Montane forests
Also called: Mountain forests · Topic: Natural Vegetation and Forests of India · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Natural Vegetation"
Meaning
Montane forests are mountain forests. They change with height, because temperature falls as you climb. NCERT divides them into two groups. Northern (Himalayan) mountain forests change in belts from deciduous forest in the foothills, through oak, pine and deodar, to alpine forest and finally mosses and lichens (tundra). Southern mountain forests grow in the Western Ghats, Vindhyas and Nilgiris. These hills are close to the tropics and only about 1,500 m high, so their forests are temperate higher up and subtropical lower down.
Example
In the Nilgiri, Anaimalai and Palani hills, short evergreen forests called sholas grow in sheltered folds among high grasslands. Their trees include magnolia, laurel, cinchona and wattle.
Don't confuse with
- Altitudinal zonation: this is the pattern of vegetation changing in belts as height increases. Montane forests are the forests that show this pattern.