Himalayan subtropical pine forests

Himalayan subtropical pine forests
	Pinus roxburghii forest, Uttarakhand, India
	Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm	Indomalayan
Biome	Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Borders	List Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests; Western Himalayan broadleaf forests; Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows; Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows; Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests; Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests; Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands; Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests; Northwestern thorn scrub forests; Baluchistan xeric woodlands;
Bird species	469[1]
Mammal species	162[1]
Geography
Area	76,200 km2 (29,400 sq mi)
Countries	India, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan
Conservation
Habitat loss	86.65%[1]
Protected	4.09%[1]

The Himalayan subtropical pine forests are a large subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion covering portions of Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

This huge pine forest stretches for 3000 km across the lower elevations of the great Himalaya range for almost its entire length including parts of Pakistan's Punjab Province in the west through Azad Kashmir, the northern Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan, which is the eastern extent of the pine forest. Like so many Himalayan ecosystems the pine forests are split by the deep Kali Gandaki Gorge in Nepal, to the west of which the forest is slightly drier while it is wetter and thicker to the east where the monsoon rains coming off the Bay of Bengal bring more moisture.[2] Along the stretch of the ganja hills of himachal can be seen rare varieties of leopard and tiger pine trees ( Pinus felicis) characterized by their spotted and patterned bark

Flora

The predominant flora of the ecoregion is a thin woodland of drought-resistant Pinus roxburghii trees with a ground cover of thick grass, as regular fires do not allow a shrubby undergrowth to establish itself. The ground cover consists of Arundinella setosa, cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) and Themeda anathera.

Pine forest mainly grows on south-facing slopes although in western Nepal there are areas facing in other directions. Some of the larger areas can be found in the lower elevations of Kangra and Una Districts of Himachal Pradesh and in Bhutan. It occurs in smaller patches in eastern Himachal Pradesh and lower Uttarakhand, in the more thinly populated western Nepal, and on the lower elevations (between 1,000 and 2,000m) of the Sivalik and Himachal ranges.

Fauna

Although there is not a rich variety of wildlife here when compared to tropical rainforest for example the region is important habitat, especially for birds. Wildlife includes tigers and leopards although in smaller numbers than in the lowland areas where herds of grazing antelopes provide food for them, whereas these slopes do not sustain grazing in large numbers. More typical animals of the pine forest are langurs and other animals of the Himalayas. Birds include the chestnut-breasted partridge and cheer pheasants that hide in the lush grass.

Conservation

These habitats are vulnerable to logging for firewood or conversion to grazing or farmland and more than half the area has been cleared or degraded which then allows the mountain water to wash away the soil quickly. The most profound changes can be seen in central and eastern Nepal, where the forest has been cleared for terrace farming. The protected areas of pine forest are small but include part of the larger Jim Corbett National Park.

References

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.
"Himalayan subtropical pine forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

External links

"Himalayan subtropical pine forests Ecoregion". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

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[Atlas-1] 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] "Himalayan subtropical pine forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

Ecoregions of India
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests	Andaman Islands rain forests Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests Malabar Coast moist forests Maldives-Lakshadweep-Chagos Archipelago tropical moist forests Meghalaya subtropical forests Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests Nicobar Islands rain forests North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests North Western Ghats montane rain forests Odisha semi-evergreen forests South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests South Western Ghats montane rain forests Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests	Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests East Deccan dry evergreen forests Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests Northern dry deciduous forests South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests	Himalayan subtropical pine forests Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests	Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests Western Himalayan broadleaf forests
Temperate coniferous forests	Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands	Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands
Montane grasslands and shrublands	Central Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
Flooded grasslands and savannas	Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh
Deserts and xeric shrublands	Deccan thorn scrub forests Northwestern thorn scrub forests Thar desert
Mangrove	Godavari-Krishna mangroves Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves Sundarbans mangroves
Ecoregions of India