Top 20 Geographically Defined Ecoregions in India

Here is the list of ecoregions in India and the list not contains information about Chota Nagpur Plateau, Central Deccan Plateau, Aravalli Range, Bhitarkanika Mangroves, Bugyals pasture lands and Deccan dry evergreen forest.

Himalayan Subtropical Broadleaf Forests

The ecoregion is part of the interconnected Himalayan ecosystems and home to world’s deepest river valley in Nepal. This habitat types is an important ecosystem along with Terai-Duar savannas and grasslands and Himalayan subtropical pine forests.

Himalayan Subalpine Conifer Forests

Himalayan subtropical pine forests at the lower elevations of the great Himalaya is home to the pine forest ecosystems. The ecoregion is an important habitat and home to variety of wildlife, especially for birds.

Himalayan Alpine Shrub and Meadows

Himalayan alpine forest is mixture of Bugyal high altitude grassland, meadows of endemic alpine flowers and shrublands ecoregion. The alpine shrub and meadows home to rare and endangered animals such as Asiatic black bear, brown bear and blue sheep.

Lower Gangetic Plains Moist Deciduous Forests

Lower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forest at lower Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers is one of the most densely populated regions in India. Another is Upper Gangetic forests ecoregion that includes Jim Corbett National Park, National Chambal Sanctuary and Rajaji National Park.

Thar Desert Thorn Scrub Forests

The ecoregion in the Thar Desert includes western half of Gujarat and through the state of Rajasthan, bounded by the Aravalli Range. Thar Desert ecoregions are protected areas along with large mammals such as Chinkara, blackbuck, chousingha and caracal cat.

Rann of Kutch Salt Marshes

The Rann of Kutch is the only flooded grasslands zone in India that covers large area of salt marshes in Gujarat and divided into Great Rann of Kutch and Little Rann of Kutch.

The Rann of Kutch host variety of ecosystems,salt marshes, grasslands, Chari Dhand Wetland and deserts, home to most unique plants and endemic and endangered wildlife including Indian wild ass, Indian wolf, desert fox and list of migratory birds and bird of prey.

Kathiawar Dry Deciduous Forests

Kathiawar Gir dry deciduous forests across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is dominated by teak tree and home to endangered great Indian bustard, Bengal tiger in Ranthambore National Park and Asiatic lion in Gir Forest National Park of Gujarat.

Narmada Valley Dry Deciduous Forests

Narmada Valley dry deciduous forest of central India is adapted to both monsoon and dry season, home to 76 species of mammals including the Bengal tiger, Asiatic wild dog and gaur.

Western Ghats Moist Deciduous Forests

Western Ghats moist deciduous forests lies in the northern portion of the Western Ghats which is known as Sahyadri range in Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. The ecoregion is home to protected areas and National Parks such as Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharavati Valley Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.

South Western Ghats Montane Rain Forests

South Western Ghats montane rain forests covering the Western Ghats range in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu state, surround by montane rain forests, shola grasslands. The ecoregion supports largest elephant population, rare and endemic Nilgiri tahr, lion-tailed macaque and endangered endemic primate species Nilgiri langur.

Malabar Coast Moist Forests

Malabar Coast moist forests lies along Konkan and Malabar coasts of southwestern India,extends from coastal Maharashtra to Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu. The coastal ecoregion bounded by Western Ghats and famous for grazing ground, species of endemic plants and list of wild mammals.

Godavari Krishna Mangroves Forests

Godavari Krishna mangroves is one of the mangrove ecoregion of India, located at eastern coast and lies in the delta of the Godavari and Krishna rivers. Other largest mangrove community in India are found at Bhitarkanika Mangroves in Orissa, Point Calimere in Tamil Nadu and Pulicat Lake in Andhra Pradesh.

Chilika Brackish Lagoon Wetlands

The Wetlands of Brackish Water Chilika Lake Lagoon is the largest coastal lagoon in India and one of the best ecosystem with large fishery resource.
Chilika Lake Wetlands are home list of threatened species of wild animals, plants and birds such as waterfowl, waders, raptors and largest wintering ground for migratory birds in India.

Eastern Highlands Deciduous Forests

Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests of east central India across the state of Andhra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Telangana states. The deciduous forest at the portion of the Eastern Ghats range and Deccan Plateau are dominated by Sal and Terminalia tress.

Sundarbans Freshswamp Forests

Sundarbans is divided into two ecoregions of Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests and Sundarbans Mangroves. The Sundarbans freshwater swamp forest ecoregion behind the Sundarbans Mangroves which is world’s largest mangrove ecosystem, is under a great threat of extinction.

Terai Duar Savanna and Grasslands

The Savanna and Grasslands along with Terai Duar savanna wetlands are lowland ecoregion and world’s tallest grasslands, found at the base of the Himalayas and home to huge number of mammalian and bird species.

Valmiki National Park, Dudhwa National Park, Rajaji National Park, Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park of Assam are few well known Terai Duar savanna and grasslands in India and home to
nearly 100 tigers and clouded leopards, grazing animals of the grasslands such as Asian elephant, Indian rhinoceros and wild water buffalo.

Brahmaputra Valley Semi-Evergreen Forests

The ecoregion of Northeastern India along Brahmaputra river valley through India’s Assam state to Arunachal Pradesh is a semi evergreen forest and grasslands, habitat for a variety of unique wildlife including clouded leopard, wild water buffalo and many endemic and endangered primate species of India.

Deccan Thorn Scrub Forests

Deccan thorn scrub forest ecoregion of south India consist of thorny trees in open woodland and dry grassland. The ecoregion extending across the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and is the habitat of the Chinkara, Indian wolf, great Indian bustard and blackbuck.

Mizoram Manipur Rainforest

Mizoram Manipur rainforest is home to great biodiversity and cover most of Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram states of India. The ecoregion is semi evergreen rain forest and home to list of endemic, endangered and threatened mammal species.

Tropical Evergreen Forests of Andaman

Tropical Evergreen forests of India are found mainly around the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The coastline of peninsular India, greater Assam region and small evergreen forest in Odisha are home to several tree species of great commercial significance such as Indian rosewood, teak, Indian laurel and Malabar Kino.