The Odisha semi-evergreen forests (also Orissa semi-evergreen forests) are a

tropical moist broadleaf forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in large ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

of eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The ecoregion covers an area of on the coastal plain of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

state, bounded by the Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests west and north-west, transitioning from the huge ecoregion

Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests The Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of Bangladesh and India. The ecoregion covers an area of , comprising most of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Biha ...

along the north coastland, and surrounding the smaller ecoregion Godavari-Krishna mangroves along a stretch of the south-east coast by the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. Several of Odisha's largest cities, including

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

Chhatrapur Chhatrapur is a town and a Municipality in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. About Chhatrapur houses the district headquarter of Ganjam district, Ganjam Police and RTO. Headquarters of Chhatrapur Sub-divion, Ganjam Police District, ...

Kendrapara Kendrapara is a Town and a municipality in the Kendrapara district of the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of Kendrapara district. Geography Kendrapara is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is surrounded by Bhadrak ...

, and

Bhadrak Bhadrak is a city of Odisha state in eastern India. The city is the district headquarters of Bhadrak district. According to legend, the city derives its name from the Goddess Bhadrakali, whose temple is on the banks of the Salandi River. Hi ...

, lie within this ecoregion, and it has been extensively cleared for agriculture and urbanization. According to the WWF, 96% of the ecoregion's area has been cleared, and only 4% remains in the original semi-evergreen rain forest. Much of the remaining forest has been degraded by grazing and fuelwood harvesting.

Flora

File:Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, 2015 (1).jpg, Some coastal and river spots have

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...

. File:Raghurajpur.jpg, Palm trees near the coast File:Barunei Hiil - panoramio.jpg, Barunei Hill near Bhubaneswar File:Deras13.JPG, Inside a semi-evergreen (or semi-deciduous) forest in Odisha. Chandaka forest. File:Deras11.JPG, Special bamboo habitat in the forests. Chandaka forest. File:Kapilash Hilltop View.JPG, Kapilash Forest Range, inland hills

Fauna

This ecoregion does not harbour any

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

, but despite the heavy anthropogenic changes of the landscape and the almost total deforestation, several large mammals are still living here, including elephant and tiger. Important mammals in need of special attention here, includes the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

dhole The dhole ( ; ''Cuon alpinus'') is a canid native to South, East and Southeast Asia. It is anatomically distinguished from members of the genus ''Canis'' in several aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third ...

(''cuon alpinus''),

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus''), also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of ...

, and

chousingha The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), also called ''chousingha'', is a small bovid antelope native to central, South and Western India, along with a smaller population in Nepal. The sole member of the genus ''Tetracerus'', t ...

(''tetracerus quadricornis''). The birdlife in the Odisha semi-evergreen ecoregion is quite diverse with 215 known species. The

lesser florican The lesser florican (''Sypheotides indicus''), also known as the likh or ''kharmore'', is the smallest in the bustard family and the only member of the genus ''Sypheotides''. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall gra ...

(''Eupodotis indica'') is globally threatened and has found a sanctuary here. File:BlackBuck Male.png,

Black buck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the sh ...

in the fields File:Saltwater Crocodile.jpg, Saltwater crocodiles near the coasts File:A dead Olive ridley on Puri sea beach.jpg,

Olive ridley The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...

turtles lay eggs on the sandy beaches File:CorroboreeSeaEagle.jpg,

White-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Icthyophaga leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related ...

File:Chilika Bhubaneswar.me.jpg,

Greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Him ...

s (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') File:Male Lesser Florican (crop).jpg, Lesser florican

Protected areas

Of the total ecoregion area, about 12.8% is protected. * Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary (70 km²) * Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary (980 km²), including the Nalbana Bird Sanctuary * Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary (50 km²) Only tiny fragments of semi-deciduous forest remains in Kapilash Forest Range, Chandaka Forest, Bolagarh Forest and Khallikote Forest.

Conservation

The original

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

of this ecoregion is almost non-existing. According to older surveys, this has been the case since at least 1968. If left to itself, the habitat is believed to be replaced by tropical evergreen forests, not semi-evergreen forests.

Forest management

A study done by Reddy, Jha, & Dadhwal in this area is being used to shape environmental policies in India to protect

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. Through monitoring long term forest resource changes show a loss in overall species and

ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from Ecosystem, ecosystems. The interconnected Biotic_material, living and Abiotic, non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean ...

that can be measured in physical data. The results of this study show a connection between

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

and

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

, and loss of important biodiversity in the ecoregion.

References

External links

* *
Geographical ecoregion maps and basic info. {{clear Ecoregions of India Forests of Odisha Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Forests of India Geography of Odisha Indomalayan ecoregions