Chapter – 5

Natural Vegetation

In this post we have given the detailed notes of Class 11 Geography Book 2 Chapter 5 (Natural Vegetation) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in Class 11 board exams.

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Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation

Introduction

• Natural vegetation refers to a plant community that has grown naturally without human intervention and has been left undisturbed for a long time, allowing its individual species to adjust to climate and soil conditions.  
• India has a diverse range of natural vegetation due to its varied climate and soil conditions, ranging from temperate vegetation in the Himalayas to tropical rainforests in the Western Ghats and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.  

Types of Forests in India

Indian forests can be broadly classified into five major groups based on predominant vegetation type and climatic regions:

Tropical Evergreen and Semi-Evergreen Forests

• Distribution: Found in the Western Ghats, hills of the north-eastern region, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.  
• Climate: These forests thrive in warm and humid areas with high rainfall (over 200 cm annually) and a mean annual temperature above 22°C.  
• Structure:
  • Tropical evergreen forests have a multi-layered structure with diverse plant life, including shrubs, creepers, and tall trees.  
  • Trees in these forests can reach great heights (up to 60 m or more).  
  • There is no specific time for leaf shedding, flowering, or fruiting, making these forests appear green throughout the year.  
• Important Species: Rosewood, mahogany, aini, and ebony.  
• Semi-Evergreen Forests:
  • Found in less rainy parts of the same regions.  
  • They have a mix of evergreen and moist deciduous trees.  
  • Climbers in these forests contribute to their evergreen character.  
  • Main species include white cedar, hollock, and kail.  

Tropical Deciduous Forests

• Distribution: These are the most widespread forests in India, also known as monsoon forests.  
• Climate: They are found in regions receiving rainfall between 70-200 cm.  
• Types:
  • Moist deciduous forests:
    • Found in areas with rainfall between 100-200 cm.  
    • They are found in the north-eastern states, foothills of the Himalayas, and the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.  
    • Important species include teak, sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum, and sandalwood.  
  • Dry deciduous forests:
    • Found in areas with rainfall between 70-100 cm.  
    • They cover vast areas of the country, including rainier parts of the Peninsula and the plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.  
    • Trees in these forests shed their leaves completely during the dry season.  
    • Common trees include tendu, palas, amaltas, bel, khair, and axlewood.  

Tropical Thorn Forests

• Distribution: Found in arid and semi-arid regions with rainfall less than 50 cm.
  • These regions include southwest Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.  
• Characteristics:
  • These forests consist mainly of grasses and shrubs.  
  • Plants remain leafless for most of the year due to low rainfall.  
• Important Species: Babool, ber, wild date palm, khair, neem, khejri, and palas.
  • Tussocky grass grows up to 2 m high as undergrowth.  

Montane Forests

• Characteristics: In mountainous areas, natural vegetation changes with increasing altitude due to decreasing temperatures.  
• Types:
  • Northern mountain forests:
    • The Himalayan ranges exhibit a succession of vegetation from tropical to tundra with changes in altitude.  
    • Altitude Zones and their vegetation:
      • < 1000 m: Deciduous forests in the foothills.  
      • 1000 – 2000 m: Wet temperate forests with evergreen broad-leaf trees like oak and chestnut in the higher hill ranges of north-eastern India.  
      • 1500 – 1750 m: Pine forests with Chir Pine.  
      • Western Himalayas: Deodar, a valuable endemic species.  
      • 2225 – 3048 m: Blue pine and spruce, along with temperate grasslands.  
      • 3000 – 4000 m: Alpine forests and pastures with silver firs, junipers, pines, birch, and rhododendrons.  
      • > 4000 m: Mosses and lichens form part of the tundra vegetation at the highest altitudes.  
    • The southern slopes of the Himalayas have a thicker vegetation cover due to higher rainfall.  
  • Southern mountain forests:
    • These include forests in the Western Ghats, Vindhyas, and Nilgiris.  
    • Vegetation is temperate in the higher regions and subtropical in the lower regions due to their proximity to the tropics.  
    • Temperate forests are called Sholas in the Nilgiris, Anaimalai, and Palani hills.  
    • Other economically significant trees include magnolia, laurel, cinchona, and wattle.  

