Climatic conditions
- Mean annual rainfall is 75 cm to 125 cm.
- Average annual temperature is 18°-21°C.
- Humidity is 80 percent.
Distribution
- Eastern Himalayas to the east of 88°E longitude at altitudes varying from 1000 to 2000 m.
Characteristics
- Forests of evergreen species.
- Commonly found species are evergreen oaks, chestnuts, ash, beech, sals and pines.
- Climbers and epiphytes [a plant that grows non-parasitically on a tree or other plant] are common.
- These forests are not so distinct in the southern parts of the country. They occur only in the Nilgiri and Palni hills at 1070-1525 metres above sea level.
- It is a “stunted rain-forest” and is not so luxuriant as the true tropical evergreen.
- The higher parts of the Western Ghats such as Mahabaleshwar, the summits of the Satpura and the Maikal Range, highlands of Bastar and Mt. Abu in the Aravali Range carry sub-types of these forests.
Distribution
- Western Himalayas between 73°E and 88°E longitudes at elevations between 1000 to 2000 metres above sea level.
- Some hilly regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Naga Hills and Khasi Hills.
Timber
- Chir or Chil is the most dominant tree which forms pure stands.
- It provides valuable timber for furniture, boxes and buildings.
- It is also used for producing resin and turpentine.
Distribution
- Found in the Bhabar, the Shiwaliks and the western Himalayas up to about 1000 metres above sea level.
Climatic Conditions
- Annual rainfall is 50-100 cm (15 to 25 cm in December-March).
- The summers are sufficiently hot and winters are very cold.
Characteristics
- Low scrub forest with small evergreen stunted trees and shrubs.
- Olive, acacia modesta and pistacia are the most predominant species.
