INTRODUCTION

The north eastern India has been in focus for its rich biodiversity. The affluence of the region’s

avifauna largely reflects the diversity of habitats associated with a wide altitudinal range.

Northeast India symbolizes transition zone between the Indian, Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese biogeographic provinces and a meeting place of the Himalayan Mountains and Peninsular India. It was the part of the northward migrating ‘Deccan Peninsula’ and consider as the geographical ‘gateway’ for much of India’s flora and fauna, and as a consequence, the region is one of the richest in biological values. It is in this lowland-highland evolution zone that the highest diversity of biomes or ecological communities can be found, and species varieties within these communities are also tremendously high. Northeast India is blessed with a large range of physiography and ecoclimatic situation. Northeast India forms a variety of tropical forests, especially the species-rich tropical rain forests, after the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Western Ghats in India. This part also consider as an important part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, one of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots acknowledged currently.

6 important vegetation types out of the 9 of India found in the North Eastern region.

More than 8,000 out of 15,000 species (in India) of flowering plants found in the North Eastern
region, which includes 40 species of gymnosperms, 500 species of pteridophytes, 825 species of

orchids, 80 species of rhododendrons, 60 species of bamboo, and 25 species of canes.

A total of 3,624 species of insects, 50 molluscs, 236 fishes, 64 amphibians, 137 reptiles, 850

birds and 160 mammalian species have been so far reported, but still a lot of species yet to

describe.

 

Three families of primates’ occur in India with 15 known species, 9 of these species found in

North east India. Out of the 6 largest cats of the world recorded from India, northeaster region sustain four of them, and the Indian population of the Clouded Leopard is mainly restricted to the Northeaster region. 51 different types of forest are found in the region, which includes tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical semi evergreen forests, tropical wet evergreen forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests and alpine forests.