Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests explained

Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests
Map:Ecoregion IM0210.png
Ecozone:Indomalayan
Biome:tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Border1:Central Indochina dry forests
Border2:Indochina mangroves
Border3:Southern Annamites montane rain forests
Border4:Southern Vietnam lowland dry forests
Border5:Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forests
Border6:Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forests
Area:123,778
Country1:Cambodia
Country2:Laos
Country3:Thailand
Country4:Vietnam
Conservation:vulnerable
Protected:28,210 km2 (23
Protected Ref:)[1]

The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of Indochina.

Setting

The ecoregion covers an area of 124300km2, extending across portions of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests occupy the lower portion of the Mekong Basin, where they are intertwined with the Central Indochina dry forests. The Southern Annamites montane rain forests border the dry evergreen forests on the east, occupying the higher elevations of the Annamite Range. To the south, the Indochina mangroves lie between tropical seasonal forests and the South China Sea. The Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forests and Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forests lie to the southeast, in the seasonally and permanently flooded lowlands along the Tonle Sap and lower Mekong rivers and Tonle Sap Lake.

Flora

The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests are one of three dry broadleaf forest ecoregions with predominantly evergreen trees; trees in dry broadleaf forests typically lose their leaves during the dry season.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to many large mammals, including the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), tiger (Panthera tigris), previously one of two known populations of the now extinct Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus), Eld's Deer (Cervus eldi), banteng (Bos javanicus), gaur (Bos gaurus), clouded leopard (Pardofelis nebulosa), leopard (Panthera pardus), Malayan sun bear (Ursus malayanus), and khting-vor (Pseudonovibos spiralis).

Conservation

A 2017 assessment found that 28,210 km2, or 23%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Another 23% is forested but outside protected areas.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014
  2. Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014