The South Western Ghats montane rain forests is an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

, covering the southern portion of the Western Ghats in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

at elevations from . Annual rainfall in this ecoregion exceeds .

Setting

The ecoregion is the most species rich in peninsular

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and is home to numerous

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species. It covers an area of . It is estimated that two-thirds of the original forests have been cleared, and only 3,200 square kilometers, or 15% of the intact area, is protected. The southern portion of the Western Ghats contains the highest peaks in the range, notably

Anamudi Anamudi is a mountain located in Ernakulam district and Idukki district of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and in South India, at an elevation of and a topographic prominence of . The name Anamudi lite ...

in Kerala, at 2695 meters elevation. The Ghats intercept the moisture-laden

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

winds off the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

, and the average annual precipitation exceeds 2,800 mm. The northeast monsoon from October to November supplements the June to September southwest monsoon. The South Western Ghats are the wettest portion of peninsular India, and are surrounded by drier ecoregions to the east and north.

Protected areas

As of 1997, this ecoregion encompassed the following 16 protected areas with an area of : *in Karnataka: Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary with ,

Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary The Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Kodagu District, Karnataka State, India, within the Western Ghats and about 250 km from Bangalore. The sanctuary covers an area of about 181 km and derives its name from the highest po ...

with ,

Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the 21 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Karnataka, India. This sanctuary is located in Somwarpet taluk of the Kodagu district. It is home to rare and endangered birdlife. The Kadamakkal reserve forest is a part ...

with *in Kerala:

Periyar National Park Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses , of which ...

with ,

Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Western Ghats, India, located in Kollam district of Kerala and comes under the control of Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve. It was established on 25 August 1984 and comprises . The name is ...

with ,

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

with ,

Karimpuzha National Park Karimpuzha National Park (Malayalam: കരിമ്പുഴ നാഷണൽ പാർക്ക്‌ , Tamil: கரிம்புழா தேசியப் பூங்கா) is a 230 km² proposed National Park located at in the Nil ...

with ,

Silent Valley National Park Silent Valley National Park is a national park in Kerala, India. It is located in the Nilgiri hills, has a core area of , which is surrounded by a buffer zone of . This national park has some rare species of flora and fauna. This area was explo ...

with , Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary with ,

Eravikulam National Park Eravikulam National Park is a 97 km2 national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala in India. Situated between 10º05'N and 10º20' north, and 77º0' and 77º10' east, (Semap) it is the ...

with ,

Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is the northernmost wildlife sanctuary of Kerala, southwest India. It is in area and located on the western slope of the Western Ghats. It was established in 1984. The headquarters of the sanctuary is near Iritty ...

with , Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary with *in Tamil Nadu: Anamalai Tiger Reserve with ,

Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) located in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in Tirunelveli district and Kanyakumari district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is the second-largest protected area in Tamil Nadu. I ...

with ,

Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary Meghamalai (Tamil: மேகமலை), commonly known as the High Wavy Mountains, is a mountain range located in the Western Ghats in the Theni district near Kumily, Tamil Nadu. It is dotted with cardamom plantations and tea plantations. The ...

with and

Mukurthi National Park Mukurthi National Park (MNP) is a protected area located in the western corner of the Nilgiris Plateau west of Ootacamund hill station in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu state in the Western Ghats mountain range of South India. The park w ...

with As of 2017, the total size of protected areas within this ecoregion amounted to , equivalent to 27% of the ecoregion's extent. Another 62% is forested but outside protected areas. Several of the protected areas in the northern portion are included within the

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Nilgiri mountains of the Western Ghats in South India. It is the largest protected forest area in India, spreading across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It includes the protected ar ...

, and the

Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in India established in 2001, located in the southernmost end of the Western Ghats and includes of which 1828 km2 is in Kerala and 1672.36 km2 is in Tamil Nadu. It encompasses ...

covers the southern portion.

Flora

Satyrium nepalense-Silent Valley-2016-08-13-001

The cool and moist climate, high rainfall, and variety of microclimates brought about by differences in elevation and exposure supports lush and diverse forests; 35% of the plant species are endemic to the ecoregion. Moist evergreen

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s are the predominant

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

type. The montane evergreen forests support a great diversity of species ( Animals and plants ). The trees generally form a canopy at 15 to 20 m, and the forests are multistoried and rich in

epiphytes An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

, especially

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s. Characteristic canopy trees are '' Cullenia exarillata'', ''

Mesua ferrea ''Mesua ferrea'', the Ceylon ironwood, or cobra saffron, is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful sha ...

