» Articles » PMID: 30425898

Geophysical Upheavals and Evolutionary Diversification of Plant Species in the Himalaya

Overview
Journal PeerJ
Date 2018 Nov 15
PMID 30425898
Citations 12
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

The Himalaya is one of the youngest and the loftiest mountain chains of the world; it is also referred to as the water tower of Asia. The Himalayan region harbors nearly 10,000 plant species constituting approximately 2.5% of the global angiosperm diversity of which over 4,000 are endemics. The present-day Himalayan flora consists of an admixture of immigrant taxa and diversified species over the last 40 million years. The interesting questions about the Himalayan flora discussed here are: how did the Himalaya achieve high endemic plant diversity starting with immigrant taxa and what were the main drivers of this diversity? This contribution aims to answer these questions and raise some more. We review and analyze existing information from diverse areas of earth and climate sciences, palaeobiology and phytogeography to evolve a bio-chronological record of plant species divergence and evolution in the Himalaya. From the analysis we infer the effects of major environmental upheavals on plant diversity in the region. The understanding developed in the following discussion is based on the idea that Himalaya experienced at least five phases of major geophysical upheavals, namely: (i) mega-collision between India and Eurasian plates, (ii) tectonic uplift in phases and progressive landform elevation, (iii) onset of southwest (SW) Indian monsoon, (iv) spurring of arid conditions in Central Asia, and (v) cyclic phases of cooling and warming in the Quaternary. The geophysical upheavals that were potentially disrupting for the ecosystem stability had a key role in providing impetus for biological diversification. The upheavals produced new geophysical environments, new ecological niches, imposed physical and physiological isolation barriers, acted as natural selection sieves and led to the formation of new species. This contribution aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the plant biodiversity profile of the Himalaya in the context of complex, interconnected and dynamic relationship between earth system processes, climate and plant diversity.

Citing Articles

Conservation diplomacy as part of multilateral strategies for global peace and sustainability.

Pandit M NPJ Biodivers. 2025; 4(1):4.

PMID: 39939459 PMC: 11821805. DOI: 10.1038/s44185-025-00075-9.


Genetic differentiation and historical dynamics of the endemic species Rheum pumilum on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau inferred from phylogeography implications.

Liu S, Gao J, Xiao B, Guo W, Yu Q, Wang A BMC Plant Biol. 2025; 25(1):162.

PMID: 39915721 PMC: 11803965. DOI: 10.1186/s12870-025-06164-y.


Impact of climate change on the Himalayan alpine treeline vegetation.

Kumar S, Khanduri V Heliyon. 2024; 10(23):e40797.

PMID: 39698095 PMC: 11652899. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40797.


Endemic species in the high Himalayas, Eastern Nepal, seeking conservation.

Khadka D, Wu B, Bhatta S, Paudel H, Fu K, Cui D Heliyon. 2024; 10(20):e38168.

PMID: 39640626 PMC: 11619989. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38168.


Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Hyphomycetous Muriform Conidial Taxa from the Tibetan Plateau, China.

Xu R, Zhu Y, Liu N, Boonmee S, Zhou D, Zhao Q J Fungi (Basel). 2023; 9(5).

PMID: 37233273 PMC: 10220608. DOI: 10.3390/jof9050560.


References
1.
Zhang Y, Volis S, Sun H . Chloroplast phylogeny and phylogeography of Stellera chamaejasme on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and in adjacent regions. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2010; 57(3):1162-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.08.033. View

2.
Srivastava G, Mehrotra R . First fossil record of Alphonsea Hk. f. & T. (Annonaceae) from the Late Oligocene sediments of Assam, India and comments on its phytogeography. PLoS One. 2013; 8(1):e53177. PMC: 3551915. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053177. View

3.
Yang F, Qin A, Li Y, Wang X . Great genetic differentiation among populations of Meconopsis integrifolia and its implication for plant speciation in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. PLoS One. 2012; 7(5):e37196. PMC: 3349641. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037196. View

4.
Manish K, Pandit M, Telwala Y, Nautiyal D, Koh L, Tiwari S . Elevational plant species richness patterns and their drivers across non-endemics, endemics and growth forms in the Eastern Himalaya. J Plant Res. 2017; 130(5):829-844. DOI: 10.1007/s10265-017-0946-0. View

5.
Liu J, Gao T, Chen Z, Lu A . Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau endemic Nannoglottis (Asteraceae). Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2002; 23(3):307-25. DOI: 10.1016/s1055-7903(02)00039-8. View