A quantitative review of ecosystem service research in Himalayan Mountainous Region

Abstract

The Himalayan Mountainous Region (HMR) is one of the important biodiversity hotspots in the world and is highly vulnerable due to anthropogenic activities and climate change. A number of studies were carried out in HMR on ES from multiple perspectives, but no systematic review was carried out. This study aims to assess a systematic review of the trend, pattern and progress of ES research in HMR using SALSA framework, i.e. searching, appraisal, synthesis, and analysis. Initially, 628 literatures were identified after a rigorous review. Finally, 72 literatures met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that (1) the most of the studies were carried out in Nepal (57 %), followed by India (26 %), Bhutan (10 %) and Pakistan (1 %); (2) the most of the studies used primary data (55.84%) and empirical models (56.94 %) to assess ES in HMR; (3) the maximum studies were carried out on provisioning ES (48 %), followed by the regulating ES (28 %), supporting ES (13 %), and cultural ES (11 %); (4) among the provisioning and regulating ES, most of the studies were performed on fuel wood (56 %) and natural hazards regulation (31 %); (5) the maximum number of studies were concentrated in Central Himalayan Region (CHR) (63.47 %), followed by the Western Himalayan Region (WHR) (20.09 %), Assam Himalayan Region (AHR) (15.98 %), and Karakoram Himalayan Region (KHR) (0.46 %). Thus, this review paper can be very helpful to understand the trend of ES research in HMR and find out the research gaps for future research for better management of ecosystems.