Natural Vegetation
Natural Vegetation &
&
Wildlife
Wild Life
Natural Vegetation
 Natural vegetation is plants that have not been grown by
humans. It doesn’t need help from humans and gets whatever
it needs from its natural environment.
 India has around 47000 plant species, about 15000
flowering plants & around 90000 species of animals.
 Virgin vegetation is a vegetation which has grown without
human intervention & it is not disturbed by humans for a
relatively long period.
 There is a great diversity w.r.t. flora & fauna throughout the
world.
Factors affecting Vegetation
Relief
 Land:
 Land directly and indirectly affects the natural vegetation.
 If the land is level and fertile, it is mainly used for farming.
 If the land is uneven then grassland and woodlands develop
over it.
 Soil:
 Different types of soil are fit for different types of vegetation.
 For example; sandy soil is fit for cactus and thorny bushes,
while wet and marshy soil is fit for mangrove vegetation.
Factors affecting Vegetation
Climate
 Temperature and Humidity:
 An area with high temperature and high humidity supports evergreen
forest, while an area with high temperature and low humidity supports
thorny bushes.
 Photoperiod:
 Photoperiod depends on latitude, altitude, season and duration of
the day. Trees grow faster in summer because of longer
photoperiod.
 Precipitation:
 If an area gets heavy rainfall, it is suitable for the growth of dense
vegetation. On the other hand, an area with scanty rainfall is suitable
for thorny bushes.
Ecosystem
 An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals
and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other,
and also with their non-living environments (weather, earth,
sun, soil, climate, atmosphere).
Types of
Vegetation
 There are five
major types of
vegetation in India:

Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical Deciduous
Forests

Tropical Thorn Forests
& Scrubs

Montane Forests

Mangrove Forests
Tropical Rain Forests
 The tropical rainforests are confined to areas of heavy
rainfall.
 Areas which receive more 200 cm of rainfall and have a short
dry season are the best area for tropical rainforest.
 The forest has a multilayered structure.
 Flora - Ebony, mahogany, rosewood, rubber
 Fauna - Elephants, monkey, lemur and deer, large number of
birds, bats, sloth, scorpions and snails
Evergreen Forests (Western Ghats)
Ebony
Mahogany
Rosewood
Rubber
Elephants
Lemur
Sloth
One Horned Rhino
Tropical Deciduous Forests
 The trees of these forests shed their leaves during drywinter and dry-summer.
 These are found in areas having 70cm to 200 cm of annual
rainfall.
 They are also called Monsoon Forests.
 These forests can be divided into two types on the basis of
availability of water.
 Tropical moist deciduous forests
 Tropical dry deciduous forests
Tropical DeciduousForests
Moist Deciduous Forest:
 Found in areas which receive rainfall between 200 cm to
100 cm.
 Northeastern states, along the foothills of the Himalayas,
Jharkhand, West Orissa and Chhattisgarh. They are also
found on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.
 Flora - Teak, Bamboos, Sal, Shisham, Sandalwood,
Kusum, Arjun etc.
 Fauna - Tiger, Wolf, Gaur, Sloth bear etc.
Tropical DeciduousForests
Dry Deciduous Forest:
 Found in areas which receive rainfall between 100 cm to
70 cm.
 Parts of peninsular plateau, plains of Bihar & Uttar
Pradesh, Vidarbha, parts of Telangana.
 Flora - Teak, Sal, Peepal, Neem etc.
 Fauna - Four-horned antelope, chinkara, blackbuck, wild
water buffalo etc.
DeciduousForests
Teak
Peepal
Sandalwood
Neem
Four Horned Antelope
Water Buffalo
Chinkara
Blackbuck
The thorn Forests & Scrubs
 Thorn forests grow in those regions which receive less than
70 cm of rainfall.
 Found in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana,
Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh.
 The trees are scattered and they have long roots which go
very deep in the ground. The stems are succulent to
conserve water. Leaves are usually modified into thorns to
prevent evaporation.
 Flora - Cacti, Palms, Acacias, Euphorbia etc.
 Fauna - Camels, Rabbits, Rats, Fox, Wolf, Wild ass etc.
Cacti
Acacia
Euphorbia
Palm
Camel
Wild Ass
Desert Fox
Viper
Montane Forests
 The forests in the mountainous areas are called Montane
forest.
 The Wet Temperate type of forest is found between a
height of 1000 and 2000 meters.
 Temperate forests are found between the heights of 1500
and 3000 meters.
 Alpine vegetation are found at heights of more than 3600
meters.
 There is no vegetation along the snowline and above.
Montane Forests
 Flora - oak, chestnut, pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce and
cedar.
 Fauna - Kashmir stag, spotted deer, jack rabbit, Tibetan
antelope, yak, snow leopard, horn wild ibex,rare red panda
Dark Brown Oak Forest
Deodar Forest
Chestnut
Spruce
Snow Leopard
Kashmir Stag
Jack Rabbit
Red Panda
Mangrove Forests
 Large and extensive types of trees up to medium height and
shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the
tropics and subtropics.
 Roots of the mangrove plants are submerged under water.
 Hollow roots grow out vertically above water so that roots
can breathe.
 Flora - Sundari, Keora, Agar, Coconut
 Fauna - Royal Bengal Tiger, Spotted Chital, Monkeys,
Indian Crocodile, Gharial, Ganges Dolphin etc.
Mangrove Forests : World Distribution
Mangrove Forest
Sundari Tree
Palm
Kewda
Coconut
Royal Bengal Tiger
Indian Crocodile
Gharial
Macaque monkey
Ganges Dolphin
Wildlife of India
 There are more than 89,000 animal, more than1200 species
of birds & over 2500 species of fish in India.
 It is home to Bengal tigers, Indian lions, deer, pythons,
wolves, foxes, bears, crocodiles, wild dogs, monkeys,
snakes, antelope species, varieties of bison and the Asian
elephant.
 Peacocks, pheasants, ducks, parakeets, cranes & pigeons
are some of the birds found in India.
 There are thousands of species of reptiles including many
venomous snakes.
Asiatic Lion
Royal Bengal Tiger
Nilgiri Langoor
Himalayan Brown Bear
Indian Elephant
Nicobar Pigeon
Great Indian Hornbill
Pheasant
Peacock
Cobra
Andaman Gecko
Salt Water Croc
Water Monitor
Wildlife of
India
 The region's rich
and diverse
wildlife is
preserved in :
 120+ national
parks
 18 bio reserves
 500+ wildlife
sanctuaries
National
Parks
 It is a protected area,
a geographic territory
within which wildlife is
protected.
 Established to
conserve the natural
habitats of the wild
fauna and flora with a
no human
interference.
 There are
120+ national parks
in India.
Wildlife
Sanctuaries
 A wildlife sanctuary is
a declared protected
area, where very
limited human activity
is allowed.
 It is not physically
fenced to restrict the
public from entering
and roaming inside a
wildlife.
 There are
500+ national parks
in India.
National Park vs Wildlife Sanctury
National Park
Wildlife Sanctury
 It is meant for protection of
both flora and fauna.
 It is meant for protection of
only fauna.
 Cultivation of land is not
permitted.
 Cultivation of land is
permitted to some extent
 Grazing is not allowed.
 Grazing is allowed.
 Forest products are not
harvested.
 Forest products are
harvested.
 Boundary is well
demarcated.
 Boundary is not well
demarcated.
Biosphere Reserves
 Biosphere Reserves of India often include one or more
National Parks or sanctuaries.
 The Indian government has established around
18 Biosphere Reserves in India.









Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Nanda Devi
Gulf of Mannar
Nokrek
Sundarbans
Manas
Simlipal
Dihang-Dibang
Pachmarhi









Achanakmar-Amarkantak
Great Rann of Kutch
Cold Desert
Khangchendzonga
Agasthyamalai
Great Nicobar
Dibru-Saikhowa
Seshachalam
Panna