ABSTRACT
Ladakh, being a cold arid high-altitude desert of the Trans-Himalayan region of India, has very harsh climatic conditions and a short agriculture season. It lies between long 32° to 36°N and lat 76° to 79°E. The major river of this region is the Indus, which is joined by its tributaries, the Zanskar, the Shingo and the Shyok (Singh 1995; Mishra and Singh 2010; Mishra 2009a; Singh et al. 2011). The Indian part of the Trans-Himalayas spans over 186,000 km2 above natural tree-line zone, 240and it is known for its sparsely distributed vegetation and small species diversity. This zone sustains more than 1000 plant species (Kumar et al. 2011).
