Contents
Plants of Nepal
Ecosystem
Climate change
Environment-friendly behaviour
8
Climate
Climate change harms Nepal’s plants in several different ways.
Drying springs and drought
Springs that gave water for hundreds of years are drying up. When the soil has no water, even big old trees begin to lose their leaves.
Erratic monsoon
The monsoon now arrives late, stops early, or dumps a whole month of rain in two days. Seeds sprout at the wrong time and young plants die of thirst.
Forest fires
Dry winters leave forests thirsty, and fires spread further and burn hotter than they used to. Seeds and seedlings on the forest floor are lost first.
Melting snow and ice
The snow line is moving up the mountain. Alpine plants that lived at the edge of the ice are running out of cold places to grow.
Invasive plants
Plants from other countries, like banmara, spread fast in the warmer weather and crowd out Nepali plants that were here first.
Landslides
Sudden heavy rain washes whole hillsides away — and every plant growing on them. The Chure hills have loose soil, so this happens there most of all.
Taking too much
Some plants are worth a lot of money as medicine. When people dig up every single one, none are left to make seeds for next year.
Rising heat
Nepal is getting warmer every year. Plants that like cool air have to climb higher up the mountain to stay comfortable — but a mountain only goes so high.