THE VEGETATION MAP OF THE 1957- A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AFTER.

U.SCHWEINFURTH (HEIDELBERG)

introduction and guiding principles set of colours, i.e. vegetation, prevailed,wherea s on the Singaiilah Range, carrying the eastern boundary of Nepal, In the years 1952 - 1955 a thesis quite another range of colours had to was compiled with the title: "The hori• be used -and in between,the central part zontal and vertical distribution of the of Nepal and at the same time of the Hi• vegetation in the Himalaya". The idea malayas, presented itself more or less was, if at all possible, to try to com• "white", i.e. botanically unknown. This pile a vegetation map of the Himalayas example usually convinced even the most presenting the results of research work ardent "map painter", that there was no in a concentrated form. The map was ori• way of presenting the complete vegeta• ginally designed on the scale 1 : 1 000 tion of Nepal -i.e. of the central part OOO.Difficulties were considerable owing of the Himalayas- on the map until there to the varying degree of accuracy of the were reliable reports forthcoming.Today, basic maps available (some having been we know that the striking difference of drawn in metres, others in feet,for ins• colours on the map to the west and to tance). For publication the map was re• the east of the country indicates the duced to the scale 1 : 2 000 000 and sub• tremendous change taking place within sequently published in two sheets (in the boundaries of Nepal, from western colour),together with the thesis(SCHWEIN- Himalayan types of vegetation to eastern FURTH,1957). Himalayan types of vegetation. Owing to the research possibili• With this convincing point in mind, ties prevailing a quarter of a century the author's principle was accepted -so ago, the thesis was meant right from the much so, that later on it could, in a beginning to be based on literature,i.e. way, be said: "the most important achie• to use published records plus, of cour• vement of the map are the white patches'] se, all other reliable sources availa• Indeed, the "white patches", were not ble : unpublished diaries, personal com• only meant to prove careful evaluation munications, photographs, etc...The the• of the available reports, they were also sis contains a comprehensive bibliogra• intended to serve as the dynamic princi• phy of the vegetation of the Himalayas ple for further research, to attract at• up to and including 1956. tention and to focus it on the botani• The guiding principle applied, was cally unexplored parts of the mountains. to include into the map only what had been reliably reported, i.e. : not to fill in any gaps by way of analogy. This was, in a way, a courageous decision "white areas" right in the beginning, when it was not altogether predictable, to what extent When the map was published, in 1957, "coulour"could be applied at all,respec• the following "white areas" represented tively, to what extent the available re• this principle : cords would actually be helpful to com• pile a map. However, from the author's 1. in the northwest: the gorge of point of view, this early decision was the Indus, from Nanga Parbat downwards; the only acceptable approach to the pro• 2. in the centre : Nepal; blem. In course of discussions he used 3. in the east : ; to point to the example of Nepal : west 4. the Himalaya; of the river Kali, representing the wes• 5. the river gorges of the Salween, tern boundary of the country, a distinct Mekong, Yangtsekiang. 20 1. Indus Gorge : one of the "pillars" of the in those days -but there was little to vegetation map of the Himalayas in the trace. The guideline, an east-west tran• northwest was C.TROLL's excellent map sect through the heart of the country, of the vegetation of the Nanga Parbat had been established based upon the re• Massif (1/50 000), 1939. It is somewhat ports of GRIFFITH (1838). After GRIFFITH ironic that immediately adjacent to this there was no one, until LUDLOW appeared for a long time the only detailed map on the scene, nearly a century later, existing for the entire Himalayan sys• well-equipped with his excellent rela• tem, unexplored country begins. This is, tions to the ruling people in and nevertheless, easy to explain as the Bhutan , who opened doors or rather pas• country both sides of the Indus -from ses and frontiers to him. The author had the Nanga Parbat downward- was,and still the privilege of meeting the grand old is, so-called "tribal