Shan warm temperate rainforest

Description

Scattered on the mountain tops and sheltered gulleys of east and north Shan State. Occurs in areas with temperate climate where temperature ranges between about 11° C and 20° C. Mean annual precipitation is around 1,700 mm and sufficient to support an evergreen forest ecosystem. Closed-canopy, structurally simple forests with a generally uniform tree height that is conspicuous in lacking emergents. Tree canopies consist of notophyll-microphyll foliage. Lichens are present, although in contrast to nearby semi- evergreen rainforests there are relatively few epiphytes and the majority of trees lack large buttressed roots.

Assessment summary

Remote sensing analyses suggest this ecosystem is very broadly distributed across wet, high altitude areas of Shan State. Owing to inaccessibility, we have not been able to confirm the accuracy of our distribution map and therefore recommend further work to confirm this assessment outcome. A climate simulation based on the map data suggests the ecosystem may be at risk from declining climatic suitability over the next three decades, but the majority of model runs returned a result of Least Concern. Primary forest data suggests extensive degradation of this ecosystem since 1750, with an extent sufficient to meet the D3 category threshold for Endangered. Endangered.