In the context of global biogeography, the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala share floristic affinities with which of the following global forest biomes?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The evergreen tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats display striking floristic and faunal affinities with the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia due to historical landmass connections and climatic similarities. Plate tectonic movements during the breakup of Gondwana facilitated the migration of various floral and faunal species between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Other regions like the boreal taiga or Mediterranean chaparral possess completely different climatic regimes. Biogeography and evolutionary ecology are recurrent themes in environmental science questions.