Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests

Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
	Hills near Kanpur
	Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm	Indomalayan
Biome	tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Borders	List Northwestern thorn scrub forests;
Geography
Area	262,642 km2 (101,407 sq mi)
Countries	India; Nepal;
States	Bihar; Delhi; Haryana; Madhya Pradesh; Rajasthan; Uttar Pradesh,; Uttarakhand;
Conservation
Conservation status	critical/endangered
Protected	3,544 km2 (1%)

The Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of northern India.

Geography

It lies on the

Yamuna rivers, with an area of 263,100 square kilometers (101,600 sq mi), covering most of the state of Uttar Pradesh and adjacent portions of Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar; as well as a minuscule adjacent portion of southern Nepal

.

The ecoregion is bounded on the north by the

Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests, on the south by the Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests of the Malwa and Bundelkhand uplands, and on the east by the more humid Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests

.

The ecoregion is home to several large cities, including Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gwalior, and Varanasi.

Climate

The ecoregion has a

southwest monsoon

.

Flora

In ancient times the region was mostly covered with moist semi deciduous forests, with trees that lose their leaves during the winter dry season.

Stereospermum suaveolens, and Ficus spp.^[1]

Where the land has been disturbed by flood, fire, or livestock grazing there are areas of grassland or savanna, with the grasses

Vetiveria zizanioides.^[1]

Fauna

There are 79 known species of mammals in the ecoregion. Large mammals, including

swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii), and sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), once roamed the ecoregion. Habitat destruction has mostly extirpated them from the ecoregion. Small populations of tiger, Asian elephant, sloth bear, and chousingha persist in the few remaining forested areas at the foot of the Himalayas.^[1]

There are over 290 species of birds, including the great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus), Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris), and Oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris).^[1]

Wetlands along the Ganges River and its tributaries support communities of resident and migrant waterfowl, along with mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and gharial (Gavialis gangeticus). The ecoregion's large rivers are home to the endangered Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica).^[1]

Conservation

The ecoregion is currently densely populated, and the fertile plains have largely been converted to intensive agriculture, with only a few enclaves of forest remaining.

A 2017 assessment found that 3,544 km², or 1%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.^[2] Protected areas in the ecoregion include:^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
^ ^a ^b Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [1]

External links

"Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

[wwf-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

[dinerstein-2] Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [1]

[1]

[2]