area", left out man in London; LUDLOW was, first of all, of administration during the days of an ornithologist, but with a keen eye British reign. Only an intrepid, well- for the country. His observations were connected explorer like Sir Aurel STEIN priceless; he was unfortunately not to could venture to penetrate into certain be moved to revise his remaining diaries parts of it and perhaps,one or the other for publication. daring sportsman. So it was not possible to trace any reliable reports with refe• rence to the vegetation. Obviously, even h. Assam Himalaya more precisely: the sou• after indépendance the state of affairs thern flanks of the main Himalayan range did not change to a noticeable degree east of Bhutan, is an area of mystery and no useful material to fill the gaps -still. There has only been BOR's first in our knowledge of the vegetation of class -"synecological"- work on the Aka this area has come forth so far. Hills (1938), one of the foothill, areas'. The importance of BOR's work lies.in the fact that he supplies for the comparati• 2. Nepal was virtually closed to forei• vely small area of his study the basic gners until the early 1950s. When the principle to keep in mind when dealing vegetation map was in its infancy, the with other parts of the Assam Himalaya: author had the good chance to meet L.H. i.e; that already behind the first foot• J. WilLIAMS and 0. P0LUNIN in London hill range there may open up an entirely (1953), just back from their first expe• different world. Once this is learned dition to Nepal; they helped with their with the help of BOR's study in the Aka first-hand experience and later on added Hills for the Tenga Valley, a wide spec• more observations from the field. This trum of possibilities for the rest of means, botanical exploration in Nepal the Assam Himalaya opens. BOR's outstan• had barely started when the vegetation ding and detailed work helped to evalua• map of the Himalayas was compiled. So te more fully F.K. WARD'S travel reports it was one of the real highlights of the from neighbouring areas and FURER-HAI- work, when in 1954,in response to a very MEND0RF's -mainly anthropological- ac• hesitant inquiry, NAKA0's pre-printing counts of the Apa Tani Valley further account of his botanical traverse of the east. The conclusion was gained that any Kali Gandaki Valley resp. Gorge arrived, idea of "progress with the map by ana• where, botanically "West and East meet" logy" would be entirely misleading; we in the Himalayas. This resulted in the have to wait to fill the gaps until we exhilarating experience of receiving have absolutely reliable evidence from proof from the field, that the author's the spot. western and eastern types were,obviously a sensible concept, as everything fell into place, presenting a first, but most 5- River gorges of Salween, Mekong, Yangt- important and encouraging link between sekiang : the delimitation of the the "two parts of the map" - "west" and "Himalayas" for the purpose of the vege• "east". But this was only the beginning tation map was arrived at only while of the botanical exploration of Nepal, work was in progress and for specific as is well known. Further botanical ex• reasons. In the west, the map was exten• ploration of the central parts of the ded roughly to the western limit of the Himalayas became essentially a French forests on the southern slopes of the undertaking, which shall be heared about Hindukush, about as far west as Kabul in more detail in the course of this (70°E). Towards east, other considera• symposium. tions prevailed : there are dry river valleys all along the Himalayan system with, obviously, intricate local wind 3- Bhutan it is, perhaps, not fitting systems; the speculation was, that if for a research worker to develop certain anywhere, then in the great river gorges preferences, but the author confesses : in the east it might be possible to find fascinating as the pursuit of the vege• more evidence about the mechanism invol• tation map along all the Himalayas was ved. This lead to extending the map to and still is, he has always been parti• include a section of the river gorges cularly intrigued with Bhutan and used of Salween,Mekong and Yangtsekiang -this every possible means to get as much in• extension served the purpose well. Temp• formation about the country as possible tation to extend the map even further 21 was thwarted by the lack of any reliable 2. Nepal : is the part of the Himalayas data in all three river gorges