How Many Types of Natural Vegetation

Introduction

India has five main types of natural vegetation: mountain forests, deserts, tidal zones, and tropical evergreen and deciduous vegetation. Their main classifications are based on the kind of areas they are located in and the amount of rainfall they receive on an annual average.

What is Natural Vegetation?

A plant community evolved organically through time and is referred to as natural vegetation without human intervention. We refer to this as virgin vegetation. The plants and trees grow naturally, without human intervention, in response to environmental factors, including soil, temperature, and rainfall. Woods and grasslands are two examples. Evergreen tropical rainforests, deciduous woods, and monsoon forests are a few examples of natural vegetation.

Types of Natural Vegetation in India

Tropical Evergreen Rain Forests

Areas with more than 200 cm of precipitation are home to tropical evergreen rainforests. The Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, the Western Ghats, the Terai districts of the Himalayas, and the Andaman groups of Islands are where they can be found in considerable numbers. The trees in this area are overgrowing.

Bamboo, rosewood, mahogany, and sandalwood are the predominant trees in this region. The abundant vegetation, including trees, shrubs, and creepers, gives it a multilayered structure. The most prevalent animals in these locations are elephants, monkeys, and lemurs.

Deciduous or Monsoon Type of Forests

The deciduous woods can be found in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and the surrounding regions, as well as on the lower slope of the Himalayas. This region receives between 100 cm and 200 cm of precipitation annually.

The area's predominant species is teak. Deodar, Blue Gum, Pal Ash, Sal, Sandalwood, Ebony, Arjun, Khair, and Bamboo can also be spotted in addition to those. The dry winter and dry summer cause the trees in this woodland to lose their leaves. Depending on the water supply, these forests are further split into moist and dry deciduous.

Dry Deciduous Forests

These forests thrive where there is 50 to 100 cm of annual precipitation. These are primarily found in the South-east of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, sections of Uttar Pradesh, and the Central Deccan plateau.

Mountain Forests/Montane Forests

Mountains are home to woods known as montane. Along the mountainside, mountain forest types vary greatly. Up to 1500 metres, evergreen trees like sal, teak, and bamboo flourish on the Himalayan foothills. Temperate conifer trees thrive on steep slopes including pine, fir, and oak. Rhododendrons and junipers grow in the Himalayas' higher elevations. Alpine grasslands can be seen beyond these vegetative zones to the snowfield.

Tidal or Mangrove Forests

Mangrove or tidal forests develop along the coast and at the borders of deltas, such as those formed by the Cauvery, Krishna, Mahanadi, Godavari, and Ganga rivers. These forests are referred to as "Sundarbans" in West Bengal. The giant tree in these woodlands is called the "Sundari."

Hogla, Garan, Pasur, and other significant trees can be found in the tidal woods. Because it provides firewood and lumber, this forest is substantial to the timber industry. The seaside strip is made beautiful by palm and coconut palms.

Semi-Deserts and Deserts Vegetations

Babul, acacia, and thorny plants can all be found in this area of vegetation. This is typically the region where you may see wild Indian dates. They have meat that is dense and has extensive roots. To survive the drought, the plants in this area store water in their stems. Rajasthan, Punjab, and sections of Gujarat all include this vegetation.

Features of Natural Vegetation

• Strong relationships exist between the type of vegetation and the height of the land.

• As height increases, both the climate and the native vegetation alter.

• Moisture and temperature affect how plants grow.

• Additionally, factors like slope and soil thickness must be considered. The three main categories are forest, grassland, and shrubs.

Factors Affecting Natural Vegetation

The world's forests are incredibly diverse and rich ecosystems, shaped by a range of physical, geographic, climatic, and ecological factors. Each type of forest, such as deciduous or evergreen, is unique in its own way, characterized by its own set of flora and fauna.

Land and Soil: The natural vegetation of an area is heavily influenced by its land characteristics, both directly and indirectly. For example, the vegetation in plateaus and plains differ from that in mountainous areas. Soil also plays a crucial role in supporting vegetation, as different types of soil can sustain different types of plants. Mangroves and deltaic vegetation thrive in moist, swampy delta lands, while cactus and prickly bushes thrive in the sandy soils of deserts.

Climate: The three components of climate – temperature, photoperiod (sunlight), and precipitation – play a major role in shaping the vegetation in a region. Temperature affects the type, growth, and character of vegetation, as colder climates result in lower temperatures or higher elevations. Photoperiod, or the fluctuation of the sun's rays, is determined by the latitude, altitude, season, and day length and impacts plant and tree growth rates. Precipitation, such as the South-West monsoon in India, brings a large portion of the yearly rainfall and contributes to the lush vegetation in areas with abundant rainfall.

