topic- natural vegetation of india
TRANSCRIPT
BA II Geography (H)
Paper- III (India and Bihar: Regional Study )
Unit- 1
Topic- Natural Vegetation of India
❖Natural vegetation refers to a plantcommunity which has grown naturallywithout human aid.
❖Due to a diverse geographical and climaticcondition, an extensive range of naturalvegetation is found in India.
❖The types of natural vegetation differaccording to precipitation, soil, climate andtopography
❖India is a land of great variety of natural
vegetation.
❖ Depending upon the variations in the climateand the soil, the vegetation of India changesfrom one region to another. Temperature andhumidity determine the character and extent ofvegetation.❖ The virgin vegetation, which are purelyIndian are known as endemic or indigenousspecies but those which have come from outsideIndia are termed as exotic plants.❖ On the basis of certain common features suchas predominant vegetation type and climaticregions, Indian forests can be divided into thefollowing groups.
1. Tropical Evergreen Rain Forests
2. Deciduous or Monsoon Type of Forests
a. Moist deciduous Forests
b. Dry Deciduous Forests
3. Mountain Forests
4. Tidal or Mangrove Forests
5. Semi-Desert and Desert Vegetations
Types of Natural Vegetation in India
❖The tropical evergreen forests usually occur inareas receiving more than 200 cm of rainfall andhaving a temperature of 15 to 30 degrees Celsius.
❖In tropical evergreen forests, trees reach greatheights, i.e., up to 60 m or even more. And, largelythese trees do not have fixed time to shed theirleaves.
❖It has a luxuriant vegetation of all kinds – trees,shrubs, and creepers giving it a multilayeredstructure.
❖ In India, evergreen forests are found inthe western slopes of the Western Ghats,the island groups of Lakshadweep,Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts ofAssam and Tamil Nadu coast. They arealso found in hills of Jaintia and Khasi.❖ Some of the trees found in Indiantropical forests are rosewood, mahoganyand ebony. Bamboos and reeds are alsocommon.
Tropical Evergreen Forests
❖They are the most widespread forests ofIndia.
❖Also called the monsoon forests and spreadover the region receiving rainfall between 200cm and 70 cm.
❖Trees of this forest type shed their leaves forabout six to eight weeks in dry summer.
❖On the basis of the availability of water,these forests are further divided into moistand dry deciduous.
Tropical Deciduous Forests
a. Moist Deciduous Forests❖It is found in areas receiving rainfall between 100and 200 cm.❖ It exist mostly in the eastern part of the country ,north eastern states, along the foothills of theHimalayas, Jharkhand, West Orissa andChhattisgarh, and on the eastern slopes of theWestern Ghats.❖Teak is the most dominant species of this forest.❖Bamboos, sal, shisham, sandalwood, khair ,kusum, arjun, mulberry are other commerciallyimportant species,
❖The dry deciduous forests are found in areashaving rainfall between 70 cm and 100cm.
❖These forests are found in the rainier partsof the peninsular plateau and the plains ofBihar and Uttar Pradesh.
❖There are open stretches in which Teak, Sal,Peepal, and Neem grow.
❖A large part of this region has been clearedfor cultivation and some parts are used forgrazing.
❖ In mountainous areas, the decrease in temperaturewith increasing altitude leads to the correspondingchange in natural vegetation. As such, there is asuccession of natural vegetation belts in the same orderas we see from the tropical to the tundra region.❖ The wet temperate type of forests are found betweena height of 1000 and 2000 metres. Here, evergreenbroadleaf trees such as oaks and chestnuts predominate.❖ Between 1500 and 3000 metres, temperate forestscontaining coniferous trees like pine, deodar, silver fir,spruce and cedar, are found . They cover mostly thesouthern slopes of the Himalayas, places having highaltitude in southern and northeast India.
❖ At higher elevations, temperate grasslands arecommon.❖ At high altitudes, generally more than 3,600metres above sea level, temperate forests andgrasslands give way to the Alpine vegetation.❖ Silver fir, junipers, pines and birches are thecommon trees of these forests.❖ They get progressively stunted as they approachthe snowline and are used extensively for grazing bynomadic tribes like the Gujjars and the Bakarwals.❖ At higher altitudes, mosses and lichens form partof tundra vegetation.
❖ It is found in the areas of coasts influenced bytides.❖ On such coasts mud and silt get accumulated.❖ The dense mangroves are the common varietieswith roots of the plants submerged under water.❖ The deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, theKrishna, the Godavari and the Kaveri are covered bysuch vegetation.❖ In the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, sundari treesare found, which provide durable hard timber.❖ Palm, coconut, keora, agar, also grow in someparts of the delta.
Tidal Forests
❖In regions with less than 70 cm of rainfall, the naturalvegetation consists of thorny trees and bushes.
❖ It is found in the north western part of the countryincluding semiarid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Haryana.
❖Acacias, palms, euphorbias and cacti are the mainplant species.
❖Trees are scattered and have long roots penetratingdeep into the soil in order to get moisture.
❖The stems are succulent to conserve water.
❖ The leaves are mostly thick and small to minimizeevaporation.
Thorny Desert
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