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Category: vegetation

  • The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP)

    The great Himalayan national park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a biodiversity hotspot is located in Banjar sub-division of Kullu in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. This National Park in the western part of the Himalayan Mountains is characterized by high alpine peaks, alpine meadows and riverine forests. It is part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot and includes twenty-five forest types.

    Historical geography of the region

    The national park and biodiversity hotspot lies within the ecologically distinct Western Himalayas at the junction between two of the world’s major biogeographic realms, the Palearctic and Indo-malayan Realms. Displaying biotic elements from both these realms. The evolution of this region is related to tectonic plate movements. Over 100 million years ago, the Indian sub-continent broke off from the large, southern landmass, Gondwanaland and moved north. It eventually slammed into the northern land mass, Laurasia, and formed the gigantic folded mountains of the Himalaya.

    Due to this union of Gondwanaland and Asiatic landmasses, exchange of flora and fauna was possible and this ultimately led to the unique biogeographical features in the region.

    Biodiversity of the Great Himalayan National Park

     The park was established in 1984 and it spreads over an area of 1171 km2. It is a habitat to numerous floras and incorporates more than 375 fauna species, including approximately 31 mammals, 181 birds, 3 reptiles, 9 amphibians, 11 annelids, 17 mollusks and 127 insects. This ecologically unique region is protected under the strict guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

    The high elevation ecosystem of the Northwest Himalaya has common plant elements with the adjacent Western and Central Asiatic region. As a result of its 4,100 m elevation range the park has a diversity of zones with their representative flora and fauna, such as alpine, glacial, temperate, and subtropical forests.

    Most of the Himalayan fauna has been protected under the high priority protection category of Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The state government of Himachal Pradesh has banned hunting in the state for more than ten years.

    The park has a wide variety of vegetation ranging from the lofty pines and spruces and the great, spreading horse chestnuts of the lower valleys, to the dense cushions and prostrate branches of the alpine herbs and junipers.

    On this part of Western Himalayas, forests and alpine meadows can be seen in  their original state. The subalpine zone is richest in species, followed by the alpine and upper temperate zones.

    The  Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area shows very clearly the significance for biodiversity conservation. It is located within the globally significant “Western Himalayan Temperate Forests” eco-region. The National Park Conservation Area is home to 805 vascular plant species, 192 species of lichen, 12 species of liverworts and 25 species of mosses.

    Trekking & Tourism prospects in the great Himalayan national park

    The park has emerged as a popular trekking and ecotourism destination. The GHNP office at Sai Ropa issues permits for trekking. There are several popular trekking routes in the park, ranging from those that can be done in a day or two, to those that can take up from a week to ten days.

    How to reach the Great Himalayan national park?

    By air :

     Fly to Kullu Manali Airport (Bhuntar) from Delhi, and then traveling by road to the park’s entrance.[ about 60 km from the park].

     You need a permit to enter the park, which can be obtained from the park’s head office in Shamshi or zonal offices in Ropa and Shairopa. The park is only accessible by foot, and trekking is the only way to truly explore its wilderness.you can hire a guide.

    By train :

     Joginder Nagar is the nearest railhead, about 143 km away

    By road :

    Aut is the  major stop on the Kullu-Manali highway, Aut is the gateway to the park and Parvati Valley. From Aut take a taxi or local bus to Banjar.

    Written by Dr. sanjana.p. Souparnika

    References

  • Microbes to detoxify our atmosphere & reduce global warming

    Microbes play a vital role in reducing air pollution and global warming. Let us have a glimpse at the role of microbes in carbon sequestration and in climate change.

      Microbes are microscopic living things found in water, soil, the air and our bodies. Microbes are also referred to as microorganisms and some of them are disease causing agents while others are helpful to the body as well as the environment. The microbes include bacteria, viruses and fungi and they are part of our life and environment.

