Malabar rainforests


The term Malabar rainforests refers to one or more distinct ecoregions recognized by biogeographers:
  1. the Malabar Coast moist forests formerly occupied the coastal zone to the 250 metre elevation
  2. the South [Western Ghats moist deciduous forests] grow at intermediate elevations
  3. the South Western Ghats montane rain forests cover the areas above 1000 metres elevation

Malabar Coast moist forests

The Malabar Coast moist forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India. It lies along India's Konkan and Malabar coasts, in a narrow strip between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats range, which runs parallel to the coast. It has an area of, and extends from northern Maharashtra through Goa, Karnataka and Kerala to Kanniyakumari in southernmost Tamil Nadu. In March 2016, the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve was included in the Biosphere programme of UNESCO at the International Coordinating Council held in Peru.

South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests

This ecoregion in the south of the Western Ghats consists of moist deciduous forests, spanning Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It has an area of 9,200 square miles. Ecologically, it is home to genuses such as Adina, Albizia, Lagerstroemia, Pterocarpus, and Terminalia.

South Western Ghats montane rain forests

The Malabar squirrel is also found in the Malabar rainforests.