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Location of the study site in central Bhutan (insert) with details of the quadrat locations adjacent to the track to Tharpaling Monastery, west of Lamai Gompa, Bumthang, Bhutan.
Source publication
Understanding how species richness changes with altitude is important for conservation management. In Central Bhutan, an altitudinal vegetation transect from 2985 m to 3790 m along an eastern spur on Kiki Phu, in Bumthang, was surveyed for plant species richness in autumn (November) 2014. Species richness, life form diversity, canopy cover and grou...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... work was undertaken along an eastern spur of the Kiki Phu ridgeline, Bumthang, Central Bhutan (Fig. 1). The valley is geologically dominated by the Greater Himalayan Sequence that consists of predominantly high grade metamorphic rocks with intermittent outliers of metasedimentary rock ( Grujic et al. 2002). The resultant soil types vary from soils poor in organic matter, weak podzols, brown soils and non-volcanic andosols and alpine turf soils ( Baillie et al. 2004). All these soil types are regarded as highly erodible ( Baillie et al. ...
Context 2
... studies were conducted either side of the Tharpaling Monastery trail (4.3 km) along a ridge of the Kiki Phu, west from Lamai Gompa (27° 32' 44.28" N, 90° 43'29.48"). The trail runs east to west along an eastern spur (Fig. 1). The area is used for grazing by cattle and yak, with timber gathering by herders and monks (R. Singye, personal communication). Studies using camera traps set along the ridge in 2014 have recorded human, cattle, and yak movement up to 3800 m (K. Vernes, R. Rajaratnam, T. Sangay, R. Singye, unpublished data). The study site is on crown land at the Ugen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICE) and is protected forest under the Forest and Conservation Act of 1995. ...
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... The research preserve area lies at an elevation ranging from 2831 m.a.s.l to 4021 m.a.s.l., covering an area of 1098 ha. The region receives an annual rainfall of 1404 mm with summer temperatures as high as 23° C while the temperature during winter months may fall to -6° C (Pearl et al., 2015;Dhendup et al., 2019). The vegetation comprises mainly mixed conifer species such as P. wallichiana, Picea spinulosa, Tsuga dumosa, Rhododendron spp., and bamboo. ...
The impacts of global warming are pervasive across different forest biomes and are most pronounced in high mountain ecosystems such as the Himalayas. This study examines the growth response of Blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) to climate from Bumthang district in the central Bhutan Himalaya. Tree radial growth parameters (ring width index and basal area increment) were correlated with monthly and daily climate. Temporal changes in significant climate response were assessed using running correlations. Irrespective of tree growth parameters or temporal resolution of climatic variables, growth-climate response revealed maximum temperature during summer as the most significant climatic factor regulating the growth of P. wallichiana in central Bhutan. The strength and stability of the climate response improved when using daily climate, which is not restricted by non-biological calendar months. Around the turn of the 21st century, we observed a rapid rise in radial growth. Over the last ~30 years, blue pine from central Bhutan has benefited from warming summer season maximum temperatures. This study highlights the importance of considering daily climate variables for more accurate assessments of tree growth responses to climate. These findings have significant implications for understanding the impact of climate change on forests in the Himalayan region.
In Bhutan, knowledge of wildlife species richness in protected areas is increasing, particularly for mammals; however, the knowledge outside of protected areas typically remains poor. We conducted a camera trap survey from May 2016 to July 2017 in a montane forest outside of the protected areas network in central Bhutan and recorded 15 species of mammals (belonging to nine families and three orders), of which nearly half were listed as Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened. Our findings demonstrate that forested landscapes outside protected areas in Bhutan support a rich assemblage of wildlife species and are, therefore, deserving of comprehensive wildlife conservation plans and dedicated funding for ecological research and threat mitigation.
