•The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making

up most of the southern part of the country. It rises a

hundred metres high in the north, and more than a

kilometre high in the south, forming a raised triangle

within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of Indian

subcontinent’s coastline.

•

It extends over eight Indian states and encompasses

a wide range of habitats, covering most of

central and southern India. It is located between two

mountain ranges, the Western Ghats and the Eastern

Ghats. Each rises from its respective nearby coastal

plain. They almost meet at the southern tip of India. The

Deccan Plateau is separated from the Gangetic plain to

the north by the Satpura and Vindhya ranges, which

form its northern boundary. .

1. The climate of the region varies from semi-arid in the north tropical in most of the region with distinct wet and dry seasons. Rain falls during the monsoon season from about June to October. March to June can be very dry and hot, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 °C.

2. The Deccan plateau is a topographically variegated region located south of the Gangetic plains-the portion lying between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal-and includes a substantial area to the north of the Vindhya range, which has popularly been regarded as the divide between northern India and the Deccan.

3. The plateau is bounded on the east and west by the Ghats, while its northern extremity is the Satpura range. The Deccan's average elevation is about 2,000 feet (600 m), sloping generally eastward; its principal rivers, the Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery, flow from the Western Ghats eastward to the Bay of Bengal. The plateau's climate is drier than that on the coasts and is arid in places. Although sometimes used to mean all of India south of the Narmada River, the word Deccan relates more specifically to that area of rich volcanic soils and lava-covered plateaus in the northern part of the peninsula between the Narmada and Krishna rivers.

4. . The Deccan plateau consists of dry tropical forests that experiences only seasonal rainfall

The Deccan is home to many languages and people. Bhil and Gond people live in the hills along the northern and north-eastern edges of the plateau, and speak various

languages that belong to both the Indo-european and Dravidian families of languages.

Marathi, an Indo-Aryan, is the main language of the north-western Deccan in the state of Maharashtra. Speakers of Telugu and Kannada, the predominant languages

of Telengana, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka respectively, occupy those states' portions of the plateau.

Tamil is the main language of Tamil Nadu to the south of the plateau, and Malayalam that of the hills and coast to the south-west, in the state of Kerala. The city of Hyderabad is an important centre of Urdu language in the Deccan; its

surrounding areas also host a notable population of Urdu speakers. The Urdu dialect spoken in this region is also known as Dakhinni or as Deccani. North of Andhra is the

state of Odisha. People speak the language Oriya here.

The chief crop is cotton; also common are sugarcane, rice, and other crops.Apart from the states already mentioned, the state of Chattisgarh is found in the

northeast corner of the plateau. The three large cities in the Deccan are Hyderabad the capital of Telangana, Bengaluru the capital of Karnataka

and Pune, the cultural hub of Maharashtra.

1. Woodlands of Hardwickia binata and Albizia Amara are the

characteristic plant community of this ecoregion,

distinguishing it from the predominantly teak (Tectona

grandis) or sal(Shorea robusta) woodlands found

elsewhere in the Deccan.

2. The Central Deccan forests have an upper canopy at 15-25

meters, and an understory at 10-15 meters, with little

undergrowth.

3. The Hardwickia trees lose their leaves during the winter

dry season, and leaf out again in April.

4. large areas of remaining forest on the plateau are still

home to a variety of grazing animals from the Four-horned

Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis),chinkara (Gazella

bennettii), and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) to the largeGaur and Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee).

1. Covered by ancient forests, which are

older than the Himalayas, the plateau is

home to a rich wildlife, which includes

animals like Elephants, Tiger, Gaur and

Buffalo, along with a wide variety of birds.

2. The dense forests of the Deccan plateau

are fed by a number of rivers, namely

Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Indravati and

Godavari.

1. Wheat, jowar, millets and cotton are grown in the black fertile soil of the Malwa Plateau and parts of the Chota Nagpur Plateau.

2. The two basically include the states of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

3. There are many industries and mines also in the area. Tribals also live here.

4. Maharashtra along with parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh falls in the Deccan Plateau region. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people though there are; numerous industries and mines in the area too

1. Perhaps the greatest threat that faces many species is the widespread destruction of habitat. Deforestation, farming, over-grazing and development all result in irreversible changes

2. soil compaction, erosion, desertification, and alteration of local climatic conditions. Such land use practices vastly alter or even eliminate wildlife habitat. In areas where rare species are present, habitat destruction can quickly force a species to extinction.

3. By protecting habitat, entire communities of animals can be protected together and when communities are kept intact, less conservation intervention is required to ensure species survival. Parks, reserves, and other protected lands are too often the only habitats left untouched by habitat destruction.

1. Herbicides and pesticides may keep yards looking nice but they are in fact hazardous pollutants that affect wildlife at many levels.

2. Many herbicides and pesticides take a long time to degrade and build up in the soils or throughout the food chain. Some groups of animals such as amphibians are particularly vulnerable to these chemical pollutants and suffer greatly as a result of the high levels of herbicides and pesticides in their habitat.