compare deforestation in kerala and himachal pradesh
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Answer:
The Forests in Himachal Pradesh are known for their grandeur and majesty, like a green pearl in the Himalayan crown. This life supporting systems are presently under great stress due to impact of modern civilization, economic development and growth in human and cattle population.
According to National Forest Policy, 1988, at least two thirds i.e 66 of the geographical area should be under forests in hilly states like Himachal Pradesh. However, keeping in view, that about 20 percent of the area is inaccessible and beyond the tree limit, the State Government aims to bring 50 of the geographical area under forest cover (See Map Also).
The forests of the State have been classified on an ecological basis as laid down by Champion and Seth, and can be broadly classified into Coniferous Forests and broad-leaved Forests. Distribution of various species follows fairly regular altitudinal stratification. The vegetation varies from Dry Scrub Forests at lower altitudes to Alpine Pastures at higher altitudes. In between these two extremes, distinct vegetational zones of Mixed Deciduous Forests, Bamboo, Chil, Oaks, Deodar, Kail, Fir and Spruce, are found. The forests of Himachal Pradesh are rich in vascular flora, which forms the conspicuous vegetation cover. The richness and diversity of our flora can be gauged from the fact that, out of total 45,000 species found in the country as many as 3,295 species (7.32) are reported in the State. More than 95 of the species are endemic to Himachal Pradesh and characteristic of Western Himalayan flora, while about 5 (150 species) are exotic, introduced over the last 150 years.
Kerala recorded a total increase of 541sqkm of forest cover in its 10 hill districts, thus rescuing the country (with a total of 2,84,006sqkm in 140 hill districts) which had to be content with an overall increase of just 544sqkm. In case of tribal districts too, the state led the way by increasing the forest cover by 591sqkm behind Andhra Pradesh (808sqkm).
In fact, the forest cover within RFA (recorded forest areas) in the tribal districts of the country showed a decrease of 741sqkm, while Kerala managed an increase of 34sqkm. And the state’s contribution to the increase in cover outside the RFA/GW (green wash) in nine tribal districts is 557sqkm, helping the country register an overall increase of 1,922sqkm.
Apart from the protection and afforestation activities, Kerala’s achievement has been facilitated by the new interpretation of the forest cover, in which ‘the changes taking place in the forest cover is not necessarily due to changes within the RFA but also because of changes outside’, according to the report. The total area of RFA in Kerala is 11,309sqkm which is 29.11% of its geographical area, and all the RFAs in the state are reserved forests.
Though Kerala did not show any increase in its mangrove cover, which stood at just 9sqkm as in the 2017 report, the state found a place among top five species-rich states in trees and shrubs. However, the distribution of bamboo area in RFA in the state declined from 3,484sqkm in 2017 to 2,849sqkm in 2019, a decrease in area by 635sqkm.
When it comes to mangroves, the state doesn’t have very dense mangroves but only moderately dense and open mangroves, largely in three districts — Ernakulam (1.82sqkm), Kannur (6.24sqkm) and Kasaragod (0.84sqkm).
Though the neighbours, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is ahead of Kerala in the maximum tree diversity, the state is fourth in the country with 238 tree species (Karnataka - 325, Tamil Nadu - 252 and Andhra Pradesh - 242). Recording 158 species of shrubs, the state is again on the fourth spot after Arunachal Pradesh (435), Tamil Nadu (313) and Meghalaya (176), and is followed by Assam (149).
Kerala, as per a rapid survey reported in the 2019 ISFR, is now home to a total of 477 plant species, which also include 81 herbs, while Arunachal tops the list with 737 species followed by Tamil Nadu (652), J&K (478) and Karnataka (505). The state also has 359 wetlands covering a total area of 23,157 ha, which is 2.03% of Kerala’s RFA.
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