The Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a

montane grasslands and shrublands Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, which lies between the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

and

snow line The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow wil ...

in the western portion of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

Range.

Setting

The Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows covers an area of , extending from the

Kali Gandaki Gorge The Kali Gandaki Gorge or Andha Galchi is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki (or Gandaki River) in the Himalayas in Nepal. By some sources, it may be one of the deepest gorges in the world. The upper part of the gorge is also called Thak Khola after ...

in central Nepal westwards across

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

and eastern

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

states of India to the gorge of the

Sutlej River The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the ...

, and into southwestern

. The alpine shrub and meadows lie between approximately elevation. The

Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the eastern portion of the Himalaya Range. Setting The ...

lie east of the Kali Gandaki gorge, while the

Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of the elevations of the northwestern Himalaya of China, India, and Pakistan. Setting Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows cover a ...

lies west of the Sutlej. Below lie the

Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Setting The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest ...

. Permanent ice and snow lies above . To the north, the Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows transition to the drier

Central Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe The Central Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion (WWF ID: PA1002) covers the high alpine plateau that stretches over across the Tibetan Plateau to Qinghai Lake in China. Because of the high altitude—much it over —the region is a cold, ar ...

of central Tibet. The Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe lies to the southwest.

Flora

Alpine shrublands, dominated by

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s, predominate at lower elevations close to the treeline. Above the shrublands are alpine meadows, known as

bugyal Bugyals are alpine pasture lands, or meadows, in higher elevation range between and of the Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, where they are called "nature’s own gardens". The topography of the terrain is either flat or sloped. Th ...

s or bughiyals, which support a variety of herbaceous plants, including species of ''

Anaphalis ''Anaphalis'' is a genus of herbaceous and woody flowering plants within the family Asteraceae, whose members are commonly known by the name pearl or pearly everlasting. There are around 110 species with the vast majority being native to central ...

Cyananthus ''Cyananthus'' is a genus of flowering plants that consists of about 30 species of annual or mostly perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through t ...

Jurinea ''Jurinea'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. The species are native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30 ...

Morina ''Morina'' is a genus of the angiosperm family Caprifoliaceae. It is unofficially the provincial flower of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), ...

, Potentilla,

Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their m ...

Delphinium ''Delphinium'' is a genus of about 300 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The genus was erected by Carl Linn ...

Meconopsis ''Meconopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It was created by French botanist Viguier in 1814 for the species known by the common name Welsh poppy, which Carl Linnaeus had described as ''Papaver cambricum''. ...

Pedicularis ''Pedicularis'' is a genus of perennial green root parasite plants currently placed in the family Orobanchaceae (the genus previously having been placed in Scrophulariaceae '' sensu lato''). Description Between 350 and 600 species are acce ...

Anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand an ...

, Aster,

Polygonum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In ...

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the primrose ('' P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common species are '' P. auricula'' (auricula), '' P. veris'' (cow ...

'', and ''

Saussurea ''Saussurea'' is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae, native to cool temperate and arctic regions of East Asia, Europe, and North America, with the highest diversity in alpine habit ...

''. In the spring and summer, the alpine meadows are covered with brightly colored flowers. On the upper slopes, low plants of genera ''

Saxifraga ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

Allium ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, D ...

Corydalis ''Corydalis'' (from Greek ''korydalís'' " crested lark") is a genus of about 470 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical e ...

Eriophyton ''Eriophyton'' is a genus of plants in the Lamiaceae, first described in 1830. Its species are native to Central Asia, western China, and the Himalayas.Bendiksby, M., Thorbek, L., Scheen, A.-C., Lindqvist, C. & Ryding, O. (2011). An updated phyl ...

Stellaria ''Stellaria'' is a genus of about 190 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common names include starwort, stitchwort and chickweed. Description ''Stellaria'' species are relatively small ...

