General Awareness Forests of India

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Forests of India

1. India is not only famous for its diverse wildlife, architectural marvels and culture, but also for its dense and vast forest cover.

2. Forest is the second largest land use in India next to agriculture. The forest cover of India is assessed as 67.83 million hectares which constitute 20.64 per cent of the country's geographical area, ranging from the Himalayan Temperate to Dry Zone forests.

3. The National Forest Policy stipulates that one-third of area should be under forest or tree cover. Being a mega-bio diversity country, the nation possesses high level of endemism.

4. The forests play vital role in harbouring more than 45,000 floral and 81,000 faunal species of which 5150 floral and 1837 faunal species are endemic.

5. The nation has established 597 Protected Areas comprising 95 National Parks, 500 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 2 conservation reserves covering 1.56 million ha area or 4.75 per cent geographical area of the country.

6. The rising demand for forest based products and resultant deforestation and encroachment has led to a severe loss of natural resources and destruction of habitat.

7. The image on the right hand side showcases the forest type, distribution, characterstics, species and climatic conditions.

Growing Conditions of Some Crops

1. Different crops require different temperature, soil, rainfall and climatic conditions to grow.

2. The image on the right hand side depicts the various conditions requited for the growth of different crops.

Types of Forests

1. Evergreen Forests

(a) Location:

Evergreen forests are found in the Terai region of eastern Himalayas, the western slope of the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

(b) Characteristics:

Evergreen forest are found in areas where the average annual rainfall exceeds 200 cms. Due to abundant rainfall, the soil is never deficient in moisture. Therefore the trees never lose their leaves. The leaves also remain green throughout the year.

(c) Species:

The common trees are Rosewood, Toon, Poan, Rubber, Sissoo, Goran, Mahogany, Bamboo etc.

Dry Deciduous Forests

(a) Location:

Dry deciduous forests are found in western Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and other arid regions in the Deccan plateau.

(b) Characteristics:

These forests are prevalent in warm, arid regions, where the annual average rainfall ranges between 50 and 100 cms. The temperature also remains high throughout the year, and evaporation of water from the soil and vegetation is rapid.

(c) Species:

The important trees found are Teak, Sal, Tendu, Palas, Rosewood, Satinwood, Amaltas, Bel, Lendi etc.

Humid Deciduous Forests

(a) Location:

These forests are also known as Monsoon Forests, since the vegetation is largely influenced by the Monsoon climate of the subcontinent. Humid Deciduous Forests are found in the eastern slope of the Western Ghats, the plains, plateau and coast of West Bengal, the plateau and Gangetic plains of Bihar, and the plains of Assam.

(b) Characteristics:

These forests are common in regions where the annual average temperature varies between 100 and 200 cms. The climate here is characterised by hot, humid summers and dry winters. The trees shed their leaves during the cold season. The trees are well-adapted to combat the dry winter season. They are conservative water users and hence shed their leaves in time to reduce transpiration loss. Hence they are known as deciduous trees.

(c) Species:

The commonly found trees are Mango, Neem, Shimul, Mahuya, Shirish, Sal, Teak, Arjun, Jarul, Amla, Tamun, Kusum, Kanju, Palas etc.

Scrub and Thorn Forests

(a) Location:

Scrub and thorn vegetation cover the extremely arid regions of western Rajasthan, Kutch and Kathiawar areas of Gujarat and the rain-shadow areas of the southern plateau.

(b) Characteristics:

This type of vegetation is found in regions marked by very scanty rainfall, ranging between 25 and 50 cms annually. This acute scarcity of water inhibits the growth of trees.

(c) Species:

The commonly found ones are date Palm, Cactus, Babul, Neem, Piluri etc.

Desert Vegetation

Desert vegetation is restricted to the Thar Desert of western Rajasthan. The region suffers from extreme aridity, hence vegetation is essentially ‘xerophytic’ in nature. Cacti are the most common species. They have thick fleshy stems that store water and thrones as modified leaves, so as to check transpiration loss. The roots of desert plants reach far deep into the soil since the ground water level is extremely low.

Himalayan Vegetation

The natural vegetation here is so diverse that it is almost amazing. Due to the great height of the mountain range, climatic characteristics vary from the foothills to the peak. As one goes higher and higher, the temperature declines at a steady rate, and the amount of rainfall received is also affected.

Moreover, temperature and rainfall characteristics vary between the Eastern and Western Himalayas. The Himalayan vegetation is dominated by altitude.

Tidal or Mangrove Forests

(a) Location:

The Mangrove Forests are found in the deltaic regions and in and around the tidal creeks. They can be found in the deltas of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery. The densest and most continuous mangrove forests are found in the Sunderbans in the Ganga delta.

(b) Characteristics:

The forests are composed mainly of evergreen species. The trees have to survive in saline soil amidst constant rise and fall of tides and deep accumulation of mud. The trunks are supported by “stilt-roots”. These act as respiratory roots under submerged conditions. One of the main feature of such forests is profuse growth with tangle of climbers.

(c) Species:

The most common tree in the Sundarbans is Sundari, which gives the forest its name. Other important mangrove trees are Garan, Gewa, Hetal, Keya, Keora, Bog la etc.