- India has a diverse range of forests from the rainforest of Kerala in the south to the alpine pastures of Ladakh in the north, from the deserts of Rajasthan in the west to the evergreen forests in the north-east.
- Climate, soil type, topography, and elevation are the main factors that determine the type of forest.
- Forests varied according to their nature and composition, the type of climate in which they thrive, and its relationship with the surrounding environment.
- Champion and Seth Classification of Forest in India are classified into sixteen types.
Tropical Wet evergreen forests:
- Wet evergreen forests are found along the Western Ghats, the Nicobar and Andaman Islands and all along the northeastern region.
- It is characterized by tall, straight evergreen trees. The more common trees that are found here are the jackfruit, betel nut palm, jamun and mango.
- The trees in this forest form a tier pattern: shrubs cover the layer closer to the ground, followed by the short-structured trees and then the tall variety.
- Beautiful fern of various colours and different varieties of orchids grow on the trunks of the trees.
Tropical Semi-evergreen forests:
- Semi-evergreen forests are found in the Western Ghats, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Eastern Himalayas.
- Such forests have a mixture of the wet evergreen trees and the moist deciduous trees. The forest is dense and is filled with a large variety of trees of both types.
Tropical Moist deciduous forests
- Moist deciduous forests are found throughout India except in the western and the north-western regions. The trees are tall, have broad trunks, branching trunks and roots to hold them firmly to the ground.
- Some of the taller trees shed their leaves in the dry season. There is a layer of shorter trees and evergreen shrubs in the undergrowth.
- These forests are dominated by sal and teak, along with mango, bamboo, and rosewood.
Littoral and swamp
- 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.
Tropical Dry deciduous forest
- Dry deciduous forests 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.
- The canopy of the trees does not normally exceed 25 metres. The common trees are the sal, a variety of acacia, and bamboo.
Tropical Thorn forests
- This type is found in areas with black soil: North, West, Central, and South India.
- The trees do not grow beyond 10 metres. Spurge, caper, and cactus are typical of this region.
Tropical Dry evergreen forest
- Dry evergreens are found along Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka coast.
- It is mainly hard-leaved evergreen trees with fragrant flowers, along with a few deciduous trees.
Sub tropical Broad-leaved forests
- Broad-leaved forests are found in the Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats, along the Silent Valley. There is a marked difference in the form of vegetation in the two areas.
- In the Silent Valley, the poon-spar, Cinna-mon, rhodo-dendron, and fragrant grass are predominant. In the Eastern Himalayas, the flora has been badly affected by the shifting cultivation and forest fires.
- These wet forests consist mainly of evergreen trees with a sprinkling of deciduous here and there. There are oak, alder, chestnut, birch, and cherry trees. There are a large variety of orchids, bamboo and creepers.
Sub tropical Pine forests
- Pine forests are found in the steep dry slopes of the Shivalik Hills, Western and Central Himalayas, Khasi, Naga, and Manipur Hills.
- The trees predominantly found in these areas are the chir, oak, rhododendron, and pine as well as sal, amla, and labur-num are found in the lower regions.
Sub tropical Dry evergreen forests
- Dry evergreen forests normally have a prolonged hot and dry season and a cold winter. It generally has evergreen trees with shining leaves that have a varnished look.
- These forests are found in the Shivalik Hills and foothills of the Himalayas up to a height of 1000 metres.
Montane Wet temperate forests
- In the North, Montane wet temperate forests are found in the region to the east of Nepal into Arunachal Pradesh, receiving a minimum rainfall of 2000 mm.
- In the North, there are three layers of forests: the higher layer has mainly coniferous, the middle layer has deciduous trees such as the oak and the lowest layer is covered by rhododendron and champa.
- In the South, it is found in parts of the Niligiri Hills, the higher reaches of Kerala. The forests in the northern region are denser than in the South. Rhododendrons and a variety of ground flora can be found here.
Himalayan Moist temperate Forest
- This type spreads from the Western Himalayas to the Eastern Himalayas.
- The trees found in the western section are broad-leaved oak, brown oak, walnut, rhododendron, etc. In the Eastern Himalayas, the rainfall is much heavier and therefore the vegetation is also lusher and denser.
- There are a large variety of broad-leaved trees, ferns, and bamboo. Coniferous trees are also found here, some of the varieties being different from the ones found in the South.
Himalayan Dry temperate Forest
- This type is found in Lahul, Kinnaur, Sikkim, and other parts of the Himalayas.
- There are predominantly coniferous trees, along with broad-leaved trees such as the oak, maple, and ash. At higher elevation, fir, juniper, deodar, and chilgoza are found.
Sub alpine forest
- Sub alpine forests extend from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh between 2900 to 3500 metres.
- In the Western Himalayas, the vegetation consists mainly of juniper, rhododendron, and black currant.
- In the eastern parts, red fir, black juniper, birch, and larch are the common trees.
- Due to heavy rainfall and high humidity the timberline in this part is higher than that in the West.
- Rhododendron of many species covers the hills in these parts.
Moist Alpine scrub
- Moist alpines are found all along the Himalayas and on the higher hills near the Myanmar border.
- It has a low scrub, dense evergreen forest, consisting mainly of rhododendron and birch. Mosses and ferns cover the ground in patches.
- This region receives heavy snowfall.
Dry alpine scrub
- Dry alpines are found from about 3000 metres to about 4900 metres.
- Dwarf plants predominate, mainly the black juniper, the drooping juniper, honeysuckle, and willow.
Importance of Forest
From air we breathe, the food we eat to the paper and wood we use; we depend on forest directly or indirectly. Without forests most of the areas would have been deserts
- Forests keep up the natural balance.
- Forests purify the air
- Forests provide micro climate
- Forests indirectly play a role in precipitation
- Forests prevent floods
- Forests prevent soil erosion
- Forests provide medicinal properties
- Forests provide us fuel and timber
- Forests provide raw materials for industries
