About forest in India
India is country with diverse climatic conditions, different soil types, different geographical conditions and different environmental conditions. From desert in the Rajasthan to the ever green forests in eastern region and from the mountains of the north Himalayan region to the plains of the south, India is a country with varied geographical conditions. Black soil, red soil, alluvial soil, saline, peat, mountain and desert soil are the types of soils present in India. This is the reason responsible for the various types of forests in India.
There are six major types of forests in India :
Tropical Moist Forests
Tropic moist forests can be further classified into evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and littoral and swamp.
- Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests are found in the south along the Western Ghats and the Nicobar and Andaman islands and all along the north-eastern region. Some of the common trees of this kind are jackfruit, betel nut, palm, jamun, mango and hollock.
- Moist deciduous forests are present throughout India except western and north western region. These forests are dominated by sal and teak, along with mango, bamboo, and rosewood.
- Littoral and swamp forests are found along the Andaman and Nicobar island and the delta area of ganga and Brahmaputra. It consists mainly of whistling pines, mangrove dates, palms, and bulletwood.
Tropical Dry Forests
Tropical dry forests can be further categorized into dry deciduous, thorny forests and dry evergreen.
- Dry deciduous forests are present in entire northern region except north east. Comment trees are sal, acacia and bamboo.
- They are found in the black soil of north, west, south and east India. Spurge, caper, and cactus are typical of this region.
- Dry evergreens are found in foothills of Himalaya and shivalik hills. Pomegranate, olive and oleander are the major type of tree.
Montane Subtropical Forests
They are further sub divided into broad leaved forests and pine.
- Broad leaved forests are present in eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats. Poonspar, cinnamon, rhododendron, and fragrant grass are the major types of plants.
- Pine forests are present at the hills of Shivalik Hills, Western and Central Himalayas, Khasi, Naga, and Manipur Hills. Chir, oak, rhododendron, and pine are the major plants.
Montane Temperate Forests
These types of forests are sub-divided into dry, moist and wet forests.
- Wet montane temperate forests are present on to the east of Nepal into Arunachal Pradesh and the Niligiri Hills, the higher reaches of Kerala. Eucalyptus and rhododendron is the major flora.
- Moist montane temperate forests are present from western to the eastern Himalayan. Trees include broad-leaved oak, brown oak, walnut, rhododendron and various ferns and bamboos.
Sub Alpine Forests
These forests extend from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. Most predominant flora is juniper, rhododendron, willow, black currant, red fir, black juniper, birch, and larch.
Alpine Forests
Alpine can also be categorized into moist and dry.
- Moist type of alpine is present along the entire Himalayan region and the higher hills of Myanmar border. Major flora includes low scrub, dense evergreen forest, consisting mainly of rhododendron, birch and mosses and ferns.
- Dry types of alpine are present at high altitude from 3000 m to 4500 m. Dwarf plants predominate, mainly the black juniper, the drooping juniper, honeysuckle, and willow are the predominant flora of this region.
According to the recent survey, the India State of Forest Report 2011, depicted that forest cover of India has reaches now at 6,92,027 sq km which is 21.05 per cent of total geographical area of India which was 23.02 per cent in 2010.
Indian government and the forest department should take certain measures to enforce the law to conserve the forests land in India. Green mission India is the one step ahead which is to increase forest cover in 20 million hectares of land in 10 years.