Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve

The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is a non-use conservation area and biosphere reserve in the Satpura Range of Madhya Pradesh state in Central India.^[1]

The conservation area was created in 1999 by the Indian government. It also contains animals from the Himalayan mountains and from the lower Western Ghats. UNESCO designated it a biosphere reserve in 2009.

Geography

The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is located within areas of Narmadapuram, Betul, and Chhindwara Districts in Madhya Pradesh.^[2]

The biosphere reserve's total area is 4,926.28 square kilometres (1,217,310 acres). It includes three wildlife conservation units:^[3]

Bori Sanctuary (518.00 km²)
Pachmarhi Sanctuary (461.37 km²).
Satpura National Park (524.37 km²)

Satpura National Park is designated as the core zone and the remaining area of 4401.91 km², including the Bori and Pachmarhi sanctuaries, serves as the buffer zone.

Ecology

The reserve is composed primarily of forest habitats, and is an important transition zone between the forest species of western and eastern India.

Flora

The forests are dominated by teak (Tectona grandis). They include the westernmost groves of sal (Shorea robusta), which is the dominant tree of eastern India's forests. Other endemic vegetation includes wild mango, silver fern, jamun and arjun.^[4] The Cuddapah almond trees are abundantly found over the hills of Pachmarchi.

Fourteen ethno-botanical plant species that occur in PBR have been studied, which are traded from the selected villages of the buffer zone area of PBR. Different plant parts of these important species are collected by the local people for their own consumption and trade. A part of the reserve vegetation has been studied by Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala, especially with respect to the indigenous uses of the plants.