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| Thai Forests > Geography of the Forest Regions |
Thailand is a small country located in the
tropics. However, the country boasts a large variety of fauna and flora. The country has 15,000 species of plants that live in more than 10 different types of forest habitats ranging from tropical evergreen forest to mangrove. This makes up about 8% of the flora species in the world. These plants live in different habitats that can be simply classified as deciduous and evergreen
forests.
The factors that account for the diversity of plant life in Thailand are the amount of
rainfall, the time of the year that the rain falls, temperature, the occurrence of forest
fires, the slope of the land, the height from sea level, the type of soil, and the moisture
levels. These. factors separate the geography into 5 regions.
The North
The North is framed by mountain ranges that open to wide valleys in the lower northern
region. The area is characterized by mountains that have heights over 1,000 meters above sea
level. These high altitudes are suitable for the hill evergreen forests that are found in almost every province.
The evergreen forests are found in the areas that are too dry for the tropical evergreen forests with a slight gradation of the land. The mixed deciduous and dry dipterocarp forests are found in the
valleys. In addition to evergreen forests, the north is also home to coniferous forests found on Doi
Kuntal, Doi Suthep, Doi Ithanon, and Doi Pui.
The Northeast
The Korat plateau covers the are between western Phetchaboon and the southern Dongrak ranges. Compared to other
regions, the Northeast is scarcely covered by vegetation despite being the second largest region in terms of land
area. This is due to the extensive destruction of the forests. However, some pockets of tropical and evergreen forests have
survived.
The Central Region
The region is covered by tropical evergreen forests found in the north. The second most common type of forest is the mixed deciduous forest. It is followed by the dry dipterocarp and the mangrove forest
respectively. The majority of the area is devoted to growing rice. Due to the relatively low altitude freshwater ponds are also
common.
The West
The west is a continuation of the Phanom Krawan on the Cambodian border. This area is suitable for tropical evergreen
forests.
The South
The southern seas that start from the Klong Kodkra to the border of Malaysia have heavy
rainfall. It is thus covered with tropical evergreen forests in the plains and
valleys. Due to the heavy rainfall the forests are lush and highly dense. In some areas the land is covered with water almost all year round. The mangroves grow in the areas where the sea rushes over
mud. On sandy areas the beach forest dominates.
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