Biodiversity Research Trends and Gaps from the Confluence

Review ArticleBiodiversity Research Trends and Gaps from the Confluence ofThree Global Biodiversity Hotspots in the Far-Eastern Himalaya

Deepa Basnet1 Pratikshya Kandel1 Nakul Chettri 1 Yongping Yang2

Mahendra Singh Lodhi3 Naing Zaw Htun4 Kabir Uddin1 and Eklabya Sharma1

1 International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) GPO Box 3226 Kathmandu Nepal2Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Yunnan China3GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development North-East Unit Arunachal Pradesh India4Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division Forest Department Ministry of Environmental Conservation and ForestryNay Pyi Taw Myanmar

Correspondence should be addressed to Nakul Chettri nakulchettriicimodorg

Received 13 September 2018 Accepted 16 December 2018 Published 8 January 2019

Academic Editor Stephan Koblmuller

Copyright copy 2019 Deepa Basnet et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited

The Far-Eastern Himalaya Landscape (FHL) a shared transboundary landscape between China India and Myanmar is one ofthe most intact and biologically rich landscapes in the Eastern Himalaya Yet the state of biodiversity and its significance arecomparatively poorly known to conservationists and policy makers due to low priority in research inaccessibility and remotenessWe collated and reviewed 1032 articles relating to biodiversity of the FHL to understand research trends identify knowledge gapsand suggest priority research areas for future biodiversity conservation and management in the landscape Our review showedthat the Myanmar part of the landscape is the most studied followed by the Indian and Chinese parts The trend of publicationsin the landscape showed that the earliest publication on biodiversity in the FHL dates back to 1833 while the years from 2001 to2017 account for almost 80 of the total publications Most studies focused on species (736) followed by ecosystems (25)and genetics (14) Mammals were the most studied taxa (226) with a greater focus on charismatic megafauna followedby arthropods (156) angiosperms (148) insects (134) and birds (108) There were very few publications on lowerinvertebrates and lower kingdoms Monera Protista Fungi and Viruses At the ecosystem level most studies focused on forests(585) followed by freshwater (32) agroecosystems (9) and alpinetundra ecosystem (05) there were only 14 studies atgenetic level In the FHL new species have been discovered and rediscovered starting from the early 1930s until 2017 The majorityof newly discovered species in the last 18 years are arthropods The paper reviews past research areas identifies gaps for futureresearch and intervention and recommends transboundary collaboration to address these gaps for conservation and sustainabledevelopment of the FHL landscape

1 IntroductionHuman induced habitat loss is among the primary threats tobiological diversity [1ndash3] As a result most facets of biologicaldiversity defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) are dwindling and show decreasing trends [4 5]Protected areas (PAs) are considered as an integral element ofglobal biodiversity conservation andhave often beenused as akey indicator of the global commitment to increasing the areaunder protection [6]However PAs are not immune to threatsand larger landscape level change and have been compared

to land-bridge islands within a sea of hostile habitat [7ndash9]Over the past decades there has been a shift in emphasisamong conservation biologists from managing populationsof threatened species at a single site to considering largerlandscapes as conservation units [10ndash12] Such landscapescale approaches to conservation make sense because thedrivers of biodiversity lossmdashland use and land cover changefragmentation overexploitation and climate changemdashtendto operate at large scales [13ndash15] In many instances thelandscape approach makes better sense when considered

HindawiInternational Journal of EcologyVolume 2019 Article ID 1323419 14 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520191323419

2 International Journal of Ecology

at transboundary level considering the contiguous habitatacross borders [16 17]

The Far-Eastern Himalaya Landscape (FHL hereafter) isa shared transboundary landscape between China India andMyanmar [18] The landscape is a meeting point of three bio-diversity hotspotsmdashHimalaya Indo-Burma and Mountainof Southeast Chinamdashand parts of the landscape are countedamong the ldquocrisis ecoregionsrdquo ldquoendemic bird areasrdquo ldquomegadiverse countriesrdquo and ldquoglobal 200 ecoregionsrdquo [13 19] Asa result of continental drift the region has a low latitudealong with a wide altitudinal range making it geologicallydiverse The convergence of the Indo-Malayan and Palearcticbiogeographical realms in the landscape has resulted in richflora and fauna [20ndash22] It is one of the most intact andbiodiversity rich transboundary biodiversity complexes ofthe Eastern Himalaya and has been described variously asa ldquoCentre of Plant Biodiversityrdquo ldquoEastern Asiatic RegionalCentre for Endemismrdquo [23] ldquoMuseumrdquo and ldquoCradlerdquo of plantdiversity [24] A study of the worldrsquos frontier forests by theWorld Resources Institute shows that the complex containsmainland Southeast Asiarsquos last remaining tracts of large intactnatural forest ecosystems which are relatively undisturbedand large enough tomaintain biodiversity [25]The landscapeis also significant in terms of freshwater biodiversity with richspecies diversity and a high proportion of threatened species[26]

So far the state of biodiversity and its significance arecomparatively poorly known to conservationists and policymakers due to low priority in research inaccessibility andremoteness [27] Many species groups have been inade-quately studied and the real extent of the biodiversity of thelandscape is undoubtedly underestimated This is reflectedin the 353 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayabetween 1998 and 2008 equating to an average of 35 newspecies finds every year [28] Even as our knowledge ofthe FHL remains poor and incomplete it is facing multiplethreats from intensification of farming systems family frag-mentation encroachments unregulated tourism develop-mental projects poaching and land use and climate change[27 29ndash32] The FHL being an important transboundarylandscape designated through a consultative process forlong term cooperation [33] needs immediate attention interms of effective conservation measures [34] Thereforeunderstanding the knowledge base information gaps andpriority areas for future interventions are critical stepsin making any transboundary landscape functional [35]Reviewing available research can serve as a starting point formuch needed conservation and management interventionswithin a given landscape Here we synthesize the existingand accessible peer-reviewed literature covering biodiversityaspects in the FHL to understand research trends identifyknowledge gaps and suggest priority research areas for futurebiodiversity conservation and management in the landscape

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area Situated between 24∘ 371015840 400910158401015840- 28∘ 32101584035310158401015840N and 95∘ 271015840 137510158401015840 - 99∘ 81015840 155710158401015840 E the FHLcovers an area of over 71400 km2 with an elevational range

extending from 200 to 5800 masl The FHL spans acrossparts of NorthernMyanmar (Namyun in the Sagaing Regionand Tanai Sumprabum Putao Machanbaw Nawngmunand Khaunglanphu in Kachin District) including HkakaboRazi National Park (HNP) In India it includes Nam-dapha National Park and Tiger Reserve (NNP amp TR) andadjoining buffer areas in Changlang District In China thethree segments of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve(GNNR henceforth) and the intervening areas betweenthem in North-west Yunnan form an integral part of FHL(Figure 1) The HNP of Myanmar is contiguous with thedense temperate forests of Yunnan Province of China andHponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary (HWS) connects the NNPampTR in Arunachal Pradesh IndiaTheNNPampTR has a highpotential to be connected with biological corridors to GNNRin Yunnan Province through the HWS which can be furtherlinked with the HNP in Myanmar [18]

About 535 of the FHL is under formal protection inthe form of PAs (National Parks Wildlife Sanctuaries andNature Reserves) comprising almost 90 of undisturbedbroad- and needle-leaved forests (see Table 1) The landscapeis comprised of eight ecoregions [36] nine important birdand biodiversity areas [37] and one World Heritage site theThree Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas in Chinawith a variety of ecosystems and habitats biodiversity geneticresources and cultural heritage [18] The landscape is hometo a wide variety of globally threatened and endangeredmammal species [27] Some of these include the cloudedleopard (Neofelis nebulosa) Bengal tiger (Panthera tigristigris) Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) Namdapha flyingsquirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) and Western hoolockgibbon (Hoolock hoolock) The landscape is also rich inavian diversity with 525 species recorded in GNNR 490 inNamdapha National Park and 311 in Hkakabo Razi NationalPark [38]

The landscape is home to approximately 213600 people[18] from over 20 different ethnic and linguistic groupswho add to the regionrsquos historical cultural and traditionaldiversity [39] They include the Chakma Lisu Singphoand Rawang Around 70 of the rural population dependon natural resource-based livelihoods The region is facingvulnerabilities due to climate change and anthropogenicactivities and therefore there is a need for conservation andmanagement of its rich biodiversity [27]

Recognizing the global and regional significance andchallenges that lie within the landscape the governments ofChina India and Myanmar endorsed and initiated the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape Initiative (HI-LIFE hence-forth) that focuses on regional cooperation for integratedlandscape conservation and development [18]The conserva-tion of biodiversity together with improved livelihoods is aprime objective of the initiative The review and synthesis ofexisting literature on the FHL is a critical first step in under-standing the status of biodiversity recognizing knowledgegaps and suggesting potential areas for future research inthe landscape This would also help to direct much neededfuture interventions and investments for conservation andmanagement of the landscape

International Journal of Ecology 3

Protected areaGaoligongshan NNRNamdapha NP Tiger ReserveBumhpabum WSHkakaborazi NPHponkanrazi WSHukaung Valley WSHukaung Valley WS (Extension)

