The Cardamom Mountains rain forests are a tropical rainforest area in Southeast Asia, as noted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This region includes the Cardamom Mountains and Elephant Mountains, as well as nearby coastal areas in eastern Thailand and southwestern Cambodia. It also includes the Vietnamese island of Dao Phu Quoc.

Geography

The Cardamom Mountains rain forests ecoregion covers an area of 44,288.8 km (17,100.0 sq mi) of rain forest that is not fully explored. This region is surrounded by the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and the Indochina mangroves ecoregion lines the edges of its coast. To the east and north, the Central Indochina dry forests are located in the area that receives less rainfall due to the mountains. To the northwest, the Chao Phraya lowland moist deciduous forests are found.

Flora

There are several types of forests in this area. They include:

Lowland evergreen forests grow in the narrow coastal plain between the mountains and the Gulf of Thailand. These forests have mostly disappeared.

Dwarf rain forests are found in wet areas on the southern slopes of the mountains. The tree canopy in these forests is no taller than 12 meters. The most common trees are conifers called Dacrydium elatum and Podocarpus neriifolius. Other trees, such as Nageia fleuryi and Dacrycarpus imbricatus, are also present but less common.

Montane forests cover large parts of the region above 700 meters elevation. Trees in these forests form a dense canopy up to 30 meters high. Trees from the beech family (Fagaceae) are common, including species like Lithocarpus cambodiensis, Lithocarpus guinieri, Lithocarpus farinulentus, Lithocarpus harmandii, and Castanopsis cambodiana. Other common trees belong to the laurel family (Lauraceae), such as species of Cinnamomum and Litsea, and the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), such as species of Syzygium and Tristaniopsis. These forests also include many palms, shrubs, tree ferns, and plants that grow on other plants, such as orchids.

Dwarf montane forests grow in areas with acidic soil made from sandstone in the southern Elephant Mountains. These forests have a low canopy, 5–10 meters high, and include conifers like Dacrydium elatum and Dacrycarpus imbricatus. In the Kirirom Plateau of the Elephant Mountains, forests dominated by Pinus latteri are found.

The Cardamom Mountains rain forests are part of the Indo-Burma Hotspot, a region with high biodiversity and many rare, threatened, and unique species. These forests are home to many species that are found nowhere else. Because the area is remote, has few people, and has difficult terrain, most of these forests remain largely unexplored by scientists.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to several large mammals, including Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), tiger (Panthera tigris), clouded leopard (Pardofelis nebulosa), dhole (Cuon alpinus), gaur (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos javanicus), Sumatran serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), and pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus).

The ecoregion is home to over 450 species of birds, including two endemic species, the chestnut-headed partridge (Arborophila cambodiana) and Siamese partridge (Arborophila diversa).

Endemic reptiles include the Cardamom Mountains wolf snake (Lycodon cardamomensis) and Cardamom Mountains bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus cardamomensis).

Protected areas

The Cardamom Mountains rainforest is one of the last rainforests in Southeast Asia that is still in its natural state. It has many different types of plants and animals, including some that are rare, in danger of disappearing, or found only in that area.

After peace agreements and things returning to normal in the 1990s, large parts of the Cardamom Mountains and nearby lowland areas were made into protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. When the Southern Cardamom National Park was created in May 2016, nearly all of the mountain range is now protected in some way.

• Namtok Khlong Kaeo National Park
• Namtok Phlio National Park
• Khao Khitchakut National Park
• Khao Chamao-Khao Wong National Park
• Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary
• Klong Kruewai Chalerm Prakiat Wildlife Sanctuary
• Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary

• Samlaut Multiple Use Area
• Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary
• Central Cardamom Mountains National Park
• Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary
• Southern Cardamom National Park
• Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary
• Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary
• Botum-Sakor National Park
• Kirirom National Park
• Preah Monivong National Park (also called Bokor National Park)

• Phu Quoc National Park

Conservation status

Although much of the ecoregion is protected, it faces challenges from harmful activities. These include building roads and other structures, mining, cutting down forests for plantations, removing sand, illegal logging, and hunting (both random and organized).

Protection laws have not been properly followed, and the Cambodian government has allowed or supported harmful activities, even in national park areas. In 2016, the Southern Cardamom National Park was created. This may show improvement in protection efforts, as international groups have provided money and help for park rangers to work with the Cambodian government. Additionally, several planned projects involving construction, plantations, and mining have been paused.