Magway Than-Dahat grassy forest

T4.2.5

Description

Magway Than-Dahat grassy forest is an open woodland dominated by Tectona hamiltoniana (dahat) and Terminalia oliveri (than; Stamp, 1924a; Davis, 1960). This ecosystem occurs along the western margin of the dry zone, primarily on clay soils along the foothills of Magway state. The sparse canopy of Than-Dahat is around 10 metres tall, and a ground cover of grasses is present. Bamboo thickets may occur, particularly in moister areas or fringing the surrounding Shwe Settaw Sha-Bamboo Thicket ecosystem. Mostly deciduous with a largely continuous ground layer of C4 grasses. Two other Than-Dahat ecosystems occur to the east in the central and eastern dry zone.

Assessment summary

This ecosystem is broadly distributed and, despite a range of ongoing threats, did not meet any category thresholds of the Red List of Ecosystem criteria. Further work to assess the extent and severity of abiotic and biotic disruption are recommended, as well as refining the distribution maps developed in this project. Least Concern.