Shola Vegetation

The Shola vegetation are tropical montane forests found in the Western Ghats separated by rolling grasslands in high altitudes.

They are found in South India in the southern Western Ghats.
Characterized by undulating grassland patches interspersed with stunted evergreen tree species.
They are home to a host of endemic and endangered plants and animals.
Birds like black-orange flycatcher, Nilgiri pipit, Nilgiri laughing Thrush and mammals like Nilgiri Langoor endangered species Nilgiri Tahr.
Sholas also serve as a source of herbal medicines.
They retain most of the rainwater during the monsoons and release it throughout the year via network of streams and rivers.
Many rivers of south India originate in the Sholas: Tungabhadra, Nethravati, Cauvery etc.
Sholas also acts as thermostats maintaining temperature at constant 15-20 degree Celsius, morning and night, summer and winter.

Between 1973-2014, shola grassland area had seen a 66.7% decline.
Expanding plantations like tea and eucalyptus along with exotic and invasive species in the Nilgiris can wipe out Shola vegetation.
This change in vegetation is causing loss of water sources and landslides. A drastic decline in the Sholas is one of the reasons for the recent water scarcity in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
Forest fires are more common in the Sholas. They are both accidental as well as deliberate (for grazing pasture).
Shola is a very sensitive type of vegetation. Once it vanishes from its original habitat, it is very difficult to make it reappear due to change in climate which does not allow Shola seedling to grow in open grasslands.