FORESTS

What is a forest?
A forest is a highly complex, constantly changing
environment made up of a variety of living things
interacting with non-living components.
Trees are the biggest part of this complex community.

How are forests classified?
Forests can be classified on the basis of any one or
more of the following factors:
Location
Climate
Age
Method of regeneration
Composition
Ownership
Object of management
Types of forests
(i) Tropical Evergreen Forests
(ii) Tropical Deciduous Forests
(iii) Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs
(iv) Montane Forests
(v) Mangrove Forests
Tropical Evergreen Forests
These forests have 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.
Features
Climate: They are at their best in areas having
more than 200 cm of rainfall with a short dry
season.
Types of trees: Mahogany, Ebony, Rosewood,
Rubber, Cinchona.
Common animals: Elephant, monkey, lemur,
deer, rhinoceros, red fox, jackal.
In India:
Assam
West Bengal
Kerala
Karnataka
Nagaland
Tripura

In the world
Amazon
Congo
Brazil
Peru
Madagascar
Indonesia
Location
Tropical Deciduous Forests
These are the most widespread forests of India. They are also
called the monsoon forests. Trees of this forest-type shed
their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer .




TYPES
Dry Deciduous
F0rests
Moist
Deciduous
Forests
Features: Moist Deciduous
Climate: Rainfall between 100-200 cms
Types of trees: Teak, Bamboo, Sal, Shisham,
Sandalwood, Khair, Kusum, Arjun, Mulberry.
Common animals: Bear, raccoon, squirrel,
skunk, wood mouse, elk, bison, bobcat.
In India
Jharkhand
Odisha (Orissa)
Chhattisgarh
Maharashtra
Gujarat
Location: Moist Deciduous
In the world
Indonesia
Cambodia
Thailand
Myanmar
Vietnam
Features: Dry Deciduous
Climate: Rainfall between 70 to 100 cms
Types of trees: Teak, Sal, Peepal, Neem.
Common animals : Bald Eagle, black bear,
coyote, platypus, chipmunk, red squirrel,
weasel, deer.
Location: Dry Deciduous
In India
Madhya Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka
Bihar
In the world
Sri Lanka
Trinidad and Tobago
South Africa
Madagascar
New Caledonia
Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs
The natural vegetation consists of thorny trees and bushes. 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 minimize evaporation.
Climate: Less than 70 cm of rainfall
Types of trees: Acacia, Palm, Spurge, Caper,
Euphorbias and Cacti
Common animals: Rats, mice, rabbits, fox, wolf,
tiger, lion, horses and camels
Features
Location
In India
Gujarat,
Rajasthan
Madhya Pradesh
Chhattisgarh
Uttar Pradesh
Haryana
In the world
Australia
Madagascar
Pakistan
USA
Mexico
Paraguay
Montane Forests
In mountainous areas, the decrease in temperature with increasing
altitude leads to the corresponding change in natural vegetation.
As such, there is a succession of natural vegetation belts in the
same order as we see from the tropical to the tundra region.
Features
Climate: Temperature between 6C and 12 C
Types of trees: Pine, Deodar, Silver fir, Spruce,
Cedar, Juniper and Birch, Oak, Chestnut.
Common animals: Kashmir stag, spotted dear,
wild sheep, jack rabbit, Tibetan antelope, yak,
snow leopard, squirrels, wild ibex, bear, red
panda and goats.
Location
In India
Arunachal Pradesh
Sikkim
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Uttarakhand
In the world
Canada
New Zealand
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Mexico
Mangrove forests
The mangrove tidal forests are found 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.
Features
Climate: Rainfall between 1000 and 1500 mm
with average temperature of 22 C
Types of trees: Sundari, Palm, Coconut, Keora,
Agar.
Common animals: Royal Bengal Tiger, turtle,
crocodile, gharial, snake.
Location
In India
West Bengal
Odisha (Orissa)
Gujarat (Gulf of
Kachchh)
Andaman-Nicobar
Islands
In the world
Bangladesh
Philippines
Nigeria
Ecuador
Oman
New Zealand
Bibliography
NCERT Geography Class 9


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