0 25 50 100 Km

25∘00N

26∘00N

27∘00N

28∘00N

25∘00N

26∘00N

27∘00N

28∘00N

99∘00E98

∘00E97

∘00E96

∘00E

99∘00E98

∘00E97

∘00E96

∘00E

Hukaung Valley WS

Hkakaborazi NP

Hukaung Valley WS (Extension)

Bumhpabum WS

HponkanraziWildlife Sanctuary

Namdapha

Gaoligongshan

Gaoligongshan

Gaoligongshan

NNR

NNR

NNR

NPTiger Reserve

N

Figure 1 The Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape showing protected areas

22 Methodology The study is based on the review ofliterature pertaining to the biodiversity of the FHL carriedout between June 2017 and May 2018 As the objectivewas to document the status of biodiversity research andidentify gaps for future interventions the review adoptedmultiple approaches Initially articles were collected usingsearch engines such as Scopus and Google Scholar followingKandel et al [35] and Chaudhary et al [40] In the searchfor literature three broad categories of keywords were usedthe names of countries and provinces or districts within thelandscape and names of PAs within the landscape followedby keywords for biodiversity (mammals birds amphibiansinsects fish etc) used interchangeably with the abovetwo

We considered the literature with such key words whenthey appeared in the title key words or the abstract Therigorous search process for extant literature included journalarticles bookschapters dissertations institutional reportsproceedings management and development plans The col-lected list of articles was then again validated with ldquoPublish orPerishrdquo software [41] which enabled us to add grey literatureto the list We also considered reports of new discoveries orrediscovered species of flora and fauna from the landscapeIn addition we also reviewed the national and global policyinterventions contributing to biodiversity conservation withspecial focus onMultilateral Environmental AgreementsTheentire inventory of publications has been made available atICIMODrsquos Regional Database Initiative


Table 1 Protected areas in the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape

S No Protected Area Country Establishedyear

Area(km2)

IUCNcategory Ecosystem Key mammal species

1GaoligongshanNational NatureReserve (GNNR)

China 1983 4055 V

Subtropical evergreenbroad-leaved forests

subalpine conifer forests ampalpine meadows

Asiatic golden catChinese pangolinDwarf musk deer

Eastern hoolock gibbonDhole

Red pandaTiger

2

NamdaphaNational Park ampTiger Reserve(NNPNTR)

India 1983 1985 II

Subtropical broad-leavedforests subtropical pine

forests temperatebroad-leaved forests alpinemeadows perennial snow

Clouded leopardDhole

Dwarf musk deerNamdapha flying squirrel

Red goralSnow leopard

TakinTiger

3Hkakabo RaziNational Park

(HNP)Myanmar 1998 3810 II

Alpine meadow amp shrubsub-alpine conifer forestrhododendron forest

montane wet temperate forestsubtropical lowland forest

Black musk deerGongshan muntjac

Leaf deerRed pandaRed goral

Shortridgersquos langurTakin

4Hponkanrazi

Wildlife Sanctuary(HWS)

Myanmar 2003 2703 IV

Tropical moist forestsubtropical moist hill foresttemperate forest deciduous

forest alpine forest

Bengal slow lorisClouded leopardChinese pangolin

DholeEastern hoolock gibbon

Red goralTakin

5

Hukaung ValleyWildlife Sanctuary

Extension(HVWSHVWSE)

Myanmar 2004 637115431 IV

Evergreen forest mixeddeciduous forest (moist

upper) hill forest (evergreenand pine)

Asiatic black bearAsiatic elephant

DholeGaur

Hog deerIndian water buffalo

Sun bearShortridgersquos langur

SambarTiger

6Bumhpabum

Wildlife Sanctuary(BWS)

Myanmar 2004 1854 IV Evergreen forest evergreen

Asiatic elephantAsiatic golden catChinese serowClouded leopard

GaurRed goral

3 Results and Discussion

The research led to 30 different sets of datasets consideringthe set of interchangeable keywords The list was thencombined inMicrosoftExcel to eliminate duplicatesThefinallist of 1032 published documents from the landscape was thenconsidered for analysis It is important to note here that thisresearch may not have covered all the research conductedin the landscape However it does contribute to the baselineinformation More importantly it provides a foundation for

examining the existing research gaps for future interventionsand priorities

31 Geographical Distribution of Publication Our resultsshow that research interest appears to be higher in Myanmarfollowed by India and China whereas the least interestappears to be in the transboundary region of the landscape(publications which included more than one country as theirstudy area were categorized under ldquotransboundaryrdquo group forthe purpose of this study see Figure 2) Myanmar makes


Percentage of publications

2729

37

7

Tran

sbou

ndar

y

Mya

nmar

Indi

a

Chin

a

Figure 2 Site specific records of publications from the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape (FHL)

up a large portion of the landscape (66) as comparedto China (22) and India (12) which probably explainswhy it has the largest number of publications Out of the37 of the studies that were carried out in the Myanmarportion the majority were in three protected areas HkakaboRazi National Park Hponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary andHukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary Extension [42] Around50 of the landscape is covered by PAs and therefore it is notsurprising that the bulk of the research was carried out withinPAs

The transboundary region accounted for 7 of thepublications and 42 of these carried out at the trans-boundary level (on the Brahmaputra basin) were publishedin 2017 alone This indicates that transboundary conser-vation using landscape approach has gained popularity inrecent years Furthermore various organizations includingICIMOD UNESCOWorld Heritage Centre andMac ArthurFoundation are working for integrating conservation anddevelopment through transboundary cooperation in theregion This has resulted in greater research in the regionthat is transboundary in scaleThe increasing number of suchstudies can promote shared ownership trust and coopera-tion Furthermore such research has the potential to assist inintegrating science and management in wake of the elevatedrate of floral and faunal species loss [43]

32 Historical Trends of Publications The trend of publica-tions was analyzed for nearly two centuries (1820 to 2017) ona three decadal basis The linear line (see Figure 3) for almostone and a half century suggests less interest and investmentsin research [44] There is no evidence of literature onbiodiversity during 1851-1880 suggesting either no research

or no publications in the public domainThe number of pub-lications for about one and half century thereafterwas 39 onlyalmost one-fourth of what was published from 1971 to 2000However the upward trend of publications after the 1970sconfirms that the scientific community started becomingactive and vocal against the loss and extinction ofmagnificentmammalian and avian species [45] The years from 2001to 2017 mark an important period for biodiversity researchin the landscape accounting for almost 80 of the totalpublications This is in line with global trends in biodiversityresearch following the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) which was held in 1992 and focused global interest onthe topic of ldquobiodiversityrdquo Together with 188 other membercountries China India andMyanmar are signatories toCBDSimilar patterns of publication on biodiversity can be seenin other parts of the HKH including in the KangchenjungaLandscape in the Eastern Himalayas [35]

The conservation value of the region was only realizedin the 21st century when international NGOs and nationalresearch institutions started investing in conservation issueshere [46] These include regional institutions such as ICI-MOD Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) Chinese Academyof Sciences (CAS) Southeast Asia Biodiversity ResearchInstitute Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS-SEABRI)and national institutions like GB Pant National Instituteof Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development(GBPNIHESD) India and Ministry of Natural Resourcesand Environmental Conservation (MONREC) Myanmarworking on and promoting research and development of thelandscape in this region

The analyses of the literature also showed that from 1820to 2017 the journalsBiodiversity andConservation of SpringerElsevier Records of the Zoological Survey of India Journal


3 0 5 16 15

167

826

1820-1850 1851-1880 1881-1910 1911-1940 1941-1970 1971-2000 2001-20170

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

per

each

of t

hree

dec

ades

Figure 3 Pattern of publications from the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape

BiodiversitySample size= 1032 Ecosystem

Forest

Freshwater

Agro

Tundra

258

1

23

83

151

AngiospermGymnosperm

BryophytePteridophyte

Glomeromycota

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Plantae

Fungi

Monera

Protista

3

6

6

4

1534

126

1

Genetic

Mammal

Bird

Fish

ReptileAmphibian

Nematode

ArthropodInvertebrate

VertebrateAnimalia

Species

Arachnid

CrustaceanInsect

Virus3

1391

21

161

2

14

234

11227

21

16

760

Figure 4 Total number of publications for different biodiversity levels in the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape

of Systematic Palaeontology Taylor amp Francis Zootaxa andBioOne published the highest number of publications fromthis landscape mainly from the protected areas of ChinaIndia and Myanmar

Research on Biodiversity Our results reveal that 736 ofthe studies were conducted at the species level 25 at theecosystem level and 14 at the genetic level (Figure 4)A large number of papers focused on forest ecosystemsmammals fossilized mesofauna of amber of Hukaung valleyand angiosperms A few studies also consideredmultiple casestudies from the landscape For example [47] investigatedfish amphibians and reptiles in a single case study at GNNRand [48] in phytodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh and [49]documented mammals birds reptiles and amphibians The

cited articles mentioned in other scientific and researchpapers were also noted to understand the major interests ofthe authors [50] which was the most cited publication 695times for Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) [51] 354 timesfor hunted mammals and [52] 217 times for ecology Thisprocess helped to identify the foremost research interest andspecies of interest (usually large mammals) in the field ofbiodiversity

