This ecoregion at the base of the Himalaya supports the world’s tallest grasslands from northwest India across to Assam. Key vegetation features are the savannas and tall grasslands (with species like Saccharum spontaneum, S. bengalense, Themeda arundinacea) in a mosaic of evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forests with trees such as sal Shorea robusta, Trewia nudiflora, and Bombax ceiba, corresponding to different moisture conditions. Hot, humid, and wet during the summer monsoon, with temperatures reaching 40ºC, the climate is cooler in the winter, with morning ground frost and fogs. Annual monsoon floods are crucial for maintaining the grasslands, because it clears and flushes the floodplain of encroaching trees, deposits a layer of sand and silt (alluvium) and allows grasses to regenerate.