The Upper 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 ...

of northern

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 ...

Geography

It lies on 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

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

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

rivers, with an area of , covering most of the state 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 adjacent portions of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

and

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 ...

. The ecoregion is bounded on the north by the Himalayan subtropical pine forests, Terai-Duar savannas and grasslands and Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests 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 ...

foothills, to the west by the drier

Northwestern thorn scrub forests The Northwestern thorn scrub forests, presently known as Aravalli west thorn scrub forests, is a xeric shrubland ecoregion of Pakistan and Northern India, stretching along the border lowlands and hills between the two countries. Once covered in ...

and Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests, on the south by the

Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests The Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion of central India. The ecoregion lies mostly in Madhya Pradesh state, but extends into portions of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh states. ...

of the

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also sy ...

and

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion l ...

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 Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

, and

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 ...

Climate

The ecoregion has a

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

. Rainfall is highly seasonal, falling mainly during the June-to-September southwest monsoon.

Flora

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

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)'' is predominant

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

. Mature trees form a canopy 25 to 35 metres. Other trees include ''

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 ...

, Terminalia belerica,

Lagerstroemia parviflora ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...

Adina cordifolia ''Haldina cordifolia'', syn. ''Adina cordifolia'', is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Haldina''. It is native to southern Asia, from India east to Yunnan and Vietnam and south to Peninsular Malaysia. I ...

, Dillenia pentagyna, Stereospermum suaveolens'', and ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

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

Saccharum narenga ''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family. The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted ocea ...

, Saccharum benghalense'', and '' Vetiveria zizanioides''.

Fauna

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

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''),

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

(''Rhinoceros unicornis''),

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''),

wild water buffalo The wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large Bovinae, bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as ''Endangered species, Endangered'' i ...

(''Bubalus arnee''), chousingha (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), swamp deer (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), and

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''), 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. There are over 290 species of birds, including the great Indian bustard (''Ardeotis nigriceps''), lesser florican (''Sypheotides indicus''),

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''). Wetlands along the Ganges River and its tributaries support communities of resident and migrant waterfowl, along with

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshe ...

(''Crocodylus palustris'') and

gharial The gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus''), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are long, and males . Adult males have a distinct ...

(''Gavialis gangeticus''). The ecoregion's large rivers are home to the endangered Ganges river dolphin (''Platanista gangetica gangetica'').

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. Protected areas in the ecoregion include: *

Jim Corbett National Park Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named ''Hailey National Park'' after William ...

National Chambal Sanctuary National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a tri-state protected area in northern India for the protection of the Critically Endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle and the Endangered ...

* Rajaji National Park * Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary *

Karera Wildlife Sanctuary Karera Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife Sanctuary in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Established in 1981 to protect a population of the Great Indian bustard in the region, it is now in the process of being denotified due to opposi ...

* Ranipur Sanctuary * Ken Gharial Sanctuary * Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary * Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary

References

External links

* {{Ecoregions of India Ecoregions of India Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Forests of India Environment of Uttar Pradesh Environment of Bihar Environment of Haryana Environment of Madhya Pradesh Environment of Uttarakhand Indomalayan ecoregions