, Soroseris'', and '' Cremanthodium'' grow among the boulders and scree. An alpine steppe of '' Caragana pygma, C. gerardiana,

Lonicera spinosa Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both cont ...

Juniperus squamata ''Juniperus squamata'', the flaky juniper, or Himalayan juniper is a species of coniferous shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the Himalayas and China. It represents the provincial tree of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (unofficial). De ...

, Juniperus indica,

Ephedra gerardiana ''Ephedra gerardiana'' (Gerard's jointfir, 山岭麻黄 ''shan ling ma huang'') is a species of '' Ephedra'', endemic to the mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, northern India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim, Tajikistan, and Tibet. It is a perennial ...

Hippophae tibetana ''Hippophae'' is the genus of sea buckthorns, deciduous shrubs in the family Elaeagnaceae. The name sea buckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true buckthorns (''Rhamnus'', family Rhamnaceae). It is also referred to as ...

Myricaria rosea ''Myricaria'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Tamaricaceae, native to Eurasia. Species Species considered valid by The Plant List are as follows: *'' Myricaria albiflora'' Grierson & D.G. Long *''Myricaria davurica'' (Willd ...

, Lonicera spinulosa'', and ''

Berberis ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South Amer ...

'' can be found in drier parts of the ecoregion.

Fauna

Large mammals include the

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

(''Uncia uncia''),

bharal The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), ...

or Himalayan blue sheep (''Pseudois nayaur''),

Himalayan tahr The Himalayan tahr (''Hemitragus jemlahicus'') is a large even-toed ungulate native to the Himalayas in southern Tibet, northern India, western Bhutan and Nepal. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is de ...

(''Hemitragus jemlahicus''),

Himalayan musk deer The white-bellied musk deer or Himalayan musk deer (''Moschus leucogaster'') is a musk deer species occurring in the Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List because of overexploitatio ...

(''Moschus chrysogaster''), and mainland serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis''). Smaller mammals include weasels and pikas.

Conservation

Several protected areas lie within or partly within the ecoregion, including: * Royal Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve (Nepal) *

Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary ''Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary'' is a national park in Supin Range, near Uttarkashi district, Uttarkashi town of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India established initially as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955, and was ...

(Uttarakhand, India) * Lippa Asrang Wildlife Sanctuary (Himachal Pradesh, India) * Sangla Wildlife Sanctuary (Raksham Chitkul) (Himachal Pradesh, India) *

Gangotri National Park Gangotri National Park is a national park in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand in India, covering about . Its habitat consists of coniferous forests, alpine meadows and glaciers. Gaumukh at Gangotri glacier, the origin of river Ganga, is loc ...

(Uttarakhand, India) *

Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary, also called the Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary, is a wildlife sanctuary declared under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and located in Uttarakhand, India. Its alternate name comes from its primary purpose of protecting ...

(Uttarakhand, India) *

Valley of Flowers National Park Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park which was established in 1982. It is located in Chamoli in the state of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora. This richly diverse ...

(Uttarakhand, India) *

Nanda Devi National Park The Nanda Devi National Park or Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, established in 1982 is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi (7816 m) in Chamoli Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, in northern India. The entire park lies at an ele ...

(Uttarakhand, India) *

Shey-Phoksundo National Park Shey Phoksundo National Park is the largest and only trans- Himalayan national park in Nepal. It was established in 1984 and covers an area of in the districts of Dolpa and Mugu in the Mid-Western Region, Nepal. The protected area ranges in el ...

(Nepal) *

Annapurna Conservation Area Annapurna Conservation Area is Nepal's largest protected area covering in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. It ranges in elevation from to the peak of Annapurna I at . The conservation area stretches across Manang, Mustang, Kaski, Myagdi, ...

(Nepal)

References

* * {{Uttarakhand Ecoregions of China Ecoregions of India Ecoregions of Nepal Ecoregions of the Himalayas * Montane grasslands and shrublands Palearctic ecoregions

Setting

Flora

Fauna

Conservation

See also

References