TYPES OF FORESTS IN INDIA
Indian forests perform an important role to make a healthy environment and it reduce air
pollution. About *21.67%* of total Indian area is covered with forests.
These forests can be classified into 5 major groups.
1) Moist tropical forest.
2) Dry tropical forest
3) Montane subtropical forest.
4) Montane temperate forest
5) Alpine forest
1).*MOIST
TROPICAL FOREST*
Where the amount of annual rainfall ranges between *200 and 259* cm
*CLIMATIC CONDITIONS* :
The mean annual temperature lies between 24 and 270C and humidity percentage is 80. The evergreen forests degenerates into semi evergreen forests
• *PLANT VARIETIES*
•Important plant verities includes bamboos, epiphytes, hopea, ben teak, kadam irul, rosewood,bijasal, kusum, bonsum etc
• *ANIMAL VARIETIES*
The common animals found in these forests are elephants,
monkey, lemur and deer. The one-horned rhinoceros are found in the jungles of
Assam and West Bengal. Besides these animals, plenty of birds, bats, sloth,
scorpions and snails are also found in these jungles.
This type of forests are found along the western coast, in upper Assam, lower slopes of the Eastern Himalaya, Orissa coast and neighboring hills.
2).*TROPICAL DRY FOREST*
•The tropical and subtropical dry forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Deciduous trees predominate in most of these forests, and during the drought a leafless period occurs, which varies with species type.
•Coastal Dry Forests are a unique ecosystem with high levels of endemism (containing many species found nowhere else).
• *CLIMATIC CONDITIONS*
Seasonally dry tropical forests generally occur in the same tropical wet and dry climate type associated with tropical savannas. Dry forests in which most trees lose their leaves in the dry season receive 32-71 cm of rain a year, with 5 consecutive months averaging less than 4 inches each.
• *KIND OF PLANTS IN TROPICAL DRY FOREST*
Succulents and epiphytes are also well adapted to the tropical dry forest. Cacti, orchids, and bromeliads are common. One well known species is the bridal veil stinkhorn; a fungus. Bromeliads and orchids collect leaf litter and water in their leaf bases.
• *KIND OF ANIMALS IN TROPICAL DRY
FOREST*
Monkeys, large cats, parrots, various rodents, and ground dwelling birds. Many of these species display extraordinary adaptations to the difficult climate.
• *Most endangered species*
Giraffe species, Komodo Dragon, Sloth Bear, Kingfishers.
•The tropical dry deciduous forests lie in central India including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh. They are also joined with other states including Maharashtra and Telangana. They are found in the northern to southern regions except the Western Ghats and West Bengal.
3).*MONTANE TEMPERATE FOREST*
•These forests lie above 1500 m on the slopes of the Nilgiris, Anaimalais, Palnis, Eastern Himalaya and Assam hills (1860-2850 m.).
• *CLIMATIC CONDITIONS*:
Annual rainfall more than 150 cm, average annual temperature 18°C with freezing point during winter months (December-February), and dense fog.
•In south India these forests are locally called Sholas which are dense (tree height 15-18 m) with much under-growth and many epiphytes, mosses and ferns.
• *KIND OF PLANTS IN MONTANE TEMPERATE FOREST*
Magnolia (Magnolia glandifora), Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum), Rhododendron, plane (Platanus orientalis), Elm (Ulmus), Prunus and plum are common plant species.
Cinchona, wattle and eucalyptus have been introduced from outside. In North India, oak, chestnut and laurel are common tree varieties.
• *ANIMALS IN MONTANE TEMPERATE FOREST*
Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus species), Gibbons (Hylobatidae family), langurs (species), gibbons (Colobinae subfamily) and macaques (Macaca species) are found in both lowland and montane forests. Undisturbed areas can even support such large mammals as the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).
•These types of forests are found in the state of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh etc.
4.*MONTANE SUBTROPICAL FORESTS*
•They are found in hilly areas having a high altitude.The wet temperate forests are found between 1000-2000 meters.
• *CLIMATIC CONDITIONS*
Climate which gets colder as the elevation increases. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands, shrublands or alpine tundra.
• *PLANT VARIETIES*
Some significant trees of montane sub tropical forest are poonspar (Calophyllum polyanthum), cinnamon, rhododendron, sal, sandan, laburnum, pomegranate, olive, oleander, etc.
• *ANIMAL VARIETIES*
Kashmir stag, snow leopard, spotted deer, jack rabbit, wild sheep, Tibetan antelope, yak, shaggy horn wild ibex, rare red panda etc.
•These forests can be found in the higher hilly areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, also in the region of Eastern Himalayas to the east of 88°E longitude including the hills of Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
5 *ALPINE FOREST*
The Alpine forests occur all along the Himalayas at altitudes ranging between 2,900 to 3,500 m or even up-to 3800 m above sea level, depending upon the location and the variety of species.
• *CLIMATIC CONDITIONS*
Climatic conditions vary from the sub-arctic to arctic, with snow covering the ground for over 5 months a year.The mean temperatures recorded at an altitude of 12,300 feet in July is 48°F. The average temperatures that have been recorded in the months of January and December are around 9°F at the same altitude.
• *PLANT VARIETIES*
These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. Alpine plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, wind, drought, poor nutritional soil, and a short growing season.
• *ANIMAL VARIETIES*
Mountain goats, sheep, elk, beetles, grasshoppers and butterflies,Large mammals include the snow leopard (Uncia uncia), Bharal or Himalayan blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), takin (Budorcas taxicolor), Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster), Himalayan goral (Nemorhaedus baileyi), and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar).
•Both the exploitable and potentially exploitable forests
occur in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Western Ghats, Satpura, Maikal,
Chota Nagpur plateau, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Orissa and adjoining areas
of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Thank you
Author
NANDANA
RAJU
Semester
3,
BSc
Botany
Government College Kottayam
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