Mapping biomes of India using holdridge life zone model: identifying footprints of climate change
Student name: Ms Anusheema Chakraborty
Guide: Dr P K Joshi
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC), WWF-India and TERI University
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr G. Areendran
Abstract: The primary aim of the study is generation of a biome map of India using the Holdridge Life
Zone Model, a tool for ecosystem mapping. According to the HLZ model, natural vegetation of
an area could be objectively determined by the local climate. The study identifies nineteen (19)
potential Holdridge life zones; seven (7) biomes and nineteen (19) sub-biomes in the Indian subcontinent.
In order to verify the biome mapping precision, actual vegetation cover type map
derived from IRS Wide Field Sensor (WiFS) data had been used to calculate the accuracy. The
overall accuracy and kappa coefficient come out to be 82.7% and 0.75, respectively.
Climate change has become a familiar concept as some of its intense impacts are being
increasingly recognized. Since the HLZ model uses climate parameters only; it can help predict
potential biome redistribution. In this study, modeling was carried out on entire region of India
using various combinations. First, the current (present) climate data was used to generate a
primary biome map of India. Second, predictive modeling was carried out using different
assumptions of changes in temperature and precipitation; and third, the IPCC predicted climate
simulations was also used to test the similarity between the results. When the geographic shifts in
ranges are considered, the results suggest Tropical Desert (Plains), Tropical Desert Scrub
(Lower Montane), Tropical Very Dry Forest (Plains), Tropical Dry Forest (Plains), Tropical Dry
Forest (Lower Montane), Tropical Moist Forest (Lower Montane), and Tropical Wet Forest
(Lower Montane) being most susceptible to changes in the percentage of area cover under
climate change for different years for emission scenarios and the various modeled climate
change regimes. Such estimates are very important for the detection and assessment of regional
impacts of climate change so that better management and conservation strategies can be
adopted.
Keywords: Holdridge, Life zones, Biomes, Climate change, India
