AREA IN PER

STATE/UT

Source : India State of Forest Report 2013–14 Figure 5.1 Area under Forest Cover

TYPES OF VEGETATION
The following major types of vegetation may
be identified in our country (Figure 5.3).
(i) Tropical Evergreen Forests
(ii) Tropical Deciduous Forests
(iii) Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs
(iv) Montane Forests
(v) Mangrove Forests

Tropical Evergreen Forests

These forests are restricted to heavy rainfall
areas of the Western Ghats and the island
groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and
Nicobar, upper parts of Assam and Tamil
Nadu coast. They are at their best in areas
having more than 200 cm of rainfall with a
short dry season. The trees reach great
heights up to 60 metres or even above. Since
the region is warm and wet throughout the
year, it has a luxuriant vegetation of all kinds
— trees, shrubs and creepers giving it a
multilayered structure. There is no definite
time for trees to shed their leaves. As such, Figure 5.2 : Tropical Evergreen Forest
these forests appear green all the year
round.

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 Figure 5.3 : Natural Vegetation
Study the given map for the forest cover and try to find the reasons as to why certain states have more forest area as compared to others?

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 Some of the commercially important trees The dry deciduous forests are found in
of this forest are ebony, mahogany, areas having rainfall between 100 cm and
rosewood, rubber and cinchona. 70 cm. These forests are found in the rainier
The common animals found in these parts of the Peninsular plateau and the
forests are elephant, monkey, lemur and plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. There are
deer. One- horned rhinoceroses are found open stretches, in which teak, sal, peepal
in the jungles of Assam and West Bengal. and neem grow. A large part of this region
Besides these animals, plenty of birds, bats, has been cleared for cultivation and some
sloth, scorpions and snails are also found in parts are used for grazing.
these jungles. In these forests, the common animals
found are lion, tiger, pig, deer and elephant.
Tropical Deciduous Forests A huge variety of birds, lizards, snakes and
These are the most widespread forests of tortoises are also found here.
India. They are also called the monsoon
The Thorn Forests and Scrubs
forests and spread over the region receiving
rainfall between 200 cm and 70 cm. Trees of In regions with less than 70 cm of rainfall,
this forest type shed their leaves for about six the natural vegetation consists of thorny trees
to eight weeks in dry summer. and bushes. This type of vegetation is found in
On the basis of the availability of water, the north-western part of the country,
these forests are further divided into moist including semi-arid areas of Gujarat,
and dry deciduous. The former is found in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
areas receiving rainfall between 200 and Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Acacias, palms,
100 cm. These forests exist, therefore, euphorbias and cacti are the main plant
mostly in the eastern part of the country — species. Trees are scattered and have long
northeastern states, along the foothills of roots penetrating deep into the soil in order
the Himalayas, Jharkhand, West Odisha and to get moisture. The stems are succulent to
Chhattisgarh, and on the eastern slopes of the conserve water. Leaves are mostly thick and
Western Ghats. Teak is the most dominant small to minimise evaporation. These forests
species of this forest. Bamboos, sal, shisham, give way to thorn forests and scrubs in arid
sandalwood, khair, kusum, arjun and areas.
mulberry are other commercially In these forests, the common animals
important species. are rats, mice, rabbits, fox, wolf, tiger, lion,
wild ass, horses and camels.

Figure 5.4 : Tropical Deciduous Forest

Figure 5.5 : Thorn Forests and Scrubs

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Montane Forests extensively for grazing by nomadic tribes, like
In mountainous areas, the decrease in the Gujjars and the Bakarwals. At higher
temperature with increasing altitude leads to altitudes, mosses and lichens form part of
the corresponding change in natural tundra vegetation.
vegetation. As such, there is a succession of The common animals found in these forests
natural vegetation belts in the same order are Kashmir stag, spotted dear, wild sheep,
jack rabbit, Tibetan antelope, yak, snow
as we see from the tropical to the tundra
leopard, squirrels, Shaggy horn wild ibex,
region. The wet temperate type of forests
bear and rare red panda, sheep and goats
are found between a height of 1000 and
with thick hair.
2000 metres. Evergreen broad-leaf trees,
such as oaks and chestnuts predominate. Mangrove Forests
Between 1500 and 3000 metres, temperate
The mangrove tidal forests are found in the
forests containing coniferous trees, like areas of coasts influenced by tides. Mud and
pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce and cedar, are silt get accumutated on such coasts. Dense
found. These forests cover mostly the mangroves are the common varieties with
southern slopes of the Himalayas, places roots of the plants submerged under water.
having high altitude in southern and north- The deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the
east India. At higher elevations, temperate Krishna, the Godavari and the Kaveri are
grasslands are common. At high altitudes, covered by such vegetation. In the Ganga-
generally, more than 3,600 metres above the Brahmaputra delta, sundari trees are found,
which provide durable hard timber. Palm,
sea level, temperate forests and grasslands
coconut, keora, agar, etc., also grow in some
give way to the Alpine vegetation. Silver
parts of the delta.
fir, junipers, pines and birches are the Royal Bengal Tiger is the famous animal
common trees of these forests. However, in these forests. Turtles, crocodiles, gharials
they get progressively stunted as they and snakes are also found in these forests.
approach the snow-line. Ultimately, through
shrubs and scrubs, they merge into the
Alpine grasslands. These are used

