Researchers have found that plant life is growing and expanding around Mount Everest and across the Himalayan region, as the area continues to experience the consequences of global warming.
Read: weather.com/en-IN/india/sc…
📸: IANS
Read: weather.com/en-IN/india/sc…
📸: IANS
According to the study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, a research team from University of Exeter in UK used satellite data to measure the extent of subnival vegetation—plants growing between the treeline and snowline—in this vast area. @GlobalChangeBio
Little is known about these remote, hard-to-reach ecosystems, made up of short-stature plants (predominantly grasses and shrubs) and seasonal snow, but the study revealed they cover between five and 15 times the area of permanent glaciers and snow.
Using data from 1993 to 2018 from NASA's Landsat satellites, researchers measured small but significant increases in subnival vegetation cover across four height brackets from 4,150-6,000 metres above sea level.
Results varied at different heights and locations, with the strongest trend in increased vegetation cover in the bracket 5,000-5,500m. Around Mount Everest, the team found a significant increase in vegetation in all four height brackets.
Though the study doesn't examine the causes of the change, the findings are consistent with modelling that shows a decline in "temperature-limited areas" (where temperatures are too low for plants to grow) across the Himalayan region due to global warming.
Other research has suggested that the Himalayan ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate-induced vegetation shifts.
