Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve


The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is a non-use conservation area and biosphere reserve in the Satpura Range of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.
The conservation area was created in 1999 by the Indian government. It also contains animals from the himalayan peaks and from the lower western ghats. UNESCO designated it a biosphere reserve in 2009.

Geography

The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is located within areas of Hoshangabad, Betul, and Chhindwara Districts in Madhya Pradesh state in India.The highest peak is the Dhoopgarh.
The biosphere reserve's total area is. It includes three wildlife conservation units:
Satpura National Park is designated as the core zone and the remaining area of 4401.91 km2, including the Bori and Pachmarhi sanctuaries, serves as the buffer zone.

Ecology

The reserve is composed primarily of forest habitats, and is an important transition zone between the forest species of western and eastern India.

Flora

The forests are dominated by Teak. They include the westernmost groves of sal, which is the dominant tree of eastern India's forests. Other endemic vegetation includes wild mango, silver fern, jamun and arjun.

Ethnobotany

Fourteen ethno-botanical plant species occur in PBR have been studied, which are traded from the selected villages of the buffer zone area of PBR. Different plant parts of these important species are collected by the local people for their own consumption and trade. A part of the reserve vegetation has been studied by Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala, especially with respect to the indigenous uses of the plants.

Fauna

Large mammal species include tigers, leopard, wild bear, gaur, chital deer, muntjac deer, sambar deer, and rhesus macaque.
The endemic fauna includes chinkara, nilgai, wild dogs, the Indian wolf, bison, Indian giant squirrels, and flying squirrels.