Natural Vegetation and Wildlife — Social Studies STD 9 — Question
CBSE BoardEnglish MediumSTD 9Social StudiesNatural Vegetation and Wildlife5 Marks
Question
Discuss briefly the different types of vegetations found in India.
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Answer
The different types of vegetations found in India are:
Tropical Rain Forests/ TropicalEvergreen Forests: These forests grow in the areas of 200cm and above rainfall. The trees shed their leaves at different time, periods of the year. So they look evergreen most of the time. Elephants, monkeys, one-horned rhinoceros, lemurs and deer are some of the common animals found in these forests. These forests are found on the slopes of the Western Ghats and the island groups of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of Assam, Tamil Nadu coast, West Bengal, Odisha and north-eastern states of India. Some important trees in these forests are ebony, mahogany, rosewood, rubber and cinchona.
Tropical Deciduous Forests: These forests grow in the areas receiving rainfall between 200cm and 70cm. The trees shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer. On the basis of the availability of water, these forests are further divided into two - Moist deciduous forests and Dry deciduous forests.
Moist deciduous forests are found in areas receiving rainfall between 200 and 100cm. These forests exist mostly in the eastern part of the country. Teak is the most dominant species of this forest.
Dry deciduous forests Are found in the areas receiving rainfall between 100cm and 70cm. These forests exist in the rainier plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Important trees found here are teak, sal, peepal, etc.
The Thorn Forests and Scrubs. These forests are found in regions with less than 70cm of rainfall. The natural vegetation consists of thorny trees and bushes. This type of vegetation is found in semiarid regions of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The common animals found here are rats, mice, rabbits, fox, wolves, tigers, lions, wild ass, horses and camels. Euphorbia, babool, kikar, palm, cacti and acacia are the main plants. Trees are scattered and have long roots penetrating deep into the soil in order to get moisture. Leaves are mostly thick and small to minimise evaporation.
Montane Forests: In mountainous areas, the decrease in temperature with increasing altitude leads to the corresponding change in natural vegetation. As such, there is a succession of natural vegetation belts in the same order as we see from the tropical to the tundra regions. Between a height of 1,000 and 2,000m the wet temperate types of forests are found containing evergreen broad-leaf trees such as oaks and chestnuts. Between 1,500 and 3,000m, temperate forests containing coniferous trees like pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce and cedar are found. These forests cover mostly the southern slopes of the Himalayas, places having high altitude in southern and north-east India. At higher elevations, temperate grasslands are common. At high altitudes, generally more than 3,600m above sea-level, alpine vegetation is found. The common animals found in these forests are Kashmiri stag, spotted deer, wild sheep, jack rabbit, Tibetan antelope, yak.
Mangrove Forests: Mangroves are the trees which have their roots above the ground and are normally found in the deltaic areas and the areas of coasts influenced by tides. Sundari is the major tree type in these types of forests which provide durable hard timber. Palm, coconut, keora, agar, also grow in some parts of the delta. They are found in the deltas of Ganga, Mahanadi, Kaveri, Krishna and Godavari. Royal Bengal Tiger is the famous animal found in these forests. Turtles, crocodiles, gharials and snakes are also found in these forests.
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