Explain how attitude influence explain how attitude influence the type of vegetation in the Himalayas
Answers
Himalayan vegetation varies according to both altitude and climatic conditions. They range from the tropical deciduous forests in the foothills, to temperate forests in the middle altitudes. Higher up, coniferous, sub-alpine, and alpine forests spring up. These finally give way to alpine grasslands and high altitude meadows. They are followed by scrublands which lead up to the permanent snowline.
The vegetation also varies from the unexplored tropical rainforests of the Eastern Himalayas, to the dense subtropical and alpine forests of the Central and Western Himalayas to the sparse desert vegetation of the cold desert areas of the Transhimalaya.
However, the floral wealth of the Himalayas have also been affected by man. Over the centuries, man has always been dependent on his forests for a number of his needs. But earlier, these needs were few, the forests were able to replenish the resources, and the delicate natural balance was maintained. But over the years, the human population increased dramatically, and with it the number of industries that depended on forests. Extraordinary demands were made on the forests. Forests were cut down for firewood and to feed the growing number of forest-based industries. They were also cleared to accommodate the growing population. As a result, many species of trees that were very common even 50 years ago, are now rare or have completely disappeared from certain areas.
Altitude influence the Himalayan vegetation in the following way -
• The vegetation needs certain resources from the environment,such as :
- Temperature.
- Ground water.
- Soil minerals.
- Sun rays.
• And with the increasing altitude of the above mentioned environmental resources get decreased which becomes the main reason behind the inverse relationship between the altitude and the density of the vegetation.
• In this manner,we observe tropical forest in the lower altitude and very less amount of alpine vegetation in the higher altitudes.