Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests

Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests
Tropical moist deciduous forest in Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh
Location of the ecoregion
Ecology
Realm	Indomalayan
Biome	tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Borders	List North Deccan dry deciduous forests Odisha semi-evergreen forests
Bird species	313
Geography
Area	341,100 km2 (131,700 sq mi)
Country	India
States	Andhra Pradesh Chhattisgarh Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Odisha Telangana
Coordinates	19°12′N 80°30′E / 19.200°N 80.500°E / 19.200; 80.500
Conservation
Conservation status	Critical/endangered[1]
Protected	3.97%

The Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests, presently known as East Deccan moist deciduous forests,^[2] is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in east-central India. The ecoregion covers an area of 341,100 square kilometers (131,700 sq mi), 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 Orissa, 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

ecoregion lies to the northeast in the coastal lowlands of Orissa.

Flora

The ecoregion's forests are dominated by

.

From the Western Ghats this includes plants like

.

From the Eastern Himalayas this includes the peculiar

among others.

Several globally threatened plant species are found in this ecoregion, including the two endemic plants Leucas mukerjiana and Phlebophyllum jeyporensis.

• 
  Inside a tropical moist deciduous forest
• 
  Sal trees are common in these forests
• 
  Characteristic yellow-white sal-flowers in winter coincides with leaffall
• 
  Terminalia, and especially

  asna trees

  (Indian laurel), are also common.
• 
  Bamboo, especially

  calcutta bamboo

  , is prominent in many parts of this ecoregion
• 
  Plants in common with the Western Ghats includes several types of lianas (Joint Fir).
• 
  Plants in common with the Eastern Himalayas spans a wide range of species (

  Indian pepper tree

  )

Fauna

Kanha National Park

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

that once lived were extirpated long ago.

The only

.

• 
  Sloth bears are here
• 
  Indian bison (gaur) is present in parts of this ecoregion
• 
  Several kinds of antilope and deer species live in this ecoregion (Chousingha)
• 
  Pallas's fish-eagle

  , a globally threatened species, is living here
• 
  Green avadavat, a globally threatened species, has found a refuge in this ecoregion

Conservation

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.^[3]

• 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

• List of ecoregions in India
• Flora of Madhya Pradesh
• Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests.

• "Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
• "Ecoregions 2017". Resolve.
  Geographical ecoregion maps and basic info.