Types of Forest in India | Phytogeography

In this article we will discuss about:- Different Types of Forest In India

Forest is a community of plants and other organism their interaction with soils, minerals and  the atmosphere. The landscape that makes up various types of forest look very different from each other. India is a land of great variety of natural vegetation. It is one of the twelve mega bio diversity countries of the world. India is ranked 10th in world with 24.4% of land area under forest and tree cover.

Types of forest:

There are different types of forest in India.

1. Tropical Evergreen Forest ( Rainforests )

• These forest have average rainfall over 200 cm.
• The dense  forest look evergreen as their trees shad leaves at different times of year.
• It is also called as rain forest because they receive higher rainfall all year long.
• These forest are found in the Western Ghats , Nicobar and Andaman Island and all along the north- eastern region.
• These forest can have annual temperature 20° – 27° C
• Jackfruit, Betel nut palm, Jamun, Mango, and hollock, Rubber trees are found in this forest
• Commercial Exploitation is not possible in this forest.
• Evergreen on account of availability of humidity throughout the year.
• Also called Rainforests because they receive high rainfall all year long.

2. Tropical Grassland Forest

These forest can be found on wet soil on such ground and also on hilly areas.

It is found in Punjab, Haryana, Utter Pradesh, Buhar, Karnataka, Western Ghats.

Lemon grass, star grass , few shrubs and some Palm, Pine  trees  are found in this forest.

3. Tropical Deciduous Forest

It is most widespread forest in India. It is also called as Tropical Monsoon Forests. It is of two types. (a) Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest (b) Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest

(a) Tropical Moist Deciduous forests

It has average rainfall 100-200 cm.

It can have average temperature 28° C.

Less dense and Homogeneous in nature.

The trees of these forest shad their leaves during spring and early summer.

Sal, Teak, Shisam, Scandal, Amla, Kusum, and Mahua trees are found in this forest.

It is found in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Western Ghats, Odisha and Lower part of Himalaya region.

(b) Tropical Dry Deciduous forest  

These forest are found throughout the northern part of the country except in the North-East. It is also found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

These forests have average rainfall from 70-100 cm.

Tendu, Palas, amaltus, bel, khair, axlewood trees are found in this forest.

4. Thorn Forest

It is found in  South- West Punjab, Rajasthan,  Haryana, Northern Gujarat,

These forest have average rainfall less than 50 cm.

It can have average temperature 20° – 28° C.

Cactus, Ber, Babul, Khejri trees are found in this type of forest.

5.  Mangroove Forest

It can exist in a wide variety of habitats.

It reduce water flow and prevent soil erosion in coastal areas.

Dense forest with strong roots, provide protection from wave of seas. It also reduce the impact of tsunami.

It provides safe environment for various species of flora and fauna and thus act as ecological hotspots.

7% of the world’s mangrove forest are in India.

It is found in West Bengal, Gujarat, Andaman and Nicobar Island.

6.  Montane Wet Temperate Forest

These forest occur in region where annual temperature  is between 11-14°C.-

These forest have average rainfall 100-250 cm.

Mapple, Plum, Birch, Devodar, Silver Firs, Spruce and Oates are found in this type of forest.

In the North, Montane wet temperate forests are found in the region to the east of Nepal into Arunachal Pradesh, and In the South, it is found in parts of the Niligiri Hills, the higher reaches of Kerala.

7.  Montane Moist temperate Forest

These forest are found from western Himalaya to Eastern Himalaya Region.

The trees found in the western section are broad-leaved oak, brown oak, walnut, rhododendron, etc. and In the Eastern are a large variety of broad-leaved trees, fern, and bamboo.

8.  Montane Dry Temperate Forest

This type of forest is found in Lahul, Kinnaur, Sikkim, and other parts of the Himalayas.

The trees with broad-leaved tree, such as the oak, maple, and ash. At higher elevation, fir, juniper, deodar, and chilgoza are found.

9. Littoral and Swamp Forest (Wetland Forests)

Littoral and swamp forests are found along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the  delta area of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

They have roots that consist of soft tissue so that the plant can breathe in the water.

8. Sub Tropical Pine Forest

These forest are found in the steep dry slopes of the Shivalik Hills, Western and Central Himalayas, Khasi, Naga, and Manipur Hills.

Chir, Oak, Rhododendron, and Pine as well as Sal, amla, and laburnum tress are found in this forest.

9. Sub Alpine Forest

This type of forest extends from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh between 2900 to 3500 meters.

Due to heavy rainfall and high humidity the timberline in this part is higher than that in the West.

In the Western Himalayas, the trees consists mainly of juniper, rhododendron, willow, and black currant.  In the eastern parts, red fir, black juniper, birch, and larch are the common trees.

10. Moist Alpine Forest

Moist alpines are found all along the Himalayas region on the higher hills near the Myanmar border.

It has a low scrub, dense evergreen forest, consisting mainly of rhododendron and birch.

11. Dry alpine Forest

Dry alpines forest  are found from about 3000 meters to about 4900 meters.

Black juniper, the drooping juniper, honeysuckle, and willow are found in this forest.x