Biodiversity Significance of North East India

The following figures highlight the biodiversity significance of the region (Hegde 2000, FSI, 2003) :

1. 51 Forest types are found in the region broadly classified into six major forest types viz.,

tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical semi evergreen forests, tropical wet evergreen

forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests and alpine forests

2. Out of the 9 important vegetation types of India, 6 are found in the North Eastern region.

3. These forests harbour 80,000 out of 15,000 species of flowering plants . These include

• 40 out of 54 species of gymnosperms

• 500 out of 1012 species of Pteridophytes

• 825 out of 1145 species of orchids

• 80 out of 90 species of rhododendrons

• 60 out of 110 species of bamboo

• 25 out of 56 species of canes

4. In terms of floral species richness the highest diversity is reported from the states of Arunachal

Pradesh and Sikkim amongst the North Eastern States as shown in the following table

 

State Species richness (flowering plants)

  

Arunachal Pradesh 5000

Sikkim ± 4500

Meghalaya ± 3500

Assam ± 3010

Manipur ± 2500

Nagaland ± 2250

Mizoram ± 2200

Tripura ± 1600 

Scenario of Forest Cover in North East India (Areas in Sq. km.)