The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is an ecoregion in the Western Ghats of southern India with tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. This biome covers the Nilgiri Hills between elevation of in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.

Geography

The ecoregion has an area of . It includes the southern ranges of the Western Ghats, including the Agastyamalai and Anamalai, and the eastward spurs or slopes of the Nilgiri Hills and Palani Hills. The forests of Wayanad in northern Kerala mark the transition to the North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests to the north. To the west, the Malabar Coast moist forests ecoregion lies in the coastal strip between the 250 meter contour and the Malabar Coast. To the east, the ecoregion transitions to the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion in the drier rain shadow of the Western Ghats. It surrounds the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion, which lies above 1000 meters elevation.

Average temperatures are generally cooler than in the adjacent lowlands, and decrease with increasing elevation.

Flora

Many forest trees lose their leaves during the dry season. Typical tree species include Adina cordifolia, Albizia odoratissima, Albizia procera, Alstonia scholaris, Bombax ceiba, Toona ciliata, Dalbergia latifolia, Grewia tiliaefolia, Holoptelea integrifolia, Hymenodictyon excelsum, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Lannea coromandelica, Miliusa velutina, Pterocarpus marsupium, Schleichera oleosa, Spondias pinnata, Radermachera xylocarpa, Tectona grandis, Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia paniculata, Terminalia tomentosa, Vitex altissima, Xylia xylocarpa, and Machilus macrantha.

  • Bandipur National Park, Karnataka (1,110 km²)
  • Bilgiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka (370 km², partly in the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests)
  • Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (50 km²)
  • Eravikulam National Park, Kerala (90 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests)
  • Indira Gandhi National Park (Anamalai), Tamil Nadu (620 km² partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests)
  • Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu (895 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests)
  • Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu (310 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests)
  • Mudumalai National Park, Tamil Nadu 400 km²)
  • Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka (620 km²)
  • Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (128 km²)
  • Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (285 km²)
  • Periyar National Park, Kerala (470 km², partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests)
  • Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (40 km² partly in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests)
  • Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala (430 km²)

In 2000 a portion of The Nilgiris was designated a biosphere reserve under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. In 2012 a World Heritage Site was designated in the Western Ghats, covering seven groups of protected areas in the range. Four of those areas - Agasthyamalai, Periyar, Anamalai, and Nilgiri – extend through the ecoregion.