Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests

The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of Indochina.

Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests
Virachey National Park in northeast Cambodia
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm	Indomalayan
Biome	tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Borders	List Central Indochina dry forests Indochina mangroves Southern Annamites montane rain forests Southern Vietnam lowland dry forests Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forests Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forests
Geography
Area	123,778 km2 (47,791 sq mi)
Countries	Cambodia Laos Thailand Vietnam
Conservation
Conservation status	Vulnerable
Protected	28,210 km2 (23%)[1]

Setting

The ecoregion covers an area of 124,300 square kilometers (48,000 sq mi), extending across portions of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests occupy the lower portion of the Mekong Basin, where they are intertwined with the Central Indochina dry forests. The Southern Annamites montane rain forests border the dry evergreen forests on the east, occupying the higher elevations of the Annamite Range. To the south, the Indochina mangroves lie between tropical seasonal forests and the South China Sea. The Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forests and Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forests lie to the southeast, in the seasonally and permanently flooded lowlands along the Tonle Sap and lower Mekong rivers and Tonle Sap Lake.

Flora

The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests are one of three dry broadleaf forest ecoregions with predominantly evergreen trees; trees in dry broadleaf forests typically lose their leaves during the dry season.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to many large mammals, including the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), tiger (Panthera tigris), previously one of two known populations of the now extinct Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus), Eld's deer (Cervus eldi), banteng (Bos javanicus), gaur (Bos gaurus), clouded leopard (Pardofelis nebulosa), leopard (Panthera pardus), and Malayan sun bear (Ursus malayanus).^[2]

Conservation

A 2017 assessment found that 28,210 km², or 23%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Another 23% is forested but outside protected areas.^[3]