Biogeographical Zones of India: Its flora & Fauna.pptx

This PPT gives a pictorial explanation of ten major biogeographical zones of India and the flora and fauna present in it.

1. Bio-geographical Zone of India Dr. K. Ramesh Kumar Assistant Professor

2. India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity country in the world. It has most biogeographic regions that have a wide range of topography from snow covered Himalayas ranges to deserts, from almost rainless areas to world’s highest rainfall areas. A variety of climatic and altitudinal variations coupled with various ecological habitats have contributed immensely to the rich vegetation wealth and varied flora and fauna generating a unique biodiversity in India.

3. Vegetation- Sparse alpine steppe and endemism is hig h. Herbivorous Community Carnivore Community Wild Yak Tibetan Ass Four horned Antelope Gazelle Snow Leopard Tibetan Wolf Royles Pika Black necked crane- Most distinctive bird

4. There are 3 distinct sub-zones with characteristic flora and fauna : Himalayan foothills 2. Western Himalayas 3. Eastern Himalayas 1. Himalayan foothills : Extends from Eastern frontiers of Kashmir –Assam 2. Western Himalayas: Extends from North western regions of Kashmir-central region of Kashmir There are 3 zones of vegetation corresponding to 3 climatic belts : A)Tropical/Sub montane region: Represents regions from 1000-5000ft above sea level Trees like ; Shorea robusta , Dalbergia sisso , Ficus glomerata In isolated patches of grasses, Acacia catechu are present In dry belt towards west, Shorea robusta is replaced by xerophytes like zizyphus , Acacia Pinus roxburghii begins to appear at 3000-5000ft

5. Shorea robusta Dalbergia sisso Ficus glomerata Pinus roxburghii

6. B ) Temperate/ Montane zone: Represents regions from 5000-11,675ft above sea level. Vegetation : coniferous pine forests, rhododendrons, dwarf hill bamboos, birch forests. e.g : Pinus longifolia , Quercus incana , Q. dialata , Rhododendron companulatum . In dry areas (Punjab) wheat and barley are cultivated, while in wet areas like Kashmir rice is a common crop along with apples, peaches, walnuts etc . Fauna : wild ass, wild goat (that, markhor , ibex types), blue sheep, hangul , snow leopard , wolf, chiru ( tibetian antelope ) Birds: morals, western tragophan , ravens, Himalayan white crested khalji .

7. c) Alpine zone Represents areas 12,000ft above sea level-plants are generally dwarf, with cushion shaped shrubs and grasses. Above 15,000ft plant growth is almost nil. Lower zones have Rhododendrons and junipers & above this zone Primula , Polygonum are present . Pinus longifolia Quercus incana Rhododendrons Primula

8. 3 . Eastern Himalayas It extends from Sikkim to NEFA ( North-East Frontier Agency, a political division of British India and later the Republic of India). Vegetation is similar to western Himalayas, but they have high tropical elements, greater variety of oak & rhododendrons but has less conifers. It is also divided into 3 zones : Montane zone: Above 6000ft-Warm and humid-Weather is dense. Forests of Shorea robusta , Dalbergia sisso , Acacia catechu, Sterospermum , Cedrela toona . B ) Temperate zone: Between 6000-12000 ft. Vegetation : Oaks, magnolias, junipers, dwarf bamboos, lichens, mosses.- Quercus lineata Fauna : Red panda, crestless porcupines, goal antelope C) Alpine zone: Above 12,000ft-The vegetation here is devoid of trees, only shrubby growth of junipers and rhododendrons is found.- Rainfall is high

9. Acacia catechu Crestless porcupines Sterospermum Junipers

10. The Thar desert of western India and Eastern Pakistanis of relatively of recent formation . Biogeographically it is the eastward extension of the Sahara-Arabian Desert System which spreads through Iran, Afghanistan and Baluchistan. It consists of parts of Rajasthan, Kutch, Delhi and parts of Gujarat . Climate : very hot n summer and cold in winters . Rainfall : less than 400mm. Flora: the plants are mostly xerophytic : thorny trees with reduced leaves- cactus etc. Acacia nelotica , Saccharum munja . Lack of cacti is the main feature of Indian desert. Prosopia juliflora are becoming increasingly widespread . Fauna: mostly burrowing ones. Among mammals rodents are the largest group. Desert lizards include agamids , lacertids , geckos. Birds: great Indian bustard. The wild ass (a distinct sub sp.) is now confined to ran of kutch .

