Included here are the upper plains of the Ganges extending from the Aravalli Hills and the Yumana River eastwards to the Kosi River where the river bends close to the Rajmahal Hills.

Upper Gangetic Plains Sporobolus-Chloris Saline Scrub

In parts of the Gangetic Plain the soils have high concentration of salts. These occur in areas where there is restricted drainage combined with high summer temperatures and low monsoonal rainfall. The vegetation has an irregular, semi-savannah appearance with Acacia arabica dominating the loamy soils and Butea frondosa the clayed waterlogged areas. Azadirachta indica is also frequent and the palm Phoenix sylvestris has a scattered distribution. At ground level the gregarious, perennial grass Sporobolus pallidus often dominates together with the annual grass Chloris montana and the annual forb Cyanotis axillaris. However, many of the characteristic species have sporadic distributions. These include, for example, Aeschynomene indica, Alysicarpus bupleurifolius, Aneilema nudiflorum, Corchorus acutangularis, Cyperus aristatus, Oldenlandia diffusa, Portulacea oleracea, P. tuberosa and the grasses Aristita hystrix, Desmostachya bipinnata and Paspalidium flavidum. In hollows and shallow depressions where rainwater can accumulates “wild paddies” often develop characterized by species such as Echinochloa colonum, Ischaemum rugosum and Paspalum scrobiculatum.

References

Duthie, J. F. 1973a. Flora of the Upper Gangetic Plain. Volume. 1. Ranunculaceae to Cornaceae. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh.

Duthie, J. F. 1973b. Flora of the Upper Gangetic Plain. Volume. 1. Plumbaginaceae to Juncaceae. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh.

Khanna, K. K., Mudgal, V., Ubiyal, B. P. & Sharma, J. R. 1999. Dicotyledonous Plants of Uttar Pradesh. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

Misra, R. 1959. The status of the plant communities in the Upper Gangetic Plain. The Journal of Indian Botanical Society. XXXVIII: 1-7.

Puri, G. S., Gupta, R. K., Meher-Homji, V. M. & Puri, S. 1989. Forest Ecology. Plant form, diversity, communities and succession. 2nd Edition. Volume 2. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. PVT. Ltd.

Raizada, M. B. 1954. Grasses of the Upper Gangetic Plain and some aspects of their ecology. Indian Forester, 80: 24-46.