[
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "1. Trans-Himalayan Zone", "description": "High-altitude cold desert (~5.6% of India's landmass). Key fauna: Snow leopard, Tibetan wild ass (kiang), ibex, black-necked crane.", "marker-symbol": "mountain", "marker-color": "#6f42c1", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [77.58, 34.15]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "2. Himalayan Zone", "description": "Diverse alpine, temperate, and sub-tropical montane forests (~6.4%). Key fauna: Himalayan musk deer, red panda, monal pheasant.", "marker-symbol": "mountain", "marker-color": "#28a745", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [79.00, 30.50]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "3. Desert Zone", "description": "Thar and Kutch arid ecosystems (~6.6%). Key fauna: Great Indian bustard, desert fox, Indian wild ass (khur).", "marker-symbol": "monument", "marker-color": "#e6a100", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [71.50, 26.50]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "4. Semi-Arid Zone", "description": "Transitional scrubland and dry deciduous tract (~16.6%). Key fauna: Asiatic lion (Gir), blackbuck, chinkara, wolf.", "marker-symbol": "park", "marker-color": "#e67e22", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [75.50, 24.50]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "5. Western Ghats Zone", "description": "Global biodiversity hotspot featuring evergreen and montane shola forests (~4.0%). Key fauna: Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr.", "marker-symbol": "park", "marker-color": "#007bff", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [75.80, 13.50]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "6. Deccan Peninsula Zone", "description": "India's largest biogeographic zone (~42.0%), dominated by tropical dry and moist deciduous forests. Key fauna: Tiger, gaur, sloth bear.", "marker-symbol": "park", "marker-color": "#8b4513", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [79.50, 19.50]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "7. Gangetic Plain Zone", "description": "Fertile alluvial plains formed by the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin (~10.8%). Key fauna: Ganges river dolphin, gharial, swamp deer.", "marker-symbol": "water", "marker-color": "#17a2b8", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [83.50, 26.00]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "8. Coastal Zone", "description": "Sandy beaches, mangroves, lagoons, and estuarine habitats (~2.5%). Key fauna: Olive ridley turtle, saltwater crocodile.", "marker-symbol": "harbor", "marker-color": "#20c997", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [85.50, 19.50]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "9. North-East Zone", "description": "Indo-Burma biodiversity transition zone with high endemism (~5.2%). Key fauna: Greater one-horned rhinoceros, hoolock gibbon.", "marker-symbol": "park", "marker-color": "#1e7e34", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [93.00, 26.20]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "10. Islands Zone", "description": "Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep insular ecosystems (~0.3%). Key fauna: Dugong, Nicobar megapode, coconut crab.", "marker-symbol": "swimming", "marker-color": "#dc3545", "marker-size": "large" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [92.75, 11.65]
] Biogeographic classification of India is the division of India according to biogeographic characteristics. Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species (biology), organisms, and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. India has a rich heritage of natural diversity. India ranks fourth in Asia and tenth in the world amongst the top 17 mega-diverse countries in the world.Kumar, N.K., Raghunath, T.P., Jayaraj, R.S.C., Anandalakshmi, R., Warrier, R.R., editors, "State of forest genetic resources in India: A Country report", Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Coimbatore, 2012 India harbours nearly 11% of the world's floral diversity comprising over 17500 documented flowering plants, 6200 endemic species, 7500 medicinal plants and 246 globally threatened species in only 2.4% of world's land area. India is also home to four biodiversity hotspots—Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Eastern Himalaya, Indo-Burma region, and the Western Ghats. Hence the importance of biogeographical study of India's natural heritage.
The first initiative to classify the forests of India was done by Champion in 1936 and revised by Seth in 1968. This was followed by pioneering work on India's biogeography by MS Mani in 1974. Numerous schemes divide India into biogeographic regions as part of global schemes based on varying parameters, e.g. the Global 200 scheme of the Worldwide Fund for Nature. In addition, ongoing research focusing on particular taxa have included biogeographic aspects particular to the taxa under study and the area under consideration.
Rogers and Panwar of the Wildlife Institute of India outlined a scheme to divide India zoogeographically in 1988 while planning a protected area network for India. Similarly the Forest Survey of India has issued an atlas of forest vegetation types in 2011 based on Champion & Seth (1968). However, there is no official scheme mandated by the Government of India, as has been issued by the European Environment Agency in the case of the European Union.
Biogeographic realms
At the broadest level, referred to as realm in Udvardy (1975), all of India falls in the Indomalayan realm, with the exception of the high Himalayas, which fall in the Palearctic realm.
Most of India falls in the "Indian Subcontinent" bioregion of the Indomalayan realm, which covers most of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. The Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Himalaya, and Patkai ranges bound the bioregion on the northwest, north, and northeast; these ranges were formed by the collision of the northward-drifting Indian subcontinent with Asia beginning 45 million years ago. The Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya are a major biogeographic boundary between the subtropical and tropical flora and fauna of the Indian subcontinent and the temperate-climate Palearctic realm.
The Nicobar islands on the other hand fall in the "Sundaland" bioregion of the Indo-Malayan realm.
The Himalayas proper form the southern limit of the Palearctic in South Asia, and here the Palearctic temperate forests transition to the subtropical and tropical forests of Indomalaya, creating a rich and diverse mix of plant and animal species.
WWF habitat classification
Based on Olson et al. (2001), the Worldwide Fund for Nature divided the land area of world into 14 terrestrial biomes or habitat types, based on vegetation, which are further subdivided into a total of 867 terrestrial ecoregions, which are exemplars of the concerned biome or habitat type. The classification also includes seven fresh-water biomes and 5 marine biomes. Each biome contains many ecoregions that are examples of that type of habitat. The purpose of this classification scheme is to identify ecoregions that are conservation priorities. These priority regions are referred to collectively as the WWF's Global 200.
Only two terrestrial ecoregions from India – the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas – figure in the Global 200 priority list of the WWF.
Terrestrial biomes of India The following 11 terrestrial biomes are found in India:
Indomalayan realm Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate coniferous forests Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Flooded grasslands and savannas Mangroves Deserts and xeric shrublands
Palearctic realm Temperate coniferous forests Montane grasslands and shrublands
Ecoregions of India The ecoregions of India, with details of states/union territories they occur in, and the concerned biome and realm are given in the table below.