The Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The ecoregion covers an area of , comprising most of Bangladesh and the Indian states of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

and

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

, and extending into adjacent states of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

and a tiny part of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Geography

The Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests extends across the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the smal ...

of the lower

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

rivers, which form the world's largest

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...

. The ecoregion is currently one of the most densely populated regions on earth, and the forests have largely been replaced with

intensive agriculture Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

. The ecoregion is bounded on the east and northeast by montane tropical rain forests; the

Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests The Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which occupies the lower hillsides of the mountainous border region joining India, Bangladesh, and Burma (Myanmar). The ecoregion covers an area of . ...

covers the

Chin Hills The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State, northwestern Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India's Manipur state. Geography The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Khonu Msung, or Mount Victoria, in southern Chin State, w ...

and

Chittagong Hills The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...

to the east, extending into Myanmar and other states of Northeast India, while the

Meghalaya subtropical forests The Meghalaya subtropical forests is an ecoregion of Northeast India. The ecoregion covers an area of , and despite its name, comprise not only the state of Meghalaya, but also parts of southern Assam, and a tiny bit of Nagaland around Dimapur ...

covers the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya and southern Assam, and almost defines the Bangladesh border with

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. To the north, the ecoregion extends to the base of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

s, where it is bounded by the Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands. The upper portion of the Brahmaputra valley in Assam is home to the humid lowland

Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests The Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of Northeastern India and southern Bhutan. Location and description The ecoregion covers and encompasses the alluvial plain of the upper Brahmaputra R ...

. To the northwest, the forests are bounded by the

Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests The Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of northern India. Geography It lies on the alluvial plain of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, with an area of , covering most of t ...

. The dry Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests lie on the

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the ...

to the southwest. The

Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly ...

and

Sundarbans mangroves Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly Ri ...

ecoregions lie in the swampy, semi-

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

and brackish southern reaches of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta bordering the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

. The ecoregion is home to several large cities, including

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, and

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in ...

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is tropical and humid. Most of the annual rainfall comes during the southwest monsoon from June to September.

Flora

The natural vegetation is mostly semi-deciduous forest. The upper canopy is predominantly of deciduous trees, with a lower storey of evergreen trees. Characteristic trees in disturbed forests are ''

Bombax ceiba ''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...

'' together with ''

Albizia procera ''Albizia procera'', commonly known as white siris or karoi tree, is a species of large tree found natively in southeast Asia and India. It is most commonly found in open forests, but may also be found on the margins of rain forests and in monsoo ...

, Duabanga sonneratioides'', and '' Sterculia villosa''. As forests mature

sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

(''Shorea robusta'') becomes predominant, but most of the remaining forests do not mature to climax stage because of human disturbance. Where annual fires occur frequently during the dry season, fire-hardy trees and shrubs ''

Zizyphus mauritiana ''Ziziphus mauritiana'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Chinese jujube (' ...

Madhuca latifolia ''Madhuca longifolia'' is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central, southern, north Indian plains and forests, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as madhūka, , mahuwa, Butter Tree, mahua, mahwa, , Iluppai or vippa che ...

Aegle marmelos ''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a rare species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is pre ...

Butea monosperma ''Butea monosperma'' is a species of ''Butea'' native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of the South Asia and Southeast Asia, ranging across Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, ...

Terminalia tomentosa ''Terminalia elliptica'' is a species of '' Terminalia'' native to southern and southeast Asia in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.Sal and Saaj Deforestation in West Nepal"Terminalia Tomentosa"/ref> It is a ...

'', and ''

Ochna pumila ''Ochna''Linnaeus C (1753) ''Sp. Pl.'' 1: 513. is a genus comprising 86 species of evergreen trees, shrubs and shrublets belonging to the flowering plant family '' Ochnaceae''. These species are native to tropical woodlands of Africa, the Masca ...

'' are common. Riparian forests are typically an ''Acacia-Dalbergia'' association, with ''

Acacia catechu ''Senegalia catechu'' is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to in height. The plant is called ''khair''
in H ...