33 Publications at Ecosystem Level A large part of thelandscape consists of natural ecosystems forests supporting awide variety of habitats species and gene pool The publica-tions were dominated by forest ecosystem (585) followedby freshwater (32) agroecosystems (9) and alpinetundraecosystem (05)The results show that topics touching upon


protected areas of Myanmar (466) dominated the databasein forest ecosystem category followed by India (274) andChina (26) The available literature pays more attention toanthropogenic threatsbiotic [53ndash55] conservation biology[31 56 57] and ecosystem services and function [58] Mostof the research in conservation biology and anthropogenicthreats indicate that there is a need for greater synergiesbetween conservation and development in the study sitesFurther climate adaptation research also stresses on com-plementary actions among people to adapt to and enhanceresilience of both people and environment This is extremelyvital in wake of the changing climate and its projected adverseimpacts here [59]

Therewere 83 researches conducted on freshwater ecosys-tem including hydrological modelling limnological parame-ters and sedimentchemical flux among others [60 61] Thelandscape has rich agro-biodiversity with different agricul-tural practices including shifting cultivation being practisedin the region [62 63] and has been documented from acrossthe Himalayas [64 65] A few studies were also carriedout in the regions of Myanmar and China to understandthe agricultural development here [66] Unfortunately thealpine ecosystem of Northwest Yunnan was the solo researchsubject investigated in the tundra zone [67] There wereonly a handful of studies that looked at ecosystems at atransboundary scale [68ndash71]

34 Publications at Species Level With regard to species760 studies were conducted on different kingdoms Ani-malia (735) Plantae (233) Fungi (15) Monera (04)Protista (08) and Virus (04) Charismatic megafaunaaccounted for 226 of total faunal studies followed byarthropods (156) angiosperms (148) insects (134)and birds (108) Data deficiency was recorded for smallermammals due to less research and conservation awareness[72] There were very few publications on lower kingdomssuch as Monera Protista Fungi and Viruses and these aremajor gaps that need comprehensive studies on taxonomydistribution and population trends

The first research in the landscape was on rufous-neckedhornbill (Aceros nipalensis) Vulnerable in 1829 [73] Birdsare environmental indicators many researchers preferredto carry out avifaunal surveys [74] and develop checklistsof birds [75 76] in order to understand the distributionabundance and updated status of birds in the protected areasThe landscape is home to mountain hawk eagle (Nisaetusnipalensis) [77] rufous-necked hornbill [78] and NaungMung scimitar babbler (Jabouilleia naungmungensis) [79]The Sclaterrsquos monal (Lophophorous sclateri) [66] a keystonebird species of GNNR has been studied for its diet and athreat assessment of the species has also been done TheGNNR is rich in avian diversity and hence bird watching hasbeen promoted as high-end tourism product [80] Howeveras of 2017 transboundary research is limited only to a studyon greater rufous-headed parrotbill (Psittiparus bakeri) [81]and overall bird diversity [82]

Data on the distribution of research on mammals wasstrikingly clear The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) andclouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) received most of the

attention in terms of their distribution and conservationstatus [83 84] with very less focus on ungulatesThe hoolockgibbon is a keystone mammal species in the landscape whichhas been studied for its distribution population size habitatbehavior and conservation status [85 86] Since rodents wereviewed as a challenge to the agroecosystem more than 162studies have been conducted on them between 1910 and 2015[87]

Another interesting phylum was Arthropoda which wasstudied mainly in fossilized form in the Cretaceous amberof Hukaung valley Kachin and Myanmar Additionally879 of the researches carried out were for insects 133for arachnids and 06 for crustaceans in the GNNRNamdapha Hukaung valley Ayeyarwady and the upperChindwin catchment Butterflies moths [88 89] beetles [9091] and wasps [92] have been abundantly studied too

Studies for Plantae were prevalent due to the traditionaluse of medicinal plants and animals [93 94] flowers [95]orchids [96] seed plants [97] wild tea [98] and bamboo [99]in the landscape Shen et al [100] and Paul et al [101] havealso studied the rhododendron species in the Indo-Burmabiodiversity hotspot at transboundary scale

35 Publications at Genetic Level The review encounteredonly 14 publications on genetic level studies for the landscapewith only one study at the transboundary scale for the Indo-BurmaBiodiversity hotspot [102] Seven of the genetic studieswere conducted in the GNNR two in Namdapha NationalPark and Tiger Reserve two in the Hukaung valley and twoin both theHkakaboRazi andHukaung valleyThese publica-tions were on nitrogen-fixing filamentous bacteria [103] evo-lutionary microbiology [104] frog species [105] encephalitisvirus [106] elephant [107] cobra (Naja mandalayensis) [108]balsams (Impatiens casseabriae and Impatiens putaoensis)[109] leaf muntjac (Muntiacus putaoensis) [110] floweringplant (Remusatia sp) [111] conifer (Pinus yunnanensis) [112]Cyprinidae fish (Gymnodiptychus integrigymnatus) [113] andgolden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) [114]There was no genetic research on agro-ecosystem withinthis landscape Fewer studies at genetic level compared toresearch at ecosystemand species level could be due to limitedfinancial resources lack of sophisticated equipment andrestrictive government policies to carry out genetic researchin developing countries

36 Species Discovered and Rediscovered In the FHL severalnew species have been discovered starting from the early1930s until 2017 (Figure 5) The species are categorized underflora and fauna and it can be noted that the discovery of faunahas been increasing since 1991 and is highest in the decadefrom 2011ndash2020 New discoveries of flora are comparativelylow which have also increased over the last decade (Figure 5)Though there are increasing threats to biodiversity in thelandscape new species continue to be discovered as thereare still several unexplored areas with high potential fornew species [28] As conservation interventions terrestrialPAs have increased only by 03 and forest cover by 25(North East Asia by 229 and South Asia by 58) in theregion in the past 25 years [115] There are evidences of


311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies

Figure 5 Species discovered in the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape

evolutionary significance of ancient flora in the landscapeas well [116] While new species of mammals amphibiansarthropods birds reptiles angiosperms and bryophytes arebeing discovered The majority of the newly discoveredspecies in the last 18 years were typically arthropods (52 outof 72 are arthropods)

Some recent discoveries that are new to science includethe snub-nosed monkey which was discovered in 2010 nearthe Myanmar-China border [117] and spurred demandsfor a transboundary landscape conservation approach forspecies and habitat protection The fossilized booklice (Pso-corrhyncha burmitica) was discovered from Burmese amber[118] During a survey in 2017 three new angiosperms werediscovered one from the turnipwood family [119] an orchid[120] and a balsam [109] Likewise new species of fish [121]and vesper bat [122] have been discovered

The rediscovery category contains some species whichwere not reported by scientists for decades or due to theirsmall species range anthropogenicnatural threats and ille-gal trade Some examples include a freshly defined spider(after detailed investigation based on themale holotype) fromYunnan China [123]Bufo spp recorded for a second time at adifferent location in Arunachal Pradesh [124] jester butterflyseen after 90 years in the Namdapha National Park and TigerReserve [125] and several Mesozoic arthropods rediscoveredin Burmese Cretaceous amber [126]

37 Past Research Areas and Gaps for Future Consideringthe results of numerical bibliographic analysis from 1820to 2017 the existing challenges and gaps were analyzed soas to provide directions for prioritizing future research andsustainable management of biodiversity These data wereexamined and categorized into the different biodiversitylevels as shown in Table 2 The forest ecosystems in theprotected areas may have attracted a lot of research interestand funding because of the national level forest protectionscheme and programmes that incentivize protection such asReducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degra-dation (REDD+) and National Forest Protection Program(NFPP) and National-level Nature Reserves (NNRs) [127128] There was no study on the biomes of rainforest desertgrassland and savanna as large areas of the landscape arewithin the PAs of the three countries On a few studies

focused on agro-ecosystems compared to forest ecosystemswhich might be due to less research funding and limitedaccess to these least studied geographical areas

At the species level there was a greater focus on charis-matic fauna and there is a need to focus on small mammalsand invertebrates The greater research focus on charismaticand threatened fauna has led to a dearth of information onsmaller animals putting them at higher risk of extinctionwith not even a basic checklist of their distribution andpopulation status as also reported in the KangchenjungaLandscape [35]Minimal studies at the genetic level have beencarried out since the 1990s [129]The researchmainly focusedon measuring genetic diversity at species level More numberof inventories at each biodiversity level of organization isrequired to supplement gap analysis with 100 accuracy

However the key identified areas for the above-mentioned gaps and challenges require transboundarycollaboration for reaching consensus on the prioritized gapsand actionsThere is a need to identify the direction for futurecollaboration and provide basis for clarified task divisionson each side of the landscape Higher level leadership andpolicy support is needed to make local collaborations easierand more effective Protection joint conservation of forestand biodiversity resources and sustainable communitydevelopment in the border areas can be priority areas andactions for future collaboration

38 Major Multilateral Environmental Agreements The threecountries sharing this landscape are signatory to majormultilateral environmental agreement (Table 3) Most majoragreements treaties and protocols related to biodiversityconservation (CBD CITES and Ramsar) and climate change(UNFCCC) have been ratified by the countries indicatingnational commitment to conservation and encouraging greeninvestments to reduce detrimental effects of climate changeFor example all three countries signed the Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD) between 1993 and 1994 Similarly[130] China committed to protecting water quality forestresources and marine ecosystems and reducing wastelandsin order to stem biodiversity loss by 2010 The RamsarConvention on Wetlands of International Importance ismeant for protecting wetlands and was signed by India in1982 During 1992-1993 the first ever systematic mapping of


