Natural Vegetation Flashcards
define natural vegetation
the plant community which has grown naturally without any human assistance, and has not been disturbed for a long time, so as to allow individual special to adjust themselves to the climate and soil conditions
define flora
plants of a particular region or period, listed as species and considered as a group
define vegetation
assemblage of plant species living in association with each other in a given environmental setup
define forests
large tract of land covered with trees, with an undergrowth of shrubs and herbs, sustaining thousands of life forms, including plants and animals
importance of forests
- productive functions
- protective functions
- regulatory functions
- accessory functions
productive functions of forests
trees provide fruits, leaves, roots, tubers of plants
wood used in making furniture and industrial units
wood and bamboo pulp used for paper
wood is used as source of energy and warmth
protective functions of forests
control water cycle
humus acts as natural sponge and soaks rainwater into the soil
trees prevent soil erosion and loss of nutrients
thick hums increases fertility of soil
regulatory functions of forests
use CO2 and release oxygen, used by animals
regulate the water cycle
helps in precipitation
accessory functions of forests
provide habitat for wildlife
provide aesthetics and recreation to humans
major vegetation regions
- tropical evergreen
- tropical deciduous
- tropical desert
- littoral
- mountain
climate of tropical evergreen
annual rainfall more than 200 cm
short dry season
average annual temp is 25-27 degrees C
average annual humidity is 77%
distribution of tropical evergreen
western slopes of western ghats
hills of NE india
island groups of lakshadweep and andaman nicobar
TN coast
characteristic features of tropical evergreen
- luxuriant vegetation of all kinds- multi layered structure
- trees are more than 60 m
- carpet layer of herbs and grasses cannot grow because the dense canopy of trees do not allow sunlight to reach
- trees do not have a fixed time to shed their leaves, to flower or fruition, so they appear green all year around
trees in tropical evergreen
rosewood, mahogany, ebony, toon, chaplas, sissoo, gurjan, telsur
economical value of tropical evergreen
produce various plant species of high economic value
timber is hard, durable, fine grained
why can’t tropical evergreen forests be fully exploited
due to tangled mass of canes, palms, bamboos, ferns and climbers, along with lack of means of transport
category of deciduous forests
- moist deciduous
- dry deciduous
most widespread forests in india
tropical deciduous forest
climate of moist deciduous
rainfall between 100-200 cm
mean annual temp: 24-27 C
humidity: 50-80%
distribution of moist deciduous
along NE part of peninsula
foothills of himalayas
eastern slopes of western ghats
UP, maharashtra, karnataka, tamil nadu