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Impacts of Climate Change on Plants with Special Reference to the Himalayan Region

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Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya

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Abstract

The Himalayan region is home to one of the world’s most diverse and multifaceted mountain systems and is particularly prone to climate change. Climate change is a serious worry in the Himalaya because of its probable impacts on the economy, ecology, and environment, as well as downstream areas. Climate change has the potential to irrevocably affect distinct forest ecosystems and biodiversity, leading to the extinction of several species. Keeping the fact in mind that climate change affects various ecological as well as physiological parameters of the plant species, the present study was aimed to review the impacts of climate change on floral diversity in the Himalayan region. Some of the effects of climate change on the plants of Himalayan region include phenological changes, timberline shift, spread of invasive species, pests and diseases, habitat loss, and rise in the frequency and intensity of forest fires. Thus, climate change poses a serious threat to plant survival, which in turn poses a threat to the entire biosphere and human life. Urgent action plan is required to address this alarming situation. To accomplish this, a consolidation of greenhouse gases concentrations in the atmosphere, brisk global investments, and stationing of mitigation technology, along with research into new-fangled energy sources, is requisite. Appraisal of the biological invasions by exotic species, organization of decisive landscape linkages for flagship species, scrutiny of population trends of flagship and vulnerable species, intensification of the efficiency and extent of protected area coverage, and fire management are all tactics and policies that should be implemented as soon as possible at micro-level. Further, regional cooperation is critical for informed decision-making, risk and vulnerability mapping, efficient biodiversity and conservation management, and a comprehensive method to designing climate change adaption tactics, not only in the Himalayan region but also throughout the globe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conservation Ecology Lab, Department of Botany, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Zishan Ahmad Wani & Taskeen Fatima

  2. Geology Discipline Group, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, India

    Omkar Verma

  3. Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Virbala Sharma

  4. Coordinator, Centre for Biodiversity Studies, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Shreekar Pant

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  1. Zishan Ahmad Wani
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  2. Taskeen Fatima
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  3. Omkar Verma
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  4. Virbala Sharma
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Sanjeev Sharma

  2. G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India

    Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal

  3. Department of Geography, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    Pritam Chand

  4. Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Pardeep Singh

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Wani, Z.A., Fatima, T., Verma, O., Sharma, V., Pant, S. (2023). Impacts of Climate Change on Plants with Special Reference to the Himalayan Region. In: Sharma, S., Kuniyal, J.C., Chand, P., Singh, P. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24659-3_11

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