Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests
{{Short description|Ecoregion of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
| name = Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests
| image = File:Kambhalakonda EDC Vizag.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Tropical moist deciduous forest in Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh
| map = File:Ecoregion IM0111.svg
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location of the ecoregion
| biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan
| biome = tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| border = Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests
| border1 = Chhota-Nagpur dry deciduous forests
| border2 = Godavari-Krishna mangroves
| border3 = Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
| border4 = Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests
| border5 = North Deccan dry deciduous forests
| border6 = Odisha semi-evergreen forests
| bird_species = 313
| mammal_species =
| area = 341100
| country = India
| country1 =
| state = Andhra Pradesh
| state1 = Chhattisgarh
| state2 = Jharkhand
| state3 = Madhya Pradesh
| state4 = Maharashtra
| state5 = Odisha
| state6 = Telangana
| habitat_loss =
| habitat_loss_ref =
| protected = 3.97
| protected_ref =
| conservation = Critical/endangered{{WWF ecoregion|name=Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests|id=im0111}}
| coordinates = {{coord|19|12|N|80|30|E|display=inline,title}}
|footnotes =
}}
The Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests, presently known as East Deccan moist deciduous forests,{{Cite journal |last=Dinerstein |first=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |date=June 2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix014 |journal=BioScience |language=en |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869}} is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in east-central India. The ecoregion covers an area of {{convert|341,100|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}, extending across portions of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana states.
Setting
The Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests extend from the Bay of Bengal coast in northern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha, across the northern portion of the Eastern Ghats range and the northeastern Deccan Plateau, to the eastern Satpura Range and the upper Narmada River valley.
The forests of the ecoregion are sustained by the moisture-bearing monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal. The ecoregion is bounded on the north and west by tropical dry deciduous forest ecoregions, including the Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests to the southwest and west, the Narmada valley dry deciduous forests to the northwest, and the Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests to the north and northeast. The drier Northern dry deciduous forests ecoregion, lying west of the Eastern Ghats range, is completely surrounded by the Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests, in the rain shadow of the Ghats, which partially block the moisture-laden monsoon winds off the Bay of Bengal. The humid Orissa semi-evergreen forests ecoregion lies to the northeast in the coastal lowlands of Orissa.
Flora
The ecoregion's forests are dominated by Sal (Shorea robusta), in association with Terminalia, Adina, Toona, Syzygium, Buchanania, Cleistanthus, and Anogeissus, according to soil variations. The flora of the ecoregion shares many species with the moist forests of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas.
From the Western Ghats this includes plants like jackfruit and several hu lianas such as Schefflera vine (Heptapleurum venulosum), joint fir (Gnetum edule), and common rattan.
From the Eastern Himalayas this includes the peculiar Indian pepper tree and several shrubs, herbs and flowers such as yellow Himalayan raspberry, false nettle (Boehmeria macrophylla), and whipcord cobra lily among others.
Several globally threatened plant species are found in this ecoregion, including the two endemic plants Leucas mukerjiana and Phlebophyllum jeyporensis.
File:A mud way in Kanha National Park (2012).jpg|Inside a tropical moist deciduous forest
File:Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden - Howrah 2011-01-08 9797.JPG|Sal trees are common in these forests
File:A branch laden with Sal flowers.jpg|Characteristic yellow-white sal-flowers in winter coincides with leaffall
File:Sambar stag leaves of Terminalia tomentosa Kanha TR AJT Johnsingh IMG 0871.JPG|Terminalia, and especially asna trees (Indian laurel), are also common.
File:Bamboo leaves1.JPG|Bamboo, especially calcutta bamboo, is prominent in many parts of this ecoregion
File:Gnetum ula-3-bsi-yercaud-salem-India.jpg|Plants in common with the Western Ghats includes several types of lianas (Joint Fir).
File:Zanthoxylum rhetsa 6662.jpg|Plants in common with the Eastern Himalayas spans a wide range of species (Indian pepper tree)
Fauna
The ecoregion still harbours large intact areas of tropical moist deciduous forest and is an important refuge for healthy populations of most of the original large vertebrates associated with this habitat. Large mammals include the predators Indian tiger, wolf, dhole, and sloth bear, and the herbivores gaur, chousingha, blackbuck, and chinkara. The Asian elephants that once lived were extirpated long ago.
The only endemic species found in the ecoregion is the cave-dwelling Khajuria's leaf-nosed bat.
File:SlothBear DSC 0721.jpg|Sloth bears are here
File:Gaur (Bos gaurus) MH India.jpg|Indian bison (gaur) is present in parts of this ecoregion
File:Four-horned Antelope.jpg|Several kinds of antilope and deer species live in this ecoregion (Chousingha)
File:Pallas's Fish-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus by Dr. Raju Kasambe IMG 0582 (10).CR2.JPG|Pallas's fish-eagle, a globally threatened species, is living here
File:Green Munia pair.jpg|Green avadavat, a globally threatened species, has found a refuge in this ecoregion
Conservation
File:View from a dam in Kinnarsani WS, AP W IMG 5776.jpg
File:Palpala River near lulung, Similipal National Park.jpg
Approximately 25% of the original habitat remains, much of it in blocks of 5000 km2 or larger. 31 protected areas, totaling 13,540 km2, preserve about 4% of the ecoregion's intact habitat. The largest protected area in the ecoregion is Simlipal National Park in Odisha state.Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. pp. 306-308
- Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh (550 km2)
- Badalkhol Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh (120 km2)
- Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (170 km2)
- Balimela Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (130 km2)
- Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh (240 km2)
- Bhairamgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh (160 km2)
- Bori Wildlife Sanctuary, Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh (460 km2)
- Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, Warangal district, Telangana (120 km2)
- Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (140 km2)
- Indravati National Park, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh (1,150 km2)
- Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (70 km2)
- Kanha National Park, Mandla and Balaghat districts, Madhya Pradesh (900 km2)
- Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (150 km2)
- Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, Adilabad district, Telangana (1,080 km2)
- Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary, Khammam district, Telangana (290 km2)
- Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary (480 km2, partially in the Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion).
- Kondakameru Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (400 km2)
- Kotgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (400 km2)
- Lakhari Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Ganjam district, Odisha (180 km2)
- Lanjamadugu Wildlife Sanctuary, Karimnagar district, Telangana (80 km2)
- Mahuadaur Wildlife Sanctuary, Jharkhand (60 km2)
- Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh (500 km2)
- Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary, Warangal district, Telangana (120 km2)
- Pamed Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh (60 km2)
- Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary, East and West Godavari districts, Andhra Pradesh (530 km2)
- Phen Wildlife Sanctuary, Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh (100 km2)
- Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary, Adilabad district, Telangana (130 km2)
- Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (790 km2)
- Satpura National Park, Madhya Pradesh (490 km2)
- Simlipal National Park, Mayurbhanj district, Odisha (2,550 km2))
- Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh (670 km2)
- Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh (340 km2)
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{WWF ecoregion|name=Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests|id=im0111}}
- {{cite web|url=https://ecoregions2017.appspot.com/|title=Ecoregions 2017|publisher=Resolve}}
Geographical ecoregion maps and basic info.
{{clear}}
{{ecoregions of India}}
Category:Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Category:Environment of Andhra Pradesh
Category:Environment of Chhattisgarh
Category:Environment of Jharkhand
Category:Environment of Madhya Pradesh
Category:Environment of Maharashtra
Category:Environment of Odisha