Research Projects

This proposal is designed to have an understanding on ecosystem integrity of alpine lakes of Kashmir Himalaya through various indicators as these alpine lakes have received very less attention on part of scientific community relative to valley lakes. Lakes across the globe are affected by acidification, land system changes, climate change, Human population pressure, hydrological alterations, sewage impact, and invasion of alien species. However, alpine lakes comparatively in most of the situations are still free from such pressures but are equally sensitive to environmental changes, and their health and resilience can be evaluated using multi-level indicators of ecosystem integrity. These indicators include physical, chemical, and biological measures that assess water quality, habitat, and biota. Despite renewed attention being paid to mountain issues by organizations like the UN, IPCC, ICIMOD, HUC and World Bank, research on alpine lakes has remained limited due to their inaccessibility especially in Kashmir Himalaya which is gifted with more than 2100 such alpine lakes. Alpine lakes have become more critical as a reference system due to projected climate change. Alpine lakes are referred to as the “sentinels of climate change" that suggests that these freshwater ecosystems can serve as an early warning system for the impacts of climate change. Because of their unique physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, alpine lakes are particularly vulnerable to environmental changes, making them an excellent indicator of the effects of climate change on freshwater systems. The present study aims to conduct hydro-biological and geochemical characterization of four alpine lakes in the Kashmir Himalaya namely Kousarnag, Tarsar, Marsar, and Bandarsar. We would focus on four objectives which are Hydrochemistry, Biological attributes ( Plankton, periphyon and macroinveretebrates), Trophic status and C/N ratio. The sampling of lakes will be carried out twice in a year for a period of two years as it is possible only during 6-7 months of Summer-autumn as the lakes are ice covered for rest of the period and remain inaccessible. We will utilize the inflatable boat and Multiparametre sonde for water analysis including Chlrophyll and f-DOM for trophic status and a corer for sediment sampling for geochemistry, Plankton and D- nets will be employed for plankton and macroinveretebrates while periphyon will be collected from the suitable substratum (rocks). The sediment samples will be used to determine the C/N ratio profile of the lakes, which will provide insights into the nutrient availability and organic matter in alpine lakes. We argue and plead here that the research proposal is in tune with few Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national missions/priorities of India like National Water Mission, NMSHE, NMSH, and NMHS and therefore deserves to be considered for possible funding.