Natural Vegetation — Part 2: Desert, littoral and mountain vegetation; conservation: visual lesson, ICSE Class 10 Geography (H.C.G. Paper 2)

Lesson

Plants at the edges

Part 2 — some of India’s plants live in very harsh places: dry sand, salty tidal mud and cold mountain slopes. Each has special features that help it survive. We also see how India is trying to protect and extend its forests.

In this lesson you will

Explain how desert plants and mangroves are adapted to their environment
Describe the change in vegetation with altitude in the Himalayas
Distinguish afforestation from reforestation and social forestry from agroforestry
State the aim of Van Mahotsav

Table of harsh conditions, the vegetation found there and an example place
Harsh condition	Vegetation	Example place
Very little rain	Thorn forest and scrub	Barmer, Kutch
Salty, tidal mud	Mangroves	Sundarbans, Mahanadi delta
Cold, high altitude	Coniferous and alpine	Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim

Concept

Tropical desert (thorn) vegetation

Climate: rainfall under about 70 cm, long dry season, hot summers. Distribution: western Rajasthan, Kutch and Saurashtra in Gujarat, south-west Punjab and Haryana, dry parts of the Deccan in the rain-shadow. Adaptations: long roots that reach deep water; small, thorny or waxy leaves that lose little water; thick, fleshy stems that store water (cacti, euphorbias); trees widely scattered. Plants: babul (acacia), khejri, kikar, ber, wild palms, cacti, euphorbias. Uses: fuel, fodder, gum from babul, tanning bark.

Table of desert plant adaptations and how each helps
Adaptation	How it helps
Long roots	Reach water deep underground
Small or thorny leaves	Less water lost by transpiration
Waxy coating	Seals in moisture
Fleshy stems	Store water for dry months

Diagram

Littoral or tidal forests: mangroves

Where: on muddy coasts and deltas washed by tides — the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta (Sundarbans), the deltas of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Adaptations: they tolerate salty water; stilt (prop) roots hold them in soft mud; breathing roots (pneumatophores) grow upward and take in air at low tide, because waterlogged mud lacks oxygen. Trees: sundari (hard, durable timber for boats), keora, agar, nipa palm. Value: protect coasts from storm waves and erosion; fish breeding grounds; habitat of the Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans.

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