu and Gilgit compared to other districts and these two districts also represent trade centers and a highly populated area regarding medicinal plants. Results indicate connection amongst the surveyed villages signifying mixing of knowledge from different sources, with certain areas more influenced by traditional Chinese medicine and others more by Ayurveda and Unani. Conclusion: TK is mostly retained with elder community members; however, those directly linked with market value chain retain rich knowledge on traditional use of the medicinal plants from the region. Major trade centers in the region also coincide with a high density of medicinal plant occurrence, knowledge, and higher utilization. Therefore, with the increasing trade in medicinal plant in the region, there is potential for rejuvenation of this knowledge and of plant use in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
We explore the use of Stauntonia angustifolia (Wall.) Wall. ex Christenh., and Stauntonia latifolia (Wall.) Wall. ex Christenh. as ethnoveterinary medicines in the greater Himalayan region. This use, while not common and limited to mid-elevation mountain regions, stretches at least 1900 km from the Garwhal Himal in west Himalayan India to the Hengduan Shan in east Himalayan China. We trace the geographic and cultural distribution of the species, their uses, and their names. In sum, these suggest two possible scenarios, both connected to mountain pastoralism: 1) lateral transmission along the Himalayan mountains through seasonal transhumance interactions and 2) convergence on similar animal medical uses driven by use of Stauntonia vines as rope in animal handling. More pan-Himalayan ethnobotanical studies could support these hypotheses with other plant species and uses, and help to understand how knowledge moves in mountains.