Editing Bengal (section)

=== Flora and fauna ===
[[File:Sundarban Tiger.jpg|thumb|The [[Bengal tiger]]]]
The flat Bengal Plain, which covers most of Bangladesh and West Bengal, is one of the most [[Soil fertility|fertile]] areas on Earth, with lush vegetation and farmland dominating its landscape. Bengali villages are buried among groves of [[mango]], [[jackfruit]], [[betel nut]] and [[date palm]]. Rice, [[jute]], [[mustard plant|mustard]] and [[sugarcane]] plantations are a common sight. [[Body of water|Water bodies]] and [[wetland]]s provide a habitat for many aquatic plants in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. The northern part of the region features Himalayan foothills (''[[Dooars]]'') with densely wooded [[Sal (tree)|Sal]] and other tropical [[evergreen]] trees.<ref name=India123>{{cite web |url=http://www.webindia123.com/westbengal/land/forest.htm#N |title=Natural vegetation |access-date = 31 October 2006 |work=West Bengal |publisher=Suni System (P) Ltd |url-status = live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523204956/http://www.webindia123.com/westbengal/land/forest.htm#N |archive-date = 23 May 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Sal_Forest |title=Sal Forest |website=Banglapedia |date=18 June 2021 |access-date=28 July 2023}}</ref> Above an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300&nbsp;ft), the forest becomes predominantly subtropical, with a predominance of temperate-forest trees such as [[oak]]s, [[conifer]]s and [[rhododendron]]s. Sal woodland is also found across central Bangladesh, particularly in the [[Bhawal National Park]]. The [[Lawachara National Park]] is a [[rainforest]] in northeastern Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nishorgo.org/nishorgo/files_pdf/Secondary%20Data%20on%20Lawachara%20NP.pdf |title=Secondary Data Collection for Pilot Protected Areas: Lawachara National Park |date=November 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001204429/http://www.nishorgo.org/nishorgo/files_pdf/Secondary%20Data%20on%20Lawachara%20NP.pdf |access-date=28 July 2023|archive-date=1 October 2011 }}</ref> The Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh is noted for its high degree of [[biodiversity]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unpo.org/article/1537 | title=UNPO: Chittagong Hill Tracts: The vanishing forest biodiversity of Bangladesh | date=2 November 2009 }}</ref>

The [[littoral]] [[Sundarbans]] in the southwestern part of Bengal is the largest [[mangrove forest]] in the world and a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite web |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/798/#:~:text=The%20Sundarbans%20Reserve%20Forest%20(SRF,mangrove%20forest%20in%20the%20world |title=The Sundarbans – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=28 July 2023}}</ref> The region has over [[List of mammals in Bangladesh|89 species of mammals]], [[List of birds of Bangladesh|628 species of birds]] and [[List of fishes in Bangladesh|numerous species of fish]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Muhammad Selim Hossain |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=89375 |title=Conserving biodiversity must for survival |work=The Daily Star |date=23 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530100603/http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=89375 |access-date=28 July 2023 |archive-date=30 May 2015}}</ref> For Bangladesh, the [[Nymphaea|water lily]], the [[oriental magpie-robin]], the [[hilsa]] and [[mango tree]] are national symbols. For West Bengal, the [[white-throated kingfisher]], the [[Alstonia|chatim tree]] and the [[night-flowering jasmine]] are state symbols. The [[Bengal tiger]] is the [[national animal]] of Bangladesh and India. The [[fishing cat]] is the state animal of West Bengal.