On our planet there is a huge amount of various natural resources. This article will touch on the topic of the tropical forests of India. Why are they so remarkable and special, what flora and fauna fills them?
A few words about India
It is worth saying that this country is unique. In its open spaces you can find plants that cannot be found anywhere else. The flora of India can be divided into several large groups. Moreover, each of the parts of the country cultivates its own vegetation and unique fauna. Perhaps that is why the flora of India is considered the richest on our planet. Surprisingly, it