'', '' Dalbergia sissoo'', ''

'', ''

'', and '' Sterculia villosa''. File:পাহাড় নদী নৌকা.jpg, File:Forest Deep Dumboor Lake.jpg, File:Ramsagar National Park.jpeg, File:Fisherman in Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary.jpg, Seasonal flooding File:ভাওয়াল জাতীয় উদ্যানের সৌন্দর্য.jpg, Inside the forests File:Bhaowal forest 17.08.2014.jpg, File:It's the green that's brightens up the nature.png, Endless forest in a flat landscape. Nowadays a rare sight.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to 126 native mammal species. They include threatened species like the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

(''Panthera tigris''),

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in t ...

(''Elephas maximus''),

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

(''Bos gaurus''),

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation ...

(''Melursus ursinus''),

chousingha The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as the Jacob sheep) ...

(''Tetracerus quadricornis''),

smooth-coated otter The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is an otter species occurring in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with a disjunct population in Iraq. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is threa ...

(''Lutrogale perspicillata''), and great Indian civet (''Viverra zibetha''). The ecoregion is home to 380 species of birds species, including the

Bengal florican The Bengal florican (''Houbaropsis bengalensis''), also called the Bengal bustard, is a bustard species native to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,00 ...

(''Houbaropsis bengalensis''),

lesser florican The lesser florican (''Sypheotides indicus''), also known as the likh or ''kharmore'', is the smallest in the bustard family and the only member of the genus ''Sypheotides''. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall gras ...

(''Sypheotides indicus''),

Pallas's fish-eagle Pallas's fish eagle (''Haliaeetus leucoryphus''), also known as Pallas's sea eagle or band-tailed fish eagle, is a large, brownish sea eagle. It breeds in the east Palearctic in Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, C ...

(''Haliaeetus leucoryphus''), swamp francolin (''Francolinus gularis''),

Indian grey hornbill The Indian gray hornbill (''Ocyceros birostris'') is a common hornbill found on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. It has grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The hor ...

(''Ocyceros birostris''), and Oriental pied hornbill (''Anthracoceros albirostris''). Amused Monkey

File:Spotting a deer during Elephant Safari.jpg,

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

s File:গুইসাপ.jpg, Where the undergrowth is sparse,

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are rec ...

s can roam. File:Indian Blue peafowl.jpg,

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

s File:White-throated fantail, Bhawal National Park.jpg, Various bird species ( fantail bird) File:মনার্ক প্রজাপতি.jpg, Common tiger butterfliy File:Common hopper.jpg,

Dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

can hunt on the open waters

Conservation

The ecoregion has been densely settled for many centuries, yet much forest remained until the early 20th century. Forest clearance accelerated during the 20th century, and by the end of the century, only 3% of the ecoregion remained in natural forest. Remaining forest areas are mostly small patches, except for one large block of forest south of

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

.Wikramanayake, E.; Dinerstein, E.; Loucks, C. J.; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. pp. 303 In 1997, the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...

identified over 40 protected areas in the ecoregion, with a combined area of about 7010 km², or approximately 3% of the ecoregion's area. Over half of these protected areas were smaller than 100 km² *

Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary Gautam Budha Wildlife Sanctuary (also spelled Gautam Buddha) is a wildlife sanctuary located in Gaya district of Bihar state and Koderma district of Jharkhand state in east-central India. The refuge was established in 1976, and covers an area o ...

, Bihar (140 km²; also extends into the Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests) * Udaipur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar (50 km²) *

Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Kaimur District and Rohtas District of Bihar. It is the largest sanctuary in the state and extended in area of in plateaued landscape of Kaimur Range. It was established in 1979. The major forest types ...

, Bihar (2,370 km²) *

Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary The Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Chandraprabha, is situated in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh state in central India. It is well endowed with beautiful picnic spots, dense forests, and scenic waterfalls like Rajdari, De ...

