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Climate Change and Treeline Dynamics in the Himalaya

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Climate Change, Glacier Response, and Vegetation Dynamics in the Himalaya

Abstract

Treelines are sensitive to changing climatic conditions, in particular to temperature increases, and the majority of global alpine treelines has shown a response to recent climate change. High temperature trends in the Himalaya suggest a treeline advance to higher elevations; it is largely unknown, however, how broader-scale climate inputs interact with local-scale factors and processes to govern treeline response patterns. This paper reviews and synthesizes the current state of knowledge regarding sensitivity and response of Himalayan treelines to climate warming, based on extensive field observations, published results in the widely scattered literature and novel data from ongoing research of the present authors.

Palaeoecological studies indicate that the position of Himalayan treeline ecotones has been sensitive to Holocene climate change. After the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, treelines advanced in elevation to a position several hundred metres higher than today under warm-humid conditions and reached uppermost limits in the early Holocene. Decreasing temperatures below early and mid-Holocene levels induced a downward shift of treelines after c. 5.0 kyr BP. The decline of subalpine forests and treeline elevation in the more recent millennia was coincident with weakening monsoonal influence and increasing anthropogenic interferences.

To assess current treeline dynamics, treeline type, treeline form, seed-based regeneration and growth patterns are evaluated as sensitivity indicators. Anthropogenic treelines are predominant in the Himalaya; upslope movement of these treelines is related to the effects of land-use change. Near-natural treelines, rare nowadays, are usually developed as krummholz treelines which are relatively unresponsive. Strong competition within the krummholz belt and dense dwarf scrub heaths further upslope largely prevents the upward migration of tree species and retards treeline advance to higher elevation. However, intense recruitment of treeline trees within the treeline ecotone and beyond indicates beneficial preconditions for future treeline ascent. Growth patterns of treeline trees are particularly sensitive to higher winter and pre-monsoon temperatures, suggesting that moisture supply in the pre-monsoon season might be an effective control of future treeline dynamics. Modelled upslope range expansions of treeline trees point to potentially favourable bioclimatic conditions for an upward shift of treelines.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank several local people in Beding and Langtang who provided lodging and support in field data collection. Our thanks also go to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG SCHI 436/14-1, SCHO 739/14-1, BO 1333/4-1), the DAAD, the University of Hamburg and several foundations for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEN Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Udo Schickhoff, Maria Bobrowski, Jürgen Böhner, Birgit Bürzle & Niels Schwab

  2. RECAST Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Ram Prasad Chaudhary

  3. Section Hydrology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany

    Lars Gerlitz

  4. Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Jelena Lange

  5. Department of Geosciences, Chair of Soil Science and Geomorphology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Michael Müller & Thomas Scholten

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Correspondence to Udo Schickhoff .

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  1. Department of Geography, Delhi School of, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    RB Singh

  2. CEN Center for Earth System Research and, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Udo Schickhoff

  3. Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    Suraj Mal

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Schickhoff, U. et al. (2016). Climate Change and Treeline Dynamics in the Himalaya. In: Singh, R., Schickhoff, U., Mal, S. (eds) Climate Change, Glacier Response, and Vegetation Dynamics in the Himalaya. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28977-9_15

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