to the where the dynamic principle of the "whi• south of 28°N and to the north of 30°N- te patches" worked to full satisfaction. as well as by the all apparent change A most out-standing contribution as from in the floristic composition of the ve• an individual traveller and collector, getation types. is owed, no doubt, to J.D.A. STAINT0N, resulting in his book : "The forests of Nepal" (1972). STAINT0N's descriptions are illustrated by excellent photographs, a quarter of a century later but there is no attempt at a vegetation or forest map in his book. A map atta• What has been the progress in the ched shows his routes (1954-1969), dis• knowledge of the vegetation in the "whi• playing the extent of ground covered. te patches" of the 1957 map during all Subsequent French efforts in compiling these years ? First of all : the basic vegetation maps for all Nepal will be principle to leave botanically unkown specifically referred to during this areas "white" prevented; obviously, any symposium; therefore it may suffice at misinterpretation; it is gratifying to this juncture to point to the work of be able to state that no criticism has D0BREMEZ (1976), and, in particular,. to been raised against the principles of the map series 1/250 000 and 1/50 000, the map nor against the details. What published or due to be published. It is, the map aimed at, first of all, has been of course, easy to say the "white pat• achieved : "an attempt to order". It is, ches" are meant to attract interest -and perhaps, now that one is so used to see Nepal on the 1957 map represented the the Himalaya in the order of the vegeta• biggest,most extensive white area within tion map, worthwhile to recall the si• the map- but unless full cooperation tuation as it had been before the map with the authorities in power is esta• was published : where there was, a quar• blished, no progress is possible : one ter of a century ago, a maze of ranges, has to be most grateful to the Nepalese valleys, peaks, the map has established authorities for, having opened their "order at one glance". Vegetation as the country to scientific investigation. most concentrated, visible information about a particular part of the globe -in this case about the highest moun• 3. Bhutan : presents a regrettable con• tain ranges of the world- was used as trast to the achievements in Nepal.NAKA0, the means to get to know the intricate the Japanese botanist, published a tra• system of changes from west to east (or vel account on his sojourn in Bhutan, vice versa) according to humidity and in Japanese;he stayed for a limited time from south to north and at the same time in the country as agricultural adviser from practically sea level up to the up• and did not have the opportunity to tra• per limit of vegetation according to vel to the extent he would have wished. temperature and growing continentality. NAKA0, privately, produced a number of All this has to be seen in a three- photographs, giving information, but not dimensional framework plus the additio• sufficient yet, to add anything new to nal effect of a certain shift to the the map. west of the wetter types at higher alti• tudes- resulting, for instance, in humid After the death of LUDLOW,FLetcHER forest above dry valleys (see Nanga Par- of the Royal Botanical Gardens,Edinburgh, bat)- or, on the other hand, the unex• was asked to publish LUDLOW'S and SHE• pected dry valleys in the east in an RIFF'S diaries of their exploits in the area of wet vegetation types, as, for Eastern Himalayas; these are of particu• instance, the Lohit valley in Zayul. In lar interest as for this part of the Hi• short, this vegetation map of the Hima• malayas, LUDLOW and SHERIFF have been layas in 1/2 000 000 offers since a the only persons known of keeping rele• quarter of a century, an overall concept vant information in their diaries. The with reference to "Landschaftsaufbau", volume -"A quest for flowers"- is a to natural regions, to the ecological first class travel account, even though set-up of the highest mountain system the references to the distribution of in the world. The frameword stood the the vegetation types are comparatively test of a quarter of a century, which few and not easy to localize with suffi• is a gratifying experience. cient accuracy ; maps included in the book are rather sketchy.lt is, no doubt, And what happened to the deside• a great help to have the LUDLOW-SHERIFF rata ? To the "white patches" ? The "dy• account for reference, but it did not namic principle" was confronted,as could help any further to fill the white areas have been expected already 25 years ago, on the map in Bhutan. with the political situation or, rather, political considerations. 