Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests explained

Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests ecoregion
Map:Ecoregion IM0131.png
Biogeographic Realm:Indomalayan
Biome:Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Border:Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests
Border1:Chin Hills–Arakan Yoma montane forests
Border2:Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Border3:Irrawaddy moist deciduous forests
Border4:Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
Border5:Meghalaya subtropical forests
Border6:Myanmar coastal rain forests
Border7:Northeast India–Myanmar pine forests
Border8:Northern Indochina subtropical forests
Border9:Northern Triangle subtropical forests
Area:135,600
Country:Bangladesh
Country1:China
Country2:India
Country3:Myanmar
State:Chittagong Hill Tracts
State1:Yunnan
State2:Assam
State3:Manipur
State4:Mizoram
State5:Nagaland
State6:Chin State
State7:Kachin State
State8:Rakhine State
State9:Sagaing Region
Protected:5.9
Protected Ref:[1]

The Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests[2] is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which occupies the lower hillsides of the mountainous border region joining Bangladesh, China's Yunnan Province, India, and Myanmar. The ecoregion covers an area of 135600km2. Located where the biotas of the Indian Subcontinent and the Indochinese Peninsula meet, and in the transition between subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests are home to great biodiversity. The WWF rates the ecoregion as "Globally Outstanding" in biological distinctiveness.[3]

Geography and neighbouring ecoregions

The ecoregion is characterised by semi-evergreen rain forest, covering the lower elevations of the Chin Hills and Arakan Mountains in Myanmar's Arakan State, India's Manipur state, the adjacent Chittagong Hills of Bangladesh, and then extending northwards along the Naga Hills and Mizo Hills to cover most of India's Nagaland and Mizoram states, and also eastwards across Myanmar's Sagaing Division and Kachin State to the China–Myanmar border. China's Tongbiguan Natural Protection Area(near the China–Myanmar border) might be a part of the ecoregion.

The Myanmar coastal rain forests occupy the coastal lowlands of Myanmar south and southwest of this ecoregion. To the west, the ecoregion borders the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion in the Khasi and Garo Hills, and the Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests in the Brahmaputra lowlands. The Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests extends up to the 1000m (3,000feet) elevation of the Chin Hills–Arakan Yoma range, and the Chin Hills–Arakan Yoma montane forests occupy the portion of the range above 1000m (3,000feet). As the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin forests extend east across Myanmar, they are bounded by the Irrawaddy moist deciduous forests of the Irrawaddy River basin in the south, the higher-elevation Northern Triangle subtropical forests in the north, and the Northern Indochina subtropical forests in the east. The Northeast India–Myanmar pine forests occupy the higher elevations of the Naga Hills along the Nagaland–Myanmar border, and are surrounded by the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests west, south and east.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is tropical and humid, although somewhat cooler than the adjacent lowlands. Rainfall comes mostly from the monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal, and parts of the ecoregion can receive up to of rain per year.

Flora

In the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forest, the predominant plant community is semi-evergreen rain forest, which covers the vast majority of the ecoregion's intact area, a total of 36% of the ecoregion. Other plant communities include tropical wet evergreen forest (5% of the ecoregion's total area), tropical moist deciduous forest (2%), montane wet temperate forest (2%), and subtropical montane forest (1%). 19% of the ecoregion's area has been cleared, primarily for agriculture and grazing, and 34% of the ecoregion consists of degraded areas.[4]

The semi-evergreen rain forest is dominated by trees of the dipterocarp family, including Dipterocarpus alatus, D. turbinatus, D. griffithii, Parashorea stellata, Hopea odorata, Shorea burmanica, and Anisoptera scaphula. Trees of other families include Swintonia floribunda, Eugenia grandis, Xylia xylocarpa, Gmelina arborea, Bombax insignis, Bombax ceiba, Albizia procera, and Castanopsis spp.[5]

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to 149 known species of mammals. This includes two near-endemic species, a bat Pipistrellus joffrei, and a murid rodent Hadromys humei. The ecoregion is home to several endangered and threatened mammal species, including the tiger (Panthera tigris), clouded leopard (Pardofelis nebulosa), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Eld's deer (Cervus eldii), gaur (Bos gaurus), Himalayan goral (Nemorhaedus goral), red panda (Ailurus fulgens), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), Indian civet (Viverra zibetha), back-striped weasel (Mustela strigidorsa), Assamese macaque (Macaca assamensis), bear macaque (Macaca arctoides), southern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina), capped leaf monkey (Semnopithecus pileatus), and hoolock gibbon (Hylobates hoolock).[3]

The ecoregion harbours 580 bird species,[3] of which 6 are near-endemics. Some are the Manipur bush quail (Perdicula manipurensis), striped laughingthrush (Garrulax virgatus) and brown-capped laughingthrush (Garrulax austeni).[6]

Protected areas

5.9% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. The protected areas include:[1]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 9 May 2022.
  2. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-tropical-ecology/article/abs/rain-forest-or-rainforest/51D12575926760B371272A2C20E660A0 ‘Rain forest’ or ‘rainforest’?
  3. Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. pp. 377–379
  4. Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. p 234
  5. Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. p 377
  6. Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. pp. 257–258