TOPIC:-NATURAL VEGETATION

Question Answer the following questions:

1 Very Short Questions
a. Which forest regions of India are also known as „Rain Forests‟?
Answer: The Tropical Evergreen Forests.

b. Write the names of the typical trees of the Evergreen Forests.

Answer: Mahogany, Ebony, Rosewood, Cinchona, Coconut,
Bamboo
c. How is it that the main regions of the Monsoon forests are the interior of
the Southern Peninsula?
Answer: These regions lie in the rain shadow area of the Western Ghats.
They get about 100-200 cm rain.

d. What are Littoral forests or Tidal forests? Name the principal trees that
grow in these forests.
Answer: Littoral forests or Tidal Forests are found in delta regions and
along the marshy coasts. They are also called „Mangrove Forests‟. The
principal trees are Casuarina, Sundari, Mangrove.

e. Give two characteristics of tidal forests.

Answer: Tidal forests are found to thrive in saline conditions. They
possess breathing roots or pneumatophores.

f. What are Sundarbans?

Answer: The forests found on the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta covering the
coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh are called Sundarbans because of
the abundance of Sundari trees
g Describe the type of vegetation found in the Deccan Plateau and in the
Thar Desert respectively.
Answer: Deciduous trees. Cactus, date-palms, acacia, khair, kikar.
h Classify the following trees as Soft-wood and Hard-wood trees:
Fir, Pine, Teak, Spruce, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Chir, Sal, Shisham and
Silver Fir.
Answer: Soft-wood: Fir, Pine, Spruce, Chir, Silver Fir.
Hard-wood: Teak, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Shisham, Sal.
i Give one important use of each of the following types of trees:
(i) Sundari (ii) Sandalwood (iii) Rosewood.
Answer: (i) Sundri trees are ideal for building boats.
(ii) Sandalwood is a fragrant wood which is used to make incense sticks,
decorative articles and oil. The oil is added to cosmetic, bathing soaps etc.

(iii) Rosewood is termite resistant and is used for making expensive

 furniture and carvings

j Name any three trees found in monsoon deciduous forests and state one
use of each of these trees.
Answer: Sal-used for furniture making Railway sleepers. Sandalwood-used
for extracting sandalwood oil and handicrafts perfumes. Mulberry-used for
rearing silkworms
Question 2 Short Questions

a. With reference to the Natural Vegetation of India, classify the following

trees under the heading: Kind of forests with which they are associated:
Chir Pine, Teak, Casuarina, Ebony, Rosewood, Khajuri, Eucalyptus,
Sandalwood, Babul.
Answer: Tropical Evergreen: Ebony, Rosewood
Monsoon or Deciduous: Teak, Eucalyptus, Sandalwood
Desert: Khajuri, Babul
Littoral or Tidal: Casuarina
Mountain: Chir Pine

b. Why are Evergreen forests composed of thick vegetation and dense

foliage?
Answer: Due to heavy rain, high temperatures and humidity, the soil
retains moisture even after the rainy season. Places near the Equator get
rain practically every day. There is thick undergrowth of leaves and trees.
The trees grow tall with thick foliage.

c. Give one use of each of the following trees: mahogany, rosewood, ebony
and bamboo.
Answer: Mahogany: It is a hard wood used for furniture.
Rosewood: It is a fine grained, hard wood used for making expensive
furniture.
Ebony: It is a hard wood, coal black, with high density. It is therefore
heavy, strong, and used for furniture.
Bamboo: It is used for house construction.

d. What is a Monsoon Forest? What are the chief characteristics of Monsoon

forests?
Answer: Monsoon Forest is the name given to the deciduous forest region.
These regions have moderate rain, 100-200 cm. The characteristic of these
trees is that they shed their leaves in the dry season to protect against
excessive evaporation.

e. Describe the type of trees found growing in the monsoon forests of

Western India. Which one of these trees is the most valuable? Why has
 the Government designated the areas where these trees are cultivated as
„reserves‟?
Answer: Deciduous trees. Teak is the most valuable. The trees of the
monsoon forests are very valuable because they are hard, durable and
useful in construction work and furniture. Hence the government has
declared them as „reserves‟ to prevent the cutting down of trees.

f What are the characteristics of the Mangrove and give one use.
Answer: The mangrove tree has stilt like supporting roots which get
exposed in low tide. The wood of this tree is hard, durable and is used for
boat building and fuel.

g Write two main characteristics of the Deciduous Monsoon Forests.

