Lodewijkp

i found some additional info, there are alot of salt sources in some of those regions. those salts contain more Fluoride & Iodine then normal salts

also found an article about micro organisms:

Pandey, Anita and Palni, L.M.S. 1998. Microbes in Himalayan soils: Biodiversity and potential applications. Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research, 57: 668-673. Environmental Physiology and Biotechnology, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263 643, India. [FUNGAL ISOLATE; MICROORGANISM; NITROGEN FIXATION; SOIL MICROBES]

Microbial analyses of soil samples from three altitudes, viz. Kamrang, 1200 m; Chamgaon, 1600 m and Jaubari, 1990 m amsl, in Mamlay watershed, Sikkim are reported. Three groups of microorganisms, viz. actinomycetes, fungi and bacteria (including Pseudomonas, Bacillus and a pigmented group of bacteria) are taken into consideration. In general, microbial populations decreased with increasing altitude. In the case of bacteria and actinomycetes, a sharp and statistically significant decline is recorded (P <0.05) between Chamgaon and Jaubari. Bacillus, a group of endospore forming bacteria, does not show much difference in the number of colony forming units for the tree elevations. Pseudomonas and other pigmented bacterial populations increase with the increasing altitude, probably indicating their adaptability to higher altitudes. A large number of microbial species have been isolated, are being maintained, and studied for various properties, e.g. antimicrobial activity, phosphate solubilising and N-fixing ability. These soils seem to have a great potential for screening efficient strains of microorganisms having antimicrobial and phosphate solubilising properties, especially those adapted to the higher altitudes. For example, a fungal isolate, Paecilomyces lilacinus has shown a higher degree of phosphate solubilising activity at 10o than at 24oC. Similarly, amongst bacteria a number of Pseudomonas strains are found to be well adapted to higher altitude soils and have exhibited antifungal, phosphate solubilising and plant growth promoting properties. Some of the strains of Pseudomonas are able to grow at 4oC and also have N-fixing ability, albeit lower than the well known N-fixing bacteria. A through understanding of biodiversity of soil microbes of the Himalayan region is likely to lead to several potential applications for enhancement of plant performances in the hilly regions. Some of the isolates are being tested as possible inoculants for plants grown in the hills.

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