Figure 5.7 : Mangrove Forests

Let us discuss : What will happen if plants and animals disappear from the earth’s surface

Figure 5.6 : Montane Forests

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 MEDICINAL PLANTS
2,000 plants have been described in Ayurveda and at least 500 are in regular use. The World Conservation Union’s Red List has named 352 medicinal plants of which 52 are critically th
dia.
h is carminative and diuretic, and has digestive properties. The powder of the seed is used for controlling diabetes.
ed to regulate blood pressure.
as a tonic.

are good for digestive problems.

d as medicines by local people to cure some diseases?

Source : Medicinal Plants by Dr. S.K. Jain, 5th edition 1994, National Book Trust of India

different species of deer are some

other animals found in India. It also
has several species of monkeys.

Wildlife Protection Act was implemented in 1972 in India.

India is the only country in the

world that has both tigers and
lions. The natural habitat of the
Indian lion is the Gir forest in
Gujarat. Tigers are found in the
forests of Madhya Pradesh, the
Activity
Sundarbans of West Bengal and the
Can you identify the type of forest shown in this picture? Identify some trees in it. What type of similarity/ dissimilarity you notice in this type of vegeta
Himalayan region. Leopards, too, are
WILDLIFE members of the cat family. They
Like its flora, India is also rich in its fauna. It are important among animals of
has approximately 90,000 animal species. prey.
The country has about 2,000 species of
birds. They constitute 13% of the world’s total.
There are 2,546 species of fish, which Do you know
account for nearly 12% of the world’s stock. The Gir Forest is the last remaining habitat of the Asiatic lion.
It also shares between 5 and 8 per cent of
the world’s amphibians, reptiles and
mammals.
The elephants are the most majestic The Himalayas harbour a hardy range of
animals among the mammals. They are found animals, which survive in extreme cold.
in the hot wet forests of Assam, Karnataka Ladakh’s freezing high altitudes are a home to
and Kerala. One-horned rhinoceroses are the yak, the shaggy horned wild ox weighing
other animals, which live in swampy and around one tonne, the Tibetan antelope,
marshy lands of Assam and West Bengal. the bharal (blue sheep), wild sheep, and the
Arid areas of the Rann of Kachchh and the kiang (Tibetan wild ass). Furhtermore, the
Thar Desert are the habitat for wild ass and ibex, bear, snow-leopard and rare red panda
camels respectively. Indian bison, nilgai are found in certain pockets.
(blue bull), chousingha (four-horned In the rivers, lakes and coastal areas,
antelope), gazel and turtles, crocodiles and gharials are found.
The

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 Dampara

Figure 5.8 : Wildlife Reserves

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latter is the only representative of a variety of species are endangered and 20 species are
crocodile, found in the world today. extinct. Quite a few animal species are also
Bird life in India is colourful. Peacocks, endangered and some have become extinct.
pheasants, ducks, parakeets, cranes and The main causes for this major threat to
pigeons are some of the birds inhabiting the nature are hunting by greedy hunters for
forests and wetlands of the country. commercial purposes. Polluti on due to
We have selected our crops from a chemical and industrial waste, acid deposits,
bio-diverse environment, i.e., from the introduction of alien species and reckless
reserve of edible plants. We also cutting of the forests to bring land under
experimented and selected many medicinal culti vati on and habitati on, are also
plants. The animals were selected from responsible for the imbalance.
large stock provided by nature as milch To protect the flora and fauna of the
animal. They also provided us draught country, the government has taken many
power, transportation, meat and eggs. The steps.
fish provide nutritive food. Many insects
(i) Eighteen biosphere reserves have been
help in pollination of crops and fruit trees
set up in the country to protect flora and
and exerting biological control on such
fauna. Ten out of these, the Sundarbans
insects is harmful. Every species has a role
Nanda Devi, the Gulf of Mannar, the
to play in the ecosystem. Hence,
Nilgiri, Nokrek, Great Nicobar, Manas,
conservation is essential. As has been
Simlipal, Pachmarhi and Achanakmar-
mentioned earlier due to excessive
Amarkantak have been included in the
exploitation of plant and animal resources
world network of biosphere reserves.
by human beings, the ecosystem has been
disturbed. About 1,300 plant

Activity
Find out from the above newspaper cuttings, the main concern highlighted in the given news items.
Collect more information about various endangered species from newspapers and magazines.
Find out various steps taken by the Indian government to protect them.
Describe how you can contribute to the protection of endangered animals and birds.

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