 Forests
One-tenth of the world's known species of
higher altitude plants and animals occur in the Himalayas. In addition, some countries in
Asia are centres of origin for many crop and fruit-tree species; as such, they are
important sources of genes for their wild relatives.
In 1995, approximately 10% of known species in
the Himalayas were listed as threatened, and the number of species on the verge of
extinction has increased since then. As a consequence of global warming, the present
distribution of species in high-elevation ecosystems is projected to shift to higher
elevations, although the rates of vegetation change are expected to be slow and
colonization success would be constrained by increased erosion and overland flows in the
highly dissected and steep terrains of the Himalayan mountain range.
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rainfall will probably increase the productivity of tropical forests, result in a
migration of forest types to higher elevations and transform drier forest types to moister
ones (Ravindranath N H and Sukumar R 1998). It is estimated that the decline in soil moisture caused by warmer
temperatures will reduce teak productivity from 5.4 m3/ha to 5.07 m3/ha
(Achanta A N and Kanetkar R 1996). The same study suggests that a
decline in the productivity of moist deciduous forests may take place, from 1.8 m3/ha
to 1.5 m3/ha.
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| Disclaimer
The outcome of these studies reflects the author's viewpoint and not that of the
Government of India. |
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References
 Achanta
A N and Kanetkar R. 1996
Impact of climate change on forest productivity: a case study of Kerala, India
Paper presented at the Asian and Pacific Workshop on Climate Change Vulnerability and
Adaptation Assessment, 15-19 January1996, Manila, The Philippines
Ravindranath
N H and Sukumar R. 1998
Climate change and tropical forests in India
Climatic Change 39(2-3): 563-581
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Click on the map for
likely impacts in
different parts of India
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