Flora & Fauna of North-East India

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Basics

NORTH-EAST INDIA

Northeast India is the eastern-most region of India connected to East India via a narrow corridor squeezed between Nepal and Bangladesh. It comprises the contiguous Seven Sister States—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura—and the Himalayan state of Sikkim.

FAUNA

The International Council for Bird Preservation, UK identified the Assam plains and the Eastern Himalaya as an Endemic Bird Area (EBA). The EBA has an area of 220,000 km2 following the Himalayan range in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Myanmar and the Indian states of Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, southern Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Because of a southward occurrence of this mountain range in comparison to other Himalayan ranges, this region has a distinctly different climate with warmer mean temperatures and fewer days with frost and have much higher rainfall. This has resulted in the occurrence of a rich array of restricted range bird species. More than two critically endangered species, three endangered species and 14 vulnerable species of birds are in this EBA. Stattersfield et al. (1998) identified 22 restricted range species out of which 19 are confined to this region and the remaining three are present in other endemic and secondary areas. Eleven out of the 22 restricted range species found in this region are considered as threatened (Birdlife International 2001), a number greater than in any other EBA of India.

UNGULATES

WWF has identified the following priority ecoregions in North-East India:

Brahmaputra Valley Semi Evergreen Forests
The Eastern Himalayan Broadleaved Forests
The Eastern Himalayan Sub-alpine Coniferous Forests
India–Myanmar Pine Forests

count	bird species	mammals	reptiles	Amphibians	total species of vertebrates (except fish)
total	1170	329	484	202	2185
endemic	140	73	201	114	528

FLORA

WWF has identified the entire Eastern Himalayas as a priority Global 200 Ecoregion while Conservation International has upscaled the Eastern Himalaya Hotspot which initially covered the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Darjeeling Hills, Bhutan, and Southern China to the Indo Burma Hotspot (Myers 2000) which now includes all the eight states of North-East India, along with the neighbouring countries of Bhutan, southern China and Myanmar. The richness of the region’s avifauna largely reflects the diversity of habitats associated with a wide altitudinal range. North East India supports some of the highest bird diversities in the orient with about 850 bird species. The Eastern Himalaya and the Assam plains have been identified as an Endemic Bird Area by the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, (ICBP 1992). The global distribution of 24 restricted-range species is limited to the region. The region’s lowland and montane moist-to-wet tropical evergreen forests are considered to be the northernmost limit of true tropical rainforests in the world
The region has been identified by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as a centre of rice germplasm while the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), India, has highlighted the region as being rich in wild relatives of crop plants. It is the centre of origin of citrus fruits. Two primitive variety of maize, Sikkim Primitive 1 and 2 have been reported from Sikkim (Dhawan, 1964). Although jhum cultivation, a traditional system of agriculture, is often cited as a reason for the loss of forest cover of the region, this primary agricultural economic activity practised by local tribes reflects the usage of 35 varieties of crops. The region is rich in medicinal plants and many other rare and endangered taxa. Its high endemism in both higher plants, vertebrates and avian diversity has qualified it to be a biodiversity ‘hotspot’ and this aspect has been elaborated in details in the subsequent sections. IUCN in 1995 identified Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh as a centre of plant diversity.
The following figures highlight the biodiersity significance of the region:

51 forest types are found in the region broadly classified into six major types — tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical semi evergreen forests, tropical wet evergreen forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests and alpine forests.
Out of the nine important vegetation types of India, six are found in the North Eastern region.
These forests harbour 80,000 out of 15,000 species of flowering plants. In floral species richness, the highest diversity is reported from the states of Arunachal Pradesh (5000 species) and Sikkim (4500 species) amongst the North Eastern States.
According to the Indian Red data book published by the Botanical Survey of India, 10 percent of the flowering plants in the country are endangered. Of the 1500 endangered floral species, 800 are reported from North East India.
Most of the North Eastern states have more than 60% of their area under forest cover, a minimum suggested coverage for the hill states in the country.
North East India is a part of Indo-Burma 'hotspot'. The hotspot is the world's second largest, next only to the Mediterranean basin with an area 2,20,60,000 km²among the 25 identified.

State	Species richness (flowering plants)
Arunachal Pradesh	5000
Sikkim	4500
Meghalaya	3500
Assam	± 3010
Manipur	± 2500
Nagaland	± 2250
Mizoram	± 2200
Tripura	± 1600

Flora

51 forest types are found in the region broadly classified into six major types — tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical semi evergreen forests, tropical wet evergreen forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests and alpine forests.
Out of the nine important vegetation types of India, six are found in the North Eastern region.
These forests harbour 80,000 out of 15,000 species of flowering plants. In floral species richness, the highest diversity is reported from the states of Arunachal Pradesh (5000 species) and Sikkim (4500 species) amongst the North Eastern States.
According to the Indian Red data book published by the Botanical Survey of India, 10 percent of the flowering plants in the country are endangered. Of the 1500 endangered floral species, 800 are reported from North East India.
Most of the North Eastern states have more than 60% of their area under forest cover, a minimum suggested coverage for the hill states in the country.
North East India is a part of Indo-Burma 'hotspot'. The hotspot is the world's second largest, next only to the Mediterranean basin with an area 2,20,60,000 km²among the 25 identified.

