South Western Ghats Moist Deciduous Forests
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South Western Ghats Moist Deciduous Forests
The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is an ecoregion in the Western Ghats of southern India with tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. This biome covers the Nilgiri Hills between elevation of in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states. Geography The ecoregion has an area of . It includes the southern ranges of the Western Ghats, including the Agastyamalai and Anamalai, and the eastward spurs or slopes of the Nilgiri Hills and Palani Hills. The forests of Wayanad in northern Kerala mark the transition to the North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests to the north. To the west, the Malabar Coast moist forests ecoregion lies in the coastal strip between the 250 meter contour and the Malabar Coast. To the east, the ecoregion transitions to the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion in the drier rain shadow of the Western Ghats. It surrounds the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion, which lies above 1000 meters elevation. Cli ...
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Chital
The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, male chital reach and females at the shoulder. While males weigh , females weigh around . It is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and antlers are present only on males. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. The antlers, three-pronged, are nearly long. Etymology The vernacular name "chital" (pronounced ) comes from ''cītal'' ( hi, चीतल), derived from the Sanskrit word ' (चित्रल), meaning "variegated" or "spotted". The name of the cheetah has a similar origin. Variations of "chital" include "cheetal" and "cheetul". Other common names for the chita ...
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Agastyamalai
Agastyaarkoodam is one of the peaks in the Western Ghats of Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. This peak is a part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve which lies on the border between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli district and Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram district. The perennial Thamirabarani River originates from the eastern side of the range and flows into the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It is 1,868-metres (6,129 ft) tall. Agastyaarkoodam is a pilgrimage centre for devotees of the Hindu sage Agastya, who is considered to be one of the seven rishis (Saptarishi) of Hindu Puranas. In Tamil traditions, Agastya is considered as the father of the Tamil language and the compiler of the first Tamil grammar called Agattiyam or Akattiyam. There is a small stone statue of Agathiyar at the top of the peak and the devotees can offer pujas. Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is among 20 new sites added by UNESCO to its World Network of Biosphere Reserves in ...
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Dalbergia Latifolia
''Dalbergia latifolia'' (synonym ''Dalbergia emarginata'') is a premier timber species, also known as the Indian rosewood ( Tamil / தமிழ்: Eetti / ஈட்டி). It is native to low-elevation tropical monsoon forests of south east India. Some common names in English include rosewood, Bombay blackwood, roseta rosewood, East Indian rosewood, reddish-brown rosewood, Indian palisandre, and Java palisandre. Its Indian common names are beete, and satisal. The tree grows to in height and is evergreen, but locally deciduous in drier subpopulations. Description and biology The tree has grey bark that peels in long fibres, pinnately compound leaves, and bunches of small white flowers. It grows as both an evergreen and a deciduous tree in the deciduous monsoon forests of India making the tree very drought hardy. ''Haematonectria haematococca'' is a fungal pest of the tree, causing damage to the leaves and the heartwood in Javanese plantations. In India, trees may be subj ...
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Toona Ciliata
''Toona ciliata'' is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Names It is commonly known as the red cedar (a name shared by other trees), toon or toona (also applied to other members of the genus ''Toona''), Australian red cedar, Burma cedar, Indian cedar, Moulmein cedar or the Queensland red cedar. It is also known as Indian mahogany. Indigenous Australian names include Polai in the Illawarra. Woolia on the Richmond River, Mamin & Mugurpul near Brisbane, and Woota at Wide Bay. Also called Ai saria in Timor-Leste. Description The tree has extended compound leaves up to 90 cm with 10-14 pairs of leaflets which are narrow and taper towards the tip. Each leaflet is between 4.5 and 16 cm long. The species can grow to around in height and its trunk can reach in girth with large branches that create a spreading crown. It is one of Australia's few native deciduous trees, with the leaves ...
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Bombax Ceiba
''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of which may also refer to ''Ceiba pentandra''. This Asian tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton. Its trunk bears spikes to deter attacks by animals. Although its stout trunk suggests that it is useful for timber, its wood is too soft to be very useful. Description ''Bombax ceiba'' grows to an average of 20 meters, with old trees up to 60 meters in wet tropical regions. The trunk and limb bear numerous conical spines particularly when young, but get eroded when older. The leaves are palmate with about 6 leaflets radiating from a central point (tip of pe ...
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Alstonia Scholaris
''Alstonia scholaris'', commonly called blackboard tree, Scholar Tree, Milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tropical tree in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae). It is native to southern China, tropical Asia (mainly the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia)and Australasia, where it is a common ornamental plant. It is a toxic plant, but is used traditionally for myriad diseases and complaints. Description ''Alstonia scholaris'' is a glabrous tree and grows up to tall. Its mature bark is grayish and its young branches are copiously marked with lenticels.One unique feature of this tree is that in some places, such as New Guinea, the trunk is three-sided (i.e. it is triangular in cross-section). The upper side of the leaves are glossy, while the underside is greyish. Leaves occur in Whorl (botany), whorls of three to ten; Petiole (botany), petioles are ; the leathery leaves are narrowly obovate to very narrowly spathulate, base cuneate, apex usually rounded and up ...
