The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a

temperate coniferous forests Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needlel ...

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 ...

of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

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

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Setting

The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest covering on elevations between . It extends west from the

Gandaki River The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and the Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area amounts to , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, it is notabl ...

in Nepal, through the Indian states of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

, and Jammu and Kashmir into northern Pakistan. This belt of conifers is the highest expanse of woodland to be found on the slopes of the Himalayas, treeless alpine scrub lying just above its ecotopic frontier. It is a valuable ecosystem as many Himalayan birds and animals migrate seasonally up and down the mountains spending part of the year in the conifer forests, so conservation is a high priority. This ecoregion is drier than the

Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion which is found in the middle and upper elevations of the eastern Middle Himalayas, in western Nepal, Bhutan, and northern Indian states including Arunachal ...

, which receive more moisture from the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

monsoon.

Flora

Several distinct forest types are found in this ecoregion. Fir trees ('' Abies spectabilis'') in places grow in nearly pure stands. In other areas they mix with oaks (''

Quercus semecarpifolia ''Quercus semecarpifolia'' is an Asian species of oak. It is native to the Himalayas and nearby mountains in Tibet, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is classified in subgenus ''Cerris'', section ''Ilex''. ''Quercus semecarpifolia'' ...

''). ''

Rhododendron campanulatum ''Rhododendron campanulatum'', the bell-flowered rhododendron or bell rhododendron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to the Himalayas and Tibet. It is the state flower of Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; ...

'', ''Abies spectabilis'', and birch (''

Betula utilis ''Betula utilis'', the Himalayan birch (''bhojpatra'', sa, भूर्ज ''bhūrjá''), is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to . The Latin specific epithet ''utilis'' means "useful", and refers to the ...

'') form another common assemblage. Elsewhere mixed-conifer forests are made up of ''Abies spectabilis'', blue pine (''

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

'') and spruce (''

Picea smithiana ''Picea smithiana'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeas ...

''). ''

Cupressus torulosa ''Cupressus torulosa'', commonly known as the Himalayan cypress or Bhutan cypress, is a species of cypress tree native to the mountainous northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, primarily the Himalayas. It is a large tree, growing up to i ...

'' and ''

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic c ...

'' are also found here. A recently published major new monograph, Conifers Around the World, treats the high-level western Himalayan fir tree as Abies gamblei (apparently, A. spectabilis does not reach this region!) Following are some notable conifers present in the area: Fir:

Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir or west Himalayan fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a large e ...

, Abies spectabilis and Abies gamblei.

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

Pinus roxburghii ''Pinus roxburghii'', commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh. Description ''Pinus roxburghii'' is a large tree reaching with a trunk diameter ...

and

Pinus gerardiana ''Pinus gerardiana'', known as the chilgoza pine or ''neja'' is a pine native to the northwestern Himalayas in Afghanistan, northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Waziristan and northwestern India, growing at elevations between 1800 and 3350 me ...

Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

Juniperus indica ''Juniperus indica'', the black juniper, is a juniper native to high-altitude climates in the Himalaya, occurring in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. It is of interest as the highest elevation woody plant known, reported growing as h ...

Juniperus squamata ''Juniperus squamata'', the flaky juniper, or Himalayan juniper is a species of coniferous shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the Himalayas and China. It represents the provincial tree of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (unofficial). ...

, Juniperus recurva,

Juniperus excelsa subsp. polycarpos Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

, etc.

Cedrus ''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae (subfamily Abietoideae). They are native plant, native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altit ...

Taxus ''Taxus'' is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of , with trunk girth averaging . They have reddish bark, lanceolate, flat, ...

: Taxus contorta and

Taxus wallichiana ''Taxus wallichiana'', the Himalayan yew, is a species of yew, native to the Himalaya and parts of south-east Asia. The species has a variety of uses in traditional medicine. It is currently classified as endangered by the IUCN. Distribution a ...

