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The Himalaya, Topographic showpiece
of a huge highland area stretching from
Afghanistan to Myanmar results extraordinary
assemblage of plant diversity. The Eastern
Himalayas, the eastern region of Bhutan, upper
Assam valley and Northern complex forest of
Myanmar form a global biodiversity hot spot with
a tremendous variety of plants and animals, a
third of which of which are found nowhere else
in the world.
New species are turning up at a rate of 35 a
year and highlights uncovered in the region
since 1998 include the miniature muntjac "Muntiacus
putaoensis" also known as the leaf deer, which
at 60 to 80 centimeters tall and 8 to 11
kilograms is the smallest species of deer in the
world. It was discovered in 1998 by a scientific
team led by Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, now the
president of New York based conservation group
Panthera, who later helped to establish the
Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve. The team initially
believed the tiny deer to be a juvenile of
another species but was surprised to find it was
an adult female of an as yet unknown species,
later coined the leaf deer.
Another mammal to be unearthed in the area in
the past 10 years was the Arunachal macaque "Macacamunzala"
the first new monkey to be fond in a century.
Among the most visually striking are the
red-footed but otherwise bright green flying
frog "Rhacophorussuffry" and Smith’s litter frog
"Leptobrachium smithi" which boasts huge golden
eyes and was described by the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF), which has compiled a report on the
region, as “among the most
extraordinary-looking” frogs in the world.
Other new species include catfish with sticky
stomachs, a luridly green pit viper, a
freshwater beetle living at 5100 meters above
sea level, higher than any other beetle and a
bird restricted to a site less than a square
mile.
Overall from 1998 to 2008 two mammals, two
birds, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 244
plants and more than 60 invertebrates have been
identified in the region, according to the WWF
report "The Eastern Himalayas – Where Worlds
Collide". Fourteen of the new discoveries – five
plants, three invertebrates, two fish, two
reptiles, one bird and one amphibian were made
in Myanmar according to the report.
The Eastern Himalayas, regarded as one of the
most rugged and beautiful areas of the world, is
already the stronghold of the Bengal tiger, the
only home of the snow leopards and the last
sanctuary of the greater one – horned - rhino,
but has so much unknown wildlife that
researchers expect many more discoveries to be
made in the future.
Discoveries have also been made of species which
lived in the region millions of years ago and
were preserved when they became encased in amber
resin. Among the creatures preserved in amber
was the earliest known gecko "Cretaceogekko
burmae" from 100 million years ago which was
identified in 2008. Other included the oldest
known tick and the earliest recorded mushroom.
The region is a hotspot for wildlife and harbors
a huge number of species including 10000 plants,
300 mammals, 977 birds, 176 reptiles, 105
amphibians and 269 types of freshwater fish. WWF
has launched the Climate for Life campaign to
raise public awareness of environmental problems
in the Himalayas and is working with local
communities to help them cope with the impacts
of climate change. The wealth and variety of
wildlife being found in the eastern Himalayas
comparable with better recognized ecological
hotspots such as Borneo.
Myanmar section of Eastern edged of Himalaya
provide fascinating experimental field and
natural laboratory for the study of plants and
their adaptation and also provide unique
Opportunities to naturalists for studying
evolution nature and ecosystem . If connects the
floristically distinct Eastern and Western
Himalaya region and is of high botanical
interest because of both it’s geographical
linkage and it’s floral wealth.
One of the unique feature of Eastern Himalaya,
the remote plateau region lies in the rain
shadow of the Madoi Razi, Alpine rangeland,
which symbolically links the secular and
spiritual realms of life in a conjunction of
heaven and mountain. That auspicious setting of
rugged and majestic terrain ecosystem is sacred
water tower of Malikha joining of 4 mountain
streams. The rangelands ecosystem is important
for the headwater’s environment of the major
rivers system in the Himalaya. Nine of the World
major rivers The Ganges, Indus, Sutley,
Brahmaputra , Mekong, Thanlwin (Salween),
Ayeyarwady, Yangtze and Yellow are originate in
the Himalaya and Tibetan plateau. Alpine
rangeland of Madoi Razi provides habitats for
numerous species of wildlife. Many of which are
endangered and for a wealth of plant species.
Meadow rangelands of the Himalaya are also some
of the world’s most outstanding rangeland
ecosystems. So that the Eastern Himalayan alpine
meadows were so well represented in the ‘‘Global
200 highlights’’ the special attention that
these areas need for conserving the world’s
biodiversity.
In the ragged and stony alpine meadow
environment of the Madoi Razi rangeland
subjected to the high altitudes and monsoon
climate, characteristic dominant factors are
general low temperature with short summer and
extremely cold and dry winters, low atmospheric
pressure and strong wing, violent wing and snow
in winter and incessant cold rain or sleet in
summer, violent sunshine with excessive
ultraviolet ray, and dynamic fluctuations in
weather in a single day. Add to these conditions
the flora of the uppermost alpine zone must grow
in scare soil with limited water and nutrient
and the instability of habitats exposed to
freezing and incessant solifluction.