Overall, the interplay of these physical, geographic, climatic, and ecological factors results in the diverse and rich forests found across the world, each unique in its own way.

Factors that Influence Natural Vegetation Growth

Health: The type of vegetation is influenced by geography. If the land is level and fruitful, farming is the primary use of it. Grassland and woodlands will develop on top of uneven ground. Different plant varieties require different types of soil. While mangrove vegetation flourishes in damp, swampy soil, cactus and thorny bushes thrive on sandy soil.

Climate: The type and distribution of vegetation are influenced by the climate's temperature and humidity. High temperature and high humidity are ideal for evergreen forests, while high temperature and low humidity are ideal for prickly bushes.

Photoperiod (Daylight): Latitude, height, season, and day length affect photoperiod. The more extended photoperiod causes trees to grow more quickly in the summer.

Natural Vegetative Propagation

In biological vegetative propagation, a lateral shoot that sprouts from an axillary bud and has its roots is referred to as the process (also termed adventitious roots). Plants with systems like bulbs, stolons, rhizomes, and tubers can spread vegetatively naturally.

Some species of plants that withstand and significantly expand through vegetative reproduction are practical, by definition, perpetual because specialised organs of vegetative reproduction, such as seeds in annuals, help to fight seasonally severe surroundings.

A plant that thrives in a specific location over an extended time by vegetative reproduction of organisms is known as a clonal community.

Conservation of Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

• We receive both oxygen and precipitation from forests.

• The presence of wood reduces soil erosion.

• Animals and birds are the primary means of plant pollination and seed dispersion.

• We can find a variety of medications in forests.

• Numerous forest products are used as raw materials in various industries.

• Some animals are no longer alive, and others are in danger of extinction.

Initiatives by the Government to Protect Natural Vegetation and Fauna

The main reasons for the threat to nature include pollution, industrial hunting, clearing of forest land for cultivation and settlement, acid deposits, and other factors:

• The government first proposed the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972.

• Ten of India's 18 established biosphere reserves are now part of the global network of biosphere reserves.

• To protect the nation's fauna and flora, there are 104 national parks, 535 wildlife sanctuaries, and several zoological gardens.

• Numerous government initiatives, including Project Tiger, Project Rhino, Project Great Indian Bustard, and countless more eco-developmental industries, have been established to protect endangered species.

• Since 1992, the government has supported the Botanical Gardens financially and technically.

• Several initiatives and programmes have been created to protect wildlife, including Project Tiger, Project Lion, Project Elephant, Project Vulture, etc.

Changes in Natural Vegetation in India

The vegetation cover is no longer natural in vast areas of India. Due to various circumstances, such as the increasing demand for arable land, industrial growth, and mining, it has undergone significant changes.

Except for some inaccessible areas like the Himalayas, the hilly region of central India, and the Marusthali, urbanisation and pasture overgrazing have altered, replaced, or damaged the vegetation of the majority of areas.

Distribution of Natural Vegetation

The vegetation growth in a particular area depends on the local temperature and moisture levels. The four primary forms of vegetation in the world are tundra, grasslands, scrubs, and forests.

In places with high rainfall rates, large trees can flourish. Thus, locations with a plentiful water supply also have lush trees with a proportional decrease in moisture, trees' size and density decline.

In areas with moderate rainfall, short, stunted plants and grasses flourish. Scrubs and thorny bushes thrive in dry environments with little to no rain. Mosses and lichens make up the tundra vegetation found in the frigid Polar Regions.

Effects of Natural Vegetation on Weather and Climate

It should be no surprise that plants impact climate, given that they cover around 20% of our world. But the extent to which plants influence the weather is unexpected. Plants process and release the water vapour needed to generate clouds and absorb and release the energy that controls the temperature.

By regulating the humidity and temperature directly around their leaves through transpiration, plants can also create their micro-weather.

Vegetation affects climate because the climate is an average of the weather over a long period. In actuality, photosynthesis increased atmospheric oxygen content to the level we enjoy today (21%).

Additionally, plants stabilise temperature and moisture changes throughout time by transpiring, which contributes to the stability of our climate.

Conclusion

The diverse climate of India is the primary determinant of natural vegetation. The many forms of vegetation exist due to topography, perception, soil, and environment. The country has six main types of vegetation. India's various types of vegetation include semi-desert vegetation, tidal or mangrove forests, mountain forests, deciduous kinds of woods, tropical evergreen rain forests, and dry deciduous forests. The primary differences between this vegetation and the other natural vegetation of India are rainfall and geographic location.