Theresponse of culturally important plants to experimental warming and clipping in Pakistan Himalayas

Abstract

The relative effects of climate warming with grazing on medicinally important plants are not fully understood in Hindukush-Himalaya (HKH) region. Therefore, we combined theindigenous knowledge about culturally important therapeutic plants and climate change with experimental warming (open-top chambers) and manual clipping (simulated grazing effect) and compared therelative difference on aboveground biomass and percent cover of plant species atfive alpine meadow sites on an elevation gradient (4696 m-3346 m) from 2016— 2018. Experimental warming increased biomass and percent cover throughout the experiment. However, the interactive treatment effect (warmingx clipping) was significant on biomass butnoton percent cover. These responses were taxa specific. Warming induced an increase of1 + 0.6% in Bistorta officinalis percent cover while for Poa alpina it was 18.7 + 4.9%. Contrastingly, clipping had a marginally significant effect in reducing the biomass and cover of all plant species. Clipping treatment reduced vegetation cover& biomass by 2.3% and 6.26%, respectively, but that was not significant due to the high variability among taxa response atdifferent sites. It was found that clipping decreased the effects of warming in interactive plots. Thus, warming may increase the availability of therapeutic plants for indigenous people while overgrazing would have deteriorating effects locally. The findings of this research illustrate that vegetation sensitivity to warming and overgrazing is likely to affect man—environment relationships, and traditional knowledge ona regional scale.