Northern Triangle temperate forests

The Northern Triangle temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of northern Myanmar.

etting

The Northern Triangle temperate forests occupy the southern slopes of the Namkiu Mountains, the easternmost extension of Himalayas, and extend southeast along the Patkai Range on the border between Myanmar and India. They lie between 1,830 and 2700 meters elevation. The Northern Triangle subtropical forests lie to the south, while the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests lie to the northwest across the Patkai Range. The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows lie bound the ecoregion to north.

The forests are diverse, blending plants characteristic of the tropical floras of the Indian subcontinent and Indochina with the temperate floras of the Himalaya and China. The Northern Triangle Temperate forests have been little explored by scientists, and their biodiversity is likely underestimated.

The Northern Triangle temperate forests are similar to the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests, which occupy the middle elevations of the Himalaya range in Eastern India, Bhutan, and eastern Nepal, and extend along the north slope of the Patkai range in Arunachal Pradesh.

Flora

The main plant communities of the Northern Triangle temperate forests are broadleaf forests and mixed forests.

The broadleaf forests lie between 1830 and 2100 meters elevation. Characteristic trees include "Alnus nepalensis, Betula cylindrostachya, Castanopsis" spp., "Schima" spp., "Callophylus" spp., "Michelia" spp., and "Bucklandia populnea."

The mixed forests lie above 2100 meters elevation, characterized by broadleaf trees of "Quercus, Magnolia, Acer, Prunus, Ilex," and "Rhododendron," mixed with conifers "Picea brachytyla, Tsuga dumosa, Larix griffithiana," and "Taiwania flousiana."

Subalpine conifer forests lie between the temperate forests and the alpine meadows of the easternmost Himalaya.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to a number of threatened mammal species, including the Tiger "(Panthera tigris)", Takin "(Budorcas taxicolor)", Clouded Leopard "(Pardofelis nebulosa)", Red Panda "(Ailurus fulgens)", Asiatic Wild Dog "(Cuon alpinus)", Asiatic Black Bear "(Ursus thibetanus)", Stump-tailed Macaque "(Macaca arctoides)", Capped Leaf Monkey "(Trachypithecus pileatus)", Red Goral "(Naemorhedus baileyi)," Great Indian Civet "(Viverra zibetha)," Black-striped Weasel "(Mustela strigidorsa)", Irrawaddy Squirrel "(Callosciurus pygerythrus)," and Particolored Flying Squirrel "(Hylopetes alboniger)".

The ecoregion is home to a single endemic mammal species, the Gongshan muntjac "(Muntiacus gongshanensis)". The Rusty-bellied Shortwing "(Brachypteryx hyperythra)" is the ecoregion's only known endemic bird species.

References

* Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). "Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment." Island Press; Washington, DC.

External links

* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/im/im0402.html Northern Triangle temperate forests (WWF)]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/im/im0402.html Northern Triangle temperate forests (National Geographic)]