Indian Forest- facts, information

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Forest is a important natural resource of any country. India is very lucky in this matter as its large part is covered with natural dense forests.

  • It is estimated that about 20 percent of India’s area is covered by the forest. That is about 65 million hectare area.
  • India ranks first in consuming fuel wood. But most of the fuel wood comes from the agricultural waste. Otherwise no forests would have remained.
  • India is among the top ten countries which are forest rich. These top ten countries are host of the 6o% of forest of world.
  • Besides wood forest, India has large amount of non wood forests. These non wood forests are the source of Latex, gum, aroma chemicals, medicines etc.
  • The forests of India are classified into following classes- 1)Tropical evergreen forests, 2)Himalayan Vegetation,3) Mangrove forests of coastal area, 4)Tropical Desiduous Forest or Monsoon forests, 5)Tropical Thorn and Shrubs Forest.
  • The top state of India having the largest area under forests is Madhya Pradesh followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha.
  • Indian forests are the home of many animals and birds. About 90000 animal spices are found in India and about 1300 spices of birds are living in these forests.
     

    Types of Indian Forest

Forest Type Information
Tropical Evergreen Forest
  • This type of forest is found in the regions which have average temperature of 25 degree Centigrade and receives about 200 cm rainfall
  • This type of forest is found in Western Ghats, North Eastern Regions and in Andaman and Nicobar
  • Rosewood, Gurjan, Mahogany, Ebony are the few species which are found in this forest
  • Height of the trees in this forest are very high and they don't shed leaves
Himalayan Vegetation
  • This type of forest is found in the high altitude of Himalaya. With the change in the altitude, the features of tress also get change
  • At a height of 1000-1500 Meter, Sal, Teak, Bamboo grows
  • At an altitude of 3000-3500 Meter, Pine, Oak, Deodar, Cedar grows
  • At higher altitude only tundra vegetation - Mosses, Lichens are found
Mangrove Forest
  • Mangrove forest is generally grows in the wet coastal areas (Saline and Swampy area)
  • This type of forest in found in the mouths of river Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna
  • Major species of trees found in this forest are - Sundari, Keora, Garan, Hogla.
  • The major feature of these trees is stilt roots which grows to support the trees
  • This type of forest is also known as Tidal Forest as their growth is dependent on tides
  • In West Bengal, this type of forest is known as Sundarbans
Tropical Deciduous Forest
  • This type of forest is found in the area where rainfall is between 100-200 cm and average temperature is 27 degree Centigrade
  • This forest is found in Indian sates - West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra etc
  • This is the largest type of forest in India. It is also known as Monsoon forest
  • The main trees of these forest are - Teak, Sal, Deodar, Sisam, Mahua, Palash, Bamboo, Arjun, Ebony
  • The trees of this forest drops their leaves during dry summer or dry winter season
Tropical Thorn and Shrubs Forest
  • This type of forest is found in area where average temperature is 25-30 degree Centigrade and average rainfall is 50 cm
  • Mostly found in Indian States - Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana
  • Major trees found in this forest are - Neem, Date, Cacti, Palm, Acacia
  • The trees of this forest have lesser leaves and have features of Xerophyte