Ecology of alpine plants in NW Himalaya.

Abstract

The westernmost spur of the Tibetan Plateau stretches to Eastern Ladakh in India. It is a region which remains poorly explored because of challenging conditions and long periods of political instability. At the same time, it is one of the highest places on earth supporting angiosperm life, which goes beyond 6000 m a.s.l. here. The whole region, due its remoteness, is practically unaffected by plant invasions and direct human activities. Thus, Ladakh represents a kind of "natural experiment", providing very long gradient of elevation suitable for comparative functional ecology as well as for testing various hypotheses concerning limitations of vascular plants. Arid climate and extreme elevations are the common factors. Our team pursued the goal of systematic botanical and ecological exploration of Ladakh, started by late Leoš Klimeš. This thesis provides insight into the main vegetation types, clonality in plants, plant-plant interactions and soil phototroph communities.