Shola

Shola is a type of high-altitude stunted evergreen forest found in southern India. Patches of shola forest are usually separated from one another by undulating grassland. Together the shola and grassland form the shola-grassland complex or shola-grassland mosaic. Shola forests are found only in the southern portion of the Western Ghats mountains of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion. The word 'shola' is probably derived from the Tamil word solai, meaning 'thicket' or 'bamboo clump'.

Due to its altitude and evergreen character, it is home to some of the most threatened and endemic species. Some of the species found here have close relatives only in the distant evergreen forests of northeast India or those in Southeast Asia. Some others are found nowhere else in the world.

The Western Ghats are one of the globally recogized biodiversity hotspots. Among the many larger animals inhabiting a shola-grassland mosaic are tigers and leopards, elephants, gaur, Spotted Deer etc. The endangered Nilgiri Tahr (an Asian goat-antelope) is endemic to the shola-grassland, and its range is now restricted to a 400-km stretch of shola-grassland mosaic, from the Nilgiri Hills to the Ashambu Hills . [1] Hornbills, Nilgiri Woodpigeons, Trogons, and some of the endemic flycatchers (Brownbreasted, Rustytailed, Nilgiri Verditer etc.) are some of the 300+ species of birds that inhabit this area. The area shows high endemicity and is rivalled only by the forests in northeast India - 35 percent of the plants, 42 percent of the fishes, 48 percent of the reptiles, and 75 percent of the amphibians that live in these rain forests are endemic species. [2]

Shola forests have an upper story of small trees, generally Pygeum gardneri, Schefflera racemosa, Linnociera ramiflora, Syzigium spp., Rhododendron nilgiricum, Mahonia nepalensis, Eleocarpus recurvatus, Ilex denticulata, Michelia nilagirica, Actinodaphne bourdellonii, and Litsea wightiana. Below the upper story is a low understory and a dense shrub layer. These shola forests are interspersed with montane grasslands, characterized by frost- and fire-resistant grass species like Chrysopogon zeylanicus, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Arundinella ciliata, Arundinella mesophylla, Arundinella tuberculata, Themeda tremula, and Sehima nervosum.

Although generally said to occur above 2000 meters above sea level, shola forests can be found at 1600 meters elevation in many hill ranges (eg. Biligirirangan Hills). [3]

Periodic brush wildfires are a key part of the ecosystem, helping to maintain the patchwork of grassland and forest that characterizes the sholas, and preventing the buildup of large amounts of flammable debris. However, some shola areas have suffered from excessive amounts of burning, leading to the shrinkage of forest patches and the growth of invasive species. [4]

References

[1] - Misra & Johnsingh 1998
[2] - Govt. of India 1997
[3] - Personal Observation
[4] - Rawat, G.S, P.V. Karunakaran, and V.K Uniyal. 2003. Shola grasslands of the Western Ghats: conservation status and management needs. ENVIS Bulletin on Grassland Ecosystems and Agroforestry 1(1):57-64. 112 kB PDF