Indian VEGETATION

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Part 4- VEGETATION

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Tropical Evergreen Forest/Rain Forests:
 Rainfall- > 200cm
 In the equatorial region- Broadleaf evergreens
 In temperate and boreal latitudes- Coniferous Evergreens (Dealt with later)
Equatorial Region Evergreen:
 Vegetation: Ebony, Mahogany, Rubber, Cinchona, Aini, Semul, Gutel, Mundane, Hopea, Kadam, Rosewood, Laurel, White Cedar, Canes and Bamboo
 Epiphytes are abundant because of high rainfall
 Location: North East India, Parts of Western Ghats, Upper Assam, Parts of Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Note:
 Composed of tall trees
 Trees have multi-layered structure with good canopies
 Do not shed their leaves annually
 Lacks grasses owing to deep shade
Tropical moist semi-evergreen forests
 Rainfall: 200 - 250 cm
 Location: Along the western coasts, eastern Orissa and upper Assam
 Vegetation: Giant and luxuriantly growing inter-mixed deciduous and evergreen species of trees and shrubs

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Dry Evergreen Forest:
 Rainfall- 75-100cm
 Vegetation- Acacia,wild plams,tamarind, cacti, palas
 Location- Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Western U.P., Peninsular India
Tropical Thorn Scrubs/ Desert Vegetation:
 Rainfall- 20 - 70 cm,
 Dry season- Hot and very long
 Location- South Punjab, most of Rajasthan and part of Gujarat
 Vegetation- Occurs only along the rivers; land away are sandy and devoid of trees

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Subtropical Montane Forests
 Region of high rainfall
 Temperature differences- Between winter and summer are less marked.
 Altitude- 1500 metre in south and up to 1800 metre in the north
 Composition- Intermediate between tropical forests and temperate forests; Difficult to make a sharp demarcation between tropical and subtropical or subtropical and temperate forests
Three types:
(i) Wet hill broad leaved forests
 Location: Mahabaleshwar, Coorg, Karnataka, parts of Assam, Panchmarhi and other parts of M.P
 Vegetation-
 Wet hill forests of south- Pterocarpus, Lantana, etc
 North- Castonopsis, Calamus, Populus etc
(ii) Dry evergreen forests:
Occupy the foot-hill areas of Himalayas
Vegetation- Acacia modesta, Olea cuspidata, etc
(iii) Pine forests:
Location- Western and Central Himalayas and in Assam hills
Vegetation- Pinus (Pinus khasya and P. roxburghii), etc

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MONTANE FORESTS
Montane Wet Temperate Forest:
 Rainfall- 100-250cm;
 Height- 1500-3300m
 Vegetation-
o Oak, Fir, Spruce, Deodar, Chestnut, Cedar, Maple
o Dense with closed canopy
o Epiphytes are in abundance
 Location- Entire Himalayas from J&K to Arunachal Prashesh; Nilgiris (Sholas) in S.India
 Very durable wood from timber used for making expensive furniture
Himalayan Moist Temperate
 Lesser rainfall
 Dominant- Oak & Conifers; shabby undergrowth
Himalayan Dry Temperate
 Rainfall- <150cm
 Height- 1000-2000m
 Vegetation- Deodar, Oak, Ash, Mulberry, Willow; dominated by Rhododendron
 Location- J&K, Lahul, Chamba, Spiti (Himachal), Sikkim
 Predominantly coniferous forests with shrubs

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Alpine forests
a) Sub-Alpine-
 Location- From Ladakh in the west to Arunachal in the east
 Altitude- 2800 m to 3800 m
 Annual rainfall- Less than 65 cm
 Snowfall- Several weeks in a year
 Strong winds and below 0°C temperature (greater part of the year)
 Trees-
o Like temperate zone;
o Epiphytic mosses and lichens are in abundance
b) Alpine-
 Height- Till 6000m
 Rain- <100 cm
 Vegetation-
o Spruce, yew, firs, honeysuckle, scrubs
o Short dwarf conifers and lush green nutritious grasses in summers
Littoral and Swamp Forests
(1) Beach forests
 Soil: Sandy having large amount of lime and salts but poor in nitrogen and other mineral nutrients
 Ground water- Brackish,
 Water table- Only a few metres deep
 Rainfall- Varies from 75 cm to 500 cm
 Vegetation- Casuarina equisetifolia, Borassus, Phoenix,number of twiners and climbers, etc

