Southwest Sri Lanka Photograph by Eric Wikramanayake   The southwestern quarter of Sri Lanka, below 3281 feet (1,000 m) in elevation. Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   4,900 square miles (12,600 square kilometers) -- about the size of Connecticut Critical/Endangered

· Setting the Scene
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern

Setting the Scene

In the low-lying areas of the island country of Sri Lanka are the evergreen rain forests. The thick forest canopy is made up of over 150 species of trees, some reaching as high as 148 feet (45 m). Mangroves line the shore, where fish feed and breed among the tangled roots. The water is warm, and if youâre alert you might realize that what you assumed to be a floating log is in fact a mugger crocodile.

Special Features

Wet and warm describes this ecoregion. An extended monsoon season brings more than 197 inches (500 cm) of rain each year. Ocean breezes help keep the temperature between 80.6-86° F (27-30° C). The year-round warm, moist climate combined with thousands of years of isolation from mainland India have resulted in the evolution of many plants and animals found only in the rain forests of Sri Lanka.

	Sri Lanka has the highest density of amphibian species worldwide (3.9 species per 385 square miles or per 1000 square kilometers). Many of these species are frogs that live in trees and belong to the Rhacophoridae family. A recent five-year survey found more than 250 species, far eclipsing the 17 species known to occur before the survey.

Wild Side

On a small island, there isnât much space for large animals. Only a small population of Asian elephants inhabits the rain forest. The other large animal in these forests is the Sri Lankan leopard. What it lacks in large animals, however, this region more than makes up for with small ones. More than 250 species of frogs live here. Most of these frogs are found nowhere else on Earth, and many are restricted to areas smaller than .19 square miles (0.5 square kilometers). Scientists say these rain forests are the best place to see such a large variety of frogs in a small area.

Cause for Concern

Rice paddies, houses, and plantations of tea, rubber, and coconut have replaced most of the natural forests. Now only scattered patches of the lowland forests remain÷about eight percent of the original extent. Human activities have a particularly strong effect on this ecoregion.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.