Types of Indian Forest
India is the tenth most forest-rich country in the world along with 7,08,273 sq. km of forests area, which is also 21.54% of the total land area of India. A naturally diverse vegetation, approximately 45,500 different species of flora have been found in the Indian forests; where 5,000 species are available in India only. Indian forests perform an important role to make a healthy environment and it reduce air pollutions. These forests can be classified in five major groups namely:
1. Moist tropical forest
2. Dry tropical forest
3. Montane temperate forest
4. Montane sub-tropical forest
5. Alpine forest
Moist Tropical Forest :
-The amount of annual rainfall ranges between 200 and 250 cm.
-The mean annual temperature lies between 24 and 27 and humidity percentage is 80.
-Such forests are found along the Western Coast, in Upper Assam, lower slopes of the eastern Himalaya, Orissa coast and neighbouring hills.
- Important plant varieties include bamboos, epiphytes, aini, semul, gutel, mundane, hopea, benteak, kadam irul, rosewood, haldu, kanju, bijasal, kusum, bomsum, Indian chestnut, litsea, holloch, champa and mesua, etc.
Dry Tropical Forest :
-These forests are generated where average annual rainfall ranges varies from 51 cm to 151.
-Trees of these forests drop its leaves in winter (when the weather remains driest) and new leaves are generated after winter.
-During rainy season these types of forest completely decorate lush green leaves.
-This types of forests mainly found in Indian Northern Hilly regions and some states of Southern India.
-Some significant trees of dry tropical forest are sal, acacia, mangoes and bamboo.
Montane Temperate Forest :
-It takes about 201 cm average annual rainfalls to produce these types of forests.
-These types of forests are mainly generated in Northern middle Himalayas ranges (1801 to 3001 m) and Southern Niligiri higher Mountain ranges.
Montane Subtropical Forest :
-Montane forests occur between the submontane zone and the subalpine zone.
-These types of forests mainly generated in the state of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, etc.
-Some significant trees of montane sub tropical forest are poonspar, cinnamon, rhododendron, sal, sandan, laburnum, pomegranate, olive, oleander, etc.
Alpine Forest :
-These grasslands start at an elevation of above 3000 m grow up to the region just below the snowline.
-They are common in both the main Himalayan regions as well as the barren cold deserts of the Tran Himalaya.
-Low alpine grasslands are common with the vegetation not growing higher than 1.5m.
- The vegetation consists mainly of the black juniper, the drooping juniper; honeysuckle and willow are the common trees.
