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Trekking House
Hkakaborazi National Park
Hkakaborazi National Park
Encompassing an area of 3,812.48 sq. kilometers at the northern tip
of Myanmar, lying at approximately 44’ E, the park supports a
combination of vegetation types 05’ N and 9728 from dense tropical
lowland jungle, through subtropical hill forest and temperate
rainforest to high altitude alpine meadows and glaciers.
Forest Types: - Hkakaborazi National Park not
only has the distinction of being home to South East Asia's highest
peak, Mt. Hkakaborazi (5881 m), but more importantly of protecting
one of the region's most biodiverse tracts of forest. Because
vegetation cover is so diverse, patterns are not clear-cut and many
of these forest types are, in actuality, found mixed together or
alternating in patches, depending upon prevailing local conditions.
Vegetation type is highly dependent upon altitude, slope and aspect.
From the tropical Putao valley to alpine pasture near the Indian
border. Vegetation types fall into four basic zones, which are
dependant on altitude, slope and aspect:
.:. Zone 1 Tropical Forest (Putao to Pangnamdim),
.:. Zone 2 Subtropical Forest (Pangnamdim to Mading),
.:. Zone 3 Temperate forest (Mading to Sahti Htu),
.:. Zone 4 Alpine vegetation, silver fir forest and scree (Zalahtu).
.:. Vegetation Zone I: Putao (409 m) to Pangnamdim (1140 m)
This zone is characterized by dense evergreen tropical vegetation
grading into subtropical forest and is almost entirely Indo-Malayan
in composition. Between Putao and Namhti, at less than 600 meters in
hill jungle, the forest is predominantly tropical, with Mesua
ferrea, Stereospermum personatum, Terminalia myriocarpa,
Dipterocarpus alatus, Dipterocarpus turbinata, Ficus elastica, Ficus
benjamina, Nephelium (rambutan), Garcinia (mangosteen), Sterculia,
Saurauia, Wightia, Elaeocarpus, Xylopia, Fagraea, Mussaenda,
Jasminum, Schima wallichii, Magnolia, Michelia, Musa (banana),
Cyathea (tree fern), Pandanus furcatus (screw pine), Caryota urens
(fishtail palm), Calamus (rattan). Lianas, climbers and epiphytic
aroids, ferns and orchids are abundant. Chirita, Begonia and various
ferns are common in damp, dark patches on the forest floor.
Above 600 meters, crossing the first ridge to
Maza, vegetation begins to change becoming more subtropical with
Cinnamomum, Litsaea, Castanopsis tribuloides, Lithocarpus
pachyphylla, Quercus lanuginosum, Sarauia, Litsaea, Magnolia,
Michelia, Ilex, Rhododendron, Illicium, Persea, Engelhardtia,
Tetracentron and the occasional Tsuga. Agapetes, Aeschenanthus and
other shrubby epiphytes shroud ridge-line trees. Species which are
normally terrestrial such as Brassiopsis and Rhododendron are here
occasionally epiphytic in the moist-laden moss forest. There is a
mark-ed decrease in tropical lianas, they still exist, but not in
the same number as in lower areas due to a drop in tempera-ture at
the top of the ridge where clouds and mist gather. Temperate
climbers such as Lonicera, Schisandra and Holboellia take their
place. Trees with a more tropical affinity are Caryota urens,
Terminalia myriocarpa, Callicarpa arborea, Ficus cunia, Ficus
obscura, Albizia sherriffii, Goniothalamus and Dysoxylum.
The next ridge between Nomung and Golle also
supports a predominantly subtropical flora, whereas the track follo
-wing the Nam Tisang river valley harbors a more
tropically-influenced flora. The final ascent in this zone, from
Golle to Shinsankhu, crosses a third ridge and then drops down to
the national park entrance at Pangnamdim. Here the flora subtly
changes again towards temperate and the forest floor-dwelling Asarum
as well as the distinctive fern, Dipteris first appear.
.:. Vegetation Zone II: Pangnamdim (1140 m) to
Mading (2000 m)
Despite the altitude and proximity to snow-clad mountains, this zone
is a curious mix of
subtropical forest in the vall-eys and temperate
forest with pines appearing sporadically on higher ridges. Here the
Sino-Himalayan and Indo-Malayan phytochoria dovetail into one
another resulting in a mixture of floristic elements. Just above
Wangsiwang (approx. 1200 m), there is a dramatic temperate shift in
the flora. On the high ridges Pinus makes its first appearance, as
do species of Acer, Aesculus, Carpinus, Alnus, Edgeworthia gardneri,
Gaultheria, and Rubus ellipticus. At around 1,500 m, the appearance
of Exbucklandia and Eriobotrya and the disappearance of Sarauia,
Calamus, palms, larger figs and lianas marks a change from
subtropical hill jungle to temperate forest. Some subtropical
species including Albizia sherriffii, Ficus hirta and a Musa, have,
however, colonized the warmer valley-basins. In this zone thick,
impenetrable colonies of Arundinaria (bamboo) also occur. It is not
apparent whether these are natural stands or whether their hold on
the landscape is a result of slash and burn agriculture, but once in
place, Arundinaria crowds out all other species.
.:. Vegetation Zone III: Mading (2000 m) to
above Sahti Htu (2380 m)
This zone is characterized by mixed temperate forest, where trees
are thickly padded with moss and temperate clim-bers including
Clematis and Polygonum. Subtropical species no longer skirt the
river-banks. Temperate genera include: Acer, Tilia, Juglans, Alnus,
Betula, Taxus, Larix, Rhododendron, Decaisnea, Torricellia, Ilex,
Salix, Litsea, Viburnum, Pieris, Pyrus, Prunus, Hydrangea, Photinia,
Berberis, Daphne, Daphiniphyllum, Cotoneaster, Euonymous, Sorbus,
Cornus, Gaultheria, Rosa and Rubus. The 6 ft. tall lily Cardiocrinum
giganteum, grows in clumps on the mossy forest floor with more
diminutive terrestrial orchids, ferns and Arisaema. Dense temperate
forest opens up gradually giving way to Rhododendron, Juniperus,
Enkianthus, and Vaccinium shrubbery and finally marshy alpine
meadows scattered with Primula.
.:. Vegetation Zone IV: Zalahtu and above
(3500 m)
This zone is recognizable by its precipitous ridges with sporadic
patches of silver fir ( Abies fargesii ) - Rhododendron forest and
broad, steep alpine meadows, many still covered in snow during May.
Higher ridges are covered with turf and scree. Smaller species of
Rhododendron are found with Vaccinium and Corylopsis near stream
banks, whilst meadows are carpeted with grasses and early
spring-blooming alpine flowers including: Cassiope, Potentilla,
Mecon -
opsis, Paris, Primula, Bergenia, Omphalogramma, Daipensia, Iris,
Cardamine, Gentianella, Anemone, Maianthemum, Selinum, Ranunculus,
Picrorhizza, Fritillaria, Arisaema, Saxifraga, Gentiana, Androsace,
Pedicularis and Mandragora.
Source: Pilot Study of Hkakaborazi National Park,
Myanmar, 2003, the Wildlife Conservation Society Myanmar.

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