MONTANE FORESTS

BY-JASKARAN AND KABIR

WHAT ARE MONTANE
FORESTS?
• Montane ecosystems refers to any ecosystem
found in mountains. These ecosystems are strongly
affected by climate, which gets colder as elevation
increases.
• Dense forests are common at moderate elevations.
However, as the elevation increases, the climate
becomes harsher
• They're found on all continents with the exception
of the Antarctic
• They grow beyond an altitude of 500 meters. The
trees have adapted to the cool climate, heavy
downpours and intense sunshine
WHY ARE THEY
NECESSARY?
• Mountain forests make up a third of all
natural forest cover worldwide.
• The most important function is in
storing water and preventing erosion.
• Mountain forests also play an
important role in the regional climate.
Tropical mountain forests in particular
give back the collected heavy
downpours in the form of water
sources in the surroundings
• Mountain forests are home to a unique
collection of plant and animal species
• A fewer plant and animal species in montane
forests compared to lowland rainforests
because montane regions have adverse
climate, a lack of shelter and food shortages. WILDLIFE IN THE
• They include very strongly specialized species
that are not found in low-lying areas. The FORESTS
craggy landscape and different temperature
zones also lead to different animal and plant
habitats. Some of these are very small
THE DANGER THEY
FACE
• Mountain forests are threatened by climate
change but also by human use.
• People increasingly use the forests to graze
cattle, collect firewood as well as for tea and
coffee plantations.
• Mountain forests are particularly endangered
in eastern Africa - in Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya,
Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda, in
Himalayan regions such as Nepal, India and
Pakistan, in the Caucasus in Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan, and in Laos and Cambodia in
Southeast Asia.
 • Governments of various countries have been
working on large scale reform projects to aid the
situation.
• Though changes are visible , the implementation of
such wide scale procedures require long term
CAN WE DO planning and major awareness even in the under
privileged section of the society.
SOMETHING? • Some initiatives such as the AFRI-SKY-FOR in Africa
& the Tanzanian government’s “Eastern Arc
Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund"
(EAMCEF) are examples.