Natural Vegetation
1. Learning Objectives
After reading these notes, you will be able to:
2. Introduction
3. Types of Forests
🌳 (i) Tropical Evergreen & Semi Evergreen Forests
- Location: Western slope of Western Ghats, NE hills, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Climate: Annual rainfall > 200 cm; temp > 22°C
- Trees reach heights of 60 m or above
- No fixed season for shedding leaves → appear green all year
- Well stratified — layers of shrubs, creepers, short trees, tall trees
- Key species: Rosewood, Mahogany, Aini, Ebony
- Semi Evergreen: Less rainy parts; mix of evergreen + moist deciduous; species: White cedar, Hollock, Kail
🍂 (ii) Tropical Deciduous Forests
- Most widespread forests in India — also called Monsoon Forests
- Rainfall: 70–200 cm. Divided into Moist and Dry deciduous
- Moist Deciduous: Rainfall 100–200 cm; NE states, foothills of Himalayas, eastern slopes of Western Ghats, Odisha
Species: Teak, Sal, Shisham, Hurra, Mahua, Amla, Semul, Kusum, Sandalwood - Dry Deciduous: Rainfall 70–100 cm; rainier parts of Peninsula, UP & Bihar plains
Species: Tendu, Palas, Amaltas, Bel, Khair, Axlewood - In dry season, trees shed all leaves → forest looks like a vast grassland with naked trees
🌵 (iii) Tropical Thorn Forests
- Rainfall: Less than 50 cm
- Location: SW Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP, UP (semi-arid areas)
- Plants remain leafless for most of the year — scrub vegetation appearance
- Tussocky grass grows up to 2 m as undergrowth
- Key species: Babool, Ber, Wild date palm, Khair, Neem, Khejri, Palas
🌊 (v) Littoral and Swamp Forests
- India’s wetlands total area: 3.9 million hectares. About 70% is under paddy cultivation
- Mangroves grow in salt marshes, tidal creeks, mud flats and estuaries — salt-tolerant species
- India’s mangrove forests: 4,992 sq. km = 7% of world’s mangroves
- Best developed: Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Sunderbans (West Bengal)
- Other areas: Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna deltas
- Two Ramsar protected sites: Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur)
🏔️ (iv) Montane Forests
🌿 Northern Mountain Forests — Altitude-Wise Vegetation
Deciduous forests — like rest of plains
Wet temperate — Oak, Chestnut (broad leaf evergreen)
Pine forests — Chir Pine (commercial). Deodar (western Himalayas, durable wood)
Blue Pine, Spruce. Temperate grasslands also found
Alpine forests — Silver fir, Juniper, Pine, Birch, Rhododendron
Tundra — Mosses and Lichens only
Chinar & Walnut: Sustain famous Kashmir handicrafts.
Alpine pastures used for transhumance by tribes: Gujjars, Bakarwals, Bhotiyas, Gaddis.
Southern slopes of Himalayas have thicker vegetation due to higher precipitation.
🌿 Southern Mountain Forests
- Found in three areas: Western Ghats, Vindhyas, and Nilgiris.
- Elevation only ~1,500 m above sea level → temperate in higher areas, subtropical in lower.
- Temperate forests called Sholas in the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills.
- Economically important trees: Magnolia, Laurel, Cinchona, Wattle. Also found in Satpura and Maikal ranges.
4. Forest Conservation
🎯 Aims of the Forest Policy
- Bring 33% of geographical area under forest cover.
- Maintain environmental stability and restore ecological balance.
- Conserve natural heritage, biological diversity and genetic pool.
- Check soil erosion, desertification, and reduce floods and droughts.
- Increase forest cover through social forestry and afforestation on degraded land.
- Increase forest productivity — timber, fuel, fodder, food for rural population.
- Create a mass people’s movement involving women to plant trees and stop felling.
🌱 Social Forestry
🏙️ Urban Forestry
- Raising and managing trees on public and private lands in and around urban centres
- Green belts, parks, roadside avenues, industrial green belts
🌾 Rural Forestry
- Promotes Agro-forestry and Community forestry
- Agro-forestry: Raising trees + crops on same land → food, fodder, fuel, timber, fruit simultaneously
- Community forestry: Trees on village pasture, temple land, roadsides, canal banks, railway lines, schools
- Landless classes can also benefit from community forestry
🚜 Farm Forestry
- Farmers grow trees for commercial and non-commercial purposes on their farmlands
- Forest departments distribute seedlings free of cost to small and medium farmers
- Used on field margins, grasslands, pastures, land around homes
5. Wildlife
- India has about 4–5% of all known plant and animal species on earth.
- Reason for diversity: great diversity of ecosystems preserved and supported through the ages.
- Over the years, habitat has been disturbed → numbers have dwindled significantly.
⚠️ Reasons for Declining Wildlife
- Industrial and technological advancement → rapid exploitation of forest resources.
- Lands cleared for agriculture, settlement, roads, mining, reservoirs.
- Pressure on forests due to lopping for fodder and fuelwood.
- Grazing by domestic cattle — adverse effect on wildlife.
- Hunting taken as sport by elite; now commercial poaching is rampant.
- Incidence of forest fire.
6. Wildlife Conservation in India
- In 1972, a comprehensive Wildlife (Protection) Act was enacted — provides main legal framework for wildlife conservation.
- Two main objectives: (i) Protect endangered species listed in the Act; (ii) Provide legal support to National Parks, Sanctuaries and Closed Areas.
- Act amended comprehensively in 1991 — punishments made more stringent; protection extended to specified plant species.
- India has 107 National Parks and 573 Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- Special steps taken in collaboration with UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme.
🐾 Major Conservation Projects
🐯 Project Tiger (1973)
Launched in 1973 in 9 tiger reserves (16,339 sq. km). Now expanded to 58 tiger reserves covering 84,487 sq. km in 18 states.
Tiger population: 1,411 (2006) → 3,682 (2023) = more than 75% of global tiger population.
Objective: Ensure viable tiger population for scientific, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values.
🐘 Project Elephant (1992)
Launched in 1992 to assist states with free-ranging wild elephant populations.
Aimed at ensuring long-term survival of identified viable elephant populations in their natural habitat.
Being implemented in 18 states.
🐊 Crocodile Breeding Project
Launched for conservation and breeding of crocodiles in India.
🦌 Project Hangul & Himalayan Musk Deer
Conservation projects for the Kashmiri Stag (Hangul) and Himalayan Musk Deer.
7. Biosphere Reserves
Recognised by UNESCO (World Network): 12
📋 List of Biosphere Reserves (Bold = UNESCO recognised)
| No. | Name | Year | State/UT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nilgiri | 1986 | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka |
| 2 | Nanda Devi | 1988 | Uttarakhand |
| 3 | Nokrek | 1988 | Meghalaya |
| 4 | Manas | 1989 | Assam |
| 5 | Sunderban | 1989 | West Bengal |
| 6 | Gulf of Mannar | 1989 | Tamil Nadu |
| 7 | Great Nicobar | 1989 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
| 8 | Similipal | 1994 | Odisha |
| 9 | Dibru-Saikhowa | 1997 | Assam |
| 10 | Dehang Debang | 1998 | Arunachal Pradesh |
| 11 | Pachmarhi | 1999 | Madhya Pradesh |
| 12 | Khangchendzonga | 2000 | Sikkim |
| 13 | Agasthyamalai | 2001 | Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
| 14 | Achanakmar-Amarkantak | 2005 | Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh |
| 15 | Kachchh | 2008 | Gujarat |
| 16 | Cold Desert | 2009 | Himachal Pradesh |
| 17 | Seshachalam | 2010 | Andhra Pradesh |
| 18 | Panna | 2011 | Madhya Pradesh |
* Bold rows = Recognised by UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (12 total)
Summary — Quick Revision
Natural vegetation = plant community left undisturbed for a long time, adapts to climate and soil. India has 5 types of forests.
Tropical Evergreen: Rainfall >200 cm; trees up to 60 m; no fixed leaf-shedding; rosewood, mahogany, ebony. Always green.
Tropical Deciduous = most widespread; 70–200 cm rainfall. Moist (teak, sal, sandalwood) and Dry (tendu, palas, khair).
Tropical Thorn: Rainfall <50 cm; semi-arid areas; babool, ber, neem, khejri; plants leafless most of year.
Montane forests: Himalayan — vegetation changes with altitude (deciduous → temperate → pine → alpine → tundra). Sholas in Nilgiris.
Mangrove forests: 4,992 sq. km = 7% of world’s mangroves. Best in Sunderbans and A&N Islands. Chilika Lake & Keoladeo NP = Ramsar sites.
Forest Policy (1952, modified 1988): Target = 33% area under forest. Social Forestry = Urban + Rural + Farm.
India has 4–5% of world’s known species. Wildlife Act 1972 (amended 1991). 107 National Parks, 573 Sanctuaries.
Project Tiger (1973): 58 reserves, 84,487 sq. km, 18 states. Tiger population: 1,411 (2006) → 3,682 (2023) = 75% of global tigers.
Biosphere Reserves: 18 total in India. 12 UNESCO-recognised. Framework: UNESCO’s MAB Programme. Three objectives: Conservation, Development, Logistics.
Important Terms to Remember
- Natural Vegetation: Plant community left undisturbed for a long time to adjust to climate and soil as fully as possible.
- Tropical Evergreen Forest: Dense forests in areas with rainfall >200 cm; trees appear green throughout the year as there is no fixed season for shedding leaves.
- Tropical Deciduous Forest: Also called Monsoon forests; most widespread in India; trees shed leaves in the dry season. Rainfall 70–200 cm.
- Sholas: Temperate forests found in the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills of Southern India.
- Transhumance: Seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. Practiced by Gujjars, Bakarwals, Bhotiyas, Gaddis in Himalayan alpine pastures.
- Mangroves: Salt-tolerant plants that grow in tidal areas, estuaries, mud flats and salt marshes. India has 7% of world’s mangrove forests.
- Social Forestry: Management and protection of forests and afforestation on barren lands for environmental, social and rural development. Includes Urban, Rural and Farm forestry.
- Agro-forestry: Raising trees and agriculture crops on the same land — combines forestry with agriculture simultaneously.
- Community Forestry: Raising trees on public/community land (village pasture, roadside, canal bank, schools) for community benefit.
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Main legal framework for wildlife conservation in India. Amended in 1991 with stricter punishments.
- Project Tiger (1973): Conservation scheme for tigers — now covers 58 reserves in 18 states. Tiger count rose from 1,411 (2006) to 3,682 (2023).
- Biosphere Reserve: Unique representative ecosystem recognized under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme. India has 18; 12 are UNESCO-recognised.
- Ramsar Convention: International convention for protection of wetlands of international importance. Chilika Lake and Keoladeo National Park are India’s Ramsar sites.