'', ''

Palaquium ''Palaquium'' is a genus of about 120 species of trees in the family Sapotaceae. Their range is from India across Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and Australasia, to the western Pacific Islands. Description Within their range, ''Palaquium'' s ...

ellipticum'', '' Gluta travancorica'', and '' Nageia wallichiana''. ''Nageia'' is a

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pre ...

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

with origins in the ancient supercontinent of

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

, of which India was formerly part, and a number of other plants in the ecoregion have Gondwana origins. Other evergreen tree species of the montane forest include ''

Calophyllum ''Calophyllum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands. History Members of the genus ''Calophyllu ...

austroindicum'', ''

Garcinia rubro-echinata ''Garcinia rubroechinata'', commonly known as malamkongu and sometimes known as ''Garcinia rubro-echinata'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Clusiaceae. It is a tree which grows to 20 meters tall. It is found only in the Western Gh ...

'', '' Garcinia travancorica'', ''

Diospyros ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark tim ...

barberi'', '' Memecylon subramanii'', ''Memecylon gracile'', ''

Goniothalamus rhynchantherus ''Goniothalamus rhynchantherus'' is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is native to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the ...

'', and ''

Vernonia ''Vernonia'' is a genus of about 350 species of forbs and shrubs in the Daisy family Asteraceae. Some species are known as ironweed. Some species are edible and of economic value. They are known for having intense purple flowers. There have been ...

travancorica''. The other major habitat type in this ecoregion is the

shola Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are foun ...

-grassland complex at elevations of . Shola is a stunted forest with small trees including '' Pygeum gardneri'', '' Schefflera racemosa'', '' Linociera ramiflora'', ''

Syzygium ''Syzygium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. I ...

'', ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

nilgiricum'', '' Mahonia napaulensis'', '' Elaeocarpus recurvatus'', ''

Ilex ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The speci ...

denticulata'', ''

Michelia nilagirica ''Magnolia nilagirica'' is a species of plant in the family Magnoliaceae. It is a tree that is threatened by habitat loss, endemic to the Western Ghats of India (including Agastya Mala, the Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, the Anaimalai and P ...

'', '' Actinodaphne bourdillonii'' and ''

Litsea ''Litsea'' is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia. Characteristics They a ...

wightiana''. The understorey consists of dense shrubs. These shola forest patches are interspersed with

montane grassland Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

s characterized by frost- and fire-resistant

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

species like '' Chrysopogon zeylanicus'', ''

Cymbopogon flexuosus ''Cymbopogon flexuosus'', also called Cochin grass, East-Indian lemon grass or Malabar grass, is a perennial grass native to India, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. It is placed in the genus ''Cymbopogon'' (lemongrasses). Its essential oil is pr ...

'', ''

Arundinella ''Arundinella'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, common in many tropical and subtropical regions.Phipps, J. B. 1967. Studies in the Arundinelleae (Gramineae). V. The series of the genus ''Arundinella''. Canadian Journal of Bot ...

ciliata'', ''Arundinella mesophylla'', ''Arundinella tuberculata'', ''

Themeda ''Themeda'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Papuasia. There are about 18Barkworth, M. E''Themeda''.Grass Manual. Flora of North America. to 26Potdar, G. G., et al. (2003)A new species of ''Themeda'' ...

tremula'', and ''

Sehima ''Sehima'' is a genus of mostly Asian and African plants in the grass family.Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

in this ecoregion include

Nilgiri tahr The Nilgiri tahr (''Nilgiritragus hylocrius'') is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the state animal of Tami ...

(''Nilgiritragus hylocrius''),

Nilgiri pipit The Nilgiri pipit (''Anthus nilghiriensis'') is a distinctive species of pipit that is endemic to the high altitude hills of southern India. Richer brown in colour than other pipits in the region, it is distinctive in having the streaking on th ...

