Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests

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Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests
Sal forest leofleck.jpg
Sal forest in Chitwan National Park
Ecoregion IM0115.png
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm Indomalayan
Biome tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Borders
List
Bird species343 [1]
Mammal species148 [1]
Geography
Area38,200 km2 (14,700 sq mi)
Countries
Conservation
Habitat loss81.553% [1]
Protected6.77% [1]

The Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests is an ecoregion which extends along the southern foothills of the Himalayas through Nepal, India, Bhutan. It stretches from central Nepal, Bihar along the Nepalese border, eastern Nepal, Darjeeling District of India's West Bengal state, and Bhutan. [2]

Contents

Geography

The ecoregion covers an area of 38,200 km2 (14,700 sq mi). The soil is alluvium. [2]

Above 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the broadleaf forests transition to the Himalayan subtropical pine forests. At lower elevations the ecoregion is flanked by the Terai-Duar savannas and grasslands and the tropical monsoon forests of the Gangetic Plain.

Flora

The ecoregion hosts a broad range of plant communities, based on its complex topography, differing soils, and variations in rainfall from the drier west to the more humid east. Its location on the south slope of the Himalaya allows the intermingling of plants and animals from the Indomalayan and Palearctic biogeographic realms. Predominant tree species include sal (Shorea robusta) and species of Terminalia, Bauhinia, Schima , and Castanopsis , which are typical of Asian moist subtropical and tropical forests. Trees grow to 30 meters in height and up to 50 meters in favorable conditions. Climbers and epiphytes are common in the humid forests. [3] The main forest types include Dodonaea scrub, subtropical dry evergreen forests of Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, northern dry mixed deciduous forests, dry Siwalik sal (Shorea robusta) forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, subtropical broadleaf wet hill forests, northern tropical semi-evergreen forests, and northern tropical wet evergreen forests. [2]

Fauna

Several mammals native to the ecoregion are threatened, including the Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, smooth-coated otter, clouded leopard, gaur, Sumatran serow, Irrawaddy squirrel, and particoloured flying squirrel. The chestnut-breasted partridge is endemic. [2]

Protected areas

Eight protected areas extend into this ecoregion covering 2,710 km2 (1,050 sq mi), which is about 7% of the ecoregion's area: [2]

Two high-priority tiger conservation units (TCU) extend across adjacent ecoregions: [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hoekstra, J. M.; Molnar, J. L.; Jennings, M.; Revenga, C.; Spalding, M. D.; Boucher, T. M.; Robertson, J. C.; Heibel, T. J.; Ellison, K. (2010). Molnar, J. L. (ed.). The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference . University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-26256-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rawat, G. S., Wikramanayake, E. D. (2002) Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests In: Wikramanayake, E. D. (ed.) Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a conservation assessment. Island Press
  3. ↑ Wikramanayake, Eric. "Himalayan Subtropical Broadleaf Forests". One Earth. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Wikramanayake, E.D., Dinerstein, E., Robinson, J.G., Karanth, K.U., Rabinowitz, A., Olson, D., Mathew, T., Hedao, P., Connor, M., Hemley, G., Bolze, D. (1999) Where can tigers live in the future? A framework for identifying high-priority areas for the conservation of tigers in the wild [ dead link ]. In: Seidensticker, J., Christie, S., Jackson, P. (eds.) Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in human-dominated landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. hardback ISBN   0-521-64057-1, paperback ISBN   0-521-64835-1
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