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

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Abstract

Alpine ecosystems are important monitoring targets for examining climate-induced changes in biodiversity components. In this context, by following the protocol of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine environments, two target regions (TR) were established in the mountainous regions of the Chaudans and Byans valleys of Uttarakhand. Lichens along with some vascular plants dominate alpine ecosystems and are known to play a pivotal role in ecosystems. Lichens are well known bioindicators of climatic conditions, hence the present study is focused on lichen diversity and distribution in selected TRs. We established 08 (04 in each TR) summits (covering different alpine zones from treeline to nival belt). The data sets regarding species richness, distribution, frequency, cover etc. were generated. We reported 30 species belonging to 25 genera and 17 families collected at eight alpine mountain summits in TR—I and II. With plans to monitor and resurvey at five-year intervals, the sites established in this project document current lichen species composition, and allow for a long-term assessment of changes in biodiversity attributable primarily to changes in climate. The dataset generated can be compared with the datasets of other high-altitude regions of the globe.

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Data availability

All data of lichens based on the GLORIA sites that support the findings of this study are included within this paper and its Supplementary Information files.

Abbreviations

GLORIA:

Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine environments

TR:

Target regions

IHR:

Indian Himalayan Region

KSLCDI:

Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative

KSL:

Kailash Sacred Landscape

ICIMOD:

International Canter for Integrated Mountain Development

N, S, E and W:

North, South, East and West

HSP:

Highest summit point HSP

SASs:

Summit area sections

m:

Meter

cm:

Centimeter

r!:

Very rare (one or a few individuals)

r:

Rare (some individuals at several locations, can hardly be overlooked in a careful observation)

s:

Scattered (widespread within the section, species cannot be overlooked, but the presence is not obvious at first glance)

c:

Common (occurring frequently and widespread within the section, presence is obvious at first glance)

d:

Dominant (very abundant)

PCA:

Principal Component Analysis

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) facilitated by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) for providing financial support to conduct field activity in district Pithoragarh. Thanks are due to the Director, GBP-NIHE for providing laboratory facilities. We are thankful to the NMSHE (National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem) Task Force—3, Lead Botanical Garden Project (Lead-BG, MoEF&CC, F.N. BSI-290/6/2013-Tech; Date- 29/09/2013), National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS-Himalayan Fellowship Programme) and the entire team of researchers involved in the field activity carried out in both sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand, 263 643, India

    Kapil Bisht, Shashi Upadhyay, K. Chandra Sekar, Poonam Mehta & Renu Rawal

  2. Amity Institute of Global Warming and Ecological Studies, Amity University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Shashi Upadhyay

  3. Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302 004, India

    Yogesh Joshi

  4. Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu, 180006, India

    Vishal Kumar

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  1. Kapil Bisht
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  2. Shashi Upadhyay
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  3. K. Chandra Sekar
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  4. Poonam Mehta
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Correspondence to Shashi Upadhyay, K. Chandra Sekar or Yogesh Joshi.

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Bisht, K., Upadhyay, S., Sekar, K.C. et al. Establishment of GLORIA sites in Indian Himalayan Region: diversity and distribution of lichens. Vegetos (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42535-023-00629-x

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