Vegetation types of East Ladakh: species and growth form composition along main environmental gradients

0364932 - BÚ 2012 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Dvorský, Miroslav - Doležal, Jiří - de Bello, Francesco - Klimešová, Jitka - Klimeš, Leoš
Vegetation types of East Ladakh: species and growth form composition along main environmental gradients.
Applied vegetation science. Roč. 14, č. 1 (2011), 132-147. ISSN 1402-2001. E-ISSN 1654-109X
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA600050802
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516
Keywords : alpine vegetation * Classification * Trans-Himalaya
Subject RIV: EF - Botanics
Impact factor: 1.678, year: 2011

The vegetation of high mountain regions in Himalaya remains poorly assessed despite the expected vulnerability of these ecosystems to global change drivers. What are the main vegetation types in East Ladakh and which environmental factors influence the species composition and growth forms distribution? TWINSPAN clusters discriminated eight ecologically interpretable vegetation types, corresponding to the main habitats in the area: animal resting places, salt marshes, semi-deserts and steppes, shrublands, alpine screes and boulder fields, alpine grasslands, water bodies and subnival zone. The most important environmental factors influencing the species composition were altitude, soil moisture and salinity. Screes and alpine grasslands were found to be the most species-rich. The species were ranged into 20 growth forms with regard to life-form and clonality, with growth forms showing different changes in proportion among vegetation types and along the different environmental gradients.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0200292