Introduction

The Narmada Valley Dry Deciduous Forests are neither exceptionally species-rich nor high in numbers of endemic species. But this ecoregion still retains more than a third of its natural habitat in several large blocks that exceed 5,000 square kilometers (km²) in area. In this bioregion, such large dry forest habitats present rare and important opportunities to conserve Asia's largest carnivore, the tiger (Panthera tigris).

Location and General Description

Narmada River, southeast of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. (Photograph by Sujit Patwardhan)

The ecoregion represents the dry deciduous forests along the Narmada River Valley and the flanking Vindhya Mountain Range and the western part of the Satpura Mountain Range in the central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. These hill ranges, rising to more than 1,300 meters (m), mark the northern boundary of the Indian Peninsula. The Deccan Plateau itself-and thus the ecoregion-traces its geological roots back to the ancient circumpolar continent Gondwanaland. Hora hypothesized that the Satpura Range was a dispersal bridge that allowed species exchanges between the eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The presence of fossils of species such as Anisopteris, Cynometra, Dipterocarpus, Dryobalanops, Gluta, Hopea, and Mesua suggests that evergreen moist forests covered this area during the Miocene.

The seven- to eight-month dry season is relieved by the southwest monsoon, which brings 1,200-1,500 millimeters of annual rainfall. The vegetation is influenced by this seasonality. Three stories-an upper canopy at 15-25 meters, a 10-15 meter understory, and 3-4 meter undergrowth-characterize the forests. Teak (Tectona grandis) dominates the vegetation and is associated with Diospyros melanoxylon, Anogeissus latifolia, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Terminalia tomentosa, Lannea coromandelica, Hardwickia binata, and Boswellia serata. Riparian habitats with species such as Terminalia arjuna, Syzygium cumini, Syzygium heyneanum, Salix tetrasperma, Homonoia riparia, and Vitex negundo create moist forest corridors.

Biodiversity Features

Although it is not exceptional in terms of endemism or diversity, the ecoregion still retains important habitat for many of the Indian Subcontinent's large animals, such as the tiger, gaur (Bos gaurus), wild dog (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra). Throughout most of their ranges, these larger vertebrate species are being increasingly confined to small forest fragments that do not offer much hope for long-term survival of declining populations. Therefore, it is important to safeguard large habitat areas where they exist. Most of the large blocks of remaining habitat have been included in TCUs. These habitat landscapes present the best opportunities for long-term conservation of viable tiger populations. However, very little is known of the habitat integrity and the status of the prey populations in these forests. Surveys have been recommended to determine their importance and potential contribution toward a regional tiger conservation strategy.

The mammal fauna in the ecoregion includes seventy-six species. Although none of them are endemic, there are several threatened species, including the tiger, gaur, wild dog, sloth bear, chousingha, and blackbuck.

None of the 276 bird species in this ecoregion are endemic. But the bird fauna includes the globally threatened lesser florican (Eupodotis indica) and the endangered Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps).

Current Status

Nearly two-thirds of the natural forests of this ecoregion have been cleared, but the remaining habitat includes several large blocks that cover extensive areas, especially along the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges. The seventeen protected areas cover more than 7,500 km², or almost 5 percent of the ecoregion's area (Table 1). Two of the protected areas, Melghat and Noradehi, exceed 1,300 kilometers².

Types and Severity of Threats

The large patches of forests are still greatly threatened by ongoing forest clearing and conversion. But the threats from a series of dams on the Narmada River are even more serious than the small-scale degradation threats. These dams will flood critical habitat, and they will also displace a large number of tribal and local communities into adjacent intact forests.

The conservation status of this ecoregion was changed from vulnerable to endangered because of threats from the dense human population to the intact forest blocks. However, impending threats from the hydropower schemes may warrant elevation to critical status.

As the tribal populations shift from a subsistence lifestyle to a more material one and as the populations continue to increase rapidly, conflicts are beginning to occur with conservation interests and authorities. These problems must be addressed in a timely manner.

Justification of Ecoregion Delineation

In a previous analysis of conservation units, Rodgers and Panwar divided the Deccan Peninsula into five biotic provinces. This ecoregion largely corresponds to the Rodgers and Panwar biotic province 6E, the Central Highlands, but we redrew the boundary to exclude the small area of moist deciduous forest represented in the biotic province as shown in MacKinnon's map of the original vegetation. This modification of Rodgers and Panwar is to conform to our rules for delineating ecoregions, that is, to represent distinct habitat types of regional extent. The dry deciduous forests therefore were represented by the Narmada Valley Dry Deciduous Forests.

Additional Information on this Ecoregion

• For a shorter summary of this entry, see the WWF WildWorld profile of this ecoregion.
• To see the species that live in this ecoregion, including images and threat levels, see the WWF Wildfinder description of this ecoregion.
• World Wildlife Fund Homepage