Tanintharyi upland evergreen forest

Description

This ecosystem occurs at higher elevation (mostly >200 m, Connette et al., 2016) across Tanintharyi state. Differs to lowland sundaic evergreen forest by having a lower mean canopy height, increased presence of conifers (Kress et al., 2003) and reduced leaf area index as a result of smaller mean leaf size. These higher altitude areas have lower mean annual precipitation and lower mean temperature than lowland sundaic evergreen forest. This ecosystem is very diverse, with a closed canopy consisting primarily of Dipterocarpaceae. Buttressed trees common, epiphytes, ferns and lianas are present, and mosses and lichens are likely to be more abundant than in adjacent lowland forests. Very diverse fauna community with birds, bats and insects being important pollinators in the canopy. Distribution is largely defined by mean monthly rainfall in excess of mean evapotranspiration, generally around 100 mm per month.

Assessment summary

Our assessment of range size, future climatic suitability and trends in primary forest cover indicate that the ecosystem does not meet any category thresholds for the Red List of Ecosystems and was therefore initially assessed as Least Concern. However, as a result of a post- assessment review by experts that highlighted a range of severe threats that have not yet been quantified, including illegal forest clearing, the assessment outcome was modified to Not Evaluated. This change reflects that the standards of evidence were not sufficient to warrant a Least Concern listing, and that further data could yield an assessment outcome other than Least Concern. We recommend urgent further work to address this knowledge gap and enable a complete assessment of this ecosystem type. Data Deficient.