Answer: Two characteristics of Deciduous Monsoon Forests are:
(i) The trees in these forests shed their leaves from six to eight weeks
during spring and early summer.
(ii) The trees in these forests occur in pure stand which makes it suitable
for commercial exploitation.

h Mention two main characteristics of Tropical Rain Forests

The two characteristics of Tropical rain forest.
Answer: (i) Trees are dense and evergreen.
(ii) They are found in mixed stands
i How do the trees of the desert adapt themselves to the arid conditions?
Answer: They have long tapering roots which go deep to tap water. The
trees are stunted as there is not enough rain for tree growth. The thorny
branches reduce loss of water by transpiration. The fleshy leaves prevent
loss of water by evaporation. The wax on the leaves closes pores.

j Give the importance of the date-palm (Khajera)

Answer: Every part of the plant is useful. The leaves are used for making
bags and mats. The fruit is eaten. The fibres are used for making ropes
and the trunk supplies wood for furniture and tent pegs.

k Give the names of four important products of forests. Why are forests
grown in and around iron and steel cities?
Answer: Wood pulp, paper, medicines, paints and varnishes.
Forests moderate the climate by absorbing much of the sun‟s insolation
and by supplying water vapour which further condenses to impart rain.
This contributes towards cooling the hot environment of iron and steel
cities.

Question 3 Long Questions

a. Give one use of each: teak, sal, myrobalan, sisam, sandalwood,
eucalyptus.
Answer: Teak: It is the most important of the deciduous trees. It is used
for house construction, furniture, ship-building. It is hard and durable. It
resists while ants and nails dor not rust in it.
Sal: It is hard-and heavy. It is immune to white ants. Hence it is used in
railway sleepers.
Myrobalan: It grows abundantly in Tamil Nadu. It bears fruits which are
dried and then used as tanning material in processing hides and skins.
Sisam: It is an erect deciduous tree. It is mostly used in furnitures
industry.
Sandalwood: It is found in the Karnataka forests. It is used in making
sandalwood oil and perfumes. Sandalwood oil of Mysore is famous.
Eucalyptus: It is another important tree of the Karnataka forests. It is
known for its lofty stature. Its wood is raw material for the paper industry.
Eucalyptus oil is also available from it.

b. (i) Name the region where desert vegetation is found.

(ii) Give one characteristic of these trees.
(iii) Name the principal trees of this region.
(iv) Give one use of Babul (Acacia), Khair.
Answer: (i) Desert vegetation is found where rainfall is scanty about 10-50
cm. It is found in Ladakh region of Jammu-Kashmir, Saurashtra in
Gujarat, Rajasthan, and some dry areas of the Deccan Plateau.
(ii) These trees are xerophytyic (drought resisting), thorny shrubs.
(iii) Cactus, Khair, Kikar, Khajera (date-palm), Babul (Acacia).
(iv) Babul yields a gum and the bark is used for tanning hides and skins.
Khair is valuable for timber and products such as dye for tanning.

c. Mountain vegetation consists not of a single type but of several types. Give
reasons.
Answer: On the slopes of the mountains-we find changing vegetation belts
according to the altitude upto the snow line. On the lower slopes of the
Eastern Himalayas we find broad-leaved evergreen trees the Laurel Oak,
Magnolia. Above this we find deciduous trees and still higher we have the
coniferous trees, Spruce, Silverfir, Pine, Chir Pine. On the Western
Himalayas there are broad- leave evergreen trees but not so as those on
the Eastern Himalayas. Chennar and Silverfir are the two most important
trees of the Srinagar valley slopes. Still higher above 6000 metres there is
only snow
d. Explain the terms: Re-afforestation and Forest Conservation.
Answer: Re-afforestation: Growing trees in place of those which have been
cut down. The policy of the government is that two trees should be
planted for every tree cut down.
 Forest Conservation: preservation of forests. This is why the government
has designated certain forests as „Reserved Forests‟.