4. Assam Himalaya .-LUDLOW'S and SHERIFF'S account concerns the Assam Himalaya as 1. Indus : the white area on the map, part well and the above statement with refe• of Pakistan since independence (1947), rence to its usefulness for the particu• has not yielded any data; there is no• lar purpose of the maps applies there thing that can be added to the map. just the same. 22 Since publication of the vegeta• ded in the vegetation map of the Himala• tion map, the Assam Himalaya has even, yas; the bibliography was rather meant been an area of strife when in October to be a step towards another worthwile 1962 the world seemed to be heading to• goal: a reliable vegetation map of the wards a major confrontation in Asia : river gorge country of Southeastern and all of a sudden, tracks unkown outside Eastern Tibet as far north as to include the area itself seemed to be well-known the gorges of the Hoangho : altogether to the soldiers from the north, when an area of outstanding importance,repre• they appeared at the foot of the hills- senting the transition from Central resp. north and east of the Assam Plains. But High Asia to the east. There is no need all this martial activity in the odd to go into any more detail here; it is corners of the Assam Himalaya did not obvious that the concept of Asia, High bring information to fill the "white Asia, the mountains of the world, would patches" on the map. The confrontation gain, if there were the same kind of of 1962 revealed what a sensitive area the mountain world to the north and east reliable vegetation map as for the sou• of Assam still was, where the hill tri• thern fringe of High Asia, for the area bes of old always lived in strained re• to the east as well to understand more lationship with the plain's people, and fully the fascinating transition between where after the "benevolent neglect" Central and Peripheral Asia, accentuated of British administration of the hills by the various river gorges. the situation changed with independence, It may be expedient in this con• but did not yet lead to an opening of text to add here: there have been a num• the areas concerned for visitors from ber of outstanding French explorers in outside. the field traversing those areas during the last century -it would be most help• ful, if someone would turn his interest 5. River Gorges : for more than 30 years to a similar bibliographical and carto• the river gorge country of Southeastern graphical compilation of their pursuits Tibet has been off -limits for forei• as a useful step to gain a better idea gners. The last exploration by an out• about this fascinating part of the globe sider was F.K. WARD'S exploit in Zayul, as has been done recently for F.K. WARD. the Lohit Valley in 1950, where he had The symposium on Qinghai - Xizang the unique chance of witnessing the (Tibet) Plateau, held in Peking may 25 Great Assam Earthquake of August 15th to June 1, 1980, under the auspices of 1950, right on the epicentre- and the Academia Sinica, provided a very welcome good luck to be able to escape and to chance to learn about Chinese botanical report about it; after that trip even achievements during recent decades. Chi• F.K. WARD saw no chance to enter the nese botanists presented a vegetation country again, over which by then China map of China in 1/4 000 000 (1979) (also had extended its administrative autho• 1/10 000 000) (1979). Interest in the rity. context discussed here, concentrates In order to achieve some theoreti• on the representation of the Assam Hima• cal progress at least, as until then laya and the river gorge country: the no contacts with the Chinese could be areas concerned are fully coloured as established, the present author decided accurately as the scales would permit. to compile a bibliography of F.K. WARD In the course of discussions during and in the meantime (1975) : firstly, there after the symposium it was, however, was not the slightest possible chance not possible to find out,what had served of a permit to enter the area; secondly, as the actual basis for the maps -field F.K. WARD died without having written work, air photography etc..; this evi• the overall account of the river gorge dence may well lay hidden in literature country he would have been so out-stan- written in