1. Tropical Evergreen and Semi-Evergreen forests
• Found in western slopes of Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, Andaman & Nicobar and North-eastern part of India
• Climatic conditions are warm and humid with annual precipitation of over 200 cm and mean annual temperature above 22oC
• Forests are generally green
all around the year
• Species of trees in forests include rosewood, aini, mahogany, ebony, white cedar, hillock and kail
2. Tropical Thorn Forests
• Found in semi-arid areas of Haryana, south-west Punjab,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh
• Rainfall received is less than 50 cm
• Plants remain leafless for the most of the year and scrub vegetation as tussocky grasses grow
• Species of trees found are babool, palas, ber, wild date palm, Khair, neem, etc
3. Tropical Deciduous Forests
• Found over most part of India
• Regions with rainfall between 100-200 cm are called Moist deciduous forests
• It is found in north-eastern states along the Himalayan foothills, eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and Odisha
• Species of trees found are sal, teak, amla, semul, shisham, hurra, mahua, kusum, and sandalwood
• Regions with rainfall between 70-100 cm are called Dry deciduous forests
• It is found in plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and some part of peninsular India
• Trees shed their leaves once in a year in the dry season
• Species of trees found are palas, amaltas, tendu, bel, khair, axlewood, etc.
• Cattle rearing is quite common due to the natural availability of grasses
- Montane Forests
- Mountainous areas have a decrease in temperature with increasing altitude
- The Himalayan mountain ranges show a succession of vegetation varying from Tundra at top, to tropical deciduous forests in the foothills and evergreen
- Oak, pine and chestnut are predominant in Uttarakhand and West Bengal
- Deodar which is used in construction and is a highly valued endemic species grows mainly in western part of Himalayas
- Kashmir’s handicraft is dependent on the chinar and the walnut
- Higher altitudes tundra vegetation includes mosses and lichens
- Southern mountain forests are in the Western Ghats, the Vindhyas, Satpura, Maikal ranges. and the Nilgiris and are closer to the tropics with vegetations as temperate and subtropical
- In the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills, temperate forests are called as Sholas
- Magnolia, laurel, cinchona and wattle trees are found
5. Littoral and Swamp Forests
• It is ideal for paddy cultivation
• Some areas where it is found are Gulf of Kachchh, Keoladeo National Park, Chilika Lake, marshes of
Gangetic Plain and Brahmaputra, mangrove forests and islands etc
• India has 7 percent of the world mangrove forest with 6740 km2 area
• Deltas of Ganga, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra, the Godavari and the Krishna are rich in swamp forests along with Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Sunderbans of West Bengal