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(2) Tidal forests or Mangrove forests
 Growth-
o Near the estuaries or the deltas of rivers,
o Swampy margins of Islands and
o Along sea coasts
 Soil- Formed of silt, silt-loam or silt-clay and sand
 Plants- Halophytes; characterised by presence of prop roots with well-developed knees for support and pneumatophores and viviparous germination of seeds
Types-
(i) Tree mangrove forests- Sunderbans
(ii) Low mangrove forests
 More developed on east sea coast than on west coast
 Grow on soft tidal mud near estuaries, which is flooded by salt water
 Forest is dense but the trees have leathery leaves
(iii) Salt water forests
 Occur beyond tree mangrove forests in big river deltas where the ground is flooded with tidal water
 Silt deposition and salt content in soil are low
(iv) Brackish water forests
 Near the river deltas where forest floor is flooded with water at least for some times daily.
 Water is brackish (salty) but during rains it is almost fresh

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(3) Fresh water swamp forests
 Grow in low lying areas where rain or swollen river water is collected for some time.
 Water table is near the surface
GRASSLAND
 Grassland is a community dominated by grasses or grass-like plants
 Favourable conditions for development of a stable grassland:
o -Frequent rainfall
o -Sufficient warmth during the growing season
Invasive Species?
 Can act as pioneer colonizer in Primary and Secondary successions
 Can grow in both hydrophytic and xerophytic habitats
 Qualities-
 From annual to perennial
 From trailing to erect
 From small to dendroid
 High reproductive capacity and capability for both sexual and vegetative reproduction
 Wind pollination; produce light seeds which are easily and quickly dispersed by wind and animals
 Position of buds below the soil
 Elasticity of internodes to bend
 Can withstand
 Trampling
 Grazing
 Fire (tall grasses with scattered trees (i.e.. Savannah))
 Poor growth conditions

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Grasslands in India- Prominent Feature? “NO”
Moist lowlands- Grasses face very tough competition from trees and shrubs
Drier parts- Conditions i.e., dry period, high temperature and evaporation are hampering the growth of grasslands
Fire in the forest...Grow..Grow..Grow!
 Potent factor causing the development of grasslands in forest areas
 Existence of grassland exists in forest territory for a number of years-
 The forest growth cannot eliminate it as once the land is covered with grasses, tree seedlings find it difficult to gain a foothold.
 Once a forest has been destroyed and grasses have started secondary succession (secondary seres) over there, succession may be arrested in seral stage.
 Existence in India-
 Lopping,
 Burning,
 Shifting cultivation
 Grazing of the forests
Eg: Biotically disturbed forest land and agri-climax areas provide niche for grasses on Nilgiris in South India

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Vegetation-II Mahogany
Wood is red brown
Found- All over India
Construction:
 Excellent workability, very durable
 Resists wood rot, making it attractive in boat construction
 Used for musical instruments (backs, sides and necks of acoustic guitars, electric guitar bodies and drum shells) because of its ability to produce a very deep, warm tone compared to other commonly used woods such as maple or birch
 Used as an astringent for wounds; to cure malaria, anaemia diarrhoea, fever, dysentery
RUBBER
Consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water
Soil requirement: Well-drained, weathered soil consisting of laterite, lateritic types, sedimentary types, non-lateritic red, or alluvial soils
Climatic conditions for optimum growth of rubber trees:
 Rainfall of around 250 cm evenly distributed (at least 100 rainy days per year)
 Temperature range: About 20 to 34 °C
 High atmospheric humidity of around 80%
 Bright sunshine, amounting to about 2000 hours per year at the rate of six hours per day throughout the year
 Absence of strong winds
Harvested-
 In the form of the latex from certain trees

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 Latex- Sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called “tapping”
 Refined into rubber ready for commercial processing
Qualities:
 Large stretch ratio (Exhibits Mullins effect and the Payne effect)
 High resilience
 Extremely waterproof
Susceptible to vulcanisation and sensitive to ozone cracking?
- Due to the presence of a double bond in each repeat unit
Solvents for rubber: Turpentine and Naphtha (petroleum)
India- Introduced by the British planters
 1st experimental effort to grow rubber on a commercial scale in India- In 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta
 First commercial Hevea plantations in India: Established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902
Functions of the Rubber Board
 Undertaking, assisting or encouraging scientific, technological or economic research
 Training students in improved methods of planting, cultivation, manuring and spraying
 Supply of technical advice to rubber growers
 Improving the marketing of rubber; Collection of statistics from owners of estates, dealers and manufacturers
 Securing better working conditions and the provision and improvement of amenities and incentives to workers
 Carrying out any other duties which may be vested with the Board as per rules made under this Act
 To advise the Central Government on all matters relating to the development of the rubber industry, including the import and export of rubber

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Work on the details of the following animals as well:
Kashmir stag, spotted deer, wild sheep, jack rabbit, Tibetan antelope, yak, snow leopard, squirrels, Shaggy horn wild ibex, rare red panda (More of Wildlife in detail will be covered under Environment VAN)
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