Ephedra Ephedra may refer to: * Ephedra (medicine), a medicinal preparation from the plant ''Ephedra sinica'' * ''Ephedra'' (plant), genus of gymnosperm shrubs See also * Ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is of ...

Ephedra gerardiana ''Ephedra gerardiana'' (Gerard's jointfir, 山岭麻黄 ''shan ling ma huang'') is a species of ''Ephedra'', endemic to the mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, northern India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim, Tajikistan, and Tibet. It is a perennial small ...

Ephedra intermedia ''Ephedra intermedia'', with the Chinese common name of Zhong Ma Huang, is a species of ''Ephedra'' that is native to Siberia, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the western Himalayas, Tibet, Mongolia, and China. Description ''Ephedra in ...

Fauna

This ecoregion is home to some fifty-eight species of mammals. Important inhabitants include the

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

and threatened or endangered species such as

Himalayan serow The Himalayan serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis thar''), also known as the thar ( , ), is a subspecies of the mainland serow native to the Himalayas. It was previously considered its own species, as ''Capricornis thar''. It is the official state ...

Himalayan tahr The Himalayan tahr (''Hemitragus jemlahicus'') is a large even-toed ungulate native to the Himalayas in southern Tibet, northern India, western Bhutan and Nepal. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is declini ...

, and the

markhor The markhor (''Capra falconeri'') is a large ''Capra'' species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015. The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it ...

goat, the national symbol of Pakistan. The only endemic mammal is a rodent, the

murree vole The Murree vole (''Hyperacrius wynnei'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is endemic to the Himalayas in Pakistan and India. It was named by William Thomas Blanford after its collector, geologist Arthur Beavor Wynne. Distribu ...

(''Hyperacrius wynnei''). About 285 species of birds have been recorded in this ecoregion, including 9

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 and a number of birds that are sensitive to habitat disturbance and therefore likely to be vulnerable to further forest clearance. These include the

Koklass pheasant The koklass pheasant (''Pucrasia macrolopha'') is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Ko ...

(''Pucrasia macrolopha''),

western tragopan The western tragopan or western horned tragopan (''Tragopan melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized brightly plumed pheasant found along the Himalayas from north-eastern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan in the west to Ut ...

(''Tragopan melanocephalus''), and the

Himalayan monal The Himalayan monal (''Lophophorus impejanus''), also called Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a pheasant native to Himalayan forests and shrublands at elevations of . It is part of the family Phasianidae and is listed as Least Concern on th ...

(''Lophophorus impejanus'').

Threats and conservation

Despite being relatively thinly populated some seventy percent of the conifer forest has been cleared or degraded, partly to make way for terrace cultivation. However it still contains some of the least disturbed forests in the western Himalayas. Protected areas that contain areas of conifer forest include

Great Himalayan National Park The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is a national park in India, located in Kullu region in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The park was established in 1984 and is spread over an area of 1171 km2; elevations within the park range betwee ...

and

Rupi Bhabha Sanctuary Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

in Himachal Pradesh, Kishtwar National Park in Jammu and Kashmir,

Gangotri National Park Gangotri National Park is a national park in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand in India, covering about . Its habitat consists of coniferous forests, alpine meadows and glaciers. Gaumukh at Gangotri glacier, the origin of river Ganga, is locat ...

and

Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary ''Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary'' is a national park in Supin Range, near Uttarkashi district, Uttarkashi town of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India established initially as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955, and was ...

, all in India, and Royal Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve in Nepal. A particular threat comes from disturbance of nesting birds during the collection of

morel mushroom ''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales (division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges wi ...

s in spring. Extraction of firewood for heating among rural populations in Pakistan has degraded forests at some locations.

References

{{Uttarakhand Ecoregions of the Himalayas Ecoregions of India Ecoregions of Nepal Ecoregions of Pakistan * * Forests of India Forests of Pakistan Himalayan forests Indomalayan ecoregions Temperate coniferous forests Forests of Nepal