Kashmir’s Vegetation
the result rain-fed crops, particularly our horticulture sector their production will get hit with the result their production of apple harvest will be very less like apple and many other crops like apricot, cherry, plums, pears, and even almonds they will also get affected,” he said.
Talking to KNO, Professor Manzoor Ahmed from the Department of Botany at Kashmir University said that climate change as a general phenomenon is reported globally to facilitate the invasion by exotic plants or the alien plants. “Because of climate change, so many things happen that favor the alien plants as compared to the native plants. There is unequivocal scientific evidence now that has proved that global climate change in the context of global change, because of the increased temperatures; the biological engagements have significantly increased all across the globe,” he said.
Professor Manzoor said: “The lowland species, the aliens, try to move upwards. So many native species that have evolved in this region for centuries are very sensitive to these temperature fluctuations. Genetically, these invasive species are genetically more resistant. In ecology, we call them root drugs, or all selected species. This means that these are the species that can give anything and they can manage it in any situation. There are many alien species in Kashmir e.g., Anthemis Cotula It is a very aggressive invader. It is a European native. It is very widespread here. Climate change is in a way facilitating it.”
Another alien species Parthenium hysterophorus, is called Congress grass. It is a tropical species. “It was not found in Kashmir. “However, because of climate change, it has been spotted here. It is such an aggressive invader. If it is not checked well at the beginning, it can create havoc all across the landscape. In our water bodies, you will see Azolla. It is also attributed largely to climate change,” he said.
He further said that the magnitude of this problem is that very less research is done on this . “We need a lot of research, especially in the context of Kashmir. I believe that the extent of research and the contours of research have to be broadened. There has to be a main focus of the funding agencies. The research in this area is to be funded on priority and then government also has to prioritize it that way, keeping in view the economic importance, the ecological importance of this overall dimension.”