, Uttar Pradesh (80 km²) * Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar (290 km²) * Kaimoor Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh (120 km²) *

Valmiki National Park Valmiki National Park is a Tiger Reserve in the West Champaran District of Bihar, India. It is the only national park in Bihar. Valmiki Tiger Reserve covers , which is 17.4% of the total geographical area of the district. As of 2018, there wer ...

, Bihar (230 km²; also extends into the

Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests The Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests is an ecoregion that extends from the middle hills of central Nepal through Darjeeling into Bhutan and also into the Indian States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It represents the east-west-directed band of ...

) * Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal (40 km²) * Kabartal Bird Sanctuary, Bihar (30 km²) *

Ramsagar National Park Ramsagar National Park ( bn, রামসাগর জাতীয় উদ্যান) is a national park in Bangladesh located at. 25°33'00"N 88°37'30"E Tejpur, near Dinajpur District, Bangladesh, Dinajpur District in the north-west ...

, Bangladesh (10 km²) *

Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary is located in Bhagalpur District of Bihar, India. The sanctuary is a 60 kilometers stretch of the Ganges River from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district. notified as Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin S ...

, Bihar 160 km²) * Nakti Dam Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar (200 km²) * Narendrapur Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal (90 km²) *

Jaldapara National Park Jaldapara National Park (Pron: ˌʤʌldəˈpɑ:rə) is a national park situated at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in Alipurduar, Alipurduar District of northern West Bengal, India, and on the banks of the Torsa River. Jaldapara is sit ...

, West Bengal (70 km²) * Chalan Beel Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh (170 km²) * Bil Bhatia Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh (30 km²) *

Madhupur National Park Madhupur National Park ( bn, মধুপুর জাতীয় উদ্যান) is a major and one of the earliest national park in Bangladesh. Description Madhupur National Park covers an area of . The Forest was established as a nation ...

, Bangladesh (110 km²) * Hail Haor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh (100 km²) *

Roa Wildlife Sanctuary ROA may refer to: Sports and Arts *Racehorse Owners Association, a British horse racing organisation * Refugee Olympics Athletes, a selection of refugees who will be competing under the Olympic flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics *Revolt On Antares ...

, Tripura (10 km²) *

Bhawal National Park Bhawal National Park ( bn, ভাওয়াল জাতীয় উদ্যান) is a nature reserve and the national park of Bangladesh. History Bhawal National Park was established and maintained as a National Park in 1974; it was off ...

, Bangladesh (90 km²) *

Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected forest and wildlife sanctuary in Bangladesh. This is a dry and evergreen forest . It is located in the Chunarughat of Habiganj district. Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1982 and l ...

, Bangladesh (50 km²) * Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura (420 km²) *

Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Tripura, India, of some , about from the city centre, located in Bishalgarh. It is a woodland with an artificial lake and natural botanical and zoological gardens. It also has clouded ...

, Tripura (20 km²) *

Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Tripura, India. It was founded in 1988. The sanctuary is situated in South Tripura District. It is from the sub divisional town of Belonia and is connected with Agartala by state highway. I ...

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is an IUCN Category IV protected area located close to the village of Chunati in the Chittagong District of the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh. History The Sanctuary was established in 1986 through Gazet ...

, Bangladesh (90 km²) * Chimbuk Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh (30 km²) * Himchari National Park, Bangladesh (20 km²) * Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh (100 km²) *

Sangu Matamuhari Sangu Matamuhari or Sangu Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary—IUCN category II (habitat/species management area)—situated in Bandarban District, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. It is part of the Sangu reserve forest. It is under the Lam ...

, Bangladesh (960 km²)

References

External links

* *
Geographical ecoregion maps and basic info. {{ecoregions of India Ecoregions of India Ecoregions of Bangladesh Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ganges basin Forests of Bangladesh Forests of India Environment of Assam Environment of Bihar Environment of West Bengal Environment of Odisha Environment of Tripura Environment of Uttar Pradesh Indomalayan ecoregions