Essay on natural vegetation and wildlife for
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Changes in soil conditions have given birth to peculiar types of vegetation in many areas. Large areas of forests are depleting every year due to continuous felling and burning of trees for increasing area for cultivation and settlement. Overgrazing has also resulted into depletion of natural vegetation in several areas. Natural vegetation in India is influenced by altitude (in the Himalayan region) and rainfall.
On the basis of altitude, the Himalayan region has all the vegetation varieties found in the tropical to tundra region. The rest of the country has mainly three major vegetation regions, namely tropical wet-evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, the tropical deciduous, and the thorn forests. Wild life species are similarly of a great variety.
It is home to over 91200 species of animals and 45500 species of plants and has four identified hot spots. India is also home to about 7.6% of mammalian species 12.6% of avian species. 6.2% of reptilian species and 6.0% of flowering plants species.
i. Reserved Forests:
Permanently earmarked for production of timber and grazing is seldom allowed.
ii. Protected forests:
These rights are allowed subject to few minor restrictions.
iii. Unclassed forests:
Consists largely of inaccessible forests or unoccupied wastes.
Forests are also classified according to their density, namely: dense, open and mangrove forests.
India’s biological diversity is reflected in the heterogeneity of its forest covers. It is one of the 12 ‘mega-diversity’ countries of the world. India is also at meeting zone of three major bio-geographic realms, namely the Indo-Malayan (the richest in world) the Eurasian and the Afro tropical.
Essay on 'Natural vegetation and wildlife'
Explanation:
Natural vegetation and wildlife
Natural vegetation refers to the vegetation that grows spontaneously under physical conditions or conditions, which includes trees, shrubs, grass, etc. The development of vegetation depends on temperature and moisture. It also depends on factors like soil thickness and slope. It is classified into three broad categories: forests, grasslands and shrubs.
In India, there are mainly five types of natural vegetation found in India: tropical evergreen forests, tropical deciduous forests, thorn bushes, mountain forests, and mangroves.
1). Tropical evergreen forests: They are found near the equator and near the tropics. These regions are hot and receive heavy rainfall throughout the year. These forests are called evergreen because their leaves never shed. Hardwood trees like rosewood, ebony, and mahogany are found in abundance here.
2). Tropical deciduous forests: These are rainfed forests that are found in large parts of India, such as on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, the foothills of the Himalayas, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. These trees shed their leaves in the dry season to conserve water. Sal, teak, neem, and shisham are hardwood trees found in these forests. Tigers, lions, elephants, langurs and monkeys are the common animals found in these areas.
3). Tho-rn bushes: This type of vegetation is found in areas with less than 50 cm of rainfall. Here the trees are in the form of small bushes. Usually their maximum height is up to 6 cm. The roots of these trees are deep, thick and the leaves are tho-rny. This vegetation is found in the rainfed region of western Rajasthan, northern Gujarat, and the Western Ghats.
4). Mountain forests: This vegetation is found at an altitude of 1500 m. It is mostly found in peninsular India. Its forests are not very dense. There are bushes on the surface. It is found in the Annamalai hills, Nilgiris, and Palani. The main trees of this forest are Magnolia, Eucalyptus, and Elm.
5). Mangroves: Mangroves are such plants and trees that are found in brackish water or semi-salt water. Mangrove forests are of great importance in the ecology, as they provide stability to the coast and provide habitat and protection to many animal, fish, and bird species. They are mainly found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions between 25 degrees north and 25 degrees south latitudes.
Wildlife of India: Diversity is found in the ecological and geographical conditions of India. Due to this diversity, many types of animals are also found here. About 81,000 species are found in India out of 150000 known species of total fauna in the whole world. There are 2500 species of fresh and sea water fishes in the country.
Out of 2,50,000 known species of plants in the world, 15,000 species are found in India. Thus, out of the total 1.5 million species of animals in the world, 75,000 species are found in India. There are 1,200 species of birds and 900 subspecies found in India. 1200 species of birds and 900 subspecies are found in India.
Due to being located at the confluence of African, European, and South-East Asian bio-systems, strange creatures of each of these bio-systems are also found in India. Where the hyena and chinkara are of African origin. Whereas the wolf, hangal and wild goat are of European origin. Similarly, elephants and hoolock gibbons are prominent among the animals of the South-complete Asian bio-system.
However, the abundance of wildlife here is slowly becoming extinct. Earlier tigers used to adorn the forests. Thus, the government come out with several 'Wildlife Conservation Projects.' Many rules and laws have been passed by the central and state governments from time to time for the protection and conservation of wildlife. Some of the important acts among these are-
Madras Wild Elephant Preservation Act, 1873
All India Elephant Preservation Act, 1879
The Wild Bird and Animals Prohibition Act, 1912
Bengal Rhinoceros Preservation Act, 1932
Assam Rhinoceros Preservation Act, 1954
Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL), 1952
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
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