Western Himalayan Temperate Forests - A Global Ecoregion
Hunting is a popular activity in Pakistan and many people own guns
Snapshot: Ecoregion 68
Size:
95,500 sq. km (37,000 sq. miles)
Habitat type:
Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests
Geographic Location:
India, Nepal, Pakistan
Conservation Status:
Critical/Endangered
Quiz Time!
What is the snow leopard well known for?
Answer:
Snow leopards are well known for their muscularity and agility with the ability to leap up to fifty feet horizontally and twenty feet vertically!
About the Area
This Global ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Western Himalayan broadleaf forests; Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests.
Some of the world's richest temperate montane plant communities, including the best example of south temperate montane forests in southern Asia occur in this region. Due to the Continental climate and a mediterranean influence to temper the effects of the south asian monsoon, this region is floristically quite distinct from the eastern Himalayas.The temperate forests of this ecoregion grow at elevations of 1,980 feet to 12,540 feet (600 to 3,800 m) along the western slopes of the Himalayas. The middle elevation forests of the Western Himalayas, including places such as the Palas Valley of Pakistan - the most floristically rich area in Pakistan, contain numerous plant species found nowhere else on Earth.
Local Species
Characteristic plant species in the region include conifers Blue pine (Pinus wallichiana), Spruce (Picea smithiana), Yew (Taxus wallichiana), Fir (Abies pindrow), subalpine broadleaved species such as Birch (Betula utilis) and Rhododendron (Rhododendron campanulatum), and endangered endemic plant species such as shrubs Lactuca undulata and Berberis lambertii.
Pakistan's Palas Valley is home to some of the world's last populations of western Tragopans, a species of arboreal pheasant. Mammals include the endangered Snow leopard (Panthera pardus) - severely threatened in this region by hunting, Bengal tigers, Himalayan thars, and the Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) that are hunted at night by the Snow leopards. Among the many birds are Snow geese, Tibetan sand grouse, Himalayan griffons, and Rubythroats.
Threats
The remaining forests of this ecoregion are threatened by increasing logging, conversion of land to agriculture, and fuelwood collection. Hunting is a popular activity in Pakistan and many people own guns.
Resources
• NationalGeographic.com
