Karnataka

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Karnataka is endowed with most magnificent forests in the country ranging from majestic evergreen forests of the Western Ghats to the scrub jungles of the plains. The Western Ghats of Karnataka has 3.83 Million Ha of recorded forests and one of 35 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Forests of Karnataka harbours about 25% of the elephant population of India, 10% tiger populations, and home to endangered Lion-tailed macaques.The state has five national parks, namely: Anshi, Bandipur, Bannerghatta, Nagarhole, and Kudremukh and 21 wildlife sanctuaries, comprising about 17.3% of total forest areas. Coastline in the state extends over a length of 320 kilometers with numerous river mouths, lagoons, bays, creeks, cliffs, sand dunes and 14 rivers which originates in the western ghats runs westwards and joins the Arabian Sea. Several economically important species such as such as Santalam album, Dalbergia latifolia, Tectona grandis, Dysoxylon malabaricum grow naturally in these forests. Karnataka is the home of few critically endangered species of flora that include evergreen trees like Dipterocarpus bourdilloni, Hopea erosa and Hopea jacobi. Many areas of Karnataka, especially the forests of Malnad (male, 'hill' or maļe, 'rain', with nādu, 'land') region are unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are discovered from time to time. Some of the new species of flora and fauna recently discovered in Karnataka include - Paracautleya bhatii (ginger), Isachne veldampii (grass), two species of ants, Dilobocondyla bangalorica and Discothyrea sringerensis and three new species of frogs, Philautus luteolus, Philautus tuberohumerus and Nyctibatrachus petraeus. Explorations in the Sharavathi river (Shimoga district) have yielded new fish species namely: Batasio sharavatiensis, Schistura nagodiensis and in the Bhagamandala (Kaveri river) Schinstura sharavathiensis, Puntius coorgensis have been discovered. Evergreen forests hosts, few critically endangered species of flora: Dipterocarpus bourdilloni, Hopea erosa and Hopea jacobi and fauna species Gyps indicus (Indian vulture) and two species of frogs, Indirana gundia (found only in Gundia range, Sakleshpur) and Micrixalus Kottigeharensis (found only near Kottigehara, Chikkamagaluru district). The Deccan plateau forms the eastern plains of Karnataka. This forms 2/3 part of geographical area of Karnataka. This area receives low and scanty rainfall and the temperature is very high. The vegetation types of the region fall into southern tropical dry deciduous and southern tropical thorn forests. There are some endemic species in the region such as Brachystelma ciliatum, Brachystelma Kolarensis from Kolar districts, Brachystelma elenaduensis from Tumkur district, Schizachyrium sudhanshuii from Raichur district.

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