Dehing Patkai National Park is a national park in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam covering an area of 231.65km2 (89.44sqmi) of rainforest.[1][2]
It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 13 June 2004. On 13 December 2020, the Government of Assam upgraded it into a national park.[3] On 9 June 2021, the Forest Department of Assam officially notified it as a national park.[4] It is located in the Dehing Patkai Landscape which is a dipterocarp-dominated lowland rainforest. The rainforest stretches for more than 575km2 (222sqmi) in the districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Charaideo. The forest further spreads over in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Dehing Patkai National Park harbours the largest stretch of lowland rainforests in India. Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve under Project Elephant.[5][6] Dehing-Patkai as a potential wildlife sanctuary was identified in late 1980s during a primate survey as "Upper Dehing Wildlife Sanctuary".[7] Subsequently during a study on white-winged wood duck in early 1990s, it was discovered as a globally important site for this duck and recommended to be upgraded to "Upper Dehing National Park".[8]
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The different trees of this four-layered rainforest are laden with many exotic species of orchids and bromeliads. There is an abundance of ferns, epiphytes, wild banana, orchids, arums, climbers and lianas in this humid forest habitat. Some of the important tree species found in this forest area are – Hollong, Mekai, Dhuna, Uriyam, Nahar, Chamkothal, Bher, Hollock, Nahor, Ou–tenga (elephant apple), different species of Ficus spp. etc. The towering Hollong tree which is also the State Tree of Assam dominates the emergent layer of this rainforest.
The forest type according of Champion and Seth's classification is Upper Assam valley tropical evergreen forest.
The important species of over wood are Dipterocarpus macrocarpus, Mesua ferrea, Castanopsis indica, Shorea assamica, Vatica lanceaefolia, Amoora wallichii, Dysoxylum binectiferum etc. The other species found in understorey are Garcinia lanceifolia, Michelia muni, Baccaurea sapida, Bischofia javanica, Myristica limifolia etc. The shrub and herb layer has Glochidion spp., Alpinia spp., Mallotus philippinensis, wild banana, tree fern, pepper etc. The ground cover mainly has Melastoma, Leea and other species.
Bhattacharjee, J. (2013). "Exploring Environmental Movements in Assam: Some Case Studies"(PDF). Environmental activism in North East India: exploring environmental movements and action groups with special reference to Assam (PhD thesis). New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University. pp.91–118.
Choudhury, A. U. (1996). Survey of white-winged wood duck and Bengal florican in eastern Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Guwahati: The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India.
Choudhury, A. U. (1996). Survey of white-winged wood duck and Bengal florican in eastern Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Guwahati: The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India.