Almost all the plants growing in the upper
alpine meadow zone of Madoi Razi are highly
specialized in their morphology for survival in
one of the toughest environments on earth. Their
specialized morphology is not just an adoption,
those plants appear to be quite unusual and
prominent and can be see from a consideration
distinct. Alpine and subnival plants vegetation
is become very increasingly, because they are
unique representative of the Himalaya, the
largest and highest mountain ranges in the
world. The subnival zone at Malikhu area is the
one of the first to study the relationship
between plants and ultraviolet light and also
one of the best fields on earth to observe
continuous forest venation from the tropical
lowland to the tree line and alpine scrub
vegetation above. In the alpine rangeland meadow
of Malikhu, abundance of pendulous flowers can
be found and it is probably related to the rainy
weather during the day in the region. It might
be that the shape and posture of flower are
meaningful in relation to their habit.
One of the most attractive alpine plants at the
eastern Himalaya, is Rheum nobile with its
large, outstanding, cream colored, translucent
bracts covering a tall, large inflorescence. It
inflorescences entirely covered by papery
translucent bracts or carline leaves are called
‘‘glasshouse’’ plant. The bracts and leaves are
believed to keep warm moist air inside, allow
sunshine to penetrate keep off cold wind, cold
rain, ultraviolet rays, drastic and frequent
changes in temperature, offer a comfortable
place to pollinator even in bad weather and
attract pollinators.
For the additive strategies for Saussurea
gossipiphora, the hollow stems can effectively
retain warmth from respiration. Its hollow stem
can store terrestrial heat. Compact flat or
hemispherical cluster of flower-heads have
thick, hollow stem, which are widened-upward in
the shape of an oven to warm the bundle of ovary
above it. These plants with the inflorescence
entirely covered with long wool-like hairs, such
as Saussurea gossipiphora are called ‘‘Sweater’’
or ‘‘Snow ball pant’’ (Ohba 1988, Ohba and
Akiyama). Saussurea gossipiphora provides space
above the head inside the wool ball where bumble
bees can obtain nectar actively in the daytime
and take refuge at night and bad weather.
Many species of Ranunculacece with Symmetric,
radiate flowers belong to this group. These cap
flowers of Aconitum are conspicuous to
pollinators. They focus sunshine on the sexual
organ in fine weather. Many species of Aconitum,
whose petal have the most reflective upper
surface, remain open even under snow.
Another unique character of Eastern-Himalaya
flora is dwarfism. This character is very
important for most of the Alpine Flora, by means
of dwarfism , plants can minimize their body
size by minimizing their own physiological
necessities , they must keep their entomophilous
flowers large to attract pollinators. Dwarf
plants of Asteraceae with large flower-head can
be seen in the upper alpine zone, above 4800-m
of the Madoi Madaing Razi. Although most alpine
plants are dwarfish, considerable number of
curious gigantic plants as snowball makes
Myanmar section of Eastern Himalaya unique.
In the alpine region above 4000-4500 m in the
Himalaya, air temperature never exceeds 15 C
even at the height of summer between late July
and middle August and the lowest air temperature
during coldest winter month Jan, Feb is below 10
C. Several other plants are also known to have
adoptions to keep their flowers warm,
Translucent bracts of Rheum nobile are such a
mechanism to effectively keep the reproductive
organs warm to ensure reproduction in the cold
summer environment of the Himalaya. In the
alpine environment, plants receive strong UV
radiation, which is harmful to DNA. One of the
effective ways to protect against UV radiation
is reflection. Reflection by trachoma and
cuticle reduces not only UV radiation, but also
photosynthetically active radiation. Those
bracts of R. nobile are surely a remarkable
adaptation to the peculiar weather condition of
the Myanmar section of Eastern Himalaya.
These unique pattern and form of Eastern edged
of Himalaya flora contribute the Malikhu- Madoi
Madaing Razi reputation of region extraordinary
unique floristic region. Different patterns in
the present distribution may have derived from
different dispersal histories during the glacial
age, which can be proposed as ‘‘Central Asiatic
Highland Corridor’’ for the region around the
central Asiatic highland and continuous Eastern
edged of Himalaya as an important path for the
migration, and adaptation of flora between the
Arctic Region and the Himalaya as well as
between the arctic and eastern Tibet and Hkakabo
Razi area. Each species must have established
its distribution range along this Central
Asiatic Highland Corridor through climatic
fluctuations during the glacial age.
Alpine-Himalaya rangeland meadow ecosystem of
Madaing Razi with both it’s new and old floras
and it’s abundant floristic components is one of
the Myanmar’s biggest treasure-house of plant
resources. These catmint mountain ranges of
Malikha, formed by the organic movement of the
Himalaya, vertical elevation, steep valley
produce many favorable small regional
environment for the differentiation of plants
and appearance of new species and that
particular mountain eco-region is also included
in the ‘‘Global 200 highlight ’’. Rangeland
ecosystem is not only a major resource in the
Himalaya, but will become the important tourism
site. Most of the ecotourism in the Himalaya
region based on part on the attraction of the
meadow rangeland, wildlife. Ecotourism has the
potential to not only improve the livelihoods of
the ethnic people, but it can also contribute to
mountain community development. Therefore
biodiversity conversation of the Rangeland
ecosystem is very increasing important today.
Source:
New and noteworthy flowering plants from Head
Water Catchments of Mali Hka by Dr.Kalaya Lu
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