TYPES OF FORESTS IN INDIA
India is a country of monsoon climate. Despite this, many types of natural vegetation are found here. The types of forests depend on the natural elements of the environment. The wide disparity in forests is found here due to large latitudinal extent, coastal spread, types of soils, asymmetric distribution of rainfall, mountain diversity and type of vegetation.
The Indian forests are mainly classified into six types on geographical basis:
1. Tropical Evergreen Forest
2. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest
3. Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest
4. Desert Forest
5. Mountain Forest
6. Mangrove or Tidal Forest
Tropical Evergreen Forest (Tropical Rain Forest)
This type of forest is found in those highly humid and hot parts of India where the average annual rainfall is more than 200 cm, relative humidity is more than 70 percent and average temperature is around 24 °C. These forests are very dense and high due to high temperature, high rainfall and relatively short dry season. The height of trees in these forests can be up to 60 meters or even more. These forests receive rainfall for most days of the year. As a result of excessive rainfall, trees do not shed their leaves and they remain green throughout the year, hence they are called evergreen forests.
Many species of trees are found in these forests. Although it is compared with the vegetation of the equatorial region but it is not completely equatorial because there is a lack of convective rainfall along with their latitudinal extents.
Tropical evergreen forests are found mainly in four regions of India -
1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands ;
2. The Terai region of the Himalayas;
3. Western Ghats and
4. Northeast India (Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura)
Features of Evergreen Forests
1. Trees of evergreen forests are tall.
2. These forests are very dense.
3. The wood of evergreen trees is very hard.
4. Diversity of fauna and flora is found.
Annual rainfall- 200 cm
Main Trees- Medicinal herbs and many other types of vegetation are found in these forests. The important trees found in these forests are rubber, mahogany, ebony, wild mango, cinchona, amaltas, palm, coconut, bamboo, cane and rosewood etc.
Importance of Evergreen Forests
The area of these forests is 46 lakh hectares. Since these forests are very dense and the wood of these forests is also very hard making it difficult to cut them, therefore, these forests are not very useful from the economic point of view. Nevertheless, in recent years a lot of emphasis is being laid on the planting of trees of commercial importance, among which rubber, palm oil and mahogany trees are prominent.
Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest (Monsoon Forest)
These forests are mostly found in those parts of the country where the annual average rainfall ranges between 100 to 200 cm. The height of trees in monsoon forests is generally between 30 to 45 meters. Its main areas extend to the eastern slopes of the Sahyadri or Western Ghats, the peninsular north-eastern plateau, the Bhabar and Terai along the Shivalik range in the north. The trees of these forests shed their leaves on the arrival of summer, hence they are also called autumn forests.
In the regions where there is prolonged drought in summer, the trees shed their leaves once a year. Monsoon forests are found in the interior parts of the country where there is seasonal rainfall by the monsoon winds. Monsoon forests are found on the largest area of the country (it's maximum area is in Madhya Pradesh). These forests are found throughout the plateau part of India (except Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and some areas of Telangana).
Mainly monsoon forests are found in four regions of India -
1. In the sub-Himalayan region from Punjab to Asom Himalaya on the outer and lower slopes;
2. In Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal;
3. In southern India from the east of the Western Ghats to the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and
4. On the slopes of the South Eastern Ghats.
Features of Monsoon Forests
1. The economic utility of timber from monsoon forests is high.
2. The wood of these forests is less hard than that of rain forests.
3. The demand for wood of these trees is high in India.
4. Sandalwood trees are found in small quantities in the trees of these forests.
Annual rainfall- 100-200 cm
Main Trees- The trees found in these forests are rosewood, sal, teak, mulberry, mango, olive, haldu, neem and sandalwood. Sandalwood is mainly found in Karnataka and Nilgiri Mountains.
Importance of Monsoon Forests
These forests are very important from the commercial point of view and are kept in the category of protected forests. Teak and Sal found in the northern region are the main and economically important trees of these forests. Apart from this, bamboo, rosewood, sandalwood, mahua, mulberry, mango and olive are also economically important trees. Bamboo is used in the paper industry. Tendu leaves are used in the beedi industry. Sandalwood is used for religious rituals and for skin related disorders.
These forests also has indirect benefits, such as silkworms are reared on the mulberry tree. The maximum rearing of silkworm is done in Karnataka. Apart from this, silkworm are also reared in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Lacquer bugs are found on Palash, Acacia and Peepal trees. India is the largest lacquer producing country in the world. For all these reasons, this forest of India has been considered as the most important from the economic point of view.
Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest
These types of forests are found in those areas where the average annual rainfall ranges from 70 to 100 cm. Due to the lack of rainfall and the heterogeneity of the climate, they lack tall trees. The height of these trees is only 6 to 9 meters. The roots of these trees are thick and long so that they can draw water deeper into the ground and keep it stored inside. In dry regions, these deciduous forests turn into thorn forests and shrubs. These forest areas pose a challenging problem due to excessive grazing.
The places where these forests are found in India include most parts of Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar, northern and western Madhya Pradesh, most parts of Maharashtra, northern Andhra Pradesh, central north-south narrow belt of Karnataka and eastern parts of Tamil Nadu.
Main Trees - In these forests, Rambans, Hawthorn, Acacia (Keekar), Khejri, Khair, Reetha, Kumta, Date etc. trees are prominent.
Desert Forest
These forests are found in places where annual rainfall is less than 70 cm. They are generally found in regions where long dry summers are observed. The bark of trees growing in the areas of low rainfall and desert, sandy, and plateau land is thick and rough. These forests are also known as thorn forests due to the vegetation being mostly thorny.
Desert forests are found in the dry parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and southern plateau.
Desert forests are mainly found in two areas -
1. Western India (Punjab, Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat)
2. Rain shadow region (Thorny bushes are found in a crescent shape from Indore in Madhya Pradesh to Kannur district of Andhra Pradesh.)
Features of Desert Forests
1. The main feature of these forests is that they are thorny.
2. Due to less rainfall here, the leaves of these trees get converted into thorns so that evaporation is very less and the trees can survive.
3. Found in dry and low rainfall areas.
Annual rainfall - Less than 70 cm
Main Trees- Kikar, Date palm, Acacia, Khejri are some of the major useful trees of these forests.
Importance of desert forests
These forests also have their own significance. Malaria medicine is made from the bark of the Khejri tree. Acacia tree is widely used from the point of view of health. Acacia trees are beneficial for teeth. At the same time, acacia tree is also helpful in getting relief from back pain.
Mountain Forest
Height plays an important role in these forest regions. As we move upwards in the mountain forests, the temperature drops. Due to the fall in temperature, glaciers are found on the summits of the mountains because here the rain falls in the form of snow. With an increase in altitude, the significant changes are observed in the weather and climate. Incidents like rain and snowfall are very frequent. According to the order of altitude in this region, a sequence from tropical to tundra vegetation is found. Therefore, the diverse vegetation from tropical to tundra is found here in increasing order of altitude.
On going upwards the Himalaya Mountains, different type of forests are found which are as follows-
Upto 1500 m altitude - Tropical evergreen and deciduous forests are found up to an altitude of 1500 m.
From 1500 m to 2500 m - Temperate broad-leaf forests are found. Under this, mainly trees named oak, birch, cedar and maple are found.
From 2500 m to 4500 m - Coniferous forests are found, which are also called gymnosperms because they contain cone and naked seeds. Pine, deodar, spruce and bluepine trees are found under the coniferous forest.
From 4500 m to 4800 m - Tundra forests are seen at such a higher altitude. Tundra vegetation is the grass growing in the snowy region, which includes moss, moss, lichen etc.
Altitude more than 4800 m - Vegetation is not found at higher altitude than this.
Mangrove Forest (Tidal Forest)
These are also called delta and swampy forests. These forests are found in marshy areas along the seashore and in the deltaic areas of rivers. The effect of salinity of sea water is very high on these forests because the bark of the trees of these forests is saline and the wood is hard. Mangrove forests are found more on the eastern coast and in small quantities in Gujarat. These forests grow in the deltas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari, and Kaveri rivers. Due to the abundance of Sundari trees, the coastal forests of West Bengal (forests of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta) are called Sunderbans. Sunderban is the largest tidal forest of the world.
Apart from the Sunderbans, the tidal forest includes palm forests found in the coastal region of Tamil Nadu and coconut forests found in the western coastal plain. Coconut forests are also found intensively between Brahmani and Mahanadi deltas, between Krishna and Kaveri deltas and in the Kutch region of Gujarat.
Features of Mangrove Forest
1. The main feature of tidal forests is that their bark is saline and the wood is hard because of being submerged in sea water.
2. Their roots are raised upwards.
3. In these forests there is an abundance of trees called mangroves, hence these are also called mangrove forests.
Major Trees- The trees found in these forests are Mangrove, Sundari, Palm, Coconut, Casuarine and Phoenix.
Importance of Mangrove Forests
1. These forests are an important part of coastal ecology. They protect the coast from sea erosion.
2. Boats are made from the wood of these forests because they do not rot in water. Their bark is used to rub leather.
3. Mangrove forests act as initial nursery for many aquatic animals.
4. These forests protect the people living in the coastal areas from tsunamis and cyclones.
5. They are often used in making medicine.
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