Page:The Journal of Indian Botany.djvu/369

THE ECOLOGY OF THE UPPER GANGETIC PLAIN. 323

Fig. 8. Permanent lake near Allahabad, formed by damming up a ravine. Scirpus mar.itimus is dominant in the attached emersed aquatic and wet meadow stages. Note the bare wet meadow shore left by the receding water. In the back-ground is a village grove cf planted trees. Photographed January 30, 1920.

Fig. 9. Shallow temporary pcol near Allahabad, showing the result of cultivation and grazing on early stages of succession. In the water and stranded on the wet meadow shore are the remains of a crop of Oryza saliva, along with Panicum punctatum, Ipomaea reptans, and Cynodon dactylon. Spontaneous Acacia arabica in the background. This view shows the flat character of the plains. November 4, 1917.

Fig. 10. Well developed wet meadow stage in the seepage area from the permanent lake in Fig. 8. In the shallow open water are submersed aquatics ; in the edges of the pools is tall Scirpus maritimus ; over the damp soil of the wet meadow stage are Scirpus maritimus and Cypcrus difformis, fringed about by a dense mat of smaller Fimbris- tylis diphylla ; outside this is a later stage of the wet meadow, dominated by Cynodon dactylon ; dry meadow plants on the higher banks ; and spontaneous Acacia, arabica and planted village trees in the background. The whole area is closely grazed. January 30, 1920.

Fig. 11. Well drained area west of Allahabad, showing closely grazed dry meadow stage, with cultivated fields in level places. The meadow is dominated by Andropogon intermedins and a good represen- tation of small perennial prostrate weeds. Spontaneous Acacia arabica in the background. April 20, 1918.

Fig. 12. Rank growth of thorn scrub grasses, Aplnda varia, Ccnchrus biftorus, -Andropogon contort us, and A. intermedins, in the Fisher Forest, Etawah, as a result of five years protection from grazing. The trees are planted Acacia arabica. October 24, 1919.

Fig. 13. Closely grazed thorn scrub area north of Allahabad. The trees are Acacia arabica, the oval bushes are Capparis sepiaria pruned by grazing animals, and the straggling bushes aie Justicia adhatoda. Over the ground is a poor development of the dry meadow. April 20, 1918.