Natural Vegetation — Part 1: Forests, evergreen and deciduous: visual lesson, ICSE Class 10 Geography (H.C.G. Paper 2)

Lesson

From rainforest to thorn scrub

Part 1 — natural vegetation is the plant cover that grows on its own, without being planted by people. In India it changes mainly with rainfall, and in the mountains with altitude.

In this lesson you will

Explain the ecological and economic importance of forests
Correlate the features of tropical evergreen and deciduous forests with rainfall and temperature
Name important trees of each type and their uses

Table of the main vegetation types of India with rough rainfall and an example area
Vegetation type	Rough annual rainfall	Example area
Tropical evergreen	Over 200 cm	Western Ghats (western slopes)
Moist deciduous	100–200 cm	Chota Nagpur, Odisha
Dry deciduous	70–100 cm	South Bihar, interior plateau
Tropical desert (thorn)	Under 70 cm	Western Rajasthan
Littoral (mangrove)	Tidal coasts	Sundarbans
Mountain	Changes with height	Himalayas

Concept

Ecological importance of forests

Forests protect the environment: trees take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen; they moderate temperature and add moisture to the air through transpiration, helping rainfall; roots bind the soil and leaf litter slows runoff, so forests check soil erosion and floods; rainwater soaks in slowly, recharging groundwater and keeping streams flowing after the rains; they provide habitat for wildlife and conserve biodiversity; leaf litter adds humus to the soil.

Concept

Economic importance of forests

Forests support livelihoods and industry: timber for buildings, furniture, railway sleepers and boats; fuelwood and fodder for villages; raw materials for paper (bamboo, softwood), plywood, matches, rayon and sports goods; minor forest products — lac, gum, resin, honey, cane, tendu leaves (for bidis), medicinal plants such as cinchona (quinine); food and income for tribal communities; and tourism in national parks.

Table of forest products and their uses
Forest product	Use
Teak, sal	Timber, furniture, sleepers
Bamboo	Paper pulp, building, crafts
Tendu leaves	Wrapping bidis
Lac	Varnish, bangles
Cinchona bark	Quinine for malaria
Resin from pine	Turpentine, varnish

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