The functional role and diversity of soil nematodes are stronger at high elevation in the lesser Himalayan Mountain ranges

The Tibetan Plateau is by far the largest region of high elevation, averaging just above 5,000 metres above sea level, and the thickest crust, between 70 and 90 kilometres thick, anywhere in the world. This huge plateau region is very flat—lying in the internally drained parts of the Chang Tang in north and central Tibet, but in parts of the externally drained eastern Tibet, three or four mountain ranges larger and higher than the Alps rise above the frozen plateau. Some of the world’s largest and longest mountain ranges border the plateau, the ‘flaming mountains’ of the Tien Shan along the north-west, the Kun Lun along the north, the Longmen Shan in the east, and of course the mighty Himalaya forming the southern border of the plateau. The great trans-Himalayan mountain ranges of the Pamir and Karakoram are geologically part of the Asian plate and western Tibet but, as we have noted before, unlike Tibet, these ranges have incredibly high relief with 7- and 8-kilometre-high mountains and deeply eroded rivers and glacial valleys. The western part of the Tibetan Plateau is the highest, driest, and wildest area of Tibet. Here there is almost no rainfall and rivers that carry run-off from the bordering mountain ranges simply evaporate into saltpans or disappear underground. Rivers draining the Kun Lun flow north into the Takla Makan Desert, forming seasonal marshlands in the wet season and a dusty desert when the rivers run dry. The discovery of fossil tropical leaves, palm tree trunks, and even bones from miniature Miocene horses suggest that the climate may have been wetter in the past, but this is also dependent on the rise of the plateau. Exactly when Tibet rose to its present elevation is a matter of great debate. Nowadays the Indian Ocean monsoon winds sweep moisture-laden air over the Indian sub-continent during the summer months (late June–September). All the moisture is dumped as the summer monsoon, the torrential rains that sweep across India from south-east to north-west.

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Description of two new species of Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4459.1.3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4459 (1) ◽

pp. 85 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

VIVEK PHILIP CYRIAC ◽

ALEX JOHNY ◽

P. K. UMESH ◽

MUHAMED JAFER PALOT

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

High Elevation ◽

High Mountain ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Two New Species ◽

Southern Western Ghats ◽

High Elevation Forests ◽

The Western Ghats

Two new species of geckos of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 are described from the southern Western Ghats of Kerala. Both species are medium to large sized Cnemaspis and can be differentiated from all other Indian congeners by a suite of distinct morphological characters. Both species are found in the high elevation forests of the two major massifs— Anaimalai Hills and Agasthyamalai Hills and are presently known to have very restricted distributional ranges. The discovery of these novel species highlights the understudied diversity of reptiles in the high mountain ranges of the Western Ghats.

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Dyadobacter hamtensis sp. nov., from Hamta glacier, located in the Himalayas, India

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY ◽

10.1099/ijs.0.63806-0 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 55 (5) ◽

pp. 2113-2117 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

P. Chaturvedi ◽

G. S. N. Reddy ◽

S. Shivaji

Keyword(s):

Type Strain ◽

Gene Sequence ◽

Novel Species ◽

Sequence Similarity ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Rrna Gene Sequence ◽

Phenotypic Characteristics ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Himalayan Mountain

Strain HHS 11T was isolated from a water sample collected from the snout of Hamta glacier located in the Himalayan mountain ranges of India. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses established the affiliation of the isolate to the genus Dyadobacter. HHS 11T possessed 96 and 95 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with respect to Dyadobacter crusticola and Dyadobacter fermentans, respectively. Furthermore, strain HHS 11T differs from D. crusticola and D. fermentans in a number of phenotypic characteristics. These data suggest that strain HHS 11T represents a novel species of the genus Dyadobacter, for which the name Dyadobacter hamtensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HHS 11T (=JCM 12919T=MTCC 7023T).

