In all forest types, the following trees dominant are Cinnamomum cassia, Durio zibethinus, Garcinia mangostana, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Ficus benghalensis, Gnetum gnemon, Mangifera indica, Toona ciliata, Toona sinensis, Cocos nucifera, Tetrameles nudiflora, Ginkgo biloba, Shorea robusta, Prunus serrulata, Camphora officinarum, Tsuga dumosa, Ulmus lanceifolia, Tectona grandis, Terminalia elliptica, Terminalia bellirica, and Quercus acutissima.

Dwarf rain forests occupy waterlogged areas in the southern slopes of the mountains, with the tree canopy not exceeding 12 meters in height.

[2] Dwarf montane forests grow in acidic sandstone-derived soils in the southern Elephant Mountains, where the conifers Dacrydium elatum, Dacrycarpus imbricatus, and other trees form a low canopy 5–10 meters high.

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).

[6][7] After the Cambodian peace agreements and normalization in the 1990s, large parts of the Cardamom Mountains, and adjoining lowlands of the ecoregion, were designated as protected areas, mostly national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

This includes construction and infrastructure projects, mining, clearing for plantations, sand pumping, illegal loggings, hunting and poaching (both opportunistic and organized).

[9][10][8] The protection laws has been poorly enforced and the Cambodian government has accepted and even encouraged destructive activities throughout, including national park areas.