Ecoregions of the world, spanning all land area (terrestrial) of the planet, were first defined and mapped in 2001 and subsequently revised in 2017. Later, freshwater ecoregions and marine ecoregions of the world were identified. Within India, there are 46 terrestrial ecoregions, 14 freshwater ecoregions, and 6 marine ecoregions.
Terrestrial ecoregions
The terrestrial ecoregions of the world include 45 ecoregions that fall entirely or partly within the boundaries of India. These ecoregions fall within two biogeographic realms: Indomalayan and Palearctic. They also fall under ten biomes: Deserts and Xeric Shrublands, Flooded Grasslands and Savannas, Mangroves, Montane Grasslands and Shrublands, Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests, Temperate Conifer Forests, Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests, Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests, Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands, and Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests. The ecoregion Rock and Ice is not included under any specific biome or biogeographic realm.
| Ecoregion | State or union territories | Biome | Realm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman Islands rain forests | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests | Arunachal Pradesh | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Assam | |||
| Meghalaya | |||
| Nagaland | |||
| Central Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe | Jammu and Kashmir | Montane grasslands and shrublands | Palearctic |
| East Deccan moist deciduous forests | Andhra Pradesh | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Chhattisgarh | |||
| Jharkhand | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Odisha | |||
| Telangana | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests | Bihar | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Sikkim | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| Uttarakhand | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests | Assam | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Bihar | |||
| Jharkhand | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Odisha | |||
| Tripura | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Malabar Coast moist forests | Goa | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Karnataka | |||
| Kerala | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| Maldives–Lakshadweep–Chagos Archipelago tropical moist forests | Lakshadweep | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Meghalaya subtropical forests | Assam | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Meghalaya | |||
| Tripura | |||
| Nagaland | |||
| Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests | Assam | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Manipur | |||
| Mizoram | |||
| Nagaland | |||
| Tripura | |||
| Nicobar Islands rain forests | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Goa | |||
| Gujarat | |||
| Karnataka | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| North Western Ghats montane rain forests | Goa | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Gujarat | |||
| Karnataka | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Odisha semi-evergreen forests | Andhra Pradesh | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Odisha | |||
| South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests | Karnataka | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Kerala | |||
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| South Western Ghats montane rain forests | Karnataka | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Kerala | |||
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests | West Bengal | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests | Bihar | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Delhi | |||
| Haryana | |||
| Himachal Pradesh | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Rajasthan | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| Uttarakhand | |||
| Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests | Andhra Pradesh | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Chhattisgarh | |||
| Karnataka | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Telangana | |||
| Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests | Bihar | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Chhattisgarh | |||
| Jharkhand | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Odisha | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| East Deccan dry evergreen forests | Andhra Pradesh | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Puducherry | |||
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| Khathiar–Gir dry deciduous forests | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Gujarat | |||
| Haryana | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Rajasthan | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests | Chhattisgarh | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Gujarat | |||
| Karnataka | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| North Tibetan Plateau-Kunlun Mountains alpine desert | Jammu and Kashmir | Montane grasslands and shrublands | Palearctic |
| North Deccan dry deciduous forests | Chhattisgarh | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Odisha | |||
| South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests | Karnataka | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | Indomalayan |
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| Himalayan subtropical pine forests | Himachal Pradesh | Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests | Indomalayan |
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||
