Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests
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The Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion which is found in the middle elevations of the eastern Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, and Bhutan.
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[edit] Setting
The ecoregion covers an area of 83,100 square kilometers (32,100 square miles), constituting a band of temperate broadleaf forest lying between approximately 2000 and 3000 meters elevation, extending from the Kali Gandaki River in Nepal across the Indian state of Sikkim, Bhutan, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. At lower elevations, the temperate broadleaf forests yield to subtropical pine and broadleaf forests. At higher elevations, the temperate broadleaf forests transition to the Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests.
[edit] Flora
The Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests are diverse and species-rich, with a great diversity of oaks and rhododendrons in particular. The ecoregion has two predominant forest types. Evergreen forests are characterized by oaks (Quercus spp.), chiefly Quercus lamellosa, together with Lithocarpus pachyphylla, Rhododendron arboreum, Rhododendron falconeri, Rhododendron thomsonii, Michelia excelsa, Michelia cathcartii, Bucklandia populnea, Symplocos cochinchinensis, Magnolia spp., Cinnamomum spp., and Machilus spp. Deciduous forests, the predominant tree species are Acer campbellii, Juglans regia, Alnus nepalensis, Betula alnoides, Betula utilis, and Echinocarpus dasycarpus.
