Changthang cao nguyên ở phía đông Ladakh max identifier cho mot tinh the sinh học quan trong trong xuyên Khu Vực Himalaya của Ấn Độ (Rodgers and Panwar 1988). Vũng cao nguyên này hình thành phần extended phía tây của cao nguyên Tây Tang and is chủ elements là trên 4500 masl. Khu Vực này, an Tethyan cổ below Biên đã trai qua giai đoạn thường xuyên closing băng và kho có thể, Cuộc triển lam the điều kiện instruments hậu khắc nghiệt và tập hợp độc đao của hệ thực vật và động vật. Phần lớn của cao nguyên. | 14 Millennia of Grazing History in Eastern Ladakh India Reflected in Rangeland Vegetation Gopal S. Rawat and Bhupendra S. Adhikari INTRODUCTION The Changthang Plateau in eastern Ladakh represents an important biogeographic province within the Indian trans-Himalayan region Rodgers and Panwar 1988 . This tableland forms the western extension of the Tibetan plateau and lies mostly above 4500 masl. This region an ancient Tethyan seabed that has undergone frequent phases of glaciation and aridity exhibits harsh climatic conditions and unique assemblages of flora and fauna. Much of the plateau comprises lake basins sandy plains and snow-capped rolling mountains. Internal drainage in some of the basins has led to concentrations of salt and other minerals over the millennia making the water bodies brackish. Less than 1 of the geographical area on the plateau is cultivated and most of the vegetated zone is used by a migratory pastoral community known as the Changpa for livestock goats sheep yaks and horses grazing. Despite a sparse cover of vegetation and low-standing biomass this area sustains a high livestock population. Whereas alpine zones of the greater Himalayas are largely humid and exhibit higher seasonal primary productivity the cold-arid trans-Himalayan pastures have relatively low productivity Rikhari et al. 1992 Ram et al. 1989 Miller and Schaller 1996 Jian 2002 . Therefore the effects of livestock grazing in both the zones are likely to be different depending upon the microtopographic features and history of livestock grazing. Many ques tions concerning the functional aspects of rangeland vegetation in response to the pastoral system remain unanswered. There is a need for more in-depth studies on the relationships among the vegetation structure composition and patterns of grazing by the domestic livestock and wild herbivores. So far the Changpa herders of Changthang and their livestock have coexisted with wildlife in the area. Traditionally the herders have .