Table 2 Past research areas gapsinvestments for future

Biodiversity level Past research areas Research gaps

Ecosystem

Forest ecosystem functions ecosystem services flowecosystem valuation

Ecological footprint forest bio-economy carbon fluxbetween forests and air researches on edge effectsIncentivizing effects on forest conservation wetland

ecosystem rangeland ecosystemTransboundary landscape interlinkage between

migration and forest degradationAssessment of landscape linkagecorridors climate

change and wildfire and their impactsProtected area conservation and management

evaluation integrated conservation and developmentenvironmental governance ecotourism community

conservation linkage diversity and priorityconservation significance of biodiversity biodiversity

assessment in-situ and ex-situ conservation

Encroachment in protected areas functionalinteraction between land cover and biodiversity

carrying capacity of protected areas

Mangrove community forestry restoration forest coverchange land useland cover change ecology of forest

soil carbon sequestration

Assessment of land use risk effects of risingatmospheric CO

2on forest ecosystem

Indigenous agro-ecological knowledge ethnic conflictin conservation ecological ethics

Environmentally sensitive species forest engineeringhuman-wildlife conflict

Use of ecological modelling and geospatial toolsForest monitoringlandscape change regional scalevegetation mappingbiodiversity transboundary

perspectives ecological informatics abatement policiesEcological survey (ie biodiversity hotspots EasternHimalayas India Namdapha National Park and Tiger

Reserve Hkakaborazi National Park)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) andenvironmental auditing

Freshwater eco-hydrology alluvial morphologyintegrated river basin management sediment fluxwater quality assessment mercury bioaccumulation

nutrient dynamics benthic macroinvertebrate

Human-induced environmental gradient speciesrichness of invertebrate contamination status of water

bodies

Agro agro ecosystem function agriculturalintensification and mechanization ecological

agriculture agriculture practices shifting agricultureethnobotanical study of indigenous knowledgeconservationpotential of wild relatives of crops

commercialization of agriculture gene pool geneticallymodified crops and animals threat to native species

bio-fertilizer soil biodiversity soil carbon and nitrogendynamics

Tundra conservation of alpine ecosystem Effects of global warming on terrestrial ecosystemmicrobial community change

Species

Taxonomy ecology and distribution (ie smallcarnivores birds) Population ecology

Dendro-ecology biodiversity characterization andregeneration Phylogenetic pattern of species

Ecology and habitat use of fauna Species interactionpredator-prey interaction resourcecompetition of fauna silviculture

Diversity and conservation of flora and fauna(angiosperms ant tortoise fish amphibian etc)

Interlinkage between species diversity and ecosystemfunction diversity and ecology checklist of Protozoarsquos

Coelenterates Platyhelminthes small mammalsChecklist of birds insects fishes etcRediscovery of insects and endangered plants

regeneration ecology of tree Terrestrial invasive plants pests and pathogens

Illegal hunting and motivation long-term monitoringconservation plans for tiger and dolphin Use of mathematical modelling in population ecology

Microhabitat in soil nutritional physiology ofmammals ethno-medico-botany

GeneticDiversity of micro-organisms and angiosperms Genetic engineering genetic pollution

Genetic structure and analysis of florafauna Genetic variation of native species genetic response toenvironmental stress

Molecular genetic method Wildlife forensic


Table 3 Internationalregional environmental agreements treaties and protocols ratifiedaccessioned by China India amp Myanmar

ConventionAgreement China India MyanmarASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and NaturalResources (Regional) - - radic

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movementsof Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal radic radic radic

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the CBD radic radic radic

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Culturaland Natural Heritage radic radic radic

Convention on Biological Diversity radic radic radic

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna radic radic radic

Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals - radic -Convention on the Conservation and Management of HighlyMigratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean radic - -

International Tropical Timber Agreement radic - radic

Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management andon the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management radic - -

Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC radic radic radic

Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fairand Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilizationto the Convention on Biological Diversity

radic radic radic

Plant Protection Agreement for the Southeast Asia and thePacific Region (Regional) - - radic

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance radic radic radic

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification radic radic radic

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change radic radic radic

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer radic radic radic

wetlands and species diversity was carried out in India [131]Myanmar has worked in partnership with CITES signatoriesincluding China India Thailand and Bangladesh to curbillegal wildlife trade in the international borders [132]

4 Conclusion

TheFHL has been in the limelight for its rich diversity and fornew species discoveries in recent years The initiative takentowards transboundary cooperation and landscape approachby the three countries is timely and our review clearlyindicates that the region is of interest to researchers and hasthe potential for effective conservation interventions Theinitiative is also forward looking for the landscape as the threecountries share contiguous habitats for many charismaticspecies The rich biodiversity of the landscape is still largelyintact and could be conserved and managed sustainably ifthere is greater cooperation among the countries

At this point species are the key focus of biodiver-sity research in this landscape although many taxa donot even have inventories The trend shows that Myanmarhas the highest number of publications with maximumfocus on arthropods whereas most research in China is onangiosperms and on mammals in India The bibliometricstudy of biodiversity research exhibits a sudden and markedincrease in publications from 1990 to 2017 after the three

countries signedMultilateral EnvironmentalAgreements andbegan implementing themThe major challenge is to addressthe gap of limited research on lower taxa of vertebrates andinvertebrates with small geographical range There are stillmajor gaps in our understanding of habitat use by some ofthe charismatic species and the potential for conservationcorridors to support viable populations Studies in populationecology are yet to be initiated for most of the taxonomicgroups The study is an important contribution to the under-standing of historical and contemporary research trends andgaps in the landscape and provides practitioners policymakers conservationists wildlife managers and biologistswith directions for future biodiversity research conservationplanning and management of the landscape

Conflicts of Interest

Nopotential conflicts of interestwere reported by the authors

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to Dr David Molden DirectorGeneral of ICIMOD for his inspiration and for providing therequired facilities We are also grateful to the Governmentof China India and Myanmar for their continuous supportfor this initiative We express our special thanks to Dr


Ranbeer Singh Rawal Director of the GB Pant NationalInstitute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Devel-opment India and MrWin NaingThaw Ministry of NaturalResources and Environmental Conservation Myanmar fortheir guidance and supportThe editorial inputs from SamuelThomas from ICIMOD are also acknowledged The financialsupport received from theAustrianDevelopmentAgency andGIZ for conducting this analysis is highly appreciated

References

[1] K Klein Goldewijk A Beusen G Van Drecht and M De VosldquoThe HYDE 31 spatially explicit database of human-inducedglobal land-use change over the past 12000 yearsrdquo GlobalEcology and Biogeography vol 20 no 1 pp 73ndash86 2011

[2] G Ceballos P R Ehrlich A D Barnosky A Garcıa RM Pringle and T M Palmer ldquoAccelerated modern human-induced species losses Entering the sixth mass extinctionrdquoScience Advances vol 1 no 5 2015

[3] X Giam ldquoGlobal biodiversity loss from tropical deforestationrdquoProceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences of the UnitedStates of America vol 114 no 23 pp 5775ndash5777 2017

[4] Secretariat of the CBD ldquoGlobal Biodiversity Outlook 3 A mid-term assessment of progress towards the implementation ofthe Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020rdquo Secretariat of theConvention on Biological Diversity Montreal pp 1-94 2010

[5] A Estrada P A Garber A B Rylands et al ldquoImpendingextinction crisis of the worlds primates Why primates matterrdquoScience Advances vol 3 no 1 pp 1ndash16 2017

[6] S Le Saout M Hoffmann Y Shi et al ldquoProtected areas andeffective biodiversity conservationrdquo Science vol 342 no 6160pp 803ndash805 2013

[7] C N Jenkins and L Joppa ldquoExpansion of the global terrestrialprotected area systemrdquo Biological Conservation vol 142 no 10pp 2166ndash2174 2009

[8] E H Orlikowska J-M Roberge M Blicharska and GMikusinski ldquoGaps in ecological research on the worldrsquos largestinternationally coordinated network of protected areas Areview of Natura 2000rdquo Biological Conservation vol 200 pp216ndash227 2016

[9] K R Jones O Venter R A Fuller et al ldquoOne-third of globalprotected land is under intense human pressurerdquo Science vol360 no 6390 pp 788ndash791 2018

[10] J F Franklin ldquoPreserving biodiversity species ecosystems orlandscapesrdquo Ecological Applications vol 3 no 2 pp 202ndash2051993

[11] J P G Jones ldquoMonitoring species abundance and distributionat the landscape scalerdquo Journal of Applied Ecology vol 48 no 1pp 9ndash13 2011

[12] J Reed J Van Vianen E L Deakin J Barlow and T Sunder-land ldquoIntegrated landscape approaches to managing social andenvironmental issues in the tropics learning from the past toguide the futurerdquo GCB Bioenergy vol 22 no 7 pp 2540ndash25542016

[13] T M Brooks R A Mittermeier G A B Da Fonseca et alldquoGlobal biodiversity conservation prioritiesrdquo Science vol 313no 5783 pp 58ndash61 2006

[14] B Arts M Buizer L Horlings V Ingram C Van Oosten andP Opdam ldquoLandscape Approaches A State-of-the-Art ReviewrdquoAnnual Review of Environment and Resources vol 42 pp 439ndash463 2017

[15] R F Baldwin S C Trombulak P B Leonard et al ldquoThe Futureof Landscape Conservationrdquo Bioscience vol 68 no 2 pp 60ndash63 2018

