Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests

Arid landscape in the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests

The Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests is a mostly arid ecoregion in northwestern India that stretches over 103,100 sq mi (267,000 km²) across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The dry deciduous forests in the region are dominated by teak, and thorny trees and scrub in drier areas.^[1]

Landscape

The Aravalli Range is part of this ecoregion

The Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests include the Aravalli Range, the high point of which is Mount Abu with an elevation of 1,721 m (5,646 feet), and a small part of the Northwestern thorn scrub forest in the west. Protected areas cover 8,980 km² (3,470 sq mi) in this ecoregion, and include:^[1]

In the west is the Kathiawar Peninsula and the strip of western Rajasthan between the Aravalli Range and Thar Desert. To the northwest, the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests transit to the Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests. To the southeast lies the Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests, of the Vindhya Range, and the Narmada River Valley. The ecoregion also borders the North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests in southeastern Gujarat.

The ecoregion has a tropical monsoon climate, with most of its 550 to 700 mm average annual rainfall during the June–September southwest monsoon and little for the remaining months of the year, while temperatures often exceed 40 °C. Higher elevations of the Aravallis stay cooler, and the windward slopes (generally southeast-facing) receive higher rainfall. This results in a dry landscape of thorny scrub, bare trees and rocks.^[1]

Flora

A silk-cotton tree in full bloom

The composition of the ecoregion's forests varies with moisture and soils. They have a three-storied structure, with the top story reaching 15 to 25 m (49 to 82 ft). Arid areas are dominated by Anogeissus pendula growing in association with khair, especially on the quartzite ridges and gneiss hillocks of the Aravalli Range. Less arid areas are dominated by teak (Tectona grandis), bael (Aegle marmelos), Boswellia serrata, Desmodium oojeinense, Diospyros species, silk-cotton tree, Sterculia urens, Phyllanthus emblica, Dalbergia paniculata, and Terminalia elliptica. Mount Abu is covered in dry deciduous forest with conifers at the highest elevations. Thorn scrub forests, characterized by Euphorbia caducifolia, Maytenus emarginata, Acacia senegal, Commiphora mukul, Wrightia tinctoria, Flueggea leucopyrus, Grewia species, occur on rocky Aravalli hillsides and in degraded areas. The endemic species Dicliptera abuensis, Strobilanthes halbergii, and Veronica anagallis also grow in these areas. Date palms (Phoenix sylvestris) and fig trees (Ficus racemosa) grow near rivers and streams of the hills.^[1]

Fauna

A watchful Indian leopard in Gir Forest

An Indian sloth bear walking on the road in Ratan Mahal Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Gujarat

A Bengal tiger in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan

An Asiatic lion in Gir Forest National Park, Gujarat

Bird species include:

The endangered great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps).
The lesser florican (Eupodotis indica).
The near-endemic white-naped tit (Parus nuchalis), which inhabits the thorny scrub areas of the ecoregion.^[1]

The protected areas of this dry region are also home to 80 mammal species. Apart from the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca), Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), and chinkara (Gazella bennettii),^[1] the ecoregion is host to:

The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), which is restricted to Gir Forest National Park, and surrounding areas in Kathiawar Peninsula.^[2]
The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), which inhabits several protected areas in the eastern part of this ecoregion.^[3]
The jungle cat (Felis chaus), Asiatic wildcat (Felis silvestris ornata) and rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus).^[4]
The golden jackal (Canis aureus), which scavenges on carcasses of large herbivores, and preys on chital (Axis axis) fawn and Indian hares (Lepus nigricollis).^[5]
The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in Ratan Mahal Wildlife Sanctuary.^[6]

Threats to biodiversity

The human population in the region is growing, and wildlife habitats have mostly been removed or degraded due to collection of firewood and timber, and use as grazing land for livestock.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kathiarbar-Gir Dry Deciduous Forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
↑ Singh, H. S.; Gibson, L. (2011). "A conservation success story in the otherwise dire megafauna extinction crisis: The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) of Gir forest" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 144 (5): 1753–1757. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.009.
↑ Jhala, Y. V.; Gopal, R.; Qureshi, Q., eds. (2008), Status of the Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India (PDF), TR 08/001, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi; Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2013
↑ Pathak, B. J. (1990). "Rusty-spotted Cat Felis rubiginosa Geoffroy: a new record for Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (87): 8.
↑ Alam, M.S., Khan, J.A., Njoroge, C.H., Kumar, S. and Meena, R.L. (2015). "Food preferences of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, Gujarat, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa (7 (2)): 6927–6933.
↑ Garshelis, D. L.; Joshi, A. R.; Smith, J. L. D. & Rice, C. G. "Sloth Bear Conservation Action Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

Ecoregions of India
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests	Andaman Islands rain forests Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests Malabar Coast moist forests Maldives-Lakshadweep-Chagos Archipelago tropical moist forests Meghalaya subtropical forests Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests Nicobar Islands rain forests North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests North Western Ghats montane rain forests Orissa semi-evergreen forests South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests South Western Ghats montane rain forests Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests	Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests Chota-Nagpur dry deciduous forests East Deccan dry evergreen forests Kathiarbar-Gir dry deciduous forests Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests Northern dry deciduous forests South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests	Himalayan subtropical pine forests Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests	Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests Western Himalayan broadleaf forests
Temperate coniferous forests	Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands	Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands
Montane grasslands and shrublands	Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
Flooded grasslands and savannas	Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh
Deserts and xeric shrublands	Deccan thorn scrub forests Indus Valley desert Northwestern thorn scrub forests Thar desert
Mangrove	Godavari-Krishna mangroves Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves Myanmar coast mangroves Sundarbans mangroves
Ecoregions of India

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