Geography Quiz:Indian Flora and Fauna 2 July, 2021

Explanation: Tropical thorn forests occur in the areas which receive rainfall less than 50 cm.

These consist of a variety of grasses and shrubs. It includes semi-arid areas of south west Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

In these forests, plants remain leafless for most part of the year and give an expression of scrub vegetation.

Important species found are babool, ber, and wild date palm, khair, neem, khejri, palas, etc. Tussocky grass grows upto a height of 2 m as the under growth.

Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

Despite being older than the Himalayas and the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats, an ancient discontinuous low mountain range that spreads along the East coast of the Indian Peninsula, never got its due.
·The geographical extent of the Eastern Ghats is about 75,000 kilometres, spread over the states of Odisha (25 %), Andhra Pradesh (40%), Telangana (5%), Karnataka (5%) and Tamil Nadu (25%).
·Though it is bestowed with rich bio-diversity and is home to different tribal communities, there has never been a clear policy in place for its conservation.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/society/k-thulsi-rao-n-sai-bhaskar-reddy-and-c-umamaheshwar-reddy-on-their-book-eastern-ghats-environment-outlook-and-the-movement-to-conserve-eastern-ghats/article32032242.ece

Tropical Evergreen 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 metres or even above.
·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.
·There is no definite time for trees to shed their leaves. As such, these forests appear green all the year round.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

The Moist deciduous forests are more pronounced in the regions which record rainfall of 100-200 cm.
·These forests are found in the northeastern states along the foothills of Himalayas, eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and Odisha.
·Teak, sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum, and sandalwood etc. are the main species of these forests.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

Tendu, palas, amaltas, bel, khair, axlewood, etc. are the common trees of tropical dry deciduous forests.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

The Himalayan ranges show a succession of vegetation from the tropical to the tundra, which change in with the altitude.
·Deciduous forests are found in the foothills of the Himalayas.
·It is succeeded by the wet temperate type of forests between an altitude of 1,000-2,000 m.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

The temperate forests are called Sholas in the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

India has 41 wetlands, the highest in South Asia, with two more added to the list of recognised sites of international importance under the treaty of Ramsar Convention.
·The Lonar lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake, in Agra, have been added to the list of recognised Ramsar sites.
·Lonar lake in Maharashtra, the only crater lake of country, and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake, in Agra.
·”Wetlands are the world”s natural water filters and one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet”.
·Recently, Kabartal in Bihar”s Begusarai district was recognised as a wetland of international importance, the first such wetland in the state, under the Ramsar Convention, according to the Union Environment Ministry.
Source: Outlook India (https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/2-more-wetlands-in-india-added-to-list-of-recognised-sites-under-ramsar-convention/1976470)

The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) has classified social forestry into three categories. These are Urban forestry, Rural forestry and Farm forestry.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment

Project Snow Leopard (PSL) was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.
Source: NCERT XI – India Physical Environment