Natural Vegetation and Wildlife PDF

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Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Just Padhle  SUBSCRIBE Subscribe JUST PADHLE and Press the Bell Icon to get access to these amazing lectures & content! TARGET 125K  TRIUMPH BATCH C la s s 9 t h in ON E GO! Access the Triumph Batch on Doubtnut App completely FREE Practice Ques HW Lecture S lides Chapter Tes ts Ad-Free Experience  Natural Vegetation and Wildlife INTRODUCTION ❖India is one of the 12 mega bio-diversity countries of the world. ❖With about 47,000 plant species India occupies tenth place in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. ❖India also has approximately 90,000 species of animals, as well as, a rich variety of fish in its fresh and marine waters. ❖Flora and Fauna  Natural vegetation ❖Virgin vegetation Plant community that has grown naturally without human aid and has been left undisturbed by humans for a long time - virgin vegetation SIROI LILY ALPINE FLOWER Endemic or indigenous species Exotic plants.  Relief Land ❖ Nature of land - influences the type of vegetation. ❖ Fertile level is generally devoted to agriculture. ❖ The undulating and rough terrains are areas where grassland and woodlands develop and give shelter to a variety of wildlife.  Relief Soil ✓Different types of soils - basis for different types of vegetation. ✓Sandy soils of the desert support cactus and thorny bushes, while wet, marshy, deltaic soils support mangroves and deltaic vegetation. ✓Hill slopes with some depth of soil have conical trees.  Climate Temperature ✓Slopes of the Himalayas and the hills of the Peninsula above the height of 915 metres, the fall in the temperature affects the types of vegetation and its growth, and changes it from tropical to subtropical temperate and alpine vegetation.  Climate Photoperiod ✓The variation in duration of sunlight at different places is due to differences in latitude, altitude, season and duration of the day. Due to longer duration of sunlight, trees grow faster in summer.  Importance of Forests ✓Renewable resources ✓modify local climate ✓control soil erosion ✓regulate stream flow ✓support a variety of industries ✓provide livelihood for many communities ✓offer panoramic/scenic view for recreation. ✓control wind force and temperature and cause rains. ✓provide humus to the soil and shelter to the wildlife  Types of Vegetation Major types of vegetation: (i) Tropical Evergreen Forests (ii) Tropical Deciduous Forests (iii) Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs (iv) Montane Forests (v) Mangrove Forests  TROPICAL EVERGREEN FORESTS MAIN POINTS TROPICAL EVERGREEN FORESTS RAINFALL Found in areas having more than 200 cm of rainfall with a short dry season. HEIGHT Upto 60 metres or even above FOUND IN AREAS Western Ghats, island groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of Assam and Tamil Nadu coast LEAVE SHEDDING No definite time for trees to shed their leaves. TREES Ebony, mahogany, rosewood, rubber and cinchona ANIMALS Elephant, monkey, lemur and deer. One horned rhinoceroses, plenty of birds, bats, sloth, scorpions and snails  TROPICAL EVERGREEN FORESTS ❖Since the region is warm and wet throughout the year, it has a luxuriant vegetation of all kinds — trees, shrubs and creepers giving it a multilayered structure.  Tropical Deciduous Forests MAIN POINTS Tropical Deciduous Forests/ Monsoon Forests RAINFALL Receiving rainfall between 200 cm and 70 cm LEAVE Shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer.. SHEDDING ANIMALS Lion, tiger, pig, deer and elephant. Birds, lizards, snakes and tortoises TYPES Moist Deciduous Dry Deciduous  Tropical Deciduous Forests MOIST ❖Rainfall between 200 and 100 DECIDUOUS ❖Mostly in the eastern part of the country — northeastern states, along the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkhand, West Odisha 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 and mulberry are other commercially important species. DRY ❖Rainfall between 100 cm and 70 cm. DECIDUOUS ❖Found in the rainier parts of the Peninsular plateau and the plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. ❖There are open stretches, in which teak, sal, peepal and neem grow. A large part of this region has been cleared for cultivation and some parts are used for grazing. Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs ❖Trees are scattered and have long roots penetrating deep into the soil in order to get moisture. ❖The stems are succulent to conserve water. ❖Leaves are mostly thick and small to minimise evaporation.  Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs MAIN POINTS TROPICAL THORN FORESTS AND SCRUBS RAINFALL Less than 70 cm of rainfall FOUND IN AREAS North-western part of the country, including semi-arid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. TREES Acacias, palms, euphorbias and cacti ANIMALS Rats, mice, rabbits, fox, wolf, tiger, lion, wild ass, horses and camels. Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs  Montane Forests ❖Mountainous areas – Decrease in temperature Corresponding change in natural vegetation Increasing altitude leads ❖There is a succession of natural vegetation belts in the same order as we see from the tropical to the tundra region. ❖On basis of height and vegetation: Wet temperate forests (1000-2000 m) Temperate forests (1500-3000 m) Alpine vegetation (Above 3600 m)  Montane Forests ❖Wet temperate forests: ✓1000 and 2000 metres ✓Evergreen broad-leaf trees, such as oaks and chestnuts predominate. ✓Found on low hills(Shiwaliks) ❖Temperate forests: ✓1500 and 3000 metres ✓Coniferous trees, like pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce and cedar, are found. ✓Cover mostly the southern slopes of the Himalayas, places having high altitude in southern and north-east India. At higher elevations, temperate grasslands are common.  Montane Forests ❖Alpine vegetation : ✓more than 3,600 metres above the sea level ✓temperate forests and grasslands give way to the Alpine vegetation. ✓Silver fir, junipers, pines and birches are the common trees of these forests. ✓Progressively get stunted as they approach the snow-line. ✓Ultimately, through shrubs and scrubs, they merge into the Alpine grasslands. ✓Used extensively for grazing by nomadic tribes, like the Gujjars and the Bakarwals. ✓At higher altitudes, mosses and lichens form part of tundra vegetation.  Montane Forests ❖Common animals found: ✓Kashmir stag, spotted dear, wild sheep, jack rabbit, Tibetan antelope, yak, snow leopard, squirrels, Shaggy horn wild ibex, bear and rare red panda, sheep and goats with thick hair  Mangrove Forests ❖Mangrove tidal forests are found in the areas of coasts influenced by tides. ❖Mud and silt get accumutated on such coasts. ❖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 by such vegetation.  Mangrove Forests ❖GangaBrahmaputra delta, sundari trees are found, which provide durable hard timber. Palm, coconut, keora, agar, etc., also grow in some parts of the delta. ❖Royal Bengal Tiger is the famous animal in these forests. ❖Turtles, crocodiles, gharials and snakes are also found in these forests.  Wildlife Elephants – hot wet forests of Assam, Karnataka and Kerala ✓90,000 animal species ✓2,000 species of birds. ✓--13% of the world’s total ✓2,546 species of fish - 12% of the world’s stock ✓5 and 8 per cent of the world’s amphibians, reptiles and mammals. One-horned rhinoceroses: swampy and marshy lands of Assam and West Bengal. Wild ass and camels – Indian bison, nilgai (blue bull), chousingha (four- Rann of Kachchh and the Thar Desert horned antelope), gazel and different species of deer ❖Gir forest in Gujarat - natural habitat of the Indian lion ❖Tigers are found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, the Sundarbans of West Bengal and the Himalayan region. ❖Leopards - members of the cat family. They are important among animals of prey. ❖Ladakh’s freezing high altitudes are a home to yak, the shaggy horned wild ox weighing around one tonne, the Tibetan antelope, the bharal (blue sheep), wild sheep, and the kiang (Tibetan wild ass). Ibex, bear, snow-leopard and rare red panda are found in certain pockets. Fauna in rivers, lakes and coastal areas: Turtles, crocodiles and gharials. Bird life in India: Peacocks, pheasants, ducks, parakeets, cranes and pigeons are some of the birds inhabiting the forests and wetlands of the country. Threats to flora and fauna: ❖About 1,300 plant species are endangered and 20 species are extinct. ❖Causes: ✓Hunting by greedy hunters for commercial purposes ✓Pollution due to chemical and industrial waste, ✓Acid deposits, ✓Introduction of alien species ✓Reckless cutting of the forests to bring land under cultivation and habitation  Steps to Protect the Flora and Fauna (1) Eighteen biosphere reserves have been set up in the country to protect flora and fauna. (ii) Financial and technical assistance is provided to many botanical gardens by the government since 1992: Kachchh Cold Desert Seshachalam Panna (iii) Project Tiger, Project Rhino, Project Great Indian Bustard and many other eco-developmental projects have been introduced. (iv) 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife sanctuaries and Zoological gardens are set up to take care of natural heritage. PRACTICE QUESTIONS: Which forest has a luxuriant vegetation which gives it a multilayered structure? (a) Tropical Deciduous forest (b) Tropical Evergreen forest (c) Mangrove forest (d) Montane forest PRACTICE QUESTIONS: Royal Bengal Tiger is the famous animal of which forest? (a) Tropical Evergreen Froests (b) Tropical Deciduous Forests (c) Mangrove Forests (d) Montane Forests PRACTICE QUESTIONS: Ebony, mahogany and rosewood trees are grown in which type of the forests? (a) Coniferous forest (b) Tropical Evergreen Forests (c) Tropical thorn forest (d) None of these PRACTICE QUESTIONS: Which term is used for virgin vegetation, which have come from outside India are termed as exotic plants. (a) Indigenous plants (b) Endemic species (c) Exotic Plants (d) None of these IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: ❖Why are the southern slopes in the Himalayan region covered with thick vegetation cover as compared to northern slopes of the same hills? ❖Why are the western slopes of the Western Ghats covered with thick forests and not the eastern slopes? ❖What factors are responsible for the distribution of plants and animals in India? ❖Elaborate the steps taken by the government to protect the flora and fauna of the country.