Data Zone
Country/territory: Nepal
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2005)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 171,000 ha
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2011 | very unfavourable | high | medium |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2005 baseline)
Langtang National Park was designated in 1976 and lies in the central Himalayan region of Nepal; its southern boundary is as close as 32 km from the Kathmandu Valley. A buffer zone was declared in 1998.
The National Park comprises rocks and ice (60.7%), forests (29.9%), grassland (4.9%), shrubland (2.8%) and cultivation (1.7%). A wide variety of habitats exist within the park. Tropical forest of Sal Shorea robusta covers 0.2 per cent of the park and subtropical forest of Schima wallichii/Castanopsis indica and Chir Pine Pinus roxburghii covers 2 per cent. Higher up lower temperate forests of Quercus lanata, Q. lamellosa and Pinus wallichiana cover 4.8 per cent of the park and upper temperate forests of Q. semecarpifolia (often with Tsuga dumosa) cover 9.9 per cent. The subalpine (21.5 per cent) and alpine (21.5 per cent) zones of the park are by far the most extensive. Subalpine forests are of Abies spectabilis, Betula utilis, Tsuga dumosa, Larix spp., Rhododendron spp., and Juniperus spp. (Green 1993). Larix is restricted to the subalpine area. There are pure rhododendron and mixed oak/rhododendron forests. Hemlock forests characterise the riparian floodplains along the river valley of the Langtang Khola. Higher up, Silver Fir and Blue Pine form large expanses of forests in places.
Key biodiversity
A total of 347 species has been recorded in the park (Karki and Thapa 2001, Giri and Choudhary 2003, Giri and Choudhary (in prep). Langtang is important for the globally threatened Wood Snipe which breeds, the near-threatened Satyr Tragopan and Yellow-rumped Honeyguide that are both resident and probably breed, and for Hoary-throated Barwing and Nepal Wren Babbler, two breeding restricted-range species that are both fairly common.. The park has the highest known density of Nepal Wren Babbler in Nepal. There are large temperate forest and alpine areas in the park, which are known to support significant populations of characteristic species of the Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest and Eurasian High Montane biomes.
Non-bird biodiversity: A total of 46 species of mammals has been reported (Karki and Thapa 2001) including the globally threatened Red Panda Ailurus fulgens, Himalayan Tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, Serow Capricornis sumatrensis, Assam Macaque Macaca assamensis, Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus and Himalayan Musk Deer Moschus chrysogaster (Hilton-Taylor 2000).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Langtang National Park (Nepal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/langtang-national-park-iba-nepal on 22/11/2024.