Littoral and Swamp Forests

• Wetlands: India has a rich variety of wetland habitats, covering 3.9 million hectares.  
• Types of Wetlands: Wetlands are grouped into eight categories, including:
  • Reservoirs of the Deccan Plateau.  
  • Saline expanses of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and the Gulf of Kachchh.  
  • Freshwater lakes and reservoirs.  
  • Delta wetlands and lagoons.  
  • Freshwater marshes of the Gangetic Plain.  
  • Floodplains of the Brahmaputra.  
  • Marshes and swamps in the hills of northeast India and the Himalayan foothills.  
  • Lakes and rivers of the montane region of Kashmir and Ladakh.  
  • Mangrove forests and other wetlands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  
• Mangrove Forests:
  • Distribution: Grow along the coasts in salt marshes, tidal creeks, mud flats, and estuaries.  
  • Characteristics:
    • They consist of salt-tolerant plant species.  
    • They provide shelter to a wide variety of birds.  
  • Area: In India, mangrove forests cover 6,740 sq. km, representing 7% of the world’s mangrove forests.  
  • Important Areas: They are well-developed in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Sunderbans of West Bengal.
    • Other significant areas include the Mahanadi, Godavari, and Krishna deltas.  

Forest Conservation

• Importance: Forests have a crucial role in maintaining life and the environment, providing numerous benefits to the economy and society.  
• National Forest Policy: The Government of India adopted a National Forest Policy in 1952 (modified in 1988) to emphasize sustainable forest management.  
• Objectives of the Forest Policy:
  • Increase forest cover: To 33% of the geographical area.  
  • Environmental stability: Maintaining and restoring ecological balance.  
  • Conservation: Conserving natural heritage, biodiversity, and genetic pool.  
  • Protection: Checking soil erosion, desertification, and mitigating floods and droughts.  
  • Afforestation: Increasing forest cover through social forestry and afforestation.  
  • Productivity: Increasing forest productivity to provide timber, fuelwood, fodder, and food for the rural population.  
  • Substitution: Promoting the substitution of wood.  
  • Public awareness: Creating a people’s movement for tree planting and forest protection.  

Forests and Life

• Forests and Tribal Communities:
  • Forests are vital for tribal communities, providing them with food, shelter, and resources for their livelihoods and cultural practices.  
  • Tribal communities have valuable traditional knowledge about forestry that can be utilized for forest development and conservation.  
  • Involving tribal communities in conservation efforts is essential for sustainable forest management.  

Social Forestry

• Definition: Social forestry aims to manage, protect, and afforest barren lands to contribute to environmental, social, and rural development.  
• Categories:
  • Urban forestry: Raising and managing trees in and around urban areas, including green belts, parks, roadside avenues, and industrial and commercial green belts.  
  • Rural forestry: Promoting agroforestry and community forestry.
    • Agroforestry: Raising trees and agricultural crops on the same land, including waste patches, to simultaneously produce food, fodder, fuel, timber, and fruit.  
    • Community forestry: Raising trees on public or community land, such as village pastures, temple land, roadsides, canal banks, and schools, to provide benefits to the entire community.  

• • Farm forestry: Encouraging farmers to grow trees on their land for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
    • Forest departments provide free tree seedlings to farmers.  
    • Various lands, such as field margins, grasslands, and areas around homes, can be used for raising trees.  

Wildlife Conservation

• Wildlife Heritage: India possesses a rich and diverse wildlife heritage, with an estimated 4-5% of all known plant and animal species found here.  
• Threats to Wildlife: Human activities have led to a decline in wildlife numbers and habitat loss.  
• Reasons for Decline:
  • Exploitation of forest resources due to industrial and technological advancement.  
  • Clearing of land for agriculture, settlements, roads, mining, and reservoirs.  
  • Pressure on forests from lopping for fodder and fuelwood.  
  • Overgrazing by domestic cattle.  
  • Hunting and commercial poaching.  
  • Forest fires.  
• Conservation Efforts:
  • Wildlife Protection Act: The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 (amended in 1991) provides the legal framework for wildlife conservation and protection in India.
    • It aims to protect endangered species and support conservation areas like National Parks, sanctuaries, and closed areas.  
  • Protected Areas: India has 103 National Parks and 563 Wildlife Sanctuaries for wildlife conservation.  
  • Special Projects: Projects like Project Tiger (1973) and Project Elephant (1992) have been launched to conserve endangered species and their habitats.  

Biosphere Reserves

• Definition: A Biosphere Reserve is a unique and representative ecosystem of terrestrial and coastal areas recognized internationally under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme.  
• Objectives:
  • Conservation: Conserving biodiversity and ecosystems.  
  • Development: Promoting environmentally sustainable development.  
  • Logistics: Providing logistical support for research and monitoring.  
• India’s Biosphere Reserves: India has 18 Biosphere Reserves, of which 11 are recognized by UNESCO on the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.  

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