11
salt tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to live in harsh coastal conditions.
Mangroves contain a complex salt filtration system and complex root system to cope with salt water
immersion and wave action. They are adapted to the low oxygen (anoxic) conditions of waterlogged
mud. Presence of Mangrove ecosystems on coastline can save lives and property during natural
hazards like cyclones, storm surges and erosion, as well.
Mangroves Forests in India:
The mangrove tidal forests are found in the coastal areas influenced by tides. Dense mangroves are
the common varieties with roots of the plants submerged under water. The deltas of the Ganga, the
Mahanadi, the Krishna, the Godavari and the Kaveri are covered with mangrove vegetation.
Mangroves in India account for about three percent of the world's mangrove vegetation. The
following table shows the presence of mangroves in the different states of India and the total area
covered by them in square kilometres.
Table: Area under Forest Types and its Percentage of Total Recorded Forest Area
Sl.
No.
Forest Types
Area in
(Million
ha)
Percentage
of forest
Area
Occurrence in States/UTs of India
1. Tropical wet evergreen
forest
4.5 5.8 Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka,
Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland,
Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Andaman and
Nicobar islands and Goa
2. Tropical Semi
evergreen forest
1.9 2.5 Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra,
Nagaland, Orissa, T.N. Andaman &
Nicobar Islands and Goa
3. Tropical moist
deciduous forest
23.3 30.3 A.P., Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Kerala, M.P., Maharashtra, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland,
Orissa, T.N., U.P., West Bengal, Andaman
& Nicobar Islands, Goa, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli
4. Littoral and swamp
forest
0.7 0.9 A.P., Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, T.N.,
West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
5. Tropical dry deciduous
forest
29.4 38.2 A.P., Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, H.P.,
Karnataka, Kerala, M.P., Maharashtra, J &
K, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, T.N., U.P.,
6. Tropical Thorn forest 5.2 6.7 A.P., Gujarat, Haryana, H.P., M.P.,
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab,
Rajasthan, T.N., U.P.,
7. Tropical dry evergreen
forest
0.1 0.1 A.P., T.N
8. Subtropical broad-
leaved hill forest
0.3 0.4 Assam, Meghalaya
9. Subtropical pine forest 3.7 5.0 A.P., H.P., J & K, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Nagaland, Sikkim, U.P., Haryana and
Punjab
10. Subtropical dry
evergreen forest
0.2 0.2 H.P., and J & K
11. Motane wet temperate 1.6 2.0 A.P., Karnataka, Manipur, Nagaland,
Sikkim, T.N.