The Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests is a

tropical moist broadleaf forest 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 ...

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

and southern

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

Location and description

The ecoregion covers and encompasses 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 upper

Brahmaputra River 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. I ...

as it moves westward through India's

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 ...

state (with small parts of the ecoregion in the states of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

and also south

). The valley lies between 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 to the north and the

Lushai hills The Lushai (Pron: ˌlʊˈʃaɪ) Hills (or Mizo Hills) are a mountain range in Mizoram and Manipur, India. The range is part of the Patkai range system and its highest point is 2,157 m high Phawngpui, also known as 'Blue Mountain'. Flora and fa ...

to the south and when the river floods during the June to September monsoon it brings up to 300 cm of water onto the plain carrying rich soils to create a fertile environment which has been extensively farmed for thousands of years. Other rivers that water the plains as well as the Brahmaputra include the Manas and the Subansiri.

Flora/plants

The extensive farming has meant that the original semi-evergreen forest now exists only in patches. Typical canopy trees include the evergreen ''

Syzygium ''Syzygium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. ...

Cinnamomum ''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 250 species, distributed in ...

'' and

Magnoliaceae The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: ''Magnolia'' and '' Liriodendron'' (tulip trees). Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), t ...

along with deciduous ''

Terminalia myriocarpa ''Terminalia myriocarpa'', the East Indian almond, is a tree species in the genus '' Terminalia'' found in Southeast Asia. Ecology The larvae of the moth '' Acrocercops terminaliae'' feed on ''T. myriocarpa''. Chemistry The phenolic compounds ...

Terminalia citrina Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * '' Polyscias terminalia'', ...

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 ...

, Tetrameles'' species. Understory trees and shrubs include the

laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

'' Phoebe,

Machilus ''Machilus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical forest, occurring in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indochina, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philip ...

'', and '' Actinodaphne'',

Polyalthia ''Polyalthia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. There are approximately 90 species distributed from Africa to Asia and the Pacific.

s, '' Aphanamixis'', and cultivated ''

Mesua ferrea ''Mesua ferrea'', the Ceylon ironwood, or cobra saffron, is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful sh ...

'' and species of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...

cashews The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus '' Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cu ...

, nutmegs and

magnolias ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

, with

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

s such as '' Bambusa arundinaria'' and ''

Melocanna bambusoides ''Melocanna baccifera'' is one of two bamboo species belonging to the ''Melocanna'' genus. It grows up to 10–25 m tall. It is native to Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and Thailand. Habit It is tall, small-culmed bamboo with greenish young culm ...

''.

Fauna/animals

Despite the centuries of human clearance and exploitation, the forests and grasslands along the river remain a habitat for a variety of wildlife 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''),

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ...

(''Pardofelis nebulosa''),

capped langur The capped langur (''Trachypithecus pileatus'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Myanmar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat ...

(''Semnopithecus pileatus''),

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''),

barasingha The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. ...

deer (''Cervus duvaucelii''),

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''),

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''), India's largest population of

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 ...

s (''Elephas maximus'') and the world's largest population of

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 ...

, while

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, so ...

s live in the higher slopes of the valley sides. Most of these mammals are threatened or endangered species. The Brahmaputra is a natural barrier to the migration of much wildlife and many species, such as the

pygmy hog The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is the rarest species of pig in the world today, and is the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. It is also the smallest species of pig in the world, with its piglets being small enough to fit in one's pock ...

hispid hare The hispid hare (''Caprolagus hispidus''), also called Assam rabbit and bristly rabbit, is a leporid native to South Asia, whose historic range extended along the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Today, its habitat is highly fragmented with ...

, or the

Malayan sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a species in the family Ursidae (the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'') occurring in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the smallest bear, standing nearly at the shoulder and weighing ...

pig-tailed macaque The pig-tailed macaques are two macaque sister species. They look almost identical and are best distinguished by their parapatric ranges: * Northern pig-tailed macaque, ''Macaca leonina'' (Bangladesh to Vietnam, south to northern Malaysia) * Sout ...

golden langur Gee's golden langur (''Trachypithecus geei''), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of Western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. Long considered sac ...

stump-tailed macaque The stump-tailed macaque (''Macaca arctoides''), also called the bear macaque, is a species of macaque native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India, it occurs south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country. Its range ...

western hoolock gibbon The western hoolock gibbon (''Hoolock hoolock'') is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The species is found in Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar west of the Chindwin River. Classification Mootnick ...

live on one side of the river only. The area is a meeting point of species of Indian and Malayan origin. The endemic mammals of the valley are the pygmy hog and the hispid hare, both of which inhabit the grasslands of the riverbanks. The valley is home to rich bird life with 370 species of which two are endemic, the

Manipur bush quail The Manipur bush quail (''Perdicula manipurensis'') is a species of quail found in northeastern India and Bangladesh inhabiting damp grassland, particularly stands of tall grass. It was first collected and described by Allan Octavian Hume on an o ...

