Why in the news?

• A new study has identified at least two native plants that have joined invasive species to alter the riverine ecosystem of eastern Assam’s Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (DSNP), the only habitat of feral horses in India.

Dibru Saikhowa National Park

• Location: It is a national park and Biosphere reserve located in Assam.
• Nearby Rivers: The park is bounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers in the north and Dibru River in the south.
• Vegetation Type:
  • Mixed semi-evergreen forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, canebrakes and grasslands.
  • It is the largest Salix swamp forest in north-eastern India.
• Major Protected Species in the National Park:
  • Originally created to help conserve the habitat of the rare White-winged Wood duck
  • Accommodates species such as Bengal tiger, Hoolock Gibbon, Chinese pangolin and Dhole.