Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests

The Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of the island of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
RealmIndomalayan
Biometropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
BordersSri Lanka lowland rain forests and Sri Lanka montane rain forests
Geography
Area47,759 km2 (18,440 sq mi)
CountrySri Lanka
Conservation
Conservation statusvulnerable
Protected17,736 km² (37%)[1]

Geography

The ecoregion covers an area of 48,400 square kilometers (18,700 sq mi), about 75%, of the island of Sri Lanka, with the exception of the islands' southwestern corner and Central Highlands, home to the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests and Sri Lanka montane rain forests ecoregions, respectively, and the northern Jaffna Peninsula, which is part of the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion.

The topography is generally low, and the landscape is dotted with isolated inselbergs. The highest of these inselbergs is Ritigala (766 meters), which lies north of the Central Highlands.

Climate

The ecoregion receives 1500–2000 mm of rainfall annually. Most rain falls during the December-to-March northeast monsoon season, and it is mostly dry the rest of the year.

Flora

The ecoregion has several plant communities.

The Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests are made up mostly of evergreen trees, which distinguish them from the deciduous trees that characterize most other tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregions. The dry-zone dry evergreen forests most closely resemble the East Deccan dry evergreen forests of India's southeast coast.

Fauna

The dry-zone dry evergreen forests are home to most of the Sri Lanka's 6000 Sri Lankan elephants (Elephas maximus maximus), the island's indigenous subspecies of Asian elephant.[8][9]

Protected areas

17,736 km², or 37%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[10] Protected areas include:

See also

  • "Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

References

  1. Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
  2. Green, Michael John Beverly (1990). IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas. IUCN, 1990.
  3. "Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  4. "Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  5. Department of Wildife Conservation (2008). Biodiversity Baseline Survey: Ritigala Strict Natural Reserve. Revised version. Consultancy Services Report prepared by Green, M.J.B. (ed.), De Alwis, S.M.D.A.U., Dayawansa, P.N., How, R., Singhakumara, B.M.P., Weerakoon, D.,Wijesinghe, M.R. and Yapa, W.B. Infotech IDEAS in association with GREENTECH Consultants. Sri Lanka Protected Areas Management and Wildlife Conservation Project (PAM&WCP/CONSULT/02/BDBS), Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Colombo. 46 pp.
  6. "Ancient Sri Lankans built canals. Their legacy today? A new type of forest". Mongabay Environmental News. 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  7. Jayasuriya, A. H. Magdon (2019-12-10). "A new forest vegetation type in Sri Lanka: Dry Canal-associated Evergreen Forest". Ceylon Journal of Science. 48 (4): 375. doi:10.4038/cjs.v48i4.7679. ISSN 2513-230X.
  8. Borham, Maneshka (2018). "Relocating wet zone elephants to dry zone centre: Gentle giants destined to leave Sinharaja?". Sunday Observer, 3 June 2018. Accessed 2 May 2020.
  9. Fernando, Prithiviraj & Jayewardene, Jayantha & Prasad, Tharaka & Hendavitharana, W. & Pastorini, Jennifer. (2011). Current Status of Asian Elephants in Sri Lanka. Gajah. 35. 93-103. 10.5167/uzh-59037.
  10. Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
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