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35-617: A shola is the local name for a patch of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India , largely in Kerala , Karnataka and Tamilnadu . These patches of shola forest are found mainly in the valleys and are usually separated from one another by undulating montane grassland . The shola and grassland together form the shola-grassland complex or mosaic. Not all such high-elevation grasslands have sholas in their valleys, especially if they are isolated from other such meadows, such as

70-553: A large number of artifacts unearthed by excavators. A particularly important collection from the region can be seen in the British Museum , including those assembled by colonial officers James Wilkinson Breeks , Major M. J. Walhouse and Sir Walter Elliot . The first recorded use of the word Nila applied to this region can be traced back to 1117 CE. In the report of a general of Vishnuvardhana , King of Hoysalas , who in reference to his enemies, claimed to have "frightened

105-486: A serious threat to this high elevation ecosystem. Some, like Acacia mearnsii and Eucalyptus globulus are the consequence of commercial plantation and afforestation drives, especially in the Nilgiri Mountains . Other threatening invasive species include Lantana camara and Ageratina adenophora . Periodic fires have been considered to help maintain the grassland, however, excessive burning has led to

140-473: A shrinkage of forest patches and the growth of invasive species . The shola biome has a high water retention capacity and exists as the primary source of the water for the high elevation organisms is the origin of many streams and rivers in the Western Ghats. Montane grasslands and shrublands This biome includes high elevation ( montane and alpine ) grasslands and shrublands , including

175-402: A stable final state or climax vegetation. This stability is maintained by climatic conditions such as frost which allow the grass to grow but kill off any forest seedlings. Others have suggested that the grassland may have been created and maintained by early pastoralists and point out that fire has a major role in the maintenance of the grassland. There is evidence for both and several features of

210-556: A variety of plant families, such as Lobelia (Africa), Puya (South America), Cyathea (New Guinea), and Argyroxiphium (Hawai’i). These plant forms can reach elevations of 4,500–4,600 metres (14,800–15,100 ft) above sea level. Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form a part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu , southern Karnataka and eastern Kerala in South India . They are located at

245-433: Is about 8 km southeast of Udhagamandalam. Vellangiri (Silvery Hill) (2,120 metres (6,955 ft)) is 16 km west-northwest of Udhagamandalam. The highest waterfall, Kullakamby Fall, north of Kolakambai hill, has an unbroken fall of 400 ft (120 m). Nearby is the 150 ft (46 m) Halashana falls. The second highest is Catherine Falls , near Kotagiri , with a 250 ft (76 m) fall, named after

280-737: Is in the south of Doddabetta range. Kulakombai (1,707 metres (5,600 ft)) is east of the Devashola. The Bhavani Valley and the Lambton's peak range of Coimbatore district stretch from here. Muttunadu Betta (height: 2,323 metres (7,621 ft)) 11°27′N 76°43′E  /  11.450°N 76.717°E  / 11.450; 76.717  ( Muttunadu Betta ) is about 5 km, north northwest of Udhagamandalam. Tamrabetta (Coppery Hill) (height: 2,120 metres (6,955 ft)) 11°22′N 76°48′E  /  11.367°N 76.800°E  / 11.367; 76.800  ( Tamrabetta )

315-519: Is interesting due to its association with the engineer Major G. C. Law who supervised building of the Coonoor Ghat road . Over 2,800 species of flowering plants, 160 species of fern and fern allies, countless types of flowerless plants, mosses, fungi, algae, and land lichens are found in the sholas of the Nilgiris. No other hill station has as many species. It is also home to mammals like

350-563: Is now restricted to a 400-km stretch of shola-grassland mosaic, from the Nilgiri Hills to the Agasthyamalai Hills . Laughingthrushes , Nilgiri woodpigeons , shortwings , and some of the endemic flycatchers ( black-and-orange flycatcher and Nilgiri flycatcher ) are some of the 300+ species of birds that inhabit this area. The area shows high endemicity and is rivaled only by the forests in northeast India; 35 percent of

385-478: Is the northern extent of the range. Club Hill (2,448 metres (8,031 ft)) and Elk Hill (2,466 metres (8,091 ft)) 11°23′55″N 76°42′39″E  /  11.39861°N 76.71083°E  / 11.39861; 76.71083  ( Elk Hill ) are significant elevations in this range. Snowdon, Club Hill and Elk Hill with Doddabetta, form the impressive Udhagamandalam Valley. Devashola (height: 2,261 metres (7,418 ft)), notable for its blue gum trees,

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420-709: Is the only place in South India to have the white tiger . The dominant type of habitat is tropical rainforest . Montane forests and tropical moist forests are also found here. Much of the forest habitats have been much disturbed or destroyed by extensive tea plantations, easy motor-vehicle access, extensive commercial planting and harvesting of non-native eucalyptus and wattle ( Acacia dealbata , Acacia mearnsii ) plantations, and cattle grazing. The area also features one large and several smaller hydro-electric impoundments. Scotch broom has become an ecologically damaging invasive species . Threatened plants of

455-625: Is thought that the bluish flowers of kurinji shrubs gave rise to the name. The Nilgiri Hills are separated from the Karnataka Plateau to the north by the Moyar River . Three national parks border portions of the Nilgiri mountains. Mudumalai National Park lies in the northern part of the range where Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu meet, covering an area of 321 km (124 sq mi). Mukurthi National Park lies in

490-709: The Bengal tiger , Indian elephant , Indian leopard , chital deer , gaur , sambar deer , dhole , golden jackal , Indian boar , Nilgiri tahr , Indian spotted chevrotain , black buck , Asian palm civet , sloth bear , four-horned antelope , Nilgiri marten , Indian crested porcupine , Malabar giant squirrel , honey badger , Indian grey mongoose , Indian pangolin , Indian fox , smooth coated otter , and painted bat . The Indian python , king cobra , common krait , Indian cobra , Malabar pit viper , Nilgiri keelback , Oriental garden lizard , Eryx whitakeri and mugger crocodile are reptiles found here. Primates include

525-597: The Ethiopian Highlands , the Zambezian montane grasslands and woodlands, and the montane habitats of southeastern Africa. The montane grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau still support relatively intact migrations of Tibetan antelope ( Pantholops Hodgsoni ) and kiang, or Tibetan wild ass ( Equus hemionus ). A unique feature of many tropical páramos is the presence of giant rosette plants from

560-585: The Great Trigonometrical Survey , a sub-assistant named Keys and an apprentice named McMahon ascended the hills by the Danaynkeucottah (Dannayakana Kote) Pass, penetrated into the remotest parts, made plans, and sent in reports of their discoveries. As a result of these accounts, Messrs. Whish and Kindersley, two young Madras civilians, ventured up in pursuit of some criminals taking refuge in the mountains, and proceeded to observe

595-787: The Thodas , driven the Kongas underground, slaughtered the Poluvas, put to death the Maleyalas, terrified Chieftain Kala Nirpala and then proceeded to offer the peak of Nila Mountain.(presumably Doddabetta or Rangaswami peak of Peranganad in East Nilgiris) to Lakshmi , Goddess of Wealth. Neelagiri was ruled by Baduga King Kala Raja before 1117 CE." A hero stone ( Veeragallu ) with a Kannada inscription at Vazhaithottam (Bale thota) in

630-500: The lion tailed macaque , Nilgiri langur , gray langur and bonnet macaque . The birds found here are Indian peacock , Nilgiri laughing thrush , Nilgiri flycatcher , grey junglefowl , Malabar pied hornbill , Malabar parakeet , great hornbill , Nilgiri wood pigeon , Indian vulture , black-hooded oriole , grey-headed bulbul and Malabar grey hornbill . Amphibians on the list are the purple frog , Silent valley brush frog , Malabar gliding frog , Beddomixalus and many more. It

665-656: The puna and páramo in South America, subalpine heath in New Guinea and East Africa, steppes of the Tibetan plateaus, as well as other similar subalpine habitats around the world. The plants and animals of tropical montane páramos display striking adaptations to cool, wet conditions and intense sunlight. Around the world, characteristic plants of these habitats display features such as rosette structures , waxy surfaces, and abundant pilosity . The páramos of

700-619: The Nilgiri District, dated to 10th century CE, has been discovered. A Kannada inscription of Hoysala king Ballala III (or his subordinate Madhava Dannayaka's son) from the 14th century CE has been discovered at the Siva (or Vishnu) temple at Nilagiri Sadarana Kote (present-day Dannayakana Kote), near the junction of Moyar and Bhavani rivers, but the temple has since been submerged by the Bhavani Sagar dam . In 1814, as part of

735-551: The Nilgiris and the southern extent of the range is Doddabetta Peak (2,637 metres (8,652 ft)), 4 km east southeast of Udhagamandalam , 11°24′10″N 76°44′14″E  /  11.40278°N 76.73722°E  / 11.40278; 76.73722  ( Doddabetta Peak ) . Closely linked peaks in the west of Doddabetta range and nearby Udhagamandalam include: Snowdon (height: (2,530 metres (8,301 ft)) 11°26′N 76°46′E  /  11.433°N 76.767°E  / 11.433; 76.767  ( Snowdon )

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770-530: The burning and removal of forests by early herders and shifting agriculturists. Shola forests are found in the higher elevation hill regions of the Nilgiris , Anaimalai , around Anamudi , Palni hills , Meghamalai , Agasthyamalai to the south and the Malnad and associated ranges in parts of Wayanad , Coorg , Baba Budangiri , Kudremukh up the north, to Goa , Satara district and Sindhudurg district in

805-436: The forest trees and the grasslands that have been considered and debated. Pollen analysis from bogs in the Nilgiris suggest that the complex of grassland and forest existed 35,000 years ago, long before human impact began. Long-term studies on the dynamic processes of vegetation change continue. Due to their isolation, elevation, and evergreen character, shola forests are home to many threatened and endemic species . Some of

840-404: The genus Colias , it is found at high elevations and subtropical climate. However, this is the only one found in South India. Among the many larger animals inhabiting a shola-grassland mosaic are tigers , leopards , elephants and gaur . The endangered Nilgiri tahr (of the family Bovidae , which includes gazelles, antelopes, and wild buffaloes) is endemic to the shola-grassland, and its range

875-535: The interior. They soon saw and felt enough favorable climate and terrain to excite their own curiosity, and that of others. After the early 1820s, the hills were developed rapidly under the British Raj , because most of the land was already privately owned by British citizens. It was a popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days. In 1827, Ooty became the official sanatorium and

910-646: The meadows found in the Idamalayar Reserve Forest in Ernakulam district of Kerala . The word 'Shola' is probably derived from the Tamil language word cōlai (சோலை) meaning grove . The shola-forest and grassland complex has been described as a climatic climax vegetation with forest regeneration and expansion restricted by climatic conditions such as frost or soil characteristics while others have suggested that it may have anthropogenic origins in

945-640: The northern Andes are the most extensive examples of this habitat type. Although ecoregion biotas are most diverse in the Andes, these ecosystems are distinctive wherever they occur in the tropics. The heathlands and moorlands of East Africa (e.g., Mount Kilimanjaro , Mount Kenya , Rwenzori Mountains ), Mount Kinabalu of Borneo, and the Central Range of New Guinea are all limited in extent, isolated, and support endemic plants and animals. Drier subtropical montane grasslands, savannas, and woodlands include

980-987: The plants, 42 percent of the fish , 48 percent of the reptiles , and 75 percent of the amphibians , and about 13 percent of the insects , about 25 percent not being found east of Bangalore , that live in these forests are endemic species. At least 25 types of trees are present in the major sholas of the Nilgiri Hills . The dominant trees in this type of forest are Magnolia nilagirica , Bischofia javanica (bishop wood), Calophyllum tomentosum , Toona ciliata (Indian mahogany), Eugenia (myrtle) spp., Ficus glomerata (atti or cluster fig tree or gular fig tree) and Mallotus spp. Shola forests have an upper storey of small trees, generally Prunus ceylanica , Heptapleurum racemosum , Chionanthus ramiflorus , Syzygium spp., Rhododendron arboreum subsp. nilagiricum , Berberis napaulensis , Elaeocarpus recurvatus , Ilex denticulata , Magnolia nilagirica , Actinodaphne bourdillonii , and Litsea wightiana . Below

1015-547: The southwest part of the range, in Kerala, covering an area of 78.5 km (30.3 sq mi), which includes intact shola-grassland mosaic, habitat for the Nilgiri tahr. Silent Valley National Park lies just to the south and contiguous with those two parks, covering an area of 89.52 km (34.56 sq mi). The high steppes of the Nilgiri Hills have been inhabited since prehistoric times, demonstrated by

1050-508: The species found here have close relatives only in the distant evergreen forests of Northeast India , the Himalayas and Southeast Asia . Some others are found nowhere else in the world. The Western Ghats are one of the globally recognized biodiversity hotspots . Colias nilagiriensis is a species of butterfly endemic to shola grasslands above 2000m, sometimes being considered a subspecies of Colias erate . Like most other species in

1085-418: The states of Karnataka , Kerala , Goa , Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu . Although generally said to occur above 2000 meters above sea level, shola forests can be found at 1600 meters elevation in many hill ranges (e.g. Biligiriranga Hills ). The origin of the shola forest and grassland complex has been the subject of scientific debate. Some early researchers suggested that the floristic composition represents

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1120-967: The summer capital of the Madras Presidency . Many winding hill roads were built. In 1899, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway was completed by influential and enterprising British citizens, with venture capital from the Madras government. In the 19th century, when the British Straits Settlement shipped Chinese convicts to be jailed in India, the Chinese men settled in the Nilgiri mountains near Naduvattam after their release and married Tamil Paraiyan women, having mixed Chinese-Tamil children with them. They were documented by Edgar Thurston . The highest point in

1155-562: The trijunction of the three states and connect the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats . At least 24 of the Nilgiri Mountains' peaks are above 2,000 m (6,600 ft), with the highest peak being Doddabetta at 2,637 m (8,652 ft). The word Nilgiri, comes from Tamil words neelam (blue) + giri (mountain), has been in use since at least 1117 CE. In Tamil literature it is mentioned as Iraniyamuttam It

1190-695: The upper story is a low under story and a dense shrub layer. Strobilanthes kunthiana , known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Tamil , is a well known shrub endemic to Western Ghats that blossoms only once in 12 years. There is a thick concentration of mosses growing on the under story and many ferns in the sunlit narrow transition to grassland. Shola forests are interspersed with montane grasslands , characterized by frost- and fire-resistant grass species like Chrysopogon nodulibarbis , Cymbopogon flexuosus , Arundinella ciliata , Arundinella mesophylla , Arundinella tuberculata , Themeda tremula , and Sehima nervosa . Invasive introduced species are

1225-495: The wife of M.D. Cockburn , believed to have introduced coffee plantations to the Nilgiri Hills. The Upper and Lower Pykara falls have falls of 180 ft (55 m), and 200 ft (61 m), respectively. The 170 ft (52 m) Kalhatti Falls is off the Segur Peak. The Karteri Fall, near Aruvankadu had the first power station which supplied the original Cordite Factory with electricity. Law's Fall, near Coonoor ,

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