Vegetation in India

vegetation and types found in India..a short view by Shubham and Gautam

1. Savitribai Phule Pune University Department of GEOGRAPHY VEGETATION IN INDIA AND MAHARASHTRA Subject teacher:- mr . aniket adsul Preseted by :- Gautam mairale

2. What is Natural Vegetation? Natural vegetation refers to a plant community which has grown naturally without human aid. They have been left undisturbed by humans for a long time. We call this natural vegetation . Thus , cultivated crops and fruits, orchards form part of vegetation but not natural vegetation.

3. F actors that impact the vegetation in our country. The Climate of the Region -Temperature and humidity determine the character and extent of vegetation. The precipitation and soil also play a major role in determining the degree of vegetation. Therefore, various places in India have various vegetation patterns . -Photoperiod also affects the vegetation of a place. It is the variation in duration of sunlight at different places due to differences in latitude, altitude, season and duration of the day. Hence, depending on the photoperiod, you get different kinds of vegetation at different places. Now, we will look at the various types of vegetation.

4. Types of V egetation in India Tropical Rain Forests Tropical Deciduous Forests The Thorn Forests and Scrubs Montane Forests Mangrove Forests

5. Tropical Rain Forests These forests are restricted to heavy rainfall areas of the Western Ghats and the island groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of Assam and Tamil Nadu coast . They are at their best in areas having more than 200 cm of rainfall with a short dry season. The trees reach great heights up to 60 meters or even above. Some of the commercially important trees of this forest are ebony, mahogany, rosewood, rubber and cinchona.

6. Tropical Rain Forests

7. Tropical Deciduous Forests These are the most widespread forests of India. They are the monsoon forests and spread over the region receiving rainfall between 200 cm and 70 cm. Trees of this forest-type shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer . These forests exist, therefore, mostly in the eastern part of the country – northeastern states, along with the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkhand, West Orissa and Chhattisgarh, and on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. Teak is the most dominant species of this forest. Bamboos, sal , shisham , sandalwood, khair , Kusum , Arjun, mulberry are other commercially important species.

8. Tropical Deciduous Forests

9. The Thorn Forests and Scrubs In regions with less than 70 cm of rainfall, the natural vegetation of India consists of thorny trees and bushes. This type of vegetation is found in the north-western part of the country including semi-arid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Acacias, palms, euphorbias and cacti are the main plant species. Trees are scattered and have long roots penetrating deep into the soil in order to get moisture.

10. The Thorn Forests and Scrubs

11. Montane Forests In mountainous areas, the decrease in temperature with increasing altitude leads to the corresponding change in natural vegetation of India. You can find the wet temperate type of forests between a height of 1000 and 2000 metres . Evergreen broad-leaf trees such as oaks and chestnuts predominate. Between 1500 and 3000 meters, you can find the temperate forests containing coniferous trees like pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce, and cedar.

12. Montane Forests

13. Mangrove Forests W e can find the mangrove tidal forests in the areas of coasts influenced by tides. Mud and silt get accumulated on such coasts. Dense mangroves are the common varieties with roots of the plants submerged under water. You can find these in the deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Krishna, the Godavari and the Kaveri .

14. Mangrove Forests

15. Natural Vegetation in India

16. Vegetation in Maharashtra Maharashtra is the third largest state in India can be divided into three natural regions; The Maharashtra plateau, the Sahyadri range and the Konkan coastal strip. The vegetation of Maharashtra are related to the climate and the geology; although the dominant physical trait of the state is its plateau character. 

17. The vegetation mainly consists of forests in the eastern region and the Sahyadri Ranges,the Satpura Ranges and the Chandrapur region. Shrub jungles pre-dominate the plateaux . The coastal region of the Konkan Coast has paddy fields as the vegetation. The coastal belt consists of eminent trees like the mango and the coconut and shrubs.  The forests have a very high value because they yield teak, bamboo, etc . the vegetation is rich in areas which have a good annual rainfall. Thick evergreen deciduous forests cover 17% of the land of Maharashtra. 

18. Maharashtra has five forest types 1. Southern Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests 2. Southern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests i ) Moist Teak bearing Forests ii ) Moist Mixed deciduous Forests 3. Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests i ) Dry Teak Bearing Forests ii ) Dry Mixed Forests 4. Southern Tropical Thorn Forests 5. Littoral and Swamp Forests

19. 1. Southern Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests Forests of this type occur mostly on upper hill slope from 450 meters to 1050 metres above the m.s.l . in Western Ghats.

20. 2. Southern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests Two main sub-types occur under this group . i) Moist Teak bearing Forests Important and valuable forests of the State from commercial view point, these are mainly confined to Project Tiger area in Melghat region of Amrawati district, Chandrapur , Gadhchiroli and Thane districts etc . ii) Moist Mixed deciduous Forests: Teak is present occasionally and the evergreen component of species is larger than in case of Teak bearing forests.

21. 3. Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests Forests falling in this group occupy a major part of state. Main specie being Tectona grandis (Teak), these forests produce middle and small size timber. Following are the main forest sub-types. i) Dry Teak Bearing Forests: ii ) Dry Mixed Forests: Teak is present occasionally and the evergreen component of species is larger than in case of Teak bearing forests.

22. 4. Southern Tropical Thorn Forests: Under this forest type fall the forests of the low rainfall areas of Marathwada , Vidarbha , Khandesh and Western Maharashtra. Majorities of these forests are heavily degraded due to low fertility coupled with low rainfall. These forests are full of Euphorbia and Cassia scrub.

23. 5. Littoral and Swamp Forests: The littoral and swamp forests occur along the creeks and littoral in Sindhudurg and Thane district. Although their comparative extent in the State is marginal, these forests are important for protection of seacoast and marine life.