[16] S Kark A Tulloch A Gordon T Mazor N Bunnefeld and NLevin ldquoCross-boundary collaboration Key to the conservationpuzzlerdquo Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability vol12 pp 12ndash24 2015

[17] Y Trisurat and N Bhumpakphan ldquoEffects of Land Use andClimate Change on Siamese Eldrsquos Deer (Rucervus eldii siamen-sis) Distribution in the Transboundary Conservation Area inThailand Cambodia and Lao PDRrdquo Frontiers in EnvironmentalScience vol 6 2018

[18] ICIMOD ldquoRegional Workshop on Planning Transbound-ary Technical Collaboration for Landscape Management 8-9 February 2018 Nay Pyi Taw Myanmar ICIMOD Work-shop Report 2018rdquo Kathmandu ICIMOD 2018 Available athttplibicimodorgrecord33887

[19] L P Koh T M Lee N S Sodhi and J Ghazoul ldquoAn overhaulof the species-area approach for predicting biodiversity lossIncorporating matrix and edge effectsrdquo Journal of AppliedEcology vol 47 no 5 pp 1063ndash1070 2010

[20] CEPF ldquoEcosystem profile Indo-Burma hotspot EasternHimalayan Regionrdquo Washington DC Critical EcosystemPartnership Fund WWF US-Asian Program 2005

[21] CEPF ldquoEcosystem Profile Indo-Burma Hotspot Indo-ChinaRegionrdquo Washington DC Critical Ecosystem PartnershipFund WWF US-Asian Program 2007

[22] Z Hua ldquoBiogeographical Divergence of the Flora of YunnanSouthwestern China Initiated by the Uplift of Himalaya andExtrusion of Indochina Blockrdquo PLoS ONE vol 7 no 9 2012

[23] EWikramanayake E Dinerstein C J Loucks et al ldquoTerrestrialecoregions of the Indo-Pacific A conservation assessmentrdquoElectronic Green Journal no 17 2002

[24] J Lopez-Pujol F-M Zhang H-Q Sun T-S Ying and S GeldquoCentres of plant endemism in China Places for survival or forspeciationrdquo Journal of Biogeography vol 38 no 7 pp 1267ndash1280 2011

[25] J Brunner K Talbott and C Elkin ldquoWorld Resources InstituteForest Frontiers Initiativerdquo in Logging Burmarsquos Frontier ForestsResources and the Regime 1998

[26] D J Allen SMolur andBADanielThe status and distributionof freshwater biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya IUCNCambridge UK and Gland Switzerland 2010

[27] N Chettri E Sharma and B Shakya Biodiversity in the EasternHimalayas Status Trends and Vulnerability to Climate ChangeICIMOD Kathmandu 2010

[28] C Thompson New Species DiscoveriesThe Eastern HimalayasWhere Worlds Collide WWF 2009

[29] J S Brandt T Allendorf V Radeloff and J Brooks ldquoEffectsof national forest-management regimes on unprotected forestsof the Himalayardquo Conservation Biology vol 31 no 6 pp 1271ndash1282 2017

[30] C M Krishna A Kumar P C Ray et al ldquoImpact of roadwidening on wildlife in Namdapha National Park ArunachalPradesh India a conservation issuerdquo Asian Journal of Conser-vation Biology vol 2 no 1 pp 65ndash67 2013

[31] M Rao S Htun S G Platt et al ldquoBiodiversity conservationin a changing climate A review of threats and implications forconservation planning in myanmarrdquo AMBIO vol 42 no 7 pp789ndash804 2013


[32] K Tse-ring E Sharma N Chettri et al ldquoClimate changevulnerability of mountain ecosystems in the EasternHimalayas Climate change impact an vulnerability in theEastern Himalayasrdquo Synthesis report 2010

[33] ICIMOD and KIB Consultation Workshop Report RegionalExperience Sharing Consultation on the Landscape Approachto Biodiversity Conservation and Management in the East-ern Himalayas Towards Developing the Brahmaputra-SalweenLandscape Tengchong county Yunnan Province China 2009

[34] ICIMOD ldquoTowards Developing the Landscape Initiative forthe Far-eastern Himalaya (Hi-LIFE Initiative)rdquo KathmanduICIMOD 2014 httplibicimodorgrecord31873

[35] P Kandel J Gurung N Chettri W Ning and E SharmaldquoBiodiversity research trends and gap analysis from a trans-boundary landscape EasternHimalayasrdquo Journal of Asia-PacificBiodiversity vol 9 no 1 pp 1ndash10 2016

[36] WWF and ICIMOD ldquoEcoregion-based Conservation in theEastern Himalaya Identifying Important Areas for BiodiversityConservationrdquo Kathmandu ICIMOD 2001

[37] BirdLife International ldquo Important Bird Areas in Asia key sitesfor conservationrdquo Cambridge UK Birdlife International 2007

[38] Y Shaoliang Bird Watching Tourism in Gaoligongshan NationalNature Reserve China ICIMOD Kathmandu 2017

[39] P Kunstadter Southeast Asian Tribes Minorities and Nations(I) University Press New Jersey Princeton 2017

[40] S Chaudhary A McGregor D Houston and N Chettri ldquoTheevolution of ecosystem services A time series and discourse-centered analysisrdquo Environmental Science amp Policy vol 54 pp25ndash34 2015

[41] AW Harzing ldquoPublish or Perishrdquo httpsharzingcomresour-cespublish-or-perish

[42] D Basnet T Dorji G Ali et al Promoting Innovative Liveli-hoods (Ecotourism and Value Chains) for Sustainable LandscapeManagement ICIMOD Kathmandu 2018

[43] A Breymeyer and R Noble Biodiversity Conservation in Trans-boundary Protected Areas Washington DC USA 1996

[44] K S Zimmerer ldquoAgriculture livelihoods and globalizationThe analysis of new trajectories (and avoidance of just-sostories) of human-environment change and conservationrdquoAgri-culture and Human Values vol 24 no 1 pp 9ndash16 2007

[45] R Nash Wilderness and the American Mind Yale UniversityPress New Haven 5th edition 2014

[46] C R Margules and R L Pressey ldquoSystematic conservationplanningrdquo Nature vol 405 no 6783 pp 243ndash253 2000

[47] B Bai W Zhou W Li Z Liu and M Zhu ldquoInvestigationon Fish Amphibians and Reptiles of Nankang Region ofGaoligongshanNatureReserverdquo Sichuan Journal of Zoology vol26 no 2 pp 370ndash373 2007

[48] S Chakravarty C P Suresh A Puri and G Shukla North-EastIndia the Geographical Gateway of Indias Phytodiversity IndianForester vol 138 no 8 pp 702ndash709 2012

[49] N Myers R A Mittermeler C G Mittermeler G A B daFonseca and J Kent ldquoBiodiversity hotspots for conservationprioritiesrdquo Nature vol 403 no 6772 pp 853ndash858 2000

[50] R Sukumar The Asian Elephant Ecology and ManagementCambridge University Press New York 1992

[51] R T Corlett ldquoThe impact of hunting on the mammalian faunaof tropical Asian forestsrdquo Biotropica vol 39 no 3 pp 292ndash3032007

[52] R T CorlettThe Ecology of Tropical East Asia Oxford Univer-sity Press New York 2nd edition 2014

[53] A Arunachalam D Adhikari R Sarmah M Majumder andM L Khan ldquoPopulation and conservation of Sapria himalayanaGriffith in Namdapha national park Arunachal PradeshIndiardquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 13 pp 2391ndash2397 2004

[54] N E Clark E H Boakes P J McGowan G M Mace R AFuller and D Nogues-Bravo ldquoProtected Areas in South AsiaHave Not Prevented Habitat Loss A Study Using HistoricalModels of Land-Use Changerdquo PLoS ONE vol 8 no 5 pp 1ndash72013

[55] C Schmidt ldquoAs isolation ends Myanmar faces new ecologicalrisksrdquo Science vol 337 no 6096 pp 796-797 2012

[56] J Blower ldquoConservation Priorities in Burmardquo Oryx vol 19 no2 pp 79ndash85 1985

[57] J Proctor K Haridasan and G W Smith ldquoHow far north doeslowland evergreen tropical rain forest gordquo Global Ecology andBiogeography Letters vol 7 no 2 pp 141ndash146 1998

[58] N S Sodhi T M Lee C H Sekercioglu et al ldquoLocal peoplevalue environmental services provided by forested parksrdquo Bio-diversity and Conservation vol 19 no 4 pp 1175ndash1188 2010

[59] A B Shrestha N K Agarwal and B Alfthan The HimalayanClimate and Water Atlas Impact of Climate Change on WaterResources in five of Asiarsquos Major River Basins ICIMOD GRID-Arendal and CICERO 2015

[60] G R Brakenridge J P M Syvitski E Niebuhr et al ldquoDesignwith nature Causation and avoidance of catastrophic floodingMyanmarrdquo Earth-Science Reviews vol 165 pp 81ndash109 2017

[61] H Chapman M Bickle S H Thaw and H N ThiamldquoChemical fluxes from time series sampling of the Irrawaddyand Salween Rivers Myanmarrdquo Chemical Geology vol 401 pp15ndash27 2015

