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NIOS Class 10 Social Studies Chapter 11 Biodiversity in India Part 1

Title: Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the total number of genes, species and ecosystems of a region.

  • Genetic diversity
  • Species diversity
  • Ecosystem diversity

Status of Biodiversity in India

  • The Biodiversity will naturally increase as we move from the poles towards the equator.
  • India got only 2.42% of the world՚s land area but its contribution to the world՚s biodiversity
  • Which is approximately 8% of the total number of species which is estimated to be 1.75 million 8% of the world species are found in India.
  • Around 45000 plants species comprising about 12% of world՚s flora are found in Indian forests.
  • The North-Eastern region and the Western Ghats are the two of the twelve biodiversity hotspots in the world are in India.

Natural Vegetation in India

Illustration: Natural Vegetation in India

India can broadly be divided into the following groups:

Tropical Evergreen Forests

  • The forests remain green all year and the leaves don՚t fall.
  • The climate is warm and wet throughout the year with 200 cm of rainfall.
  • The trees reach the height of up to 60 meters normally.
  • Rosewood, ebony, mahogany, rubber, jack wood and bamboo are the popular species.
  • They usually found in the Western Ghats, upper parts of Assam and islands of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar.

Tropical Deciduous Forests

  • They receive annual rainfall between 75 to 200 centimetres.
  • The trees shed their leaves once a year.
  • These are widespread in the country except in some parts of Deccan Plateau, North-Eastern Region, Western Ghats and Eastern coast.

On Basis of the Availability of Rainfall, Tropical Deciduous Forests Are Further Divided Into

The Moist Deciduous Forests

  • The areas of rainfall between 100 to 200 cm
  • The forest has distributed the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and eastern slopes of Western Ghats.
  • The Teak, Bamboo, Sal, Shisham, Sandalwood, Khair, Kusum, Arjun, Mahua, Jamun and Mulberry are the important species.

The Dry Deciduous Forests

  • The area receiving annual rainfall between 75 to 100 centimetres annually.
  • These forests are located in the interior parts of the peninsular plateau and the plains of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
  • The species like Teak, Sal, Peepal, and Neem are major tree species.

Thorn Forests

  • The areas with less than 75 centimetres of annual rainfall
  • The climate of this part is mainly dry with an occasional wet period, so it does not support dense vegetation.
  • These are found in the arid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
  • The vegetation consists of small trees and bushes with deep roots. The stems are succulent to conserve water.
  • The Leaves are mostly thick and small to minimize evaporation.
  • The Acacia, euphorbias, babul, cacti, khair, date and palms are the major species.

Tidal Forests

  • The forests are found in tidal creeks and swamps influenced by the tides and wetland topography.
  • They have mud, silt and water accumulated on the surface.
  • The Roots and branches of the trees are submerged underwater
  • These are found in the deltas of Sundarbans, Mahanadi, the Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri rivers and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • The Sundari is the common tree in Sunderbans while palm, coconut, keora, and agar are other important species of the tidal forest.

Himalayan Forests

  • The forests are found in the mountainous region of the Himalayas.
  • The decreasing in temperature and increase in altitude lead to varied types of vegetation depending upon the slope.
  • Sal and Bamboo are the main species in these areas.
  • Oak, laurel, chestnut, cedar, Silver, Fir, spruce rhododendron are common species.