The Himalayan subtropical pine forests form a long, narrow band stretching for over 3,000 km along the lower elevations of the Himalaya, spanning Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan and crossing Indian states including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim. The forest is dominated by a single conifer, the Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii), which forms open stands over a sparse understory of shrubs such as barberry, blackberry, and Himalayan raspberry. Its climate is shaped by the southwestern monsoon arriving off the Bay of Bengal roughly from May through September, with a pronounced gradient in which the eastern Himalaya are wetter and the west noticeably drier. Though less species-rich than tropical rainforest, the ecoregion is important habitat, home to wildlife such as the Himalayan goral, yet more than half of its natural habitat has been cleared or degraded by overgrazing, fuelwood and fodder collection, and shifting cultivation.

At a glance

About the tropical & subtropical coniferous forests biome

Subtropical and tropical forests dominated by conifers such as pines, typically in semi-arid climates with seasonal rainfall. They often occupy higher elevations and carry fire-adapted understories.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions