Alpine flora of Kashmir Himalaya: Floristic assessment, life history traits and threat status

Alpine ecosystems in the Himalaya are considered to be at a higher risk of anthropogenic global change drivers. The Kashmir Himalaya, located in the north-western side of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, harbors a diverse alpine flora, which remains systematically little investigated. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study documented the alpine flora of this Himalayan region using a plot-based systematic sampling approach. Based on the sampling of 151 1-hectare plots comprising 999 quadrats from 2020-2023 across the study region, we recorded 159 species belonging to 122 genera in 47 families. Asteraceae was the dominant family with 20 species, followed by Lamiaceae (12 species) and Rosaceae (9 species). Likewise, Impatiens and Poa were the dominant genera with 4 species each, followed by Androsace, Salix, and Plantago with 3 species each.  The herbs were dominant (135 species, 84.9%), followed by shrubs (13, 8.2%). Lifespan-wise, perennials were dominant (139 species, 87%..., , # Data from: Alpine flora of Kashmir Himalaya: Floristic assessment, life history traits and threat status

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.vmcvdnd4c](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vmcvdnd4c)

## Description of the data and file structure

The entire study area was divided into distinct 3 km^2^ environmental grids with unique grid codes for capturing environmental heterogeneity of the region. A stratified random sampling approach was followed to distribute sample grids across all major environmental classes and in a ratio of the number of grids covering biotic, topographic, and edaphic variables. The unique 3 km^2^ environmental grids were identified based on vegetation, elevation, slope, and landforms.

Within each 3 km^2^ grid, a 1 km^2^ grid was selected to capture vegetational heterogeneity, and several 100 m^2^ plots were laid depending upon the vegetation types present. In each 100 m^2^ plot, ten 1 m^2^ quadrats and three 5 quadrats ^2^ were laid down randomly for studying herbaceous ...,