[62] M Majumder A Shukla and A Arunachalam ldquoAgriculturalpractices in Northeast India and options for sustainable man-agementrdquo in Biodiversity Biofuels Agroforestry and Conserva-tion Agriculture pp 287ndash315 2010

[63] P Sillitoe ldquoShifting Cultivation and Sustainable Developmentof North-Eastern Indiardquo Tradition in Transition MountainResearch and Development vol 28 no 1 pp 89-90 2008

[64] K P Aryal E Kerkhoff N Maskey and R Sherchan ShiftingCultivation in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape A Case Study inthe Kangchenjunga Conservation Area WWF Nepal 2010

[65] K Aryal S Poudel R P Chaudary et al ldquoConservation andmanagement practices of traditional crop genetic diversity bythe farmers a case from Kailash Sacred Landscape NepalrdquoJournal of Agriculture and Environment vol 18 pp 15ndash28 2018

[66] X Luo H Ai and L Han ldquoFeeding ecology of Lophophorussclateri at Gaoligongrdquo Journal of Southwest Forestry Universityvol 30 no 6 pp 64ndash67 2010

[67] R Sherman R Mullen H Li Z Fang and Y Wang ldquoAlpineecosystems of northwest Yunnan China An initial assessmentfor conservationrdquo Journal of Mountain Science vol 4 no 3 pp181ndash192 2007

[68] N Chettri B Shakya and E Sharma Biodiversity Conservationin the Kangchenjunga Landscape ICIMOD Kathmandu 2008

[69] E Dinerstein and E D Wikramanayake ldquoBeyond ldquoHotspotsrdquoHow to Prioritize Investments to Conserve Biodiversity in theIndo-Pacific Regionrdquo Conservation Biology vol 7 no 1 pp 53ndash65 1993

[70] R Kotru R S Rawal P KMathur et al ldquoEffectiveManagementof Trans boundary Landscapes ampndash Geospatial Applica-tionsrdquo ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry


Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences vol XL-8 pp1309ndash1317 2014

[71] E Sharma N Chettri and K P Oli ldquoMountain biodiversityconservation andmanagement A paradigm shift in policies andpractices in the Hindu Kush-Himalayasrdquo Ecological Researchvol 25 no 5 pp 909ndash923 2010

[72] P J Stephenson ldquoSmall mammal monitoring why we needmore data on the Afrotheriardquo Afrotherian Conservation vol 13pp 34ndash42 2017

[73] B Hodgson ldquoOn a new species of Bucerosrdquo Asiatic Researchesvol 18 pp 178ndash186 1833

[74] D Lan and R Dunbar ldquoBird and mammal conservation inGaoligongshan Region and Jingdong County Yunnan ChinaPatterns of species richness and nature reservesrdquo Oryx vol 34no 4 pp 275ndash286 2000

[75] B E Smythies ldquoA reconnaissance of the NrsquoMai Hka DrainagerdquoIbis vol 91 no 4 pp 627ndash648 1949

[76] D C B Ticehurst ldquoOn the Birds of Northern Burmardquo Ibis vol80 no 1 pp 65ndash102 1938

[77] J O Gjershaug O H Diserud P C Rasmussen and DWarak-agoda ldquoAn overlooked threatened species of eagle LeggersquosHawk Eagle Nisaetus kelaarti (Aves Accipitriformes)rdquoZootaxano 1792 pp 54ndash66 2008

[78] A Datta M O Anand and R Naniwadekar ldquoEmpty forestsLarge carnivore and prey abundance in Namdapha NationalPark north-east Indiardquo Biological Conservation vol 141 no 5pp 1429ndash1435 2008

[79] J H Rappole T Aung P C Rasmussen and S C RennerldquoOrnithological exploration in the southeastern sub-Himalayanregion ofMyanmarrdquoOrnithologicalMonographs vol 70 pp 10ndash29 2011

[80] K S Kanwal ldquoOpportunity of community-based bird-watchingecotourism in ArunachalrdquoThe Arunachal Times 2017

[81] B F King and C Robson ldquoThe taxonomic status of the threesubspecies of Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill Paradoxornisruficepsrdquo Forktail vol 24 pp 120ndash122 2008

[82] S C Renner and J H Rappole ldquoBird diversity biogeo-graphic patterns and endemism of the eastern Himalayasand southeastern sub-Himalayan mountainsrdquo OrnithologicalMonographs vol 70 pp 153ndash166 2011

[83] A Datta R Naniwadekar and M O Anand ldquoOccurrenceand conservation status of small carnivores in two protectedareas in Arunachal Pradesh north-east Indiardquo Small CarnivoreConservation vol 39 p 10 2008

[84] D S Gour and P A Reddy ldquoNeed of transboundary collabora-tions for tiger survival in Indian subcontinentrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 24 no 11 pp 2869ndash2875 2015

[85] W Y Brockelman H Naing C Saw et al ldquoCensus of east-ern hoolock gibbons (Hoolock leuconedys) in Mahamyaingwildlife sanctuaryrdquo in The Gibbons Development in Primatol-ogy Progress and Prospects pp 435ndash451 Springer New York2009

[86] L-Y Yin H-L Fei G-S Chen J-H Li L-W Cui and P-F Fan ldquoEffects of group density hunting and temperatureon the singing patterns of eastern hoolock gibbons (Hoolockleuconedys) in Gaoligongshan Southwest Chinardquo AmericanJournal of Primatology vol 78 no 8 pp 861ndash871 2016

[87] L H Swanepoel C M Swanepoel P R Brown et al ldquoA sys-tematic review of rodent pest research in Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming systems Are we asking the right questionsrdquoPLoS ONE vol 12 no 3 pp 1ndash20 2017

[88] I Kania BWang and J Szwedo ldquoDicranoptychaOsten Sacken1860 (Diptera Limoniidae) from the earliest CenomanianBurmese amberrdquoCretaceous Research vol 52 pp 522ndash530 2015

[89] S-Y Lang and S-Z Duan ldquoDescription of a new speciesof Lethe (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae Satyrinae) from westernYunnan Chinardquo Zootaxa vol 4179 no 2 pp 295ndash300 2016

[90] C Basu ldquoInsecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidaerdquo Rec ZoologicalSurvey of India vol 82 pp 201ndash214 1985

[91] C Cai and D Huang ldquoThe first Mesozoic palmetto bee-tle (Coleoptera Smicripidae) in Upper Cretaceous Burmeseamberrdquo Cretaceous Research vol 64 pp 45ndash49 2016

[92] P Barden and D Grimaldi ldquoA diverse ant fauna from the mid-cretaceous of Myanmar (Hymenoptera Formicidae)rdquo PLoSONE vol 9 no 4 2014

[93] G Das J K Patra S K Singdevsachan S Gouda and H-SShin ldquoDiversity of traditional and fermented foods of the SevenSister states of India and their nutritional and nutraceuticalpotential a reviewrdquo Frontiers in Life Science vol 9 no 4 pp292ndash312 2016

[94] H Ji P Shengji and L Chunlin ldquoAn ethnobotanical study ofmedicinal plants used by the Lisu people in Nujiang NorthwestYunnan ChinardquoEconomic Botany vol 58 pp S253ndashS264 2004

[95] D Yunfei J R I Wood and L Heng ldquoldquoStrobilanthes ovata(Acanthaceae) a New Species fromGaoligong Shan in YunnanChinardquo Novon A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature vol 20no 2 pp 143ndash146 2010

[96] X G Xiang W T Jin D Z Li et al ldquoPhylogenetics oftribe Collabieae (Orchidaceae Epidendroideae) based on fourchloroplast genes with morphological appraisalrdquo PLoS ONEvol 9 no 1 p 1 2014

[97] Z Wang A Chen S Piao and J Fang ldquoPattern of speciesrichness along an altitudinal gradient on GaoligongMountainsSouthwest Chinardquo Biodiversity Science vol 12 no 1 pp 82ndash882004

[98] F Yu and L Chen ldquoIndigenous wild tea Camellias in Chinardquo inProceedings of the In International Conference on O-Cha (Tea)Culture and Science 1999

[99] H C Yang-Yuming ldquoStudies on the Bamboo diversity and itsconservation in Yunnan Chinardquo Scientia Silvae Sinicae vol 1pp 1ndash25 2003

[100] S-K Shen F-Q Wu G-S Yang Y-H Wang and W-B SunldquoSeed germination and seedling emergence in the extremelyendangered species Rhododendron protistum var giganteum-the worldrsquos largest Rhododendronrdquo Flora vol 216 pp 65ndash702015

[101] A Paul M L Khan A Arunachalam and K ArunachalamldquoBiodiversity and conservation of rhododendrons in ArunachalPradesh in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspotrdquo CurrentScience vol 89 no 4 pp 623ndash634 2005

[102] S Goyari S S Devi M C Kalita and N C Talukdar ldquoPopu-lation diversity and characteristics of cellulolytic microorgan-isms from the Indo-Burma Biodiversity hotspotrdquo SpringerPlusvol 3 no 1 2014

[103] Y Dai J Cao X Tang and C Zhang ldquoDiversity of Frankia innodules of Alnus nepalensis at Gaoligong mountains revealedby IGS PCR-RFLP analysisrdquo Chinese Journal of Applied Ecologyvol 15 no 2 pp 186ndash190 2004

[104] P Veiga-Crespo L Blasco M Poza and T G Villa ldquoPutativeancient microorganisms from amber nuggetsrdquo InternationalMicrobiology vol 10 no 2 pp 117ndash122 2007