| Sikkim | |||
| Uttarakhand | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Northeast India–Myanmar pine forests | Manipur | Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests | Indomalayan |
| Nagaland | |||
| Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests | Arunachal Pradesh | Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests | Indomalayan |
| Assam | |||
| Nagaland | |||
| Sikkim | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Western Himalayan broadleaf forests | Himachal Pradesh | Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests | Indomalayan |
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||
| Punjab | |||
| Uttarakhand | |||
| Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests | Arunachal Pradesh | Temperate coniferous forests | Indomalayan |
| Sikkim | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests | Himachal Pradesh | Temperate coniferous forests | Indomalayan |
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||
| Ladakh | |||
| Uttarakhand | |||
| Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands | Assam | Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands | Indomalayan |
| Bihar | |||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||
| Uttarakhand | |||
| West Bengal | |||
| Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh | Gujarat | Flooded grasslands and savannas | Indomalayan |
| Deccan thorn scrub forests | Andhra Pradesh | Deserts and xeric shrublands | Indomalayan |
| Karnataka | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| Telangana | |||
| Aravalli west thorn scrub forests | Chandigarh | Deserts and xeric shrublands | Indomalayan |
| Delhi | |||
| Gujarat | |||
| Haryana | |||
| Himachal Pradesh | |||
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||
| Punjab | |||
| Rajasthan | |||
| Thar Desert | Gujarat | Deserts and xeric shrublands | Indomalayan |
| Haryana | |||
| Rajasthan | |||
| Godavari–Krishna mangroves | Andhra Pradesh | Mangrove | Indomalayan |
| Odisha | |||
| Tamil Nadu | |||
| Indus River Delta–Arabian Sea mangroves | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Mangrove | Indomalayan |
| Gujarat | |||
| Maharashtra | |||
| Sundarbans mangroves | West Bengal | Mangrove | Indomalayan |
| Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests | Arunachal Pradesh | Temperate coniferous forests | Palearctic |
| Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows | Arunachal Pradesh | Montane grasslands and shrublands | Palearctic |
| Sikkim | |||
| Karakoram–West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe | Ladakh | Montane grasslands and shrublands | Palearctic |
| Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows | Himachal Pradesh | Montane grasslands and shrublands | Palearctic |
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||
| Ladakh | |||
| Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows | Himachal Pradesh | Montane grasslands and shrublands | Palearctic |
| Uttarakhand | |||
| Baluchistan xeric woodlands | Punjab | Deserts and xeric shrublands | Palearctic |
Freshwater ecoregions
Freshwater ecoregions of the world have been defined as "a large area encompassing one or more freshwater systems with a distinct assemblage of natural freshwater communities and species. The freshwater species, dynamics, and environmental conditions within a given ecoregion are more similar to each other than to those of surrounding ecoregions, and together form a conservation unit." The following 14 freshwater ecoregions occur within India.
- Upper Indus
- Indus Himalayan Foothills
- Lower and Middle Indus
- Ganges Himalayan Foothills
- Middle Brahmaputra
- Chin Hills–Arakan Coast
- Ganges Delta and Plain
- Narmada–Tapti
- Northern Deccan Plateau
- Southern Deccan Plateau
- Southeastern Ghats
- Western Ghats
- Andaman Islands
- Nicobar Islands
Marine ecoregions
Marine ecoregions of the world have been described across the worlds oceans and seas. India's seas are in the Western Indo-Pacific marine realm. This includes the following four provinces and six marine ecoregions.
- West and South Indian Shelf province
- Western India
- South India and Sri Lanka
- Central Indian Ocean Islands province
- Maldives
- Bay of Bengal province
- Eastern India
- Northern Bay of Bengal
- Andaman province
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Global 200 ecoregions in India
The following are the ecoregions in India that are included in the Global 200 ecoregions:
Terrestrial
- Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests (India)
- Eastern Deccan Plateau moist forests (old name) or East Deccan moist deciduous forests (current name) (India)
- Eastern Himalayan alpine meadows (Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal)
- Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests (Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal)
- Himalayan subtropical pine forests (Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan)
- Naga-Manipuri-Chin hills moist forests (India)
- Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests (India, Myanmar)
- Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh (India, Pakistan)
- South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests (India)
- Sundarbans mangroves (Bangladesh, India)
- Terai-Duar savannas and grasslands (Bhutan, India, Nepal)
- Tibetan Plateau alpine shrublands and meadows (Afghanistan, China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan)
- Western Himalayan broadleaf forests (Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan)
See also
- Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI)
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