The Irrawaddy freshwater swamp forests occupy the freshwater portion of the Irrawaddy River delta in Myanmar, set back behind the coastal mangroves roughly 70 kilometers inland from the Bay of Bengal. Once-extensive deciduous, mixed-species swamp forest survives only as fragmented closed and open stands, with characteristic trees including teak (Tectona grandis), the cotton tree (Bombax ceiba), wild mango (Spondias pinnata), and rosewoods (Dalbergia), alongside dense bamboo brakes (Melocanna bambusoides). The climate is tropical and monsoonal, with heavy monsoon rains from roughly June through October over flat, silt-enriched delta soils. The delta is an important wetland for migratory waterbirds, hosting species such as the critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper and the Asian openbill stork, with the cinnamon bittern as the ecoregion's flagship; however, nearly all of the original forest has been converted to rice paddies and settlements, and there are no fully protected areas. For gardeners, several natives double as ornamentals, including the dramatic red-flowered cotton tree (Bombax ceiba) and rosewood-family Dalbergia.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.8°N, 95.5°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.3°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
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Indomalayan
Approximate area
5,851 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
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 tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: