Plant Biomass, Species Diversity and Net Primary Production in a Central Himalayan High Altitude Grassland

Composition, productivity and impact of grazing on the biodiversity of a grazing land in Almora District

“…In the present study net accumulation of biomass increased from May and peaked in September. The results of present study are in conformity with the work of Ram et al, 1989. Belowground biomass in the present study decreased from April to July and increased again in August.…”

“…Increase in biomass in August onwards could be due to higher translocation of organic matter and the accumulation of dead shoots (Rikhari and Negi, 1994). The values of aboveground net primary productivity are comparable with the values reported for Central Himalayan grassland by Ram et al, 1989. Productivity for the belowground parts was higher than that of Table 1. cont.…”

Depletion of Oak (Quercus spp.) Forests in the Western Himalaya: Grazing, Fuelwood and Fodder Collection

“…In some pastures, grazing is essential to maintain species diversity (Naithani et al 1992, Negi et al 1993, Saberwal 1996 mainly in the Himalayan alpine region, but some other studies (Ram et al 1989, Sundariyal and Joshi 1990, Singh 1991, Rawat and Uniyal 1993and Kala 1998 revealed that intermediate level of grazing maintains species diversity. Besides, livestock grazing abiotic factors like snowfall, soil, altitudes and aspects also influence the structure and composition of these pastures (Kala et al 1995).…”

Assessment of Vegetation and Prioritization of Communities for Conservation in Latakharak Alpine Meadows of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, West Himalaya, India.

“…In the alpine region of the Indian Himalaya, a few sporadic studies have been carried out by some workers on community patterns, phenology, biomass and productivity, impact of grazing and prioritization (Kaul & Sarin 1971;Pangtey et al, 1990;Sundriyal et al, 1987Sundriyal et al, , 1988Rawat & Rodgers, 1988;, 1991Ram, 1992;Ram et al, 1988Ram et al, , 1989Sundriyal, 1989Sundriyal, , 1992 Samant et al, 2002, etc.). However, the vegetation of most of the alpine meadows has not been assessed for sites and habitat characteristics, community diversity (composition and structure), distribution pattern, species diversity, soil composition, distribution pattern of native, endemic, economically important and rare endangered species, and prioritization of communities for conservation.…”