[105] J A Dever AM Fuiten O Konu and J AWilkinson ldquoCryptictorrent frogs of myanmar An examination of the amolopsmarmoratus species complex with the resurrection of amolopsafghanus and the identification of a new speciesrdquo Copeia no 1pp 57ndash76 2012

[106] Z Hou W Huang D Zi Z Gong and Y Lui ldquoFirst isolationof Russian springsummer encephalitis pathogenes from rodentsand insectivorardquo Virologica Sinica vol 7 pp 397ndash403 1992

[107] T N C Vidya P Fernando D J Melnick and R SukumarldquoPopulation genetic structure and conservation of Asian ele-phants (Elephas maximus) across Indiardquo Animal Conservationvol 8 no 4 pp 377ndash388 2005

[108] J B Slowinski and W Wuster ldquoA new cobra (Elapidae Naja)fromMyanmar (Burma)rdquoHerpetologica vol 56 no 2 pp 257ndash270 2000

[109] B Yang S-S Zhou K W Maung and Y-H Tan ldquoTwo newspecies of impatiens (Balsaminaceae) from Putao Kachin StateNorthernMyanmarrdquo Phytotaxa vol 321 no 1 pp 103ndash113 2017

[110] G-G Li M-X Zhang K Swa K-W Maung and R-C QuanldquoComplete mitochondrial genome of the leaf muntjac (Munti-acus putaoensis) and phylogenetics of the genus MuntiacusrdquoZoological Research vol 38 no 5 pp 310ndash316 2017

[111] R Li Z Dao and H Li ldquoSeed plant species diversity andconservation in the northern Gaoligong Mountains in WesternYunnan Chinardquo Mountain Research and Development vol 31no 2 pp 160ndash165 2011

[112] Y Xu N Cai KWoeste et al ldquoGenetic diversity and populationstructure of pinus yunnanensis by simple sequence repeatmarkersrdquo Forest Science vol 62 no 1 pp 38ndash47 2016

[113] J Yang X Chen and J Yang ldquoMolecular and morphologicalanalysis of endangered species Gymnodiptychus integrigym-natus (Teleostei Cyprinidae)rdquo Environmental Biology of Fishesvol 88 no 2 pp 189ndash199 2010

[114] X Zhou B Wang Q Pan et al ldquoWhole-genome sequencingof the snub-nosed monkey provides insights into folivory andevolutionary historyrdquo Nature Genetics vol 46 no 12 pp 1303ndash1310 2014

[115] IPBES ldquoBiodiversity and Naturersquos Contributions ContinueDangerous Decline Scientists Warnrdquo2018 httpswwwipbesnetnewsmedia-release-biodiversity-natureE28099s-con-tributions-continue-C2A0A0dangerous-decline-scientists-warn

[116] B M Johri and P S Srivastava Reproductive Biology of PlantsSpringer Science amp Bussiness Media Berlin 2001

[117] T Geissmann N Lwin S S Aung et al ldquoA new species of snub-nosedmonkey genus RhinopithecusMilne-Edwards 1872 (Pri-mates Colobinae) from northern Kachin state northeasternMyanmarrdquo American Journal of Primatology vol 73 no 1 pp96ndash107 2011

[118] D-YHuangG Bechly PNel et al ldquoNew fossil insect order Per-mopsocida elucidates major radiation and evolution of suctionfeeding in hemimetabolous insects (Hexapoda Acercaria)rdquoScientific Reports vol 6 no 23004 pp 1ndash9 2016

[119] V Kumar S S Dash S Panday S Lahiri B K Sinha and PSingh ldquokaniaceae A New Family Record for Flora of India andLectotypification of the Name Bretschneidera sinensisrdquo Bulletinof the Botanical Survey of India vol 59 no 1 pp 8ndash10 2017

[120] X-H Jin and M Kyaw ldquoGastrodia putaoensis sp nov (Orchi-daceae Epidendroideae) fromNorthMyanmarrdquoNordic Journalof Botany vol 35 no 6 pp 730ndash732 2017

[121] X-Y Chen T Qin and Z-Y Chen ldquoOreoglanis hponkanensisa new sisorid catfish from north Myanmar (ActinopterygiiSisoridae)rdquo ZooKeys vol 2017 no 646 pp 95ndash108 2017

[122] P SoisookWNThawM Kyaw et al ldquoA new species ofMurina(Chiroptera Vespertilionidae) from sub-Himalayan forests ofnorthernMyanmarrdquo Zootaxa vol 4320 no 1 pp 159ndash172 2017

[123] G Tang T Blick andHOno ldquoRediscovery of an obscure spidergenus Zametopina Simon 1909 (Araneae Thomisidae) fromYunnan Chinardquo BullNatlMusNatSci vol 36 no 3 pp 65ndash701909

[124] M M Borah and S Bordoloi ldquoRediscovery of Bufo macrotisBoulenger (Amphibia Anura) in Arunachal Pradesh IndiardquoZoosrsquo Print Journal vol 16 no 8 p 574 2001

[125] K Kunte ldquoRediscovery of the federally protected Scarce JesterButterfly Symbrenthia silana de Niceville 1885 (NymphalidaeNymphalinae) from the Eastern Himalaya and Garo Hillsnortheastern Indiardquo Journal of Threatened Taxa vol 2 no 5pp 858ndash866 2010

[126] D A Grimaldi M S Engel and P C Nascimbene ldquoFossilifer-ous cretaceous amber fromMyanmar (Burma) Its rediscoverybiotic diversity and paleontological significancerdquo AmericanMuseum Novitates vol 3361 pp 1ndash71 2002

[127] R K Singh and I Padung ldquoClimate change REDD andbiocultural diversity Consultations and grassroots initiativewith indigenous people of Arunachal PradeshrdquoCurrent Sciencevol 99 no 4 pp 421-422 2010

[128] R Roy S Karki and B S Karky REDD+ in the Hindu KushHimalayas a stocktaking study from Bhutan India MyanmarNepal and Pakistan ICIMOD Working Paper 8 ICIMODKathmandu Nepal 2015

[129] I Hanski and O Gaggiotti Ecology Genetics and Evolution ofMetapopulations Academic Press 2004

[130] H Xu X Tang J Liu et al ldquoChinas Progress toward the Signifi-cant Reduction of the Rate of Biodiversity Lossrdquo BioScience vol59 no 10 pp 843ndash852 2009

[131] N Bassi M D Kumar A Sharma and P Pardha-SaradhildquoStatus of wetlands in India A review of extent ecosystem ben-efits threats and management strategiesrdquo Journal of HydrologyRegional Studies vol 2 pp 1ndash19 2014

[132] A H Oswell ldquoThe Big Cat Trade in Myanmar and ThailandA Traffic Southeast Asia Report Petaling Jayardquo TRAFFICSoutheast Asia pp 1ndash42 2010

Hindawiwwwhindawicom

Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science

Volume 2018

Hindawiwwwhindawicom Volume 2018

Journal of

Chemistry ArchaeaHindawiwwwhindawicom Volume 2018

Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of


Environmental and Public Health

Journal of



MeteorologyAdvances in

EcologyInternational Journal of


Marine BiologyJournal of



ChemistryAdvances in

Agronomy


International Journal of


Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics


Geological ResearchJournal of


Public Health Advances in

BiodiversityInternational Journal of


ScienticaHindawiwwwhindawicom Volume 2018

BotanyJournal of


Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013Hindawiwwwhindawicom

The Scientific World Journal

Volume 2018

AgricultureAdvances in


Submit your manuscripts atwwwhindawicom


at transboundary level considering the contiguous habitatacross borders [16 17]

The Far-Eastern Himalaya Landscape (FHL hereafter) isa shared transboundary landscape between China India andMyanmar [18] The landscape is a meeting point of three bio-diversity hotspotsmdashHimalaya Indo-Burma and Mountainof Southeast Chinamdashand parts of the landscape are countedamong the ldquocrisis ecoregionsrdquo ldquoendemic bird areasrdquo ldquomegadiverse countriesrdquo and ldquoglobal 200 ecoregionsrdquo [13 19] Asa result of continental drift the region has a low latitudealong with a wide altitudinal range making it geologicallydiverse The convergence of the Indo-Malayan and Palearcticbiogeographical realms in the landscape has resulted in richflora and fauna [20ndash22] It is one of the most intact andbiodiversity rich transboundary biodiversity complexes ofthe Eastern Himalaya and has been described variously asa ldquoCentre of Plant Biodiversityrdquo ldquoEastern Asiatic RegionalCentre for Endemismrdquo [23] ldquoMuseumrdquo and ldquoCradlerdquo of plantdiversity [24] A study of the worldrsquos frontier forests by theWorld Resources Institute shows that the complex containsmainland Southeast Asiarsquos last remaining tracts of large intactnatural forest ecosystems which are relatively undisturbedand large enough tomaintain biodiversity [25]The landscapeis also significant in terms of freshwater biodiversity with richspecies diversity and a high proportion of threatened species[26]

