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{{Short description|Lowland ecoregion at the base of the Himalayas}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
| name = Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands
| image = Rhinoceros_unicornis_chitwan_national_park_nepal_2005_2.jpg
| image_caption = [[Indian rhinoceros]] in [[Chitwan National Park]], Nepal
| map = Ecoregion IM0701.svg
| biome = [[tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]
| biogeographic_realm = [[Indomalayan realm|Indomalayan]]
| border = [[Himalayan subtropical pine forests]]
| border1 = [[Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests]]
| border2 = [[Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests]]
| border3 = [[Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests]]
| border4 = [[Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests]]
| area = 34600
| country = [[India]]
| country1 = [[Nepal]]
| country2 = [[Bhutan]]
| coordinates = {{coords|27.50|84.33|display=inline,title}}

| bird_species = 366<ref name = "Atlas"/>
| mammal_species = 115<ref name = "Atlas"/>
| habitat_loss = 90.62
| habitat_loss_ref = <ref name = "Atlas"/>
| protected = 8.91
| protected_ref = <ref name = "Atlas"/>
|image_alt=Two rhinoceros in a grassland. There are trees of various sizes in the background. The sky is grey.|map_alt=Map of Indian subcontinent with focus (with a purple rectangle box) on Nepal, Dooars in West Bengal, Bhutan and East Assam.}}

The '''Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands''' is a narrow lowland [[ecoregion]] at the base of the [[Himalayas]], about {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide, and a continuation of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] in [[India]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]]. It is colloquially called ''[[Terai]]'' in the [[Ganges Basin]] east to Nepal, then ''[[Dooars]]'' in [[West Bengal]], Bhutan and [[Assam]] east to the [[Brahmaputra River]]. It harbours the world's tallest [[grassland]]s, which are the most threatened and rare worldwide.<ref name=im0701>Dinerstein, E., Loucks, C. (2001). {{WWF ecoregion|name=Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands|id=im0701}}</ref>

==Location and description==
This [[tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]] [[biome]] stretches from western [[Bhutan]] to southern [[Nepal]]'s [[Terai]], westward to [[Banke National Park|Banke]], covering the [[Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal#Dang and Deukhuri Valleys|Dang and Deukhuri Valleys]] along the [[West Rapti River|Rapti River]] to [[India]]'s [[Bhabar]] and [[Doon Valley]]. Each end crosses the border into India's states of [[Uttarakhand]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=im0701/> The eastern and central areas are wetter than the western end.

In Nepal, the wetlands of [[Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve]], [[Beeshazar Tal]] in the bufferzone of [[Chitwan National Park]], [[Jagdishpur Reservoir]] and [[Ghodaghodi Tal]] are designated [[Ramsar site]]s.<ref>Bhandari, B.B. (2009) ''Wise use of Wetlands in Nepal'' Banko Janakari, Special Issue February 2009: [http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/BANKO/article/view/2206 10–17 (PDF)]</ref> [[Shuklaphanta National Park]] is Nepal's largest patch of continuous grassland.<ref>Baral, H.S., Inskipp, C. (2009) ''The Birds of Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, Nepal.'' Our Nature (2009) 7: 56-81</ref>

==Flora==
The Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands are a mosaic of tall riverside grasslands, savannas and [[Evergreen forest|evergreen]] and deciduous forests, depending on [[soil quality]] and the amount of rain each area receives. The grasslands of the [[Terai]] in Nepal are among the tallest in the world, and are maintained by silt deposited by the yearly [[monsoon]] floods. Important grasses include [[Tripidium bengalense|baruwa]] (''Tripidium bengalense'') and [[Saccharum spontaneum|kans grass]] (''Saccharum spontaneum''), which quickly establishes itself after the retreat of the monsoon waters. In the hillier areas the dominant tree is [[Shorea robusta|sal]] (''Shorea robusta''), which can grow to a height of {{convert|45|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The belt also contains riverside tropical [[deciduous forest]] comprising ''[[Mallotus philippensis]]'', [[jamun]], [[Bombax ceiba|cotton tree]], ''[[Mallotus nudiflorus]]'', and ''[[Garuga pinnata]]''.<ref name=im0701 />

==Fauna==
The ecoregion is habitat for a huge number of [[Mammalian Species|mammalian]] and [[bird]] species.<ref name = "Atlas">{{cite book |author1= Hoekstra J. M. |author2=Molnar, J. L. |author3=Jennings, M. |author4=Revenga, C. |author5=Spalding, M. D. |author6=Boucher, T. M. |author7=Robertson, J. C. |author8=Heibel, T. J. |author9=Ellison, K. |title = The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference |publisher = [[University of California Press]] |editor = Molnar, J. L. |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-0-520-26256-0 |url = https://archive.org/details/atlasofglobalcon0000unse |url-access = registration }}</ref> Notable are the large numbers of the endangered [[greater one-horned rhinoceros]] and [[Bengal tiger]]s as well as [[Asian elephant]]s, [[sloth bear]]s, [[Indian leopard]]s.

In Nepal's [[Chitwan National Park]], more than 400 rhinos were sighted in 2008, and 125 adult tigers were recorded during a survey conducted from December 2009 to March 2010, which covered an area of {{convert|1261|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref>Basu P. (2008). ''Rare One-Horned Rhino Bouncing Back in Nepal.'' National Geographic News [https://web.archive.org/web/20080331233527/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080327-nepal-rhinoceros.html article online]</ref><ref>WWF Nepal (2010) ''More tigers found in Nepal as Nepal-India trans-boundary efforts for tiger conservation intensify'' [http://wwfnepal.org/media_information/news/?194386/More-tigers-found-in-Nepal-as-Nepal-India-trans-boundary-efforts-for-tiger-conservation-intensify article online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902181835/http://wwfnepal.org/media_information/news/?194386%2FMore-tigers-found-in-Nepal-as-Nepal-India-trans-boundary-efforts-for-tiger-conservation-intensify |date=2011-09-02 }}</ref> Nepal's [[Bardia National Park]] and [[Shuklaphanta National Park]], and India's [[Valmiki National Park|Valmiki]] and [[Dudhwa National Park]]s are home to nearly 100 tigers. Chitwan along with the adjoining [[Parsa National Park]] is of major importance, especially for tigers and [[clouded leopard]]. Grazing animals of the grasslands include five species of deer, [[barasingha]], [[sambar (deer)|sambar]], [[chital]], [[hog deer]] and [[muntjac]] along with four large grazing animals, Asian elephant, rhinoceros, [[gaur]] and [[nilgai]]. Endangered mammals found here include the [[wild water buffalo]] and the near-endemic [[hispid hare]] (''Caprolagus hispidus'').

The grasslands are also home to a number of reptiles including the [[gharial]], [[mugger crocodile]] and [[Trionychidae|soft-shelled turtles]].

The grasslands partly cover two [[BirdLife International]] [[Endemic Bird Area]]s, the [[Central Himalayas EBA]] in western Nepal and the western end of the [[Assam Plains EBA]] south of Bhutan. There are three near-endemic bird species. The 44 threatened and declining bird species of the grasslands include the [[Bengal florican]] (''Houbaropsis bengalensis''), [[lesser florican]] (''Sypheotides indica''), [[sarus crane]] (''Grus antigone'') and the elusive Indian grassbird.

==Threats and conservation==
Areas with tall grasslands are of special conservation importance. [[Woody plant encroachment]] is a threat to the Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bhowal |first=S. |last2=Banerjee |first2=S. |last3=Das |first3=D. |last4=John |first4=R. |date=2025 |title=Fire, anthropogenic influence, and habitat factors affect grassland persistence in the face of woody encroachment in a Terai-Duars savanna and grasslands habitat |journal=Environmental Monitoring and Assessment |volume=197 |issue=8 |page=971 |doi=10.1007/s10661-025-14425-4}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of ecoregions in India]]
*[[List of ecoregions in Nepal]]
*[[Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests]]
*[[Margalla Hills]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://assets.panda.org/img/original/ecoregion.jpg WWF: ''Map of ecoregions in Nepal'', showing the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands]
*[http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-annotated-ramsar-16499/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16499_4000_0__ The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: ''The Annotated Ramsar List of Nepal'']

{{Uttarakhand}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands}}
[[Category:Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands| ]]
[[Category:Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Grasslands of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Grasslands of India]]
[[Category:Grasslands of Nepal]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of India]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Nepal]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Flora of Assam (region)|.]]
[[Category:Geography of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Asia]]
[[Category:Indomalayan ecoregions]]

Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands - Revision history

Riya parik: redirect created