title: Sustainable utilization and conservation of plant biodiversity in montane ecosystems: the western Himalayas as a case study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Conservation of the unique biodiversity of mountain ecosystems needs trans-disciplinary approaches to succeed in a crowded colloquial world. Geographers, conservationists, ecologists and social scientists have, in the past, had the same conservation goals but have tended to work independently. In this review, the need to integrate different conservation criteria and methodologies is discussed. New criteria are offered for prioritizing species and habitats for conservation in montane ecosystems that combine both ecological and social data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ecological attributes of plant species, analysed through robust community statistical packages, provide unbiased classifications of species assemblages and environmental biodiversity gradients and yield importance value indices (IVIs). Surveys of local communities' utilization of the vegetation provides use values (UVs). This review suggests a new means of assessing anthropogenic pressure on plant biodiversity at both species and community levels by integrating IVI and UV data sets in a combined analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mountain ecosystems are hot spots for plant conservation efforts because they hold a high overall plant diversity as communities replace each other along altitudinal and climatic gradients, including a high proportion of endemic species. This review contributes an enhanced understanding of (1) plant diversity in mountain ecosystems with special reference to the western Himalayas; (2) ethnobotanical and ecosystem service values of mountain vegetation within the context of anthropogenic impacts; and (3) local and regional plant conservation strategies and priorities.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Landscape and Climate Research, University of Leicester, UK. shuja60@gmail.com
authors.forename: Shujaul Mulk
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Sue E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Habib
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Harper
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D001211:Asia, Western; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005843:Geography; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification*
keywords: Anthropogenic impacts; conservation; ecosystem services; montane ecosystems; plant biodiversity; sustainable utilisation; western Himalayas