Forests in India|Natural Vegetation in India
Forests in India
• In terms of largest forest cover, Madhya Pradesh (11.25%) is followed by Arunachal
Pradesh (9.75%), Chhattisgarh (8.09%), Maharashtra (7.33%) and Orissa (7.07%).
• The north-east states, the region which has only 7.76% of the geographical area, together account for about 25% of India’s total forest cover.
• Forest cover in the north-eastern states is about 66.81% of the geographic area as against the national average of 21.02%.
• As compared to 2005, gain of 598 km2 of forest cover has been observed in north–east
states.
• Forest cover in diff erent altitude zones assessed for the fi rst time.
• Geographical areas in the 1000–2000 m altitude zone has got the maximum forest
cover (72.19%).
• More than half of the forest cover of India occurs in 1–500 m altitude zone.
• Distribution of forest cover in diff erent forest types is being presented for the fi rst time.
• Nearly one-third of India’s forest cover falls in the tropical moist deciduous type
followed by tropical dry deciduous (30.16%).
• Tropical wet evergreen type group occupies 8.75% of the country’s forest cover.
• West Bengal has nearly half of the country’s mangroves.
• An increase of 58 km2 of mangrove at the national level has been observed.
• Decrease in mangrove cover in the Andamans and Nicobar islands is attributed to
after eff ects of tsunami.
• Tree cover in India constitutes the largest in Maharashtra (9466 km2) followed by
Gujarat (8390 km2), Rajasthan (8274 km2) and Uttar Pradesh (7381 km2).
• There is heavy deforestation in the catchment areas of rivers in the Himalayan region.
• There is urgent need for the conservation of natural vegetation to maintain balance in
environment by controlling reckless felling of trees, overgrazing in forests, forest fi re,
Jhuming urbanization and shifting agriculture.
• Research institutes are required to control the spread of plant diseases.
• Planned conservation can be taken up by forest department.
• Manmade forests (aff orestation) are to be encouraged to produce trees for commercial
purposes and to increase people’s participation in forestation and social forestry.
• According to India State of Forests Report 2011 (ISFR, 2011), the total forest cover of
the country as per 2011 assessment is 6,92,027 km2 (21.05% of the total geographic
area of the country).
• Out of this, very dense forest is (VDF) 83,471 km2, 2.54% of total geographic area,
moderately dense forest is (MDF) 32,073 km2, 9.76% of total geographic area and the
rest is open forest (OF) 3,20,736 km2, 8.75% of total geographic area.
• The total forest cover (includes 4662 km2 under magrovers) equals to 6,92,027 km2
which is 21.05% of India’s total geographic area.
• India’s tree cover has been estimated as 90,844 km2 constituting 2.76 % of its total
geographical area. Tree cover is defi ned as tree patches less than 1 ha area with canopy
density above 10%.
• The National Forest Policy 1988 has laid down a target of raising the area covered by
forests in India to nearly 33.3%.
• There is a net decrease of 367 km2 of forest cover in the country as compared to
the previous assessment made in 2009. However after accounting for interpretational
changes in the assessment of 2009, there is a net increase of 1128 km2 in the forest
cover as compared to the 2009 assessments.
— State having maximum proportion of its geographical area under dense forest cover,
Arunachal Pradesh (20,868 km2).
—State having lowest area under forest cover, Haryana (1068 km2).
—State having largest area under forest cover, Madhya Pradesh (77,700 km2).
—Percentage of forest cover with respect to total geographical area, Mizoram (90.68%).
Forest Cover in Hill and Tribal Districts
Hill Districts: There are 124 hill districts in India. 39.74% of their geographical area is under forest cover. Forest cover in the hill districts has decreased by 548 km2.
All districts of the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand are hill districts. The percentages of these nine states for forest cover is 63.07% of their geographical area.
Tribal Districts: There are 188 tribal districts in India. 37.25% of their geographical area is under forest cover. Forest cover in tribal districts has decreased by 679 km2.
• The type of natural vegetation cover changes according to fall in temperature as one goes up the mountains.
• In the Himalayas, we fi nd tropical vegetation up to a height of 500 m, sub-tropical vegetation from 500–1500 m, temperate vegetation from 2500–3500 m and cold desert vegetation above 3500 m from the sea level. In southern India the change in vegetation type occurs at relatively high altitudes because of its tropical location.
Types of Forests in India
Evergreen Forests (Tropical): Found in areas where rainfall ranges between 200 and 300
cm, for example western ghats and sub-Himalayan regions. These are coniferous forests
with trees having needle-shaped leaves and provide teak, rosewood, mahogany, pine and
bamboo.
Deciduous Forests (Monsoon Forests): Found in areas having rainfall between 150 and
200 cms per annum, for example, parts of Deccan plateau stretching across Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. They provide fine timber such as teak, sal and
sandalwood, etc.
Dry Forests: Found in desert regions of Rajasthan and south of Punjab, where rainfall
is below 75–100 cm per annum. The trees include Babul, Neem, Tamarind, etc. In
the regions with rainfall below 50 cm per annum like the central and western parts of
Rajasthan, we fi nd semi-desert and desert vegetation. The plants include scrubs, thorny
bushes and cactus.
Hill Forests: Found in southern India and in the Himalayan regions and provide timber.
Oak, deodar, pines and chir are major trees found in these forests.
Tidal Forests (Mangrove): Found in coastal plains which are generally submerged, particularly on river deltas on the east coast (Ganges, Mahanadi, Godavari).
The forests on the Gangetic delta in Bengal are called Sunderbans after the Sundari trees found in
these forests. The mangrove cover in India is 4639 km2 (0.14% of India’s geographic ares)
spread across 12 states and unition territories.
Forests in India: Contribution as a Carbon Sink
• Over the last two decades, progressive national forestry legislations and policies in India aimed at conservation and sustainable management of forests have reversed deforestation and have transformed India’s forests into a significant net sink of CO2.
• The CO2 removal by India’s forest and tree cover is enough to neutralize 11.25% of India’s total GHG emission (CO2 equivalnet) at 1994 levels, the most recent year for which comparable data is available for developing countires based on their respective National Communications (NATCOMs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climage Change (UNFCCC).
• This is equivalent to off setting 100% emissions from all energy in residential and transport sector or 40% of total emissions from the agricultural sector. Clearly, India’s forest and tree cover is serving as a major mode of carbon mitigation for India and the world.
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