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Propagating uplift controls on formation of low-relief, high-elevation surfaces in the SE Tibetan Plateau

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13508 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoping Yuan ◽

Kimberly Huppert ◽

Jean Braun ◽

Laure Guerit

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

High Elevation ◽

Step Change ◽

Loss Mechanism ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Horizontal Advection ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Relief Surface ◽

Deposition Processes ◽

Three Rivers

<p>The SE Tibetan Plateau has extensive broad, low-relief, high-elevation surfaces perched above deep valleys, as well as in the headwaters of the three rivers (the Salween, the Mekong, and the Yangtze). However, understanding the presence of these low-relief surfaces is a long-standing challenge because their formation process remains highly debated. While alternate mechanisms have been proposed to explain the low-relief surface formation in this setting (e.g., drainage-area loss mechanism due to horizontal advection; Yang et al., 2015, Nature), a long-standing hypothesis for the formation of low-relief surfaces is by a step change in uplift and incision into a pre-existing, low-relief surface (Clark et al., 2006, JGR; Whipple et al., 2017, Geology).</p><p>The morphology of low-relief surfaces in the SE Tibetan Plateau is largely consistent with formation by a step change in uplift, but one problem with this model is that low-relief surfaces formed by a step change in uplift are relatively short-lived, since they are incised and steepened by erosion, which sweeps upstream at the response time of mountain ranges (in the order of several million years). Using a landscape evolution model that combines erosion, sediment transport and deposition processes (Yuan et al., 2019, JGR), we demonstrate that propagating uplift form large parallel rivers, with broad low-relief, high-elevation interfluves that persist for tens to hundreds of million years, consistent with various dated ages. These low-relief surfaces can be long-lived because the drainage areas in these interfluves are insufficient to keep up with rapid incision of the large parallel mainstem rivers. Our simulated features match various observations in the SE Tibetan Plateau: (i) low-relief surfaces are approximately co-planar in headwaters, and decrease in elevation smoothly from northwest to southeast across the plateau margin; (ii) &#967;-elevation plots of the mainstem rivers are convex; (iii) low-relief surfaces have low erosion rates; and (iv) erosion rates are high in the mainstem rivers at the propagating margin.</p>

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Two new calcicolous species of Pinguicula sect. Pinguicula (Lentibulariaceae) growing on rocky habitats of the Iberian Peninsula

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.456.3.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 456 (3) ◽

pp. 269-284

Author(s):

MANUEL B. CRESPO ◽

MARIO MARTÍNEZ-AZORÍN ◽

MARÍA ÁNGELES ALONSO ◽

LLORENÇ SÁEZ

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Phylogenetic Relationships ◽

Morphological Traits ◽

High Elevation ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

La Mancha ◽

Central Eastern ◽

Close Relatives ◽

Rocky Habitats ◽

Easy Differentiation

Two new rupicolous species of Pinguicula are described from the limestone and dolomitic mountain ranges of central and southern Iberian Peninsula, which were previously identified as P. submediterranea, P. mundi or P. dertosensis. First, the name P. tejedensis sp. nov. is applied to populations concealed to the high elevation areas of Sierra de Tejeda and Sierra de Almijara, in Granada Province (Andalusia, southern Iberian Peninsula). They resemble P. submediterranea, a name here revived for the Subbetic populations of Jaen Province, but its floral features, fruits and seeds allow easy differentiation. Second, P. casperiana is proposed to name populations occurring in the medium to high elevation areas of Serranía de Cuenca, between Cuenca and Guadalajara Provinces (Castilla-La Mancha, central-eastern Iberian Peninsula). Members of the Castillian species are closer to P. dertosensis and also akin to P. mundi, but again their floral features, fruits and seeds allow safe recognition. Both species are significantly different to each other and with regard to their morphologically close relatives, and they also show molecular divergences that support recognition at species rank. Data on morphological traits, ecology, distribution, biogeography and phylogenetic relationships are also presented.

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Swiss Stone Pine Provenance Experiment in Romania: II Variation in Growth and Branching Traits to Age 14

Silvae Genetica ◽

10.1515/sg-2007-0023 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 56 (1-6) ◽

pp. 148-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

I. Blada ◽

F. Popescu

Keyword(s):

High Elevation ◽

Height Growth ◽

Environment Interaction ◽

Stone Pine ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Seed Transfer ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Swiss Stone Pine ◽