Chinese- but without access dingly fitted to do; thirdly, F.K. WARD to this information it is difficult, never kept account of what he published if not impossible, to evaluate the maps or even kept a set of his publications, within the given context.A comparison of so in fact, nobody knew what there was the vegetation map of China 1/4 000 000 (WARD , 1960) ; fourthly, there was no map (1979); similarly 1/10 000 000,1979) ever attempted, to show where F.K. WARD with the vegetation map of the Himalayas had actually been. The F.K. WARD biblio• under discussion for the particular area graphy, published in 1975,lists 25 books of the Aka Hills -Tenga Valley (Assam and 709 individual papers published in Himalaya, B0R, 1938) leads to suppose journals etc... ( deliberately leaving that some sort of general analogy has aside all contributions to news-papers been applied, when recourse to the vege• etc.);the map,designed in 1/1 000 000,is tation map of the Himalayas of 1957 based, on F.K. WARD'S route maps in his would have gained more accurate results. numerous publications and tries to show Beyond these more specific considera• at a glance for the first time the ex• tions the Chinese maps are, of course, tent of the area he covered during his welcome as outlining, according to the many expeditions. It was not expected scales applied, the distribution of the to find new material for the area inclu• vegetation at least in general terms. 23 conclusions The "white patches" on the vegeta• FLetcHER (H.R.).- A quest of flowers. tion map of the Himalayas of 1957 are The plant explorations of Frank Lud• discussed; low and George Sheriff told from their diaries and other occasional Indus : no progress; writings. Edinburgh,1975. Bhutan, Assam Himalaya : evaluation of posthumously published diaries of LUDLOW FÜRER-HAIMENDORF, C.von.- Himalayan Bar- & SHERIFF; otherwise : no progress; bary. London, 1955. Assam Himalaya, in addition, being an GRIFFITH (W.).- Journals of Travels in area of confrontation in 1962; Assam, Burma,, Bootan, Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries. Cal• River Gorges of, Southeastern Tibet : cutta ,1847. bibliography of F.K. WARD compiled,toge• ther with a map of the area of his expe• NAKAÖ (S.).- Ecological notes. Fauna and ditions; for general information : see Flora of Nepal Himalaya. Scient. Res. vegetation map of china 1/4 000 000 and of the Jap. Exped. to Nepal Himalaya, 1/10 000 000 (1979); 1952 - 1953, vol.1, Kyoto,1955, 278 - Nepal : thanks to French activities area 290. of greatest achievement as documented NAKA0 (S.).- Hikyo Butan (The secret by the vegetation maps of Nepal in land Bhutan). Mainichi Shinbun Press, 1/250 000 and 1/50 000. Tokyo,1959. Considering the past 25 years, SCHWEINFURTH (U.).- Über klimatische it might have been expected that all Trockentäler im Himalaya. Erdkunde, "white patches" shown on the map in 1957 1956, 297-302. could have been filled meanwhile; ins• tead : the Indus Gorge area remains clo• SCHWEINFURTH (U.).- Die horizontale sed; further northwest war conditions und vertikale Verbreitung der Vegeta• reign; further north -Ladakh- at some tion im Himalaya (mit mehrfarbiger stage, 1962, confrontation was rife; Vegetationskarte 1/2 000 000). Bonner no progress in Bhutan; Assam Himalaya: Geogr. Abh. 20, 1957. area of confrontation in 1962; river SCHWEINFURTH (U. ).- Über kartographische gorge country: closed to foreigners, Darstellungen der Vegetation im Hima• but new vegetation maps of China (1979); laya. Erdkunde,1958, 120-125. Nepal: the only area where real progress SCHWEINFURTH (U. ) & SCHWEINFURTH-MARBY has been achieved. (H.).- Exploration in the Eastern Hima• layas and the River Gorge Country of Southeastern Tibet : Francis (FRANK) Kingdon WARD (1885-1958).Geoecological references Research vol.3, Wiesbaden 1975. BOR (N.L.).- A sketch of the vegetation STAINTON (J.D.A.).- Forests of Nepal. of the Aka Hills, Assam. A synecologi- London,1972. cal study. Ind. For. Ree N.S. Bot.l, TROLL (C.).- Das Pflanzenkleid des Nanga 4; X, 1938, 103-221. Parbat. Begleitworte zur Vegetation• CHINA.- Map of Vegetation 1/4 000 000, skarte der Nanga Parbat Gruppe (NW- Peking,1979. Himalaya) 1/50 000. Wiss.Veröff.Dtsch. CHINA.- Map of vegetation 1/10 000 000, Mus. f. Ldk., N.F. 7, Leipzig , 1939, Peking,1979. 151-180. D0BREMEZ (J.F.).- Le Nepal : ecologie WARD (F.K.).- Pilgrimage for plants. et biogéog.raphie. Paris, 1976. London,1960.

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