Amphibians

Existing records indicate the presence of 64 species of amphibians in the Northeast India but this figure again could be a gross underestimate as they are a poorly studied group in Northeast India. A survey of amphibians conducted in the State of Nagaland from 1998 to 2002 has resulted in 19 species as new records for the State and 5 species (Megophrys wuliangshanensis, M. glandulosa, Amolops viridimaculatus, Rana humeralis and Rhacophorus gongshanensis) as new records for India. Only four species of caecilians, Ichthyophis garoensis, Ichthyophis hussaini, Ichthyophis sikkimensis and Gegeneophis fulleri are known from Northeast India. The Himalayan Newt (Tylototriton verrucosus) deserves a special mention, as it is the only species of Salamander known from India, occurring in Manipur, Khasi Hills and Sikkim. Hitherto, they were little affected by man, but use of the pesticides in paddy cultivation is posing a threat to the species.

Threats

Threats to biological diversity of the North Eastern region have been compiled from various literature. The broad categories of threats are as follows:

Deforestation and Degradation-
The primary vegetation in extensive areas of the Northeast India has been disturbed and modified

and in some places destroyed by seismic activities, frequent landslides and resultant soil erosion.

While these natural causes have contributed only marginally to the change in vegetation type,

human induced activities have led to irreversible transformation in the landscapes and resulted in

colossal loss of biodiversity in the entire region. (Ramakanta V, A.K. Gupta and Ajith Kumar

unpubl). The region has witnessed excessive logging since the colonial days for revenue generation

(Handique 2004). The practice continued until the Supreme Court ban on logging in 1995, however

clandestinely it is done in some areas in the reserve forests (Tripura SBSAP). The logging and

extractions have also damaged some of the forest patches like the Borduaria preservation plot of
Hollong, Mekai.

Agriculture-
Along with
jhum cultivation, there are also other practices like ‘bun’ cultivation (for growing potato), particularly followed in the hill slopes of Meghalaya, which have the potential to cause both soil and water erosion. Similar instances can be found with settled agriculture that is responsible for causing loss of biodiversity. Large forest patches in the plains, particularly in the tropical wet evergreen forests in Arunachal Pradesh (as seen in Diyum, Chowkham, Miao) have been cleared and converted to agriculture fields. Some of the less arid lands are converted to mustard cultivation. This practice is more prevalent as people from higher reaches have come down to foothills areas to settle new villages.
Encroachment-
Encroachment of forestland is a serious threat to forests and its conservation. The situation isalarming in some states and needs strong political will to address the problem. This has not only caused loss of forest area but has also created a tool for perpetual degradation of forest resources.Frontline in 2002 reported the unsuccessful efforts of eviction of encroachers from a reseve forest near Guwahati subsequent to Supreme Court order in January 1998. The issue is politically sensitive and seldom discussed in a transparent manner (Kumar, 2002).
Grazing-
It is estimated that 60% of the domestic herbivore population graze in the forest. The grazing causes soil compaction and heavy damage to the forest plantations and natural regeneration. This far exceeds the carrying capacity of the forests and is one of the major factors for degradation offorests especially near habitations.

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About me

This website is maintained by Ms. Shikha Aggarwal a student of Biodiversity and Conservation at University School of Environment Management, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, India.

My main objective of preparing this website is to make aware about the flora and fauna in the North East India. I want to make common man aware about the conservation of flora and fauna. As ignoring the conservation of diversity existing in North East India is detrimental for the cause of conservation of biodiversity on which the entire world depends for its survival.

Ungulates

Of the 25000 wild elephants in India, about 33% are found in Northeast India. In fact, Assam alone accounts for more elephants than Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia or any other country in Asia. However, elephant population is dwindling sharply in Northeast India. There has been a very serious decline in the elephant population in central Assam whereas those in the southern parts have virtually vanished. The population has seriously declined in Tripura and there are only a few elephants left in Manipur and Mizoram and probably none in Nagaland. Heavy loss of prime elephant habitat is an issue of great concern as loss of elephant habitats heralds doom for smaller creatures as well.Great Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is the largest of all the rhinos now inhabiting the world. In Northeast India this species is now restricted to Kaziranga, Pabitora and Orang in Assam. The population at Manas in Assam is believed to have been decimated in recent years. Historical records suggest that both the One-horned Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and the Two-horned Sumatran Rhinoceros (Didermocerus sumatrensis) were once found in parts of Northeast India. Both the species are now extinct from the region.The Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) found in Northeastern India is faced with a genetic problem. A large number of domestic buffalo, most of them genetically a ‘cocktail species’ bred by man, are grazed in the habitats of the wild buffalo and the interbreeding revitalizes the domestic strain but has the opposite effect on the wild strains. The Banteng (Bos javanicus) occurred in the hills of Manipur as late as 1990s, but is now not reported from the State.

Sangai

The Brow-antlered Deer (Cervus eldi eldi) is endemic to the State of Manipur. Sangai, as the deer is locally known, is one of the rarest and the most localized subspecies of deer in the world. Reported to be extinct in 1951, this deer was subsequently discovered in a small pocket on the floating mats of vegetation, called ‘phumdi’ in the Loktak Lake. Though just fourteen heads were counted in the first aerial census in 1974, their number has steadily increased since then. Loktak Lake is now a RAMSAR site and there are now about 150 individuals in this undoubtedly the most fragile habitat of the region. The Swamp Deer (Cervus duvauceli) found in Assam is yet another Cervid of great conservation significance. The Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), Goral (Naemorhedus goral) and Red Goral (Naemorhedus baileyi) are three other species that are of great conservation significance in the region. The Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius) is the smallest and the rarest wild suid in the world, and only a few isolated wild populations survive in Northeast India.

Flora & Fauna of North-East India

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NORTH EAST INDIA

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