(''Perdicula manipurensis'') and the marsh babbler (''Pellorneum palustre'') and one, 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 ...

is very rare. Woodland birds like

kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos'') is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at ...

great hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

, rufous necked hornbill, brown hornbill, Oriental pied hornbill, grey hornbill, peacock pheasant and

tragopan ''Tragopan'' is a bird genus in the pheasant family Phasianidae. Member of the genus are commonly called "horned pheasants" because males have two brightly colored, fleshy horns on their head that can be erected during courtship displays. The hab ...

are quite common.

Threats and preservation

This area has been densely populated for centuries and most of the valley has been and still are used for agriculture. Some blocks of natural habitat do remain, however, mainly in national parks the largest of which are Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa and

Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census h ...

s in India. In Bhutan, these areas are part of

Royal Manas National Park Royal Manas National Park is Bhutan's oldest national park, and the Royal government considers it the "conservation showpiece of the Kingdom" and a "genetic depository" for valuable plants. It has an area of and covers eastern Sarpang District ...

Protected areas

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 twelve protected areas in the ecoregion, with a combined area of approximately 2,560 km², that include 5% of the ecoregion's area.Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment.'' Island Press;

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

. pp. 298-301 * Dehing Patkai Landscape, including Dehing Patkai National Park and Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve * Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary,

(190 km², also includes portions of the

Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests The Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion found in the middle elevations of the eastern Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, and Bhutan. These forests have an outstanding richness of wildlife. Settin ...

and

Himalayan subtropical pine forests The Himalayan subtropical pine forests are a large subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion covering portions of Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Geography This huge pine forest stretches for 3000 km across the lower elevations of the gre ...

) *

Manas National Park Manas may refer to: Philosophy and mythology *Manas, the Pali and Sanskrit term for "mind"; see **Manas (early Buddhism) ** Manas-vijnana, one of the eight consciousnesses taught in Yogacara Buddhism *''Ramcharitmanas'', a retelling of the Ramaya ...

(560 km²) *

Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary situated on the foothills of Himalayas bordering Bhutan in the north and in Udalguri district and Baksa District of Assam, India. This sanctuary was named after the river Bornadi which flows on ...

, Assam (90 km²) *

, Assam (320 km²) * Orang National Park, Assam (110 km²) *

Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, লাওখোৱা অভয়াৰণ্য) is protected area located in the state of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers 70.13 km2, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River in Nagaon distr ...

, Assam (170 km²) *

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary () is a wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Morigaon district in Assam, India. It was declared in 1987 and covers , providing grassland and wetland habitat for the Indian rhinoceros. Pobitora ...

, Assam (80 km²) *

Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the state of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers 175 km2. It is located along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range. The area was declared as a sanctuary in 1998. I ...

, Assam (160 km²) *

Nameri National Park Nameri National Park is a national park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, about 35 km from Tezpur. Nameri is about 9 km from Chariduar, the nearest village. Nameri shares its northern bounda ...

, Assam (90 km²) *

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is a national park located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, Assam, India. It was designated a Biosphere Reserve in July 1997 with an area of , including a core area of and a buffer zone of . It is located at a ...

, Assam (490 km²) *

D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 Febru ...

, Arunachal Pradesh (190 km²) * Pabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam (110 km²)

Vulture breeding

Rani Vulture Breeding Centre was established in 2008 inside Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests at Rani in Kamprup district with the help of

Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore The Jatayu and Sparrow Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC), (Hindi: जटायु संरक्षण एवं प्रजनन केँद्र) is the world's largest facility for the breeding and conservation of Indian vultures (ग ...

, which now houses 90

vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

s as of December 2018. 40 million vultures have died in last 20 years.Haryana may host 6-nation vulture meet next Nov.
Times of India, 21 Dec 2018.

References

External links

* *
Geographical ecoregion maps and basic info. {{ecoregions of India Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of Bhutan Ecoregions of India Biota of Bhutan Biota of India Indomalayan ecoregions Environment of Assam