Natural Vegetation : UPSC / HCS
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Natural Vegetation : UPSC / HCS
Vegetation refers to the plants collectively found in a particular area or habitat. Vegetation is a broader term than flora, which means plant diversity of an area. There are different factors affecting natural vegetation. This article will take you through the following contents:
- Introduction
- Factors affecting natural vegetation
- Types of vegetation changes with annual rainfall
- Types of forests
INTRODUCTION
- Vegetation refers to the plants collectively found in a particular area or habitat.
- Vegetation is a broader term than flora, which means plant diversity of an area.
- Natural vegetation refers to a plant community that has been left undisturbed over a long time, so as to allow its individual species to adjust themselves to climate and soil conditions as fully as possible.
- That is why crops are not included in the natural vegetation.
- Virgin vegetation-Undisturbed by the human beings and it can be found in the area where human reach is not possible like Himalayan region and Sunderban delta region.
- Endemic vegetation- The virgin vegetation is only found in India.
- Exotic vegetation- the virgin vegetation which has come from outside of India.
- India occupies tenth place in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity- about 15,000 flowering plants in India which account for 6% of the world’s total number of flowering plants.
Factors affecting natural vegetation
A. Relief:
Land: Affects the natural vegetation directly and indirectly
- Fertile land --for agriculture
- Undulating and rough terrains -- For grasslands and woodlands and give shelter to a variety of wildlife
Soil:
- sandy soils -- support cactus and thorny bushes
- wet, marshy, deltaic soil --mangroves and deltaic vegetation
B. Climate
Temperature:
- Temperature falls with Height and affects the type of vegetation and its growth, and changes it from tropical to subtropical temperate and alpine vegetation.
Photoperiod (Sunlight):
- sunlight varies at different places due to differences in latitude, altitude, season, and duration of the day.
- Due to the longer duration of sunlight, trees grow faster in sunlight
Precipitation:
Areas of heavy rainfall have more dense vegetation as compared to other areas of less rainfall.
Type of Vegetation changes with Annual Rainfall.
200 cm or more--Evergreen Rain Forests
100 to 200 cm---Monsoon Deciduous Forests
50 to 100 cm---Drier Deciduous or Tropical Savanna
25 to 50 cm---Dry Thorny Scrub(Semi-arid)
Below 25 cm---Desert (Arid)
On the basis of certain common features such as predominant vegetation type and climatic regions.
Indian forests can be divided into the following groups:
- Tropical forests
- Montane forests
- Alpine forest
Tropical forest
Tropical forest further divided into
Moist Tropical Forests
- Tropical Wet Evergreen
- Tropical Semi-Evergreen
- Tropical Moist Deciduous
Dry Tropical Forests
- Tropical Dry Evergreen
- Tropical Dry Deciduous
- Tropical Thorn
Tropical wet evergreen forest
- The trees of these forests do not shed their leaves together.
- The tropical rain forest appears like a thick canopy of foliage, broken only where it is crossed by large rivers or cleared for cultivation.
- The sunlight cannot reach the ground due to the thick canopy.
- The undergrowth is formed mainly of bamboos, ferns, climbers, orchids, etc.
Climatic conditions:
- Annual rainfall exceeds 250 cm
- The annual temperature=25°-27°C
Distribution
- The western side of the Western Ghats Some regions in the Purvanchal hills.
- In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Timber
- Hardwood: The timber of these forests is fine-grained, hard, and durable.
- It has high commercial value but it is highly challenging to exploit due to dense undergrowth, absence of pure stands and lack of transport facilities ·
- The important species of these forests are rosewood, mahogany, aini, ebony, etc.
Tropical semi-evergreen forest
- Transitional forests between tropical wet evergreen forests and tropical deciduous forests.
- Comparatively drier areas than tropical wet evergreen forests.
Climatic Conditions
- Annual rainfall is 200-250 cm
- The dry season is not short like in tropical wet evergreen forests.
Distribution
The western coast, Assam, Lower slopes of the Eastern Himalayas, Odisha, and Andamans.
Characteristics
- The semi-evergreen forests are less dense.
- The main species are white cedar, hollock, and kail.
- Trees usually have buttressed trunks with abundant epiphytes.
Tropical moist deciduous
- also called the monsoon forests
Climatic Conditions
- Annual rainfall 100 to 200 cm.
- Mean annual temperature=27°C
Characteristics
- The trees drop their leaves during the spring and early summer when sufficient moisture is not available.
- The general appearance is bare in extreme summers (April-May).
- These forests occupy a much larger area than the evergreen forests but large tracts under these forests have been cleared for cultivation.
Distribution
- In northeastern states along the foothills of the Himalayas, eastern slopes of the Western Ghats
- Hills of eastern Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Chota Nagpur plateau, Odisha, Parts of West Bengal, and Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- The main species found in these forests are teak, sal, amla, Jamun, bamboo, shisham, hurra, mahua, Kusum, and sandalwood, etc.
Tropical dry evergreen
Distribution
- Along the coasts of Tamil Nadu.
Climatic Conditions
- Annual rainfall of 100 cm(mostly from the north-east monsoon winds in October-December)
- Mean annual temperature = 28°C.
- The growth of evergreen forests in areas of such low rainfall is a bit strange
Characteristics
- Short statured trees, up to 12 m high, with complete canopy.
- The important species are Jamun, tamarind, neem, etc.
Tropical dry deciduous
Climatic Conditions
- Annual rainfall is 70-100 cm.
Characteristics
- Similar to tropical moist deciduous forests and shed their leaves in the dry season with the only difference that they can grow in areas of comparatively less rainfall.
- They represent a transitional type – moist deciduous on the wetter side and thorn forests on the drier side.
- The forests are composed of a mixture of a few species of deciduous trees rising up to a height of 20 meters.
Distribution
- found in rainier areas of the Peninsula and the plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan.
- The important species are teak, axlewood, rosewood, common bamboo, red sanders, laurel, satinwood, etc.
Tropical thorn forest
Climatic Conditions
- Annual rainfall less than 50 cm.
- The mean temperature is 25°-30°C.
Characteristics
- The trees are low (6-10 meters maximum) and widely scattered.
- consist of a variety of grasses and shrubs.
- scrub vegetation found here.
- Important species found are babool, ber, and wild date palm, Khair, neem, khejri, palas, etc.
Distribution
Semi-arid areas of southwest Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh
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