e Mention three methods for the conservation and development of forests in

India.
Answer: Three methods for the conservation and development of forests:
(i) Grow more trees or Vana Mahotasava.
(ii) Forests regions are being declared “Reserved Sanctuaries” to preserve
the ecosystem and protect animals.
(iii) Afforestation and Reafforestation: Afforestation is the planting of more
trees and Reafforestation is to plant trees in place of those which are cut
down. The policy of the Government is to plant two trees in place of every
one tree that is cut.

f How do forests:
(i) have a favourable effect on the climate of the region?
(ii) act as a flood control measure?
Answer: (i) Forests transmit moisture into the air by means of
transpiration and induce precipitation. Forests turn Carbon dioxide into
oxygen and thus help to purify the air we breathe.
(ii) The roots of plants and trees hold the soil and thus forests check or
prevent soil erosion, especially in hilly areas. Hence they also help in
checking floods.

Question 4 Give Geographical reasons for the following:

a Thar desert looks like a wasteland or Desert soil is almost dry.

Answer: There is very little rain. The desert soil is coarse-grained and
hence the rate of evaporation is accelerated due to the broad pores in the
soil.

b Monsoon forests are commercially very important.

Answer: The monsoon forest trees are hard and durable. They are used for
furniture and construction.

c Write two reasons why monsoon deciduous forests are commercially more
valuable than other types of forests.
Answer: (i) The trees in the monsoon deciduous forests provide useful
wood and are economically very important.
(ii) Trees like Teak and Sal are termite resistant woods
d Forests are called „handmaids of agriculture‟.
Answer: Forests are useful in agriculture in various ways both directly
 and indirectly. Directly, they supply wood for making farm implements.
Indirectly, they help in keeping the climate humid, creating favourable
conditions for rain. They are helpful in checking floods and preventing soil
erosion.

e We find very little vegetation on the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Answer: The Indo-Gangetic Plain is a fertile plain. Therefore, most of the
plain has been cleared for farming. Secondly, the Gangetic Plain is a vast
plain with different amounts of rainfall decreasing from east to west.

f Mention two reasons why Tropical Evergreen Forests are difficult to exploit
for commercial purposes.
Answer: Tropical evergreen forests do not occur in pure stands. The
forests are dark and dense so difficult for commercial exploitation
g Briefly explain two reasons for forests being an important natural
resource.
Answer: Forests are important natural resource because:
(i) They provide timber, medicinal plants etc.
(ii) They help in purifying air and giving rain.

h Coniferous trees are conical in shape.

Answer: They adopted to withstand large and heavy snowfalls and shed
snow easily without breaking limbs or some of them also have very thick
bark to protect them from fire.

i Explain why Thorn and Scrub forests are found in the above mentioned
region.
Answer: They are found in the above region because these areas get less
than 25 cm. of rainfall and average temperature of 25 °C to 27°C.

j Mention three reasons why forests must be conserved.

Answer: Forest conservation is needed to prevent soil erosion. Forest
conservation helps to save the habitat of the wild animals. It also prevents
desertification, flood control, control soil erosion etc.

Question 5 Data based Questions

a From the following information about the regions A, B, C, state the kind of
natural vegetation growing there and mention the name of a typical tree of
the respective region:
A : Annual rainfall 100-200 cm. Trees shed their leaves in March and
April.
B : Annual rainfall less than 50 cm. Trees are stunted and widely
scattered.
 C : Forests are found in submerged coastal plains, especially on the edges
of deltas.
Answer: A : deciduous trees, teak.
B : desert vegetation, cactus.
C : littoral or tidal, sundari.

b Name the Following

Name two important factors responsible for the various vegetation belts in
India.
Answer: Climate and soils.
c Name the chief types of natural vegetation found in India.
Answer: Tropical Evergreen, Monsoon, Desert, Tidal or Littoral, Mountain
d Name one region in India for each of the following:
(i) Tidal forests.
(ii) Thom and Scrub.
Answer: (i) Tidal forest: Deltas of Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna
and Kaveri.
(ii) Thom and scrub forest: Rajasthan and Gujarat
e Name the regions of the Tropical Evergreen forests.
Answer: These are found in regions of heavy rain over 200 cm. The chief
regions are the Western Coastal Belt covering Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Kerala coasts, North-East India covering Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,
Assam, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

f Name the regions of the Monsoon Forests in India.

