Plants are growing higher up mountains across the Himalayan region, new research shows.
Plants are growing higher up mountains across the Himalayan region, new research shows.
The study – led by the University of Exeter – examined the alpine “vegetation line” (the upper limit of continuous plants) in six regions across the Himalaya, from Ladakh, India in the far west of the mountain range, to the extreme east in Bhutan.
From 1999 to 2022, the vegetation line shifted upwards in all six regions – ranging from 1.42 metres per year in Khumbu (home of Mount Everest) to 6.95 metres per year in Manthang, Nepal.
With the climate warming, the team highlighted reduced snow depth as a key potential explanatory driver of these changes.
Read More at: University of Exeter
Karakoram region - a westward view from 3,900 m a.s.l. on Khosar Gang mountain, located close to our westernmost study region, Ladakh (Photo Credit: University of Exeter)
