The Western Himalayan broadleaf forests is a

temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

which is found in the middle elevations of the western

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, including parts of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Setting

The ecoregion forms an area of temperate broadleaf forest covering in a narrow band between elevation, extending from the Gandaki River gorge in Nepal, through

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

and

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

in northern India into parts of northern Pakistan. This ecoregion is drier and the forest is more fragmented than its Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests counterpart, which receive more moisture from the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

monsoon but is still valuable habitat especially as part of the pattern of habitats found at different elevations on the Himalayan mountainsides. Many species of birds and animals migrate up and down the mountains seasonally from the grasslands of the plains below to the high peaks. At lower elevations, this ecoregion grades into Himalayan subtropical pine forests. At higher elevations, it grades into

Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Setting The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest ...

as well as

Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of the elevations of the northwestern Himalaya of China, India, and Pakistan. Setting Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows cover a ...

and

Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Nepal, India, and Tibet, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the western portion of the Himalaya Range. Setting The Western Himalaya ...

Flora

The Western Himalayan broadleaf forests may be divided into forests of two types: evergreen and deciduous broadleaved forests. The evergreen broadleaf forest is dominated by oaks, consisting of '' Quercus semecarpifolia,

Quercus leucotrichophora ''Quercus leucotrichophora'' is a tree belonging to Family Fagaceae; commonly known as Banjh oak, Banj oak (Uttarakhand) and Ban oak (Himachal). In Nepal, it is known as ''Banjhi'', ''Rainj'', ''Khasarant'', ''Tikhe bhanjh'' in standard Nepali ...

, Quercus floribunda,

Quercus lanata ''Quercus lanata'', the woolly-leaved oak, is a species of ''Quercus'' native to southern and southeastern Asia, including India (from eastern Uttarakhand to Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, Nepal, Indochina (Vietnam, Myanmar, northern Thailand), and ...

, Quercus glauca and Quercus baloot.'' This forest is typically found on moister southern slopes, which are more influenced by the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

. Various Lauraceae call this forest home, including ''

Machilus odoratissima ''Machilus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical forest, occurring in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indochina, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philip ...

Litsea umbrosa ''Litsea'' is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia. Characteristics They a ...

Litsea lanuginosa ''Litsea'' is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia. Characteristics They a ...

'', and '' Phoebe pulcherrima''. The understory features a rich assemblage of ferns, mosses, and epiphytes. On northern slopes, drier areas, and higher elevations, conifers like ''

Abies Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely re ...

, Picea, Cedrus'', and '' Pinus'' thrives''.'' The wild olive, ''

olea cuspidata ''Olea europaea'' subsp. ''cuspidata'' is a subspecies of the well-known olive tree (''Olea europaea''), which until recently was considered a separate species (''Olea africana'') and is still mentioned as such in many sources. Native to northeas ...

'' is found here too. The deciduous forest is found along rivers west of the Gandaki River. It includes '' Aesculus indica'', '' Juglans regia,

Carpinus viminea Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hor ...

'', '' Alnus nepalensis'', and several '' Acer'' species like Acer caesium,

Acer acuminatum ''Acer acuminatum'' is an Asian species of maple native to the Himalayas and neighboring mountains in Tibet, Kashmir, northern India, Nepal, and Pakistan. ''Acer acuminatum'' is a multi-stemmed tree up to 10 meters tall. It is dioecious, meanin ...

, Acer cappadocicum, Acer lobelia subsp. pictum, Acer oblongum, etc are found. In drier areas such as the valley of the upper Ghaghara River it includes '' Populus ciliata'', '' Ulmus wallichiana'', and '' Corylus colurna'' as well and the riverbanks are dominated by Himalayan alder ('' Alnus nitida'').

Fauna

Although there is less wildlife here than in the wetter Eastern Himalayas, this ecoregion is home to seventy-six species of mammals. These include the

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...

, leopard, the

Himalayan tahr The Himalayan tahr (''Hemitragus jemlahicus'') is a large even-toed ungulate native to the Himalayas in southern Tibet, northern India, western Bhutan and Nepal. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is de ...

, and the threatened Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar). There is one endemic mammal, the Kashmir cave bat (''Myotis longipes'') while the threatened Peter's tube-nosed bat (''Murina grisea'') is near-endemic. About 315 species of birds have been recorded in this ecoregion from tiny warblers to large pheasants such as the western tragopan (''Tragopan melanocephalus''),

satyr tragopan The satyr tragopan (''Tragopan satyra'') also known as the crimson horned pheasant, is a pheasant found in the Himalayan reaches of India, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. They reside in moist oak and rhododendron forests with dense undergrowth and ...

(''Tragopan satyra''), koklass pheasant (''Pucrasia macrolopha''), Himalayan monal (''Lophophorus impejanus'') and cheer pheasant (''Catreus wallichi''). Near-endemic birds of the forests include the white-cheeked tit, white-throated tit, spectacled finch, Kashmir flycatcher, Tytler's leaf-warbler, orange bullfinch, and Kashmir nuthatch, while the

Himalayan quail The Himalayan quail (''Ophrysia superciliosa'') or mountain quail, is a medium-sized quail belonging to the pheasant family. It was last reported in 1876 and is feared extinct. This species was known from only 2 locations (and 12 specimens) in ...

which used to be found here is now thought to be extinct.

Threats and conservation

The Himalayas receive large numbers of visitors every year including religious pilgrims and trekkers. Although there a large number of protected areas each of them are quite small and most of original forest has been cleared for

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply cha ...

or for agricultural land, a process which is ongoing. Only a third remains unspoilt, with the largest patches remaining in the west of the ecoregion and any forest clearance on these steep mountainsides quickly results in soil erosion and oversilting of the rivers below. Protected areas in this ecoregion include Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary, and parts of the Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary, Rupi Bhabha Sanctuary and the large

Kishtwar National Park Kishtwar National Park is a national park located, just 40 km from Kishtwar town in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is bounded to the north by Rinnay river, south by Kibar Nala catchment, east by main divide of Great Him ...

References

External links