The Alps ◽

Collar Diameter

Summary After the nursery testing, twelve Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.) provenances from the Alps and Carpathian Mountains were planted out at two sites located at high elevation in the Southern and Northern Carpathians. Total height growth (H), annual height growth (h), root collar diameter (RCD), branches per whorl (BW) and survival (SV) were measured and analyzed. Analysis of variance showed highly significant (p < 0.01; p < 0.001) differences between provenances for all traits, except survival, suggesting that selection at the provenance level could be possible. Also, over locations analysis revealed significant genotype x environment interaction, demonstrating that some provenances react differently to environmental conditions and, selection should take this into account. The phenotypic coefficient of variation was moderate for growth and high for number of branches per whorl suggesting that selection within provenance can also be applied. Finding of significant and highly significant age-age and trait-trait phenotypic correlations indicated that early and indirect selection in Swiss stone pine species is possible. According to DUNCAN’s multiple range test the best performing provenances of the two mountain ranges were selected for operational planting and breeding programmes. The results of this study validate that a very slow growing species, such as Swiss stone pine may still possess very high genetic variation in growth rate; consequently, this trait can be improved. Finally, an attempt has been made to develop a seed transfer guidelines for the species by using the pattern of geographic variation as a basis.

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Glacial Erosion Rates Determined at Vorab Glacier: Implications for the Evolution of Limestone Plateaus

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11090356 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 356

Author(s):

Olivia Steinemann ◽

Alicia Martinez ◽

Vincenzo Picotti ◽

Christof Vockenhuber ◽

Susan Ivy-Ochs

Keyword(s):

Eastern Alps ◽

Crystalline Rock ◽

High Elevation ◽

Glacial Erosion ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Glacier Forefield ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Cosmogenic Nuclide ◽

Crystalline Bedrock ◽

The Relationship

Understanding how fast glaciers erode their bedrock substrate is one of the key elements in reconstructing how the action of glaciers gives mountain ranges their shape. By combining cosmogenic nuclide concentrations determined in glacially abraded bedrock with a numerical model, we quantify glacial erosion rates over the last 15 ka. We measured cosmogenic 36Cl in fourteen samples from the limestone forefield of the Vorab glacier (Eastern Alps, Switzerland). Determined glacial erosion rates range from 0.01 mm a−1 to 0.16 mm a−1. These glacial abrasion rates differ quite markedly from rates measured on crystalline bedrock (>1 mm a−1), but are similarly low to the rates determined on the only examined limestone plateau so far, the Tsanfleuron glacier forefield. Our data, congruent with field observations, suggest that the Vorab glacier planed off crystalline rock (Permian Verrucano) overlying the Glarus thrust. Upon reaching the underlying strongly karstified limestone the glacier virtually stopped eroding its bed. We attribute this to immediate drainage of meltwater into the karst passages below the glacier, which inhibits sliding. The determined glacial erosion rates underscore the relationship between geology and the resulting landscape that evolves, whether high elevation plateaus in limestone terrains or steep-walled valleys in granitic/gneissic areas.

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A Synoptic Classification of Inflow-Generating Precipitation in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology ◽

10.1175/jamc-d-14-0278.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 54 (8) ◽

pp. 1713-1732 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Alison Theobald ◽

Hamish McGowan ◽

Johanna Speirs ◽

Nik Callow

Keyword(s):

Environmental Flows ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

High Elevation ◽

Synoptic Climatology ◽

Hydroelectric Power ◽

Reanalysis Dataset ◽

Synoptic Classification ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Southeastern Australia ◽

Three Dimensional Representation

AbstractPrecipitation falling in the Snowy Mountains region of southeastern Australia provides fuel for hydroelectric power generation and environmental flows along major river systems, as well as critical water resources for agricultural irrigation. A synoptic climatology of daily precipitation that triggers a quantifiable increase in streamflow in the headwater catchments of the Snowy Mountains region is presented for the period 1958–2012. Here, previous synoptic-meteorological studies of the region are extended by using a longer-term, year-round precipitation and reanalysis dataset combined with a novel, automated synoptic-classification technique. A three-dimensional representation of synoptic circulation is developed by effectively combining meteorological variables through the depth of the troposphere. Eleven distinct synoptic types are identified, describing key circulation features and moisture pathways that deliver precipitation to the Snowy Mountains. Synoptic types with the highest precipitation totals are commonly associated with moisture pathways originating from the northeast and northwest of Australia. These systems generate the greatest precipitation totals across the westerly and high-elevation areas of the Snowy Mountains, but precipitation is reduced in the eastern-elevation areas in the lee of the mountain ranges. In eastern regions, synoptic types with onshore transport of humid air from the Tasman Sea are the major source of precipitation. Strong seasonality in synoptic types is evident, with frontal and cutoff-low types dominating in winter and inland heat troughs prevailing in summer. Interaction between tropical and extratropical systems is evident in all seasons.

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