Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
| Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve | |
|---|---|
Nilgiri Hills from atop Doddabetta Peak
|
|
Map of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve 1/1,300,000.
|
|
| Location | South India |
| Coordinates | 11°33′00″N 76°37′30″E / 11.55000°N 76.62500°ECoordinates: 11°33′00″N 76°37′30″E / 11.55000°N 76.62500°E |
| Area | 5,520 km2 (2,130 sq mi) |
| Established | 1986 |
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India. The Nilgiri Sub-Cluster is a part of the Western Ghats, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012. It includes the Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Nagarhole, and Bandipur national parks, as well as the Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries.
A fascinating ecosystem of the hill ranges of Nilgiris and its surrounding environments covering a tract of over 5000 square kilometers was constituted as Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in September 1986 under Man and Biosphere Programme. Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve is India's first and foremost biosphere reserves with a heritage, rich in flora and fauna. Tribal groups like the Todas, Kotas, Irullas, Kurumbas, Paniyas, Adiyans, Edanadan Chettis, Cholanaickens, Allar, Malayan, etc., are native to the reserve.
The reserve encompasses 5,520 km² in the states of Tamil Nadu (2537.6 km²), Karnataka (1527.4 km²) and Kerala (1455.4 km²). It forms an almost complete ring around the Nilgiri Plateau. The biosphere lies between 10°50′N and 12°16′N latitude and 76°00′E to 77°15′E longitude.
The reserve extends from the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist forests of the western slopes of the Ghats to the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests tropical dry forests on the east slopes. Rainfall ranges from 500mm to 7000mm per year. The reserve encompasses three ecoregions, the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests, and South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests.
...
Wikipedia