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Rana SK, Rawal RS, Dangwal B, Bhatt ID, Price TD. 200 Years of Research on Himalayan Biodiversity: Trends, Gaps, and Policy Implications. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.603422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Global mountains, including the Himalaya, are highly vulnerable ecosystems, especially given climate and land-use changes. Here, we compile the literature on Himalayan biodiversity in order to assess spatial and taxonomic trends in research during the past 200 years. We identified 35,316 research outputs, including 28,120 journal articles, 3,725 doctoral theses, and 3,471 books. Nepal contributes the largest volume of published literature, followed by west Himalayan Indian states, with relatively few studies on the most biodiverse region lying to the east of Nepal. Publications on Himalayan biodiversity research have increased annually, especially after 1970, with an acceleration since 2000. Among the major taxonomic groups, the largest number of publications is on seed plants (angiosperms), followed by invertebrates (especially arthropods) and vertebrates. Some groups of organisms, notably fungi, bacteria, algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, etc., are clearly understudied. Among various research disciplines, ecology is the most dominant field followed by agriculture, ethnobiology, and paleontology. Some newer disciplines, including molecular biology and climate change, have contributed to the growth in the number of papers appearing during the last two decades. Despite an encouraging and rapid increase in research papers during this century, they are largely in low-impact-factor journals, likely to be subject to poor peer review, and many doctoral theses remain unpublished. The Government of India's development initiative emphasizes the importance of research in the Himalaya, which can be enhanced by improved quality of peer review and local journals registering in global indexing services.
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Naulak T, Pradhan S. A checklist of mammals with historical records from Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya landscape, India. JOURNAL OF THREATENED TAXA 2020. [DOI: 10.11609/jott.6062.12.11.16434-16459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
A region-specific species checklist is an important resource for biodiversity documentation and conservation. This review provides an updated mammal species checklist for the biodiversity hotspots of the Darjeeling-Sikkim landscape in Eastern Himalaya. The list was compiled by systematically reviewing 94 available publications spanning 178 years from 1841 to 2019, for mammals from the region. The species checklist is envisioned to aid in understanding the current status of mammal records, historical distribution, ranked conservation status of mammals, and research gaps. A total of 173 mammal species under 11 orders and 33 families, including the recently upgraded taxon, Sikkim Pika Ochotona sikimaria was enlisted. There are 25 species included in the IUCN threatened categories, 58 species listed in the CITES Appendices, and 112 species included in the schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 in India. Although mammals receive the maximum research attention in the landscape, small mammals and bats have rarely been subjected to systematic studies in recent years.
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