Answer: These regions get moderate rain, 100-200 cm. They cover the
lower slopes of the Western Himalayas, the eastern slopes, of the Western
Ghats comprising parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh.

g Name two States in India noted for the Deodar tree. Give two uses of
deodar wood.
Answer: Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is used for making paper
and in railway sleepers.

h Name the tree, the timber of which could be used for the following:
(i) A soft and white timber used for making toys and match boxes.
(ii) A hard durable timber used for ship building and furniture making.
(iii) A sweet smelling timber which yields an oil, used for making
handicrafts.
Answer: (i) Semul (ii) Teak (iii) Sandalwood.

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 i Name the natural vegetation largely found in the following regions:
(i) The delta of the Ganga river.
(ii) The windward side of the Western Ghats.
(iii) The Deccan Plateau.
Answer: (i) Mangrove or littoral forests (ii) Tropical evergreen forests.
(iii) Tropical dediduous.

j Name the important trees of Rajasthan.

Answer: Babul, Khajuri, Date-Palm.

k Name one important commercial tree growing in the deciduous forests of

Madhya Pradesh.
Answer: Teak, Sal.

l Name one region for each of the following:

(i) Tropical Evergreen Forests (ii) Deciduous Monsoon Forests
(iii) Desert Vegetation
Answer: (i) Western Ghats, (ii) Eastern slopes of the Western Ghats,
Maharashtra and Karnataka, (iii) Rajasthan.

Question 6 MCQ
a The forest found on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats are
a) Littoral forest
b) Tropical dry forest
c) Tropical Evergreen forest
d) Tropical deciduous forest
Answer: Tropical deciduous forests
b The trees of the tropical dry forests adapt to the climatic conditions
by having
a) broad leaves.
b) pneumatophores.
c) conical shape.
d) long tap roots.
Answer: long tap roots
c The forests that cannot be fully exploited due to dense undergrowth
and lack of means of transport are
a) Tropical rain forest
b) Littoral forest
c) Tropical dry forest
d) Tropical deciduous forest
Answer: Tropical rain forest
d Which of these is not a forest conservation measure?
a) Afforestation
b) Jhumming
 c) Reforestation
d) Farm forestry
Answer: Jhumming
e Afforestation is
a) growing more trees where there was deforestation.
b) growing trees on farm lands.
c) growing trees where there were no trees.
d) Preserving the existing forests
Answer: growing trees where there were no trees.
f Which of the following statements is true about the natural
vegetation seen in the hills of the north east?
a) They shed their leaves before the onset of summer.
b) They are found in areas with more than 200 cms of rain
c) They are found in pure stands
d) They have tangled roots
Answer: They are found in areas with more than 200 cms of rain
g Re-establishing a forest by planting trees in an area from where
forest vegetation has been removed is
a) Agro forestry
b) Social forestry
c) Afforestation
d) Reforestation
Answer: Reforestation
h Name the forests in which this type of vegetation is found

a) Tropical Evergreen forest

b) Tropical deciduous forest
c) Mangrove forests
d) Tropical dry forest
Answer: Mangrove forests

i Sal, Teak, Sandalwood are all trees that grow in

a) Areas with rainfall more than 200 cms
b) Areas which have saline swamps
 c) Areas with rainfall between 100-200 cms
d) Areas with rainfall less than 50 cms
Answer: Areas with rainfall between 100-200 cms
j Identify the correctly matched pair of trees and forests:
a) Acacia, Ber- Mangrove forests
b) Sundari, Rhizophora- Tropical Dry forests
c) Rosewood, ebony- Tropical deciduous forests
d) Spruce, birch- Mountain forests
Answer: Spruce, birch- Mountain forests