Ecosystems

The agricultural landscape of the country consists mainly of rice paddies, covering 780,000 ha of cultivated land, and the plantation sector amounting to about 772,000 ha. The plantation crops are tea, rubber, coconut and sugarcane, and, on a smaller scale, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, pepper, clove and

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (also called the RAMSAR Convention) defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or temporary, with water that is static, flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine

A mangrove is a swampy area found in the costal areas and at river mouths. They are periodically inundated by sea water. Rich mangrove forests exist in the Puttlam and Kalpitiya areas, and Portugal and Dutch bays. Dense strips of mangroves also occur in the southwest and southern coasts. The total

Very broadly, based on elevation, climate, plant composition and degree of disturbance, six types of grassland ecosystems are recognized in Sri Lanka. They are the following:  The wet patana grasslands, found around and above 1800 m altitude, are best seen in Horton Plains and around Nuwara Eliya

These are forest associated with rivers and their flood plains. An interesting marsh forest is the Waturana forest, (12 ha) located in Kalu ganga basin. Two endemic plants are present Mesua stylosa and Stemonoporus moonii. Mahaweli ganga associated riverine forest dry zone is very rich in

This ecosystem is found in the arid zone that is northwest and southeast of the island. Temperatures are very high over 34 o C, and prolong drought period from May to September, the rainfall is below 1250 mm annually. The vegetation is a low open thorny scrub with isolated patches of trees.

Bundala

Dry mixed evergreen forests are the most extensive type of forests and are found in the dry zone. They are characterized by monsoon forests and thorn scrub lands. Evergreen forests represent the tropical dry forests covering a major part of the dry zone adding up to 16.8% of the land area except for

These forests are located in the transition zone or between the tropical rain forests and dry mixed evergreen forests. They bear similarities in species composition to both the tropical lowland wet evergreen forests and the tropical dry mixed evergreen forests and some species of their own

The tropical montane forests of Sri Lanka occur above 1500 m in the Central Highlands and Knuckles mountains, but their best development can be seen above 1800 m, and crown the highest mountains and plateaus of Sri Lanka. There is a marked difference in floristic composition and physiognomy against

These are the forests that occur in between the lowland and montane (mountainous) zone , i.e. between 1000m- 1500m altitude essentially transitional being intermediate between rain forests and montane forests. Knuckels range, Peak wilderness, Hatton, Kotagala, Upper slopes of Sinharaja and Deniyaya