So far the state of biodiversity and its significance arecomparatively poorly known to conservationists and policymakers due to low priority in research inaccessibility andremoteness [27] Many species groups have been inade-quately studied and the real extent of the biodiversity of thelandscape is undoubtedly underestimated This is reflectedin the 353 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayabetween 1998 and 2008 equating to an average of 35 newspecies finds every year [28] Even as our knowledge ofthe FHL remains poor and incomplete it is facing multiplethreats from intensification of farming systems family frag-mentation encroachments unregulated tourism develop-mental projects poaching and land use and climate change[27 29ndash32] The FHL being an important transboundarylandscape designated through a consultative process forlong term cooperation [33] needs immediate attention interms of effective conservation measures [34] Thereforeunderstanding the knowledge base information gaps andpriority areas for future interventions are critical stepsin making any transboundary landscape functional [35]Reviewing available research can serve as a starting point formuch needed conservation and management interventionswithin a given landscape Here we synthesize the existingand accessible peer-reviewed literature covering biodiversityaspects in the FHL to understand research trends identifyknowledge gaps and suggest priority research areas for futurebiodiversity conservation and management in the landscape

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area Situated between 24∘ 371015840 400910158401015840- 28∘ 32101584035310158401015840N and 95∘ 271015840 137510158401015840 - 99∘ 81015840 155710158401015840 E the FHLcovers an area of over 71400 km2 with an elevational range

extending from 200 to 5800 masl The FHL spans acrossparts of NorthernMyanmar (Namyun in the Sagaing Regionand Tanai Sumprabum Putao Machanbaw Nawngmunand Khaunglanphu in Kachin District) including HkakaboRazi National Park (HNP) In India it includes Nam-dapha National Park and Tiger Reserve (NNP amp TR) andadjoining buffer areas in Changlang District In China thethree segments of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve(GNNR henceforth) and the intervening areas betweenthem in North-west Yunnan form an integral part of FHL(Figure 1) The HNP of Myanmar is contiguous with thedense temperate forests of Yunnan Province of China andHponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary (HWS) connects the NNPampTR in Arunachal Pradesh IndiaTheNNPampTR has a highpotential to be connected with biological corridors to GNNRin Yunnan Province through the HWS which can be furtherlinked with the HNP in Myanmar [18]

About 535 of the FHL is under formal protection inthe form of PAs (National Parks Wildlife Sanctuaries andNature Reserves) comprising almost 90 of undisturbedbroad- and needle-leaved forests (see Table 1) The landscapeis comprised of eight ecoregions [36] nine important birdand biodiversity areas [37] and one World Heritage site theThree Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas in Chinawith a variety of ecosystems and habitats biodiversity geneticresources and cultural heritage [18] The landscape is hometo a wide variety of globally threatened and endangeredmammal species [27] Some of these include the cloudedleopard (Neofelis nebulosa) Bengal tiger (Panthera tigristigris) Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) Namdapha flyingsquirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) and Western hoolockgibbon (Hoolock hoolock) The landscape is also rich inavian diversity with 525 species recorded in GNNR 490 inNamdapha National Park and 311 in Hkakabo Razi NationalPark [38]

The landscape is home to approximately 213600 people[18] from over 20 different ethnic and linguistic groupswho add to the regionrsquos historical cultural and traditionaldiversity [39] They include the Chakma Lisu Singphoand Rawang Around 70 of the rural population dependon natural resource-based livelihoods The region is facingvulnerabilities due to climate change and anthropogenicactivities and therefore there is a need for conservation andmanagement of its rich biodiversity [27]

Recognizing the global and regional significance andchallenges that lie within the landscape the governments ofChina India and Myanmar endorsed and initiated the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape Initiative (HI-LIFE hence-forth) that focuses on regional cooperation for integratedlandscape conservation and development [18]The conserva-tion of biodiversity together with improved livelihoods is aprime objective of the initiative The review and synthesis ofexisting literature on the FHL is a critical first step in under-standing the status of biodiversity recognizing knowledgegaps and suggesting potential areas for future research inthe landscape This would also help to direct much neededfuture interventions and investments for conservation andmanagement of the landscape



0 25 50 100 Km

25∘00N

26∘00N

27∘00N

28∘00N

25∘00N

26∘00N

27∘00N

28∘00N

99∘00E98

∘00E97

∘00E96

∘00E

99∘00E98

∘00E97

∘00E96

∘00E

Hukaung Valley WS

Hkakaborazi NP


Bumhpabum WS


Namdapha

Gaoligongshan

Gaoligongshan

Gaoligongshan

NNR

NNR

NNR

NPTiger Reserve

N







Area(km2)



China 1983 4055 V





Red pandaTiger

2


India 1983 1985 II






TakinTiger








4Hponkanrazi







Red goralTakin

5



Myanmar 2004 637115431 IV




DholeGaur



SambarTiger

6Bumhpabum




GaurRed goral







2729

37

7

Tran

sbou

ndar

y

Mya

nmar

Indi

a

Chin

a









3 0 5 16 15

167

826

1820-1850 1851-1880 1881-1910 1911-1940 1941-1970 1971-2000 2001-20170

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

per

each

of t

hree

dec

ades



Forest

Freshwater

Agro

Tundra

258

1

23

83

151



Glomeromycota

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Plantae

Fungi

Monera

Protista

3

6

6

4

1534

126

1

Genetic

Mammal

Bird

Fish

ReptileAmphibian

Nematode


VertebrateAnimalia

Species

Arachnid

CrustaceanInsect

Virus3

1391

21

161

2

14

234

11227

21

16

760


















311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018






0 25 50 100 Km

25∘00N

26∘00N

27∘00N

28∘00N

25∘00N

26∘00N

27∘00N

28∘00N

99∘00E98

∘00E97

∘00E96

∘00E

99∘00E98

∘00E97

∘00E96

∘00E

Hukaung Valley WS

Hkakaborazi NP


Bumhpabum WS


Namdapha

Gaoligongshan

Gaoligongshan

Gaoligongshan

NNR

NNR

NNR

NPTiger Reserve

N







Area(km2)



China 1983 4055 V





Red pandaTiger

2


India 1983 1985 II






TakinTiger








4Hponkanrazi







Red goralTakin

5



Myanmar 2004 637115431 IV




DholeGaur



SambarTiger

6Bumhpabum




GaurRed goral







2729

37

7

Tran

sbou

ndar

y

Mya

nmar

Indi

a

Chin

a









3 0 5 16 15

167

826

1820-1850 1851-1880 1881-1910 1911-1940 1941-1970 1971-2000 2001-20170

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

per

each

of t

hree

dec

ades



Forest

Freshwater

Agro

Tundra

258

1

23

83

151



Glomeromycota

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Plantae

Fungi

Monera

Protista

3

6

6

4

1534

126

1

Genetic

Mammal

Bird

Fish

ReptileAmphibian

Nematode


VertebrateAnimalia

Species

Arachnid

CrustaceanInsect

Virus3

1391

21

161

2

14

234

11227

21

16

760


















311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018







Area(km2)



China 1983 4055 V





Red pandaTiger

2


India 1983 1985 II






TakinTiger








4Hponkanrazi







Red goralTakin

5



Myanmar 2004 637115431 IV




DholeGaur



SambarTiger

6Bumhpabum




GaurRed goral







2729

37

7

Tran

sbou

ndar

y

Mya

nmar

Indi

a

Chin

a









3 0 5 16 15

167

826

1820-1850 1851-1880 1881-1910 1911-1940 1941-1970 1971-2000 2001-20170

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

per

each

of t

hree

dec

ades



Forest

Freshwater

Agro

Tundra

258

1

23

83

151



Glomeromycota

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Plantae

Fungi

Monera

Protista

3

6

6

4

1534

126

1

Genetic

Mammal

Bird

Fish

ReptileAmphibian

Nematode


VertebrateAnimalia

Species

Arachnid

CrustaceanInsect

Virus3

1391

21

161

2

14

234

11227

21

16

760


















311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018






2729

37

7

Tran

sbou

ndar

y

Mya

nmar

Indi

a

Chin

a









3 0 5 16 15

167

826

1820-1850 1851-1880 1881-1910 1911-1940 1941-1970 1971-2000 2001-20170

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

per

each

of t

hree

dec

ades



Forest

Freshwater

Agro

Tundra

258

1

23

83

151



Glomeromycota

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Plantae

Fungi

Monera

Protista

3

6

6

4

1534

126

1

Genetic

Mammal

Bird

Fish

ReptileAmphibian

Nematode


VertebrateAnimalia

Species

Arachnid

CrustaceanInsect

Virus3

1391

21

161

2

14

234

11227

21

16

760


















311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018





3 0 5 16 15

167

826

1820-1850 1851-1880 1881-1910 1911-1940 1941-1970 1971-2000 2001-20170

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

per

each

of t

hree

dec

ades



Forest

Freshwater

Agro

Tundra

258

1

23

83

151



Glomeromycota

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Plantae

Fungi

Monera

Protista

3

6

6

4

1534

126

1

Genetic

Mammal

Bird

Fish

ReptileAmphibian

Nematode


VertebrateAnimalia

Species

Arachnid

CrustaceanInsect

Virus3

1391

21

161

2

14

234

11227

21

16

760


















311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018
















311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018





311 9

110

43

63

01020304050607080

1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2010 2011-2017

FloraFauna

YearsN

o o

f spe

cies













Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018







Ecosystem
























bodies






Species


























radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018

















radic radic radic







4 Conclusion






Acknowledgments




References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018






References











































































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018















































































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018







































































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018



































Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018






Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018




Documents

Biodiversity Research Trends and Gaps from the Confluence