South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests


The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southern India. It covers the southern portion of the Western Ghats range and the Nilgiri Hills between 250 and 1000 meters elevation in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.

Setting

The ecoregion has an area of. It includes the southern ranges of the Western Ghats, including the Agastyamalai and Anamalai, and the eastward spurs of the Nilgiri Hills and Palani Hills. The forests of Wayanad in northern Kerala mark the transition to the North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests to the north. To the west, the Malabar Coast moist forests ecoregion lies in the coastal strip between the 250 meter contour and the Malabar Coast. To the east, the ecoregion transitions to the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion in the drier rain shadow of the Western Ghats. It surrounds the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion, which lies above 1000 meters elevation.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessement found that 6,645 km², or 28%, of the ecoregion was in protected areas. Another 50% is forested but outside protected areas. In 1997, the World Wildlife Fund identified fourteen protected areas in the ecoregion, with a combined area of approximately 4,960 km², that encompassed 21% of the ecoregion's area. The adjacent protected areas of Bandipur, Nagarhole, Mudumalai, and Wyanad are home to India's largest protected population of elephants, with over 2500 individuals.