(''Anthus nilghiriensis''), Nilgiri laughingthrush (''Montecincla cachinnans''),

broad-tailed grassbird The broad-tailed grassbird (''Schoenicola platyurus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India with a possibility of occurrence in Sri Lanka. A small, mostly brown bird, it has ...

(''Schoenicola platyurus''),

Nilgiri long-tailed tree mouse Nilgiri vandeleuria (''Vandeleuria nilagirica''), also known as the Nilgiri long-tailed tree mouse and the Indian long-tailed tree mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. There has been some dispute as to whether this specimen is ...

(''Vandeleuria nilagirica''), eight endemic

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

genera encompassing ''

Brachyophidium ''Teretrurus rhodogaster'' is a species of nonvenomous Uropeltidae, shield tail snake, Endemism, endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is known as Wall's shield tail snake, Palni Mountain burrowing snake, or red-bellied shieldtail. It is per ...

'', '' Dravidogecko'', '' Melanophidium'', ''

Plectrurus :''Common names: burrowing snakes''The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. ''Plectrurus'' is a genus of nonvenomous shield tail snakes endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. Currently, four species are recognized. They inhabit hig ...

'',

Ristella ''Ristella'' is a genus of skinks endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. They are commonly known as cat skinks because of their retractile claws. This genus can be instantly identified by the presence of only four fingers in forel ...

Salea ''Salea'' is a genus of arboreal, slow-moving, diurnal, insectivorous, egg-laying agamid lizards endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. It has two species, each inhabiting very high mountainous tracts of the Western Ghats in the Shola ...

, '' Teretrurus'' and ''

Xylophis ''Xylophis'' is a small genus of snakes in the family Pareidae. The genus contains five species, all of which are endemic to the Western Ghats in southern India. They constitute the monotypic subfamily Xylophiinae. They are the only pareid sn ...

'' with 90 species, and the six

amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

n genera ''

Indotyphlus ''Indotyphlus'' is a small genus of caecilians in the family Grandisoniidae. As caecilians in general, they superficially resemble earthworms. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. They are sometimes known as Battersby's caecilian ...

'', ''

Melanobatrachus ''Melanobatrachus'' is a genus of Microhylidae, narrow-mouthed frogs in the family Microhylidae. It is the only remaining genus in the monotypic subfamily Melanobatrachinae. It contains a single species, ''Melanobatrachus indicus'', also known ...

'', '' Nannobatrachus'', ''

Nyctibatrachus ''Nyctibatrachus'' is a genus of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Their common name is night frogs. Their scientific name also means "night frog", in reference to their habits and dark color. They are the only extant ...

'', '' Ranixalus'' and ''

Uraeotyphlus ''Uraeotyphlus'' is a genus of caecilians in the family Ichthyophiidae. There are seven species in this genus, all of which are endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Previously, the genus has also been placed in its own monotypic ...

''. The ecoregion also hosts

Nilgiri langur The Nilgiri langur (''Semnopithecus johnii'') is a langur (a type of Old World monkey) . This primate has glossy black fur on its body and golden brown fur on its head. It is similar in size and long-tailed like the gray langurs. Females have ...

(''Semnopithecus johnii''),

Malabar large-spotted civet The Malabar large-spotted civet (''Viverra civettina''), also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population is estimated to number ...

(''Viverra civettina''), brown palm civet (''Paradoxurus jerdoni''),

Salim Ali's fruit bat Salim Ali's fruit bat (''Latidens salimalii'') is a rare megabat species in the monotypic genus ''Latidens''. It was first collected by Angus Hutton, a planter and naturalist in the High Wavy Mountains in the Western Ghats of Theni district, ...

(''Latidens salimalii''),

Nilgiri striped squirrel The Nilgiri striped squirrel (''Funambulus sublineatus'') is a Threatened species, threatened species of rodent, a small squirrel (Sciuridae) from rainforests in the southern Western Ghats, including the Nilgiri Mountains, Nilgiris, in Peninsula ...

(''Funambulus sublineatus'') and

Layard's palm squirrel Layard's palm squirrel or flame-striped jungle squirrel (''Funambulus layardi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae endemic to Sri Lanka. The validity of the subspecies ''F. l. dravidianus'' based on a single specimen from the southe ...

(''F. layardi'').

References

External links

* {{coord missing, India ecoregions of India Indomalayan ecoregions Montane forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical rainforests of India