Class 9 Geography Notes: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife
Class 9 Geography Notes: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife
Welcome back to our Class 9 Geography series! Today, we are exploring the green and wild side of our country with Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife.
India is one of the 12 mega bio-diversity countries in the world. With about 47,000 plant species and around 90,000 species of animals, our country is practically a massive, living laboratory! These notes are designed to break down the different types of forests, the amazing animals that live in them, and why we need to protect them, making your exam preparation a breeze.
Let’s get into it!
1. Important Terms to Know
Before we explore the forests, let's understand a few basic terms that frequently pop up in exams:
Natural Vegetation (Virgin Vegetation): A plant community that has grown naturally without human aid and has been left undisturbed by humans for a long time.
Flora: The plants of a particular region or period.
Fauna: The species of animals in a particular region.
Endemic (Indigenous) Species: Virgin vegetation that is purely Indian.
Exotic Species: Plants that have come from outside India.
2. Why is India's Flora and Fauna So Diverse?
The huge diversity in flora and fauna across India is caused by two main groups of factors: Relief and Climate.
A. Relief (The Land)
Land: The nature of the land influences the type of vegetation. Fertile, level lands are generally devoted to agriculture. The undulating and rough terrains are areas where grassland and woodlands develop.
Soil: Different types of soils support different types of vegetation. For example, the sandy soils of the desert support cactus and thorny bushes, while wet, marshy, deltaic soils support mangroves.
B. Climate (The Weather)
Temperature: The character and extent of vegetation are mainly determined by temperature along with humidity in the air, precipitation, and soil.
Photoperiod (Sunlight): The variation in the duration of sunlight at different places is due to differences in latitude, altitude, season, and duration of the day. Due to longer duration of sunlight, trees grow faster in summer.
Precipitation (Rainfall): In India, almost the entire rainfall is brought in by the advancing southwest monsoon and retreating northeast monsoons. Areas of heavy rainfall have more dense vegetation compared to areas of less rainfall.
What is an Ecosystem?
All the plants and animals in an area are interdependent and interrelated to each other in their physical environment. This forms an ecosystem. A very large ecosystem on land having distinct types of vegetation and animal life is called a Biome.
3. The 5 Major Types of Vegetation in India
Based on the factors mentioned above, India's natural vegetation is divided into five major types:
1. Tropical Evergreen Forests
Location: Found in areas with heavy rainfall (more than 200 cm) and a short dry season. Think Western Ghats, island groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of Assam, and the Tamil Nadu coast.
Characteristics: The trees reach great heights (up to 60 meters 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. There is no definite time for trees to shed their leaves, so these forests appear green all year round.
Important Trees: Ebony, mahogany, rosewood, rubber, and cinchona.
2. Tropical Deciduous Forests (The Monsoon Forests)
Location: These are the most widespread forests in India. They are found in areas receiving rainfall between 70 cm and 200 cm.
Characteristics: Trees shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer to conserve water.
Division: They are further divided into:
Moist Deciduous: Found in
areas receiving rainfall between 100 and 200 cm (eastern parts of the country, northeastern states, along the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkhand, West Odisha). Teak is the most dominant species. Other trees include bamboos, sal, shisham, and sandalwood. Dry Deciduous: Found in areas having rainfall between 70 cm and 100 cm (rainier parts of the Peninsular plateau and the plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh). Important trees are teak, sal, peepal, and neem.
3. The Thorn Forests and Scrubs
Location: In regions with less than 70 cm of rainfall. This includes the northwestern part of the country (semi-arid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana).
Characteristics: Trees are scattered and have long roots penetrating deep into the soil to get moisture. The stems are succulent to conserve water, and leaves are mostly thick and small to minimize evaporation.
Important Trees: Acacias, palms, euphorbias, and cacti.
4. Montane Forests (Mountain Forests)
Location: Found in mountainous areas where there is a decrease in temperature with increasing altitude. This leads to a corresponding change in natural vegetation.
Characteristics: As you go higher, you see different forests!
1000m - 2000m: Wet temperate type of forests (broad-leaved trees like oaks and chestnuts).
1500m - 3000m: Temperate forests containing coniferous trees like pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce, and cedar.
Above 3600m: Alpine vegetation (silver fir, junipers, pines, and birches). These eventually merge into Alpine grasslands, used extensively by nomadic tribes like the Gujjars and the Bakarwals for grazing.
5. Mangrove Forests
Location: Found in the areas of coasts influenced by tides. Mud and silt get accumulated on such coasts.
Characteristics: Dense mangroves are the common varieties with roots of the plants submerged under water.
Important Regions: The deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Krishna, the Godavari, and the Kaveri. In the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, Sundari trees are found, which provide durable hard timber. (This is where the Sunderbans gets its name!).
4. Wildlife of India (Fauna)
Just like its flora, India is super rich in its fauna.
Elephants: The most majestic animals among the mammals. Found in the hot wet forests of Assam, Karnataka, and Kerala.
One-horned Rhinoceroses: Live in the swampy and marshy lands of Assam and West Bengal.
Wild Ass & Camels: Found in the arid areas of the Rann of Kachchh and the Thar Desert, respectively.
Lions and Tigers: India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions! The natural habitat of the Indian lion is the Gir forest in Gujarat. Tigers are found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, the Sunderbans of West Bengal, and the Himalayan region.
Birds: India has a rich bird life. Peacocks, pheasants, ducks, parakeets, cranes, and pigeons are some of the birds inhabiting the forests and wetlands of the country.
5. Conservation: Protecting Our Natural Wealth
Due to excessive exploitation of plants and animal resources by human beings, our ecosystem has been heavily disturbed. About 1,300 plant species are endangered, and 20 species are extinct. Quite a few animal species are also endangered.
Steps taken by the Government to protect flora and fauna:
Biosphere Reserves: 18 biosphere reserves have been set up in the country to protect flora and fauna. (Examples: Sunderbans, Nanda Devi, Gulf of Mannar, Nilgiri).
Financial and Technical Assistance: Provided to many Botanical Gardens by the government since 1992.
Eco-Development Projects: Project Tiger, Project Rhino, Project Great Indian Bustard, and many other eco-developmental projects have been introduced.
National Parks & Sanctuaries: 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Zoological gardens are set up to take care of natural heritage.
Quick Revision Summary 📝
India's diverse flora and fauna are driven by Relief (land/soil) and Climate (temperature/sunlight/rainfall).
Tropical Deciduous (Monsoon) forests are the most widespread in India.
Montane forests change their characteristics dramatically based on altitude.
India is the only country with both Lions (Gir forest) and Tigers (MP, Sunderbans, Himalayas).
The government has established 18 Biosphere Reserves and numerous National Parks to protect endangered species from excessive human exploitation.
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