Vegetation pattern of trans-Himalayan zone in north-west Nepal

The study area covers the land from Jomsom in Mustang to Kagmara of Dolpo district in west Nepal. It is typically high altitudinal trans-Himalayan marginal land of Tibetan plateau, representing trans-Himalayan ecology. The area is almost a dry place consisting of rolling hills and is dominated by alpine scrubs and meadows with various kinds of distinct patches of vegetation. The vegetation types are xerophilous, steppe formation and alpine formation with woody shrubs in the river valleys, nival formation (herbaceous and graminoids mats) in the open land. Majority of the study area is bare and covered by hanging cliff and the vegetation differs from other regions of high Himalayan area of Nepal but to some extent it resembles with that of the western Himalayan and the Tibetan marginal land because the area is the rain shadow of high mountain ridges like Mt. Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Kanjiroba. Specifically the vegetation pattern of study area includes six types such as Xerophile formation, Alpine zone, Alpine scrubs (Dry alpine scrubs, Moist alpine scrubs), Alpine meadows (Dry land meadows, Moist land meadows), Scree vegetation, Nival formation and Agriculture boarder land vegetation.