Included here are the Himalayas which in biogeographic terms can be divided into the western and eastern Himalayas. The western zone includes the area westward of the Kali Gandaki River Gorge (the world’s deepest valley) in Central Nepal which acts as a biogeographic barrier between the Eastern and Western Himalayan. Also included are the southern slopes and offspurs of the Western Himalayas, the valleys of the rivers Gilgat, Kabul, Kunar, Kurram and Swat, and with mountains like Everest, Dhaulagiri and Makalu, this zone has the tallest peaks on Earth. The eastern Himalayas includes eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, a large part of the Assam Himalayas and the extreme southeastern part of Tibet.

Western Himalayan Riparian Communities

Along streams and watercourses species of Aletris, Caltha, Pedicularis, Polygonum, Potentilla and Ranunculus are likely to be seen. Endemic species that rely on these wetter areas include Hedysarum microcalyx (Fabaceae) and Oxytropis williamsii (Fabaceae).

References

Law, B. C. 1968. Mountains and Rivers of India. 21st International Geographical Congress. National Committee for Geography, Calcutta.

Malik, N. Z., Arshad, M. & Mirza, S. N. 2007. Phytosociological attributes of different plant communities of Pir Chinasi Hills of Azad Jammu and Kasmir. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 9: 569-574.

Nayar, M. P. 1996. “Hot Spots” of endemic plants of India, Nepal and Bhutan. Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute. Palode, Thiruvananthapuram.

Polunin, O. & Stainton, A. 1984. Flowers of the Himalaya. Oxford University Press.

Rafiq, R. A. (undated). Report on the botanical studies in Palas Valley (1992-1995). National Herbarium, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad. Report prepared for the Himalayan Jungle Project, Palas Valley, Kohistan.

Rau, M. A. 1974  Vegetation and Phytogeography of Himalaya. In: Ecology and Biogeography in India. Ed. M. S. Mani. Dr W. Junk Publishers. The Hague.

Shinwari, M. I. & Khan, M. A. 2000. Vegetation comparison of sacred, reserved and unreserved sites of Rumli Village at Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 3: 1681-1683.