Sagaing hills pine savanna

Description

Pine savanna is an open to closed evergreen needleleaf savanna ecosystem that occurs in four to five regions across Myanmar, with each currently being a separate ecosystem given their geographical barriers. Further investigation is needed to quantify the distinctive features of pine savannas in each region (K. Tomlinson, pers.comm.). Sagaing hills pine savanna is an open evergreen needleleaf savanna ecosystem that occurs across the Sagaing hills. It has a non- continous canopy primarily of Pinus kesiya (Khasia Pine) and a grassy understory. Fire is a key process that maintains the ecosystem, serving to suppress the incursion of surrounding hardwood forest ecosystems. Examples of this ecosystem can be found in Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park. Several similar pine savannas occur throughout Myanmar, including in the Chin Hills, Shan Region and Kachin State.

Assessment summary

This ecosystem is relatively broadly distributed in northern Myanmar. Literature searches indicated that it is a poorly known ecosystem, but it appears sufficiently broadly distributed and ongoing threats are expected to be relatively benign. The ecosystem is assessed as Least Concern.