Malabar Coast moist forests
The Malabar Coast moist forests are a unique biome located along the southwestern coast of India, stretching between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats Mountains. This region is characterized by tropical and subtropical deciduous broadleaf forests, thriving due to the heavy monsoon rains that provide an average annual precipitation of about 98 inches (250 centimeters). The forests extend from sea level to elevations of 820 feet (250 meters) and house a rich biodiversity, including numerous bird species such as the near-endemic Malabar grey hornbill and various mammals like the endangered Malabar civet.
Historically, the area was home to iconic wildlife including tigers and Asian elephants, although many species have become locally extinct due to human activities. Conservation challenges arise from deforestation, land conversion for agriculture and plantations, and the construction of hydroelectric dams, which fragment habitats and disrupt ecological balance. Climate change further exacerbates threats to the forests, with predictions of increased vulnerability and altered rainfall patterns by 2050. The Malabar Coast moist forests present a vital yet endangered ecosystem, making ongoing conservation efforts crucial for preserving its unique flora and fauna.
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Malabar Coast moist forests
- Category: Forest Biomes.
- Geographic Location: India.
- Summary: Once known for its species-rich forests, this biome is degrading from intensive grazing, mining, and submersion under reservoirs created by the construction of hydroelectric dams.
The Malabar Coast Moist Forests biome consists of tropical and subtropical deciduous broadleaf forests located in southwestern India. These evergreen forests lie in a relatively narrow, north-south strip between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats Mountains, along the Konkan and Malabar coasts. The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahayadri Mountains, are older than the Himalayas, cover 62,000 square miles (160,000 square kilometers), and form the catchment area for a complex of river systems. Rivers such as Tapti, Narmada, Mandovi, and Zuari originate from the Western Ghats and flow into the Arabian Sea, a marginal sea of the Indian Ocean.
Most of these rivers form estuaries at the coast. The Western Ghats intercept the southwestern monsoon rains to create a moist area with 98 inches (250 centimeters) of annual rainfall on the western side of the mountains.
The Malabar Coast moist forests extend from sea level to 820 feet (250 meters) high. The region includes the middle- and upper-elevation ecozones of the northwestern mountain range; a stretch of forest that extends north of Maharashtra State through Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala to Kanyakumari; and the southernmost point of the state of Tamil Nadu. The biome is bounded on the east by the northwestern Ghats moist deciduous forests in Maharashtra and Karnataka States, and the southwestern Ghats forests in Kerala State.
Neighboring habitats are similar, but with vegetation communities zoned by elevation. The southwestern Ghats, for example, cover the southern part of the Sahayadri and the Nilgiri Hills at the much higher altitude range of 820–3,280 feet (250–1,000 meters) in Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve here includes the moist deciduous forests of the southwestern Ghats montane rainforests and the Shola Grasslands complex. The Agastyamalai also is home to the Kanikkaran, one of the oldest surviving hunter tribes in the world, and is the habitat for 2,000 species of medicinal plants, of which at least 50 are rare and endangered.
Biodiversity
The Malabar Coast Moist Forests biome covers approximately 13,700 square miles (35,500 square kilometres), encompassing some sand dune and saline lake features. The area had once been a home to tigers, gaur, slender loris, Jerdon’s palm civet, grizzled giant squirrel, Asian elephants, wild dogs, and sloth bear, and some 325 bird species, including the iconic Malabar grey hornbill, a near-endemic species, meaning one found almost nowhere else. While many species are now locally extinct, the area still boasts 280 bird species and several smaller mammals such as the Day's shrew and brown palm civet.
The distributions of the Nilgiri wood-pigeon, grey-headed bulbul, rufous babbler, and the Malabar parakeet extend throughout these moist deciduous forests. The white-bellied tree pie, white-bellied shortwing, and grey-breasted laughing thrush are primarily montane species. Both the white-bellied shortwing and the Wroughton’s free-tailed bat are critically endangered. Other species, such as lesser florican, greater flamingo, and great hornbill, would benefit from conservation measures.
Human Impact
Forest commercialization has meant that teak, rosewood, and rubber plantations have replaced many swaths of the region’s original northern forests. Human settlements and land used for livestock grazing have resulted in a change in the area’s semi-deciduous vegetation. The forest area in the state of Karnataka has a huge herd of uncontrollable domestic livestock, and the Sanjay National Park in Maharashtra undergoes several anthropogenic fires every year.
Human activities have encroached on the natural habitat of such large animal species as the endangered Malabar civet. At present, the region contains fewer species of mammals than at any known time in its past; these include five near-endemic mammals and a single endemic rodent.
Hydroelectric power projects now dominate the region, with 13 dams built on Periyar River alone. One of the few perennial rivers, it also is considered a lifeline of Kerala State. The dam projects, with accompanying human encroachments, have fragmented the forests in many places. The paper pulp, plywood, sawmills, and fiber factories consume local timber and bamboo, and contribute to habitat degradation through erosion, water pollution and turbidity, blockage of fish and wildlife migration pathways, and other deleterious effects.
In Karnataka State, mineral extraction for vanadium, manganese, and iron contribute to habitat destruction. Human activities such as the collection of fuelwood and fodder, along with non-wood products and animal grazing, have intensified as rural populations grow and expand. The grasslands of the Malabar region, too, are highly vulnerable to fire, which have become frequent enough—and largely uncontrollable by the local population—to retard the growth and regeneration of the forests.
Climate change poses additional threats, such as shifts in the boundaries of the forests, unpredictable agricultural yields, drastically changed seasonal rainfall amounts, and ultimately disrupted habitats for both plants and animals. The India State of Forest Report 2021 found the forests to be among India's climate hotspots and predicts significant increases in rainfall. Scientific studies project that by 2050, most of India’s forest biomes will be highly vulnerable due to the changing climate, and 70 percent of the country’s vegetation susceptible to increased stress.
Bibliography
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