Geography Notes - for Competitive Exams

Part - 16 (Forests and Wildlife of India)

Extent of Forest in India: According to the latest report of Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2019, the total forest cover of the country is 7,12,249 sq km which is 21.67% of the geographical area of the country.

Forest Policy of India envisages that at least 33 per cent of the total area in the country should be under forests. The proportion of forest area to the total area varies from more than 90 per cent in Andaman and Nicobar islands to less than 10 per cent in Haryana. Other States/UTs with over 50 per cent of their reporting area under forests include Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.

World Forest Day is celebrated on March 21.

During the sixth five year plan, Government introduced the scheme of "social forestry" with the intention to increase area under forests.

The term natural vegetation usually excludes planted to cultivated vegetation. The natural vegetation of India can be divided into following types, 1. Evergreen Forests 2. Deciduous Forests 3. Dry Forests 4. Hill Forests 5. Tidal Forests

1. Evergreen Forests: Found in areas receiving over 200 cm rainfall, they cover the Western Ghats and hilly areas in northeastern India, mainly in the sub-Himalayan belt. Trees typical of these forests are hard woods such as teak, rosewood, ebony and ironwood. Bamboo is also commonly found. The trees in these forests are very tall and they support a lot of epiphytes.

2. Deciduous Forests: Found in areas receiving a rainfall of 150 to 200 cm, deciduous forests cover the larger parts of the peninsular region. Trees like teak, Sal, Sandalwood and rosewood grow well. Due to seasonality of precipitation, the trees here shed their leaves in dry season. These forests are very important from a commercial point of view. They are a source of good quality timber.

3. Dry Forests: Found in areas receiving a rainfall of 75 to 100 cm. Areas under this type of vegetation are the semi-desert region of Rajasthan and the southern parts of Punjab and Haryana. Thorny trees and bushes are dominant forms of vegetation in these areas.

4. Hill Forests: Hill Forests are also called Montane Forests. These forests cover higher reaches of hills in southern India and the Himalayas. Since altitude is an important control of climate, the character of vegetation in upland areas changes with elevation. The foothills zone of the Siwaliks is covered by tropical moist deciduous forests of Sal and Bamboo etc. Between 1000 and 2000 metres above the sea level are found the wet hill forests of oak and chestnut and some pine forests. This zone is followed by the zone of coniferous forests between 1600 and 3300 metres. The dominant trees in coniferous forests are pine, deodar, silver fir and spruce. Above the coniferous forests extend the alpine forests of silver fir, birch etc., above an altitude of 3600 metres. They are followed by the alpine grasslands and scrub. Thus the zonation of vegetation in the mountainous regions is vertical and all types of vegetation from tropical to tundra type are found in these regions.

5. Tidal Forests: The estuaries of large rivers like the Ganga and Mahanadi support the littoral type of vegetation (Littoral refers to the shallow water zone of the sea, mainly the continental shelf). Most trees in these forests are those that can grow in marshy conditions. Sundri tree is an example of trees growing in such environments. These forests are also known as Mangrove Forests. Apart from West Bengal and Orissa, mangrove forests are also found in Achra Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Coondapur (Karnataka), Pichavaram (Tamil Nadu) and Vembanad (Kerala).