    It is a well-known fact that human body contains numerous microbes and every microorganism is not harmful to us.  For example, human intestine contains probiotic bacteriae and vitamin K synthesizing bacteriae which helps to maintain the gut health. Similarly, our environment also incorporates microbes as a part of our ecosystem and which helps to maintain ecological balance.

         Melbourne researchers have discovered that microbes of our environment consume huge amounts of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) and helps in detoxification process. CO is a green house gas which leads to global warming phenomenon due to their increased heat trapping potential. 

    The Monash University-led Study, published in Nature Chemical Biology, shows that at an atomic level how microbes consume carbon monoxide present in the atmosphere. The microbes use a special enzyme, called the CO dehydrogenase in this detoxification process. These microbes consume CO for their own survival, but it helps to clear carbon monoxide, the toxic gas that gets trapped on Earth’s atmosphere.

    Microbes reduce air pollution

    Carbon monoxide [CO] is an atmospheric trace gas and rarely exceeds 1 ppm except in heavily polluted city airspaces, volcanic exhalations, or industrial flue gases . Volcanic exhalations have significant CO content, submarine hydrothermal vent fluids have about 100 nM CO .

    Moderate concentrations of CO are produced by bacterial fermentation or in soil associated with rhizosphere bacteria. CO has high potential as an electron donor, and represents a very favorable energy and carbon source for microbial growth. Some atmospheric microbes utilize atmospheric carbon monoxide as a part of their survival process, but this detoxification process by the microbes has positive impact on our ecosystem as it reduces air pollution, which kills many millions of people each year.

    Microbes impact global warming

      According to NASA, Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities , primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by more than 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.

    Generally, life on Earth depends on energy coming from the Sun. About half the light energy reaching Earth’s atmosphere passes through the air and clouds to the surface, where it is absorbed and radiated in the form of infrared heat. About 90% of this heat is then absorbed by greenhouse gases and re-radiated, slowing heat loss to space. Greenhouse gases are slowing heat loss from the lower atmosphere.

    The consumption of carbon monoxide [CO]by the microbes help to reduce global warming, as CO is a notoriously known for raising atmospheric temperature as a greenhouse gas. Five key greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor.

    History of link between microbes and environment

     The evidence for CO utilization by “methane bacteria” was noted by Kluyver and Schnellen in 1947 and since then many microbes using CO via oxidation have emerged. Many strains of microbes use molecular oxygen as the electron acceptor for aerobic oxidation of CO.

    Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most important chemical reactants in the troposphere layer of earth’s atmosphere. It influences the fate of methane and ozone by removing the major atmospheric oxidizing agent, hydroxyl radical.

    Fossil fuel use, biomass burning, and oxidation of atmospheric hydrocarbons (methane and other compounds) account for most of the CO source strength of the atmosphere.

    Carbon dioxide sequestration

    Soil microbes are essential to carbon sequestration. Certain bacteria and algae convert carbon dioxide into organic matter, which is then stored in the soil. This helps remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, mitigating the effects of global warming.

    Some of the key soil microbes involved in carbon sequestration include:

    Mycorrhizal fungi: These fungi form mutualistic relationships with plant roots, helping plants to absorb nutrients and water from the soil. They also play a role in carbon sequestration by increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil.

    Actinobacteria: These bacteria are known to decompose plant litter and other organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide in the process. They also play a role in carbon sequestration by producing organic compounds that help to stabilize soil organic matter.

    Rhizobia: These bacteria form symbiotic relationships with legume plants, fixing nitrogen from the air and making it available to the plant. This process also helps to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil.

    Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: These fungi form symbiotic relationships with a many plant species, and they play vital  role in carbon sequestration by increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil.

    Proteobacteria: These bacteria help in decomposing plant litter and other organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide. However, they aid carbon sequestration by producing compounds that help to stabilize soil organic matter.

    Scientists have recently discovered a microbe, a type of cyanobacteria, off the coast of a volcanic island near Sicily that consumes carbon dioxide (CO2) very quickly. Cyanobacteria are a type of bacteria that use photosynthesis to obtain energy, capturing carbon in the process.

    Together with a team of researchers from Harvard and Cornell universities in the US and the University of Palermo in Sicily, and with help from the Vulcano community, Tierney isolated a microbe that converted CO2 into biomass faster than other known cyanobacteria.

    How do microbes impact climate change?

    Scientists  all over the world are of the opinion that tackling climate change will require large-scale carbon capture and carbon sequestration. Both aims at removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus prevent the climate change.  This can probably be achieved via new technology or through protecting and enhancing existing natural ecosystems such as forests, peatlands and soils.

     Last year the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that carbon capture is essential because even big cuts to emissions won’t be enough to limit global warming. Microbes play a crucial role in caron capture.

    This discovery elucidates the significance of coexistence of microbes in our environment for better weather and climatic state. All microbes are not deleterious to our health in normal weather and climatic conditions. Some are helpful in preserving the equilibrium of our ecosystem.

    written by

    Dr. Sanjana.p. Souparnika

    References for further reading

  • Sustainable living

    Sustainable living is a method of reducing one’s “carbon footprint”. In this life style people learn to minimize their use of Earth’s resources and reduce the personal and environmental impact. It also includes healthy organic food choices.

    Sustainable living means we prioritize the use of natural and renewable resources instead of creating excess waste and depleting environmental resources for future generations. Sustainable living can counteract climate change and other negative environmental concerns happening from human activity of exploiting natural resources.

    Sustainable living is a practical life style choice or philosophy that aims to reduce personal and environmental impact by making positive changes.

    More precisely, sustainable living is a method of reducing one’s “carbon footprint”.

    In this life style people learn to minimize their use of Earth’s resources and reduce the  personal and environmental impact.

    Sustainability or sustainable living was an idea proposed to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.

    Living sustainably means” curb expenditure” in order to protect and improve our environment.”

        The natural resource base to supply food is being threatened by overfishing, land degradation, and more human activities exploiting natural resources. All these unbridled exploitations are polluting the world’s freshwater supplies faster than nature can purify them, and excessive use of water is contributing to global water stress. And household energy usage is contributing to 21 percent of consequential CO2 emissions.

    A few sustainable living options

    ·       Empower organic farmers & people with agricultural and financial support they needed to make a fair living without cutting down trees.

    ·       Don’t use plastic bags at checkout. Instead, take your own bags for groceries.

    ·       Buy your grains & groceries in bulk from your local farmer’s markets.

    ·       Avoid buying plastic-wrapped products, opt for a paper bag instead.

    ·       Stop buying bottled water. Use your own steel or glass bottles filled with water.

    ·       Shop at bulk food stores for any goods, avoid frequent food travels. Better take products in your own jars or bags.

    ·       Take your own paper bags or a container when buying snacks .

    ·       Support fashion brands that are ethical and environmentally conscious.

    ·       Learn how to find sustainable materials when shopping.

    ·       Go paperless to avoid deforestation or falling down trees for making paper.

    ·       Opt to receive digital letters and notices.

    ·       Send electronic wedding invitations.

    ·       Collect scrap paper in a tray.

    ·       Turn off your computer before leaving work.

    ·       Get rid of your home printer.

    ·       Unplug workstation from ports overnight to reduce phantom power.

    ·       If you need business cards, use an eco-friendly printer.

    ·       Add small pot plants to your workspace. Adopt green office environment

    ·       Always use double-sided printing where possible.

    ·       Juice the off-cuts of your vegetables and fruits.

    ·       Repurpose glass jars usage.

    ·       Use washable metal straws instead of disposable plastic straws.

    ·       Limit the use of hot water when hand washing dishes.

    ·       Use cloths instead of paper towels.

    ·       Make your own coffee instead of buying takeaway.

    ·       Ditch your bin liner or use newspaper instead.

    ·       Start composting the vegetable and food waste.

    ·       Reduce your food waste by eating only what you need.

    ·       Invest in a pressure cooker and reduce your cooking time and save energy.