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India is a large and diverse country with a variety of flora and fauna. It is home to different types of forests like Coniferous forests, Broadleaved forests, Evergreen forests, Wet Evergreen, Semi Evergreen, Deciduous forests, Thorn forests and Mangrove forests etc. We can’t undermine the importance of forests in India. They are home to a number of plant and animal species. They provide us with oxygen to breathe and the wood we make use of in our day to day lives. Forests provide us with innumerable things. This article on Important Forests in India 2021 will help aspiring competitive exam candidates in their preparation.
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Important Forests in India 2021
Forests are a boon to mankind. It is our duty to preserve them. Let us take a look at types of forests in India.
Types of Forests in India
Let us take a look at the types of forests in India 2021. Forest in India UPSC, is an important topic for civil service aspirants.
- Coniferous Forests – These kinds of forests are usually found in the Himalayan mountain region, where the temperatures are low. The forests have tall stately trees with needle like leaves and downward sloping branches so that the snow can easily fall off the branches and not settle for long. The trees have cones rather than seeds, which are called Gymnosperms.
- Broadleaved Forests – Also known as Himalayan Subtropical Broadleaved forests. It is an Eco region that spreads across Bhutan, India and Nepal. The area broadleaved forests are stretched into is 38,200 km2 (14,700 sq. mi). It is home to some of the famous Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, smooth-coated otter, clouded leopard, gaur, Sumatran serow, Irrawaddy squirrel
- Evergreen Forests -They are predominantly found in Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They appear green all throughout the year and almost never shed their leaves.
- Wet Evergreen – They are mostly found in South India in the Western Ghats and Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also the North Eastern region. Wet Evergreen forests flourish in the areas which receive more than 200 cm rainfall.
- Semi Evergreen – They are found in the Western Ghats, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Eastern Himalayas. These forests are a mix of the wet evergreen trees and the moist deciduous tress. The forest is thick and is full of large variety of trees of both types.
- Deciduous forests – The wet deciduous forests are commonly found in the foothills of the Himalayas, eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, and Odisha. The main species of deciduous trees are Teak, Sal, Shisham, Hurra, Mahua, Amla, Semul, Kusum, and Sandalwood etc.
- Thorn forests – It is a thick and dense forest with very less vegetation and rainfall. The average rainfall is around 250 – 500 mm. They are found in some areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
- Mangrove Forests – India is home of the World’s largest mangrove forest the Sunderban. It is formed by the joining of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It extends from the Hooghly River in West Bengal to the Baleswar River in Bangladesh’s division of Khulna.
List of Types of Forests in India
|
Types of Forests |
Area (in square kilometers) |
Percentage of total forest |
|
Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests |
20,054 |
2.61 |
|
Tropical Semi Evergreen Forests |
71,171 | 9.27 |
| Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests | 1,35,492 |
17.65 |
|
Littoral & Swamp Forests |
5,596 | 0.73 |
| Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests | 3,13,617 |
40.86 |
|
Tropical Thorn Forests |
20,877 | 2.72 |
| Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests | 937 |
0.12 |
|
Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forests |
32,706 | 4.26 |
| Subtropical Pine Forests | 18,102 |
2.36 |
|
Subtropical Dry evergreen Forests |
180 | 0.02 |
| Montane Wet Temperate Forests | 20,435 |
2.66 |
|
Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests |
25,743 | 3.35 |
| Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests | 5,627 |
0.73 |
|
Sub Alpine Forests |
14,995 | 1.96 |
| Moist Alpine Scrub 959 | 0.13 |
16 |
|
Dry Alpine Scrub |
2,922 | 0.38 |
| Plantation/TOF | 64,839 |
8.45 |
|
Total (Forest Cover + Scrub) |
7,54,252 | 98.26 |
| Grass land in different forest type groups (without forest cover) | 13,329 |
1.74 |
|
Grand Total |
7,67,581 |
100.00 |
Largest Forest in India
India is home to innumerable forests. Some are large in area and some are large in density. Let us take a look at largest National Park, largest forest by area etc.
Largest National Park
- Hemis National Park – The Hemis National Park is knows to be the largest forest in India. It is also known as Hemis High Altitude National Park. It is a high altitude National Park in Ladakh, India. Hemis National Park is globally famous for Snow Leopard. It is knows as the largest forest in India. It covers about 4,400 sq.km and is home to some of the endangered and exotic animal species like snow leopards, Tibetan wolf, and Eurasian brown bear. The park has dry forests like juniper and Populus-Salix. The park is named after the famous monastery, Hemis Gompa situated near Leh.
Forest Cover in States and UT’s of India
|
State / UT |
Geographical Area | Very dense | Moderately dense |
| Andhra Pradesh | 162,968 | 1,957 |
14,051 |
|
Arunachal Pradesh |
83,743 | 20,721 | 30,955 |
| Assam | 78,438 | 2,797 |
10,192 |
|
Bihar |
94,163 | 332 | 3,260 |
| Chhattisgarh | 135,192 | 7,064 |
32,215 |
|
Delhi |
1,483 | 7 | 56 |
| Goa | 3,702 | 538 |
576 |
|
Gujarat |
196,244 | 378 | 5,200 |
| Haryana | 44,212 | 28 |
452 |
|
Himachal Pradesh |
55,673 | 3,110 | 6,705 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 222,236 | 4,075 |
8,579 |
|
Jharkhand |
79,716 | 2,598 | 9,686 |
| Karnataka | 191,791 | 4,502 |
20,444 |
|
Kerala |
38,852 | 1,663 | 9,407 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 308,252 | 6,563 |
34,571 |
|
Maharashtra |
307,713 | 8,736 |
20,652 |
|
Manipur |
22,327 | 908 | 6,510 |
| Meghalaya | 22,429 | 453 |
9,386 |
|
Mizoram |
21,081 | 131 | 5,861 |
| Nagaland | 16,579 | 1,279 |
4,587 |
|
Odisha |
155,707 | 6,967 | 21,370 |
| Punjab | 50,362 | 8 |
806 |
|
Rajasthan |
342,239 | 78 | 4,340 |
| Sikkim | 7,096 | 1,081 |
1,575 |
|
Tamil Nadu |
130,060 | 3,672 | 10,979 |
| Telangana | 112,077 | 1,596 |
8,738 |
|
Tripura |
10,486 | 656 | 5,246 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 240,928 | 2,617 |
4,069 |
|
Uttarakhand |
53,483 | 4,969 | 12,884 |
| West Bengal | 88,752 | 2,994 |
4,147 |
|
Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
8,249 | 5,678 | 684 |
| Chandigarh | 114 | 1 |
14 |
|
Dadra & Nagar Haveli |
491 | 0 | 80 |
| Daman & Diu | 111 | 1 |
6 |
|
Lakshadweep |
30 | 0 | 17 |
| Puducherry | 490 | 0 |
18 |
|
Total |
3,287,469 | 98,158 |
308,318 |
List of Forests in India PDF
If you are preparing for competitive exams and want free and easy access to list of forests in India, Entri has set up a PDF of complete list of forests in India along with Forest in India Map.
Forests in India is a very important topic that the aspirants can expect in UPSC exams. UPSC examination aspirants can go through Important Forests in India 2021 list and start their preparation. Check List of DRDO Laboratories in India 2021.
