Hippophae salicifolia D. Don or Sea buckthorn is one species that has great potential for improving ecological and economic developments in the mountain areas of North Sikkim. The plant is found naturally at altitudes ranging from 2,377 to 3,093 m. in riverine (river side or torrential side) and non-riverine (non river or non torrential side) areas where geo-physico-chemical parameters like aerial temperature, aerial moisture, soil pH, soil temperature, and soil moisture varied significantly. We analyzed ecological parameters and species association using standard quadrates. Actinorhizal plants invade nitrogen-poor soils because of their ability to form root nodule symbioses with N 2 -fixing actinomycetes known as Frankia. Variation in nodulation with respect to plant height was also observed. This was higher in riverine areas compared to non riverine sites at higher altitudes.
Sikkim is a small, mountainous, Indian state (7,096 km 2 ) located in the eastern Himalayan region. Though a global biodiversity hotspot, it has been relatively less studied. A detailed forest type, density and change dynamics study was undertaken, using SATELLITE remote sensing data and intensive field verification. The landscape was found to be dominated by alpine and nival ecosystems, with a large portion above the tree line, considerable snow cover, and a sizeable area under forest cover (72%, 5,094 km 2 ). A total of 18 landscape components including 14 vegetation classes were delineated, with the major ones being oak forest, alpine meadow, alpine scrub, conifer forest and alder-cardamom agroforestry. Of the 3,154 km 2 of forests below the tree line, 40% were found to be dense (>40% tree canopy cover). A sizeable portion of the non dense forests below the tree line was contributed by the degradation of oak forests, which was confirmed by change detection analysis. However on a positive front over the past decade, ban on grazing and felling of trees in forests has been implemented. In order to expand the extent of dense forests, further efforts are needed for the restoration of oak forests such as fire protection, providing alternatives to firewood use, promotion of alder-cardamom agro-forestry in the private lands and protection of the small-sized, fragmented forest patches in the subtropical belt.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.