Abstract
This study was undertaken to describe characteristics of climate (air temperature and precipitation) at timberline in relation to topography, and also bring out the changes in climate that have taken place over the past 37 years (1977–2015) in the Sikkim Himalaya. The rate of increase in mean air temperature was more at timberline elevations of the outer Himalayan ranges than the inner Himalayan ranges (0.21 °C decade−1 for island type timberline [ITL] vs 0.23 °C decade−1 for continuous type timberline [CTL]), and same was true for rainfall (more at elevations of the outer Himalayan timberline [ITL, 192 mm decade−1] than the elevations of the inner Himalayan timberline [CTL, 96 mm decade−1]). Elevational bands of similar elevation (2800–3500 m asl) in a timberline zone that were away from permanent snowline were 3.3–4.5 °C warmer than the same elevation close to permanent snowline (inner ranges), which received less rainfall (438–650 mm) than the outer ranges. Annual mean air temperature was higher (~1 °C) in the locations where timberline moved upwards in 37 years. It was observed that the outer Himalayan ranges became warmer and wetter than the inner Himalayan timberline in the studied period. The warming rate was more at island type timberline (ITL) sites than continuous type timberline (CTL) sites indicating that inner regions in Sikkim are able to hold their own climatic features compared to CTL areas that are more vulnerable or responsive to climate change.
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Acknowledgements
Authors are thankful to Prof. S. P. Singh for encouragement and guidance to conduct this research; Director, G. B. Pant ‘National Institute of Himalayan Environment’ (NIHE), Kosi, for providing necessary facility; and Dr. Rajesh Joshi, Sikkim Regional Centre, for providing AWS data. Dr. Rehana Shaik is thankful to IIIT, Hyderabad, for computational and climate data support. Financial grant for this study was supported by National Mission on Himalayan Studies, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
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Latwal, A., Sah, P., Sharma, S., Rehana, S. (2023). Relationship Between Timberline Elevation and Climate in Sikkim Himalaya. In: Singh, S.P., Reshi, Z.A., Joshi, R. (eds) Ecology of Himalayan Treeline Ecotone. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4476-5_4
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