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Albizia Procera
''Albizia procera'', commonly known as white siris or karoi tree, is a species of large tree found natively in southeast Asia and India. It is most commonly found in open forests, but may also be found on the margins of rain forests and in monsoon and gallery forests. It is considered an invasive species in South Africa. The genus name ''Albizia'' honors the Florentine naturalist Filippo del Albizzi, while the species name is derived from the Latin word 'procerus', meaning 'very tall or high'. Description ''A. procera'' is typically between 7 and 15 meters tall, although occasionally it reaches 30 meters in height. It is deciduous, going leafless in the dry season (August-September). The leaves are bi-pinnate, with 2-5 pairs of sub-opposite pinnae and a 10-30 centimeter rachis.Orwa C, A Mutua, Kindt R , Jamnadass R, S Anthony. 2009 Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sites/treedbs/treedatabases.asp) The ba ...
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Albizia Odoratissima
''Albizia odoratissima'', a member of the family Fabaceae, is a fast-growing, deciduous tree reaching in height, a diameter of , and native to large parts of India (where it is known as கருவாகை, Kali siris or black siris), Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka (where it is known as Ceylon rosewood) and China. It is one of the top nitrogen-fixing trees. The species' wide range of habitat, usefulness and rapid growth of about in height annually, has led to an extensive distribution in the tropics and occasionally in the temperate zones, despite young plants' being susceptible to frost. It has become naturalised over large swathes of Tropical Africa, extending from Kenya down the east coast through Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe as far south as Mozambique, and is grown in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has also become feral in Central America and Florida in the United States. It will tolerate a wide range of soil types, but does best o ...
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Adina Cordifolia
''Haldina cordifolia'', syn. ''Adina cordifolia'', is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Haldina''. It is native to southern Asia, from India east to Yunnan and Vietnam and south to Peninsular Malaysia. It is known as "Haldu", ''Kadam'' or ''Kadamba'' in Hindi and ''Gáo tròn'' in Vietnamese. ''Haldina cordifolia'' is a deciduous tree that can grow well over 20 metres high. The flowers may be insignificant individually but can be seen as attractive when they bloom together in inflorescences with a circumference of 20–30 mm. They are usually yellow often tinged with a shade of pink. ''H. cordifolia'' usually blossoms during winter (dry season) months. The bark of the tree acts as an antiseptic. File:Haldina cordifolia (Haldu) in Ananthagiri forest, AP W IMG 9370.jpg, at Ananthagiri Hills, in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India. File:Haldina cordifolia (Haldu) in Ananthagiri forest, AP W IMG 9369.jpg, at Ananthagiri Hills ...
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Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpiration (movement of water from the soil, through roots and bodies of vegetation, on leaves and then into the air). Evapotranspiration is an important part of the local water cycle and climate, as well as measurement of it plays a key role in agricultural irrigation and water resource management. Definition Evapotranspiration is a combination of evaporation and transpiration, measured in order to better understand crop water requirements, irrigation scheduling, and watershed management. The two key components of evapotranspiration are: * Evaporation: the movement of water directly to the air from sources such as the soil and water bodies. It can be affected by factors including heat, humidity, and wind speed. * Transpiration: the move ...
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Rain Shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carried by the prevailing onshore breezes towards the drier and hotter inland areas. When encountering elevated landforms, the moist air is driven upslope towards the peak, where it expands, cools, and its moisture condenses and starts to precipitate. If the landforms are tall and wide enough, most of the humidity will be lost to precipitation over the windward side (also known as the ''rainward'' side) before ever making it past the top. As the air descends the leeward side of the landforms, it is compressed and heated, producing foehn winds that ''absorb'' moisture downslope and cast a broad "shadow" of dry climate region behind the mountain crests. This climate typically takes the form of shrub–steppe, xeric shrublands or even deserts ...
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Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain slopes. The term is used to refer to the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of India at Kanyakumari. The peak of Anamudi, which is also the point of highest altitude in India outside the Himalayas, and Kuttanad, which is the point of least elevation in India, lie on the Malabar Coast. Kuttanad, also known as ''The Rice Bowl of Kerala'', has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below sea level. The region parallel to the Malabar Coast gently slopes from the eastern highland of Western Ghats ranges to the western coastal lowland. The moisture-laden winds of the Southwest monsoon, on reaching the southernmost point of the Indian Pe ...
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