The Godavari-Krishna mangroves form a coastal mangrove ecoregion along the eastern seaboard of India, occurring in discontinuous enclaves across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, with the largest stands concentrated in the deltas of the Godavari and Krishna rivers in Andhra Pradesh. The forests are dominated by salt-tolerant mangrove genera including Avicennia (notably Avicennia marina), Rhizophora, Bruguiera, and the succulent Suaeda, forming a dense canopy over an undergrowth of climbing plants and shrubs. The climate is tropical and strongly monsoonal, shaped by the southwest and northeast monsoons and moderated by the adjacent ocean, with the coast regularly battered by cyclones and tidal surges that the mangroves help buffer. These wetlands are an important refuge for wildlife such as the water monitor lizard and saltwater crocodile and host well over a hundred bird species, among them painted storks, spot-billed pelicans, and flamingos. Much of the original mangrove has been cleared, and only a small share of the ecoregion lies within protected areas such as Point Calimere, Pulicat Lake, and Bhitarkanika, with prawn farming, freshwater diversion, and coastal development the leading ongoing threats.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 13.9°N, 80.2°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.0°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
Realm
Indomalayan
Approximate area
2,707 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome
Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Currently suited · 4
These plants fit the ecoregion as it is today, but the mid-century projection moves them outside their stated zone range — plan for them to struggle by 2070.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other deserts & xeric shrublands ecoregions to explore: