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Tag: climate change

  • The Himalayas – biodiversity hotspot

       The Himalayas are biodiversity hotspots with exquisite flora &fauna and endangered species of animals & birds that have garnered increased attention from environmental scientists and nature lovers worldwide in recent decades.

    “The Himalayas” captivates the minds of the common man, affluent and the ascetic alike due to various reasons. The ethereal beauty of these colossal and magnificent mountain ranges captivates the human spirits, yet its profound, serene vales allure the ascetic. The grandeur of these ethereal mountain ranges captivates all who behold them.

       Beyond the aesthetic beauty and tranquility it offers, the Himalayas host a rich array of flora and fauna, including rare medicinal plants currently facing a high risk of extinction.

        Generally, the mountains encompass around 25% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and nearly half of the world’s recognized biodiversity ‘hotspots’ are present in the mountains.

    The Himalayas – biodiversity & ecosystem

     The Himalayan mountain ranges separate the Indian subcontinent from Tibetan plateau. These youngest mountain ranges cover an area of about 595,000 Km2 over 8 countries. The region contains over 10,000 plant species, over 300 mammal species, and 979 bird species, along with endemic flora and fauna.

    Himalayas – click to read more

     The Himalayas are home to many rare flowers and Orchids and cushion plants at 6100m height.

    Ermania himalayensis, one of the highest altitude flowering plants, is found at 6300 m on the slope. It is a unique small, dense, hair-covered cushion plant on scree slopes, thriving in extreme cold and dry conditions.

      Himalaya is home to Freshwater turtles and over1300 bird species.  The endangered bird species found in Himalayas include white eared night heron, grey crowned crocias,  orange necked patridge.

     Himalayas at its extreme altitude variations features diverse ecosystems from subtropical forests to alpine meadows.

     It is home to endangered species, including the Snow Leopard, Red Panda, Himalayan Tahr, and Himalayan Monal.

    Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, greater one-horned rhinoceros, and wild water buffalo also exist in the lower regions.

       The biodiversity of Himalayan region confronts severe threat from climate change, deforestation and, urbanization. The mountain ecosystems are very sensitive to climate change. Climatic conditions may change rapidly with elevation over relatively short horizontal distances, impacting quality &quantity of water resources, vegetation, ecosystems, and socio-economic settings.

    The Himalayas- biodiversity hotspot under threat

    The Himalayan ranges being a biogeographic region with an exceptional concentration of endemic species of plants & animals facing the threat of extinction from several factors operating in the region,is categorized as one of the prominent” biodiversity hotspots “on the globe.

    This huge, awe-inspiring mountain ranges extending over 8 countries, play a pivotal role in regulating the climate of the subcontinent acting as a massive climatic barrier. They are instrumental in blocking freezing, dry air from Central Asia in winter, resulting in a warmer, moderate climate.

    It’s a stark, shocking reality that Himalayas are under the threat of biodiversity loss &environmental pollution owing to multiple factors operating in the region.

    Himalayan landscapes have been altered, modified, and influenced by a large number of factors including climate change, intensified anthropogenic activities, trade etc. Several studies have reported the altered and modified landscapes, degrading biodiversity, altered plant phenology, and deteriorating ecosystem productivity in the region.

    According to research studies on Himalayan biodiversity, the shrinking of the cryosphere, land use for trading & construction activities, vegetation change and loss of biodiversity have adversely affected the ecosystem of the region.

    Habitat fragmentation, illegal wildlife trade, and unplanned urban expansion is killing the ecosystem of the Himalayas silently day by day.

    Impact of climate change on Himalayan Glaciers

     Climate change has deleterious impacts on the mountains and its valleys over the decades, causing gradual loss of biodiversity as well as poor quality of water emanating from the snow cladded mountains. In addition to climate change, several other factors contribute to the ecosystem damage in the Himalayan region.

     According to researchers Ren et al as per a study conducted in 2017, the region has experienced significant warming in recent decades, with the annual mean surface temperature increasing at about 0.11 °C per decade from 1901 to 2014.

    Annual precipitation trends using Global Land Monthly Precipitation (GLMP) and Global Land Daily (GLDP) data does not show any significant change over time.

    The Himalaya is warming at an alarming rate, probably three times higher than the global average. This may cause species to shift to higher elevations.

    • Thinning & retreat of Himalayan glaciers

       The cryosphere is the key component of the Himalayan ecosystem and several studies have documented the extent of climate change on it. The cryosphere encompasses the lakes, rivers, ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (permafrost) of the region. It is a critical component of the climate system that regulates global temperatures by reflecting solar radiation back into space.

    Several studies on Himalayan glaciers point out that the glaciers have retreated, thinned, and lost mass in many regions of the Himalayas.

    • Decreasing water content in snow cover

      Research data also indicates that there is a significant and widespread decrease in the water content of snow cover (Snow Water Equivalent – SWE). This reduction, often referred to as “snow drought,” is driven by rising global temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns from snow to rain.

     The Himalayan region is experiencing a critical “snow drought” in the earlier part of the current year 2026 with significantly reduced Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) and shrinking snow cover, particularly between 3,000m and 6,000m elevations.

    These factors have direct impact in reducing the amount of water stored over the winter. Water scarcity is the imminent threat challenging the future of the  vegetation, flora and fauna of the region.

    •  Permafrost degradation in Himalayan region

    Himalayan permafrost is experiencing rapid, unprecedented, and largely irreversible degradation due to global warming.

    Permafrost is ground—soil, rock, or sediment—that remains frozen at or below 0°C for at least two consecutive years, with some lasting for thousands of years. The permafrost degradation can have significant implications for regional infrastructure, water security, and risk of hazards.

      Studies indicate that a substantial amount of permafrost was lost in the Western Himalayas between the early 2000s and late 2010s, with the climate change associated to global warming.

    Recent studies have highlighted that over 60% of the high-altitude areas in specific regions, such as Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, are underlain by permafrost, which is now actively degrading and it is unprecedented.

    As per global mountain glacier studies, decrease in snowpack water content alters the crucial insulation layer on the ground, causing severe ecological consequences.  

      Climate change is significantly altering plant phenology in the Himalayas, causing earlier spring leaf emergence, extended growing seasons, and shifted flowering times due to warmer temperatures and reduced snow cover. Rhododendron arboreum, have shown delayed flowering. These alterations in plant phrenology threaten high-altitude biodiversity and ecosystem stability

    Impact of climate change Himalayan on biodiversity &water quality

    The lowering soil moisture consequent to less snow cover, thinning of glacier and degrading permafrost adversely impact the vegetation of the region. Particularly in spring and summer, it limits water availability for vegetation growth.

     Without the insulating snow layer, winter temperatures can cause deeper soil freezing. This results in higher fine root mortality, nutrient loss, and lower microbial activity. It may cause extensive damage to the vegetation of the region.

    Less snowpack causes earlier snowmelt, which can trigger earlier, but less productive, plant growth.

    Less water storage in snowpack lead to forest water stress and eventually cause higher tree mortality rates. Forest water stress occurs when water loss through transpiration exceeds uptake from the soil, causing severe physiological strain due to drought. Forest water stress leads to loss of a large population of trees in an extensive area.

    When snowpack decreases, or when rain-on-snow events increase, it leads to increased soil nutrient leaching. This may cause higher nutrient loads (like phosphorus and nitrogen) being flushed into waterways, degrading water quality.

    Reduced SWE [snow water equivalent] is associated with snow draught. This causes less meltwater available in the dry season, leading to lower streamflows and reduced reservoir levels.

    With reduction in total water volumes, the concentration of pollutants in remaining water sources can increase, reducing water quality for consumption and poor sustenance of aquatic life.

    The Himalayas provide 30–60% of downstream freshwater, rising to 70–90% in some semi-arid and arid environments.

    Water supply reduction affects irrigation, leading to lower crop yields and thus scarcity of food resources in the nearest future.

     Impact of intensified anthropogenic activities on Himalayas

    Ecosystem services and goods offered by mountains are of global significance, as they provide fresh water, biodiversity, mineral resources etc.

     Deforestation, habitat fragmentation, overgrazing, and road construction, especially in the Eastern Himalayas cause adverse impacts on the Himalayan ecosystem.

    Illegal wildlife trade poses a threat to endangered species. Construction of dams and other illegal encroachment to sensitive zones also destroy the biodiversity and eco system.

    The Himalayas- Biodiversity Conservation Efforts

    To the conserve the ecosystem of Himalayan region efforts are being made in a stringent way as the region has been listed among the four biodiversity hotspots in India.

    The strategic conservation measures include :

    • Protected zones:

     Implementation of national parks and sanctuaries, such as the, Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, where grazing is banned to protect endemic species.

    • Sustainable Practices are recommended &practiced
    • Development of medicinal plant conservation zones
    •  promoting, community-led, conservation initiatives.
    • Enforcement of regulations against illegal mining, and regulating unsustainable tourism.
    • sustainable agricultural practices.
    • addressing the impacts of climate change
    • image courtesy: freepik.com
    • written by dr sanjana p souparnika[ copyright]

  • 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