11. The desert fox, desert cat, honbara bustard are only found in Thar . The desert cat is found all over Rajasthan & Kutch but extensive killing for its skin has made it rare and endangered. Flamingos find breeding sites only in Rann of Kutch. Acacia nelotica Prosopia juliflora Great Indian bustard Wild Ass Desert Cat Agamids

12. The Semi Arid Zone occupies India's 17% region. This area has some of the most productive agricultural areas in Punjab & Haryana also a large proportion of total livestock population. One part of this zone surrounds desert zone of western Gujarat and Rajasthan . Other part consist of rain shadow areas behind the Western ghats . The semi arid regions with their grasses and shrubs support generally the wild life with large biomass . Endemism is low .· Pure Anogeissus pendula forest community occurs only in this zone . Fauna : Asiatic lion, blackbuck, chowsingha , gazelle, caracal, jackal. Anogeissus pendula Caracal Asiatic lion

13. One of the hotspots of India, extends from Kanyakumari to the hills south of river Tapti . Moist evergreen forests are most extensive in Western Ghats. This zone shows exceptionally rich biodiversity, with 4,000sp. Of higher plants (27% India's 15,000sp.)1,800 endemic sp. ( i.e 2/3rd of India's endemic sp .) It has the highest vertebrate sp. In India. Rainfall is heavy i.e more than 2000mm & can exceed 5000mm in some areas . On hill slopes, forests have been cleared for tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cardamom plantation . Huge river system of peninsular India is used for hydroelectricity generation & irrigation schemes . Some endangered species: Travancore tortoise, Cane turtle . Other Fauna : Nilgiri langur , lion tailed macaque, the spiny dormouse, the grizzeled giant squirrel, Malabar civert , hornbills.

14. Travancore tortoise Lion tailed macaque Spiny dormouse Grizzled giant squirrel Malabar civert Hornbills

15. It is the largest in area covering 42% of India. Under Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa . It contains a no. of south India's main river system: Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Godavari. It is home for deciduous forests, thorn forests, and degraded shrub lands . Evergreen forests occur in small areas . Northern half is rich in precious timber species of India. E.g Sal ( Shoea robusta ) and Teak ( Tectona grandis ) Southern half has generally drier thorn forests . Fauna : Chital, sambar , nilgai , chowsingha , gharials . Rusty spotted cat and wolf occur in some areas in low number. Tectona grandis Chital Gharials

16. This region comprises U.P, Bihar, Bengal i.e. the most fertile region stretching from Yamuna river to eastwards U.P, Bihar, Bengal, and coastal plains of Odisha also in Nepal tarai , Bangladesh and coastal Myanmar. It varies from great aridity in west (less than 50 mm of rainfall) to great moistness in the east(more than 2000 mm of rainfall). Lack of endemism is the characteristic wildlife feature due to clearing of land for agriculture. Flora- Dalbergia , Madhuca indicia, Terminalia arjuna , Ficus religiosa . I n Gangetic delta region- extreme swampy and halophytic vegetation is common where dominant species are Rhizophora conjugate, etc. Fauna- Centuries ago the area was rich in wildlife but,maximum of them have eliminated due to expansion of agriculture, increase in the density of human population etc. However the western area still hold population of Nilgai , Black Buck, Chinkara . The rhino, Bengal florican and Hispid Hare reman less in number in the tarai region.

17. Madhuca indicia Terminalia arjuna Nilgai Black Buck

18. It is also one of the hotspots of the country, richest in species and endemics. About 40% of the land in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura is dominated by forests . It represents the transition zone between Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese region as well is also the meeting place of Himalayan Mountains and Peninsular India. Botanically Khasi-Jiantia hills of Meghalaya have one of the richest sp. Diversity in Asia . Only North East has full richness of large herbivore fauna: Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, deer, Hog deer, Pygmy hog and Hispid hare. Pygmy hog Hispid hare

19. Because of isolation from the mainland, Endemism is high. Mammal fauna is poor; has most of the sp. Of rodents, and some exotic mammals like Andaman pig have naturalized other native mammals; Nicobar macaque, tree shrew, Narcobium hornbill, salt water crocodile Fish and coral communities are very rich like dolphins and whales. Nicobar long-tailed macaque Salt water crocodile

20. Mangroves with great variety of estuaries, lagoons and deltas. Sandy beaches including plant communities like casuarina calophylum pandamus . Mud flats with a range of successional stages. Raised coral and rocky coastlines. Marine angiosperms. Animals-dugong, hump-back dolphin of turbid estuarine water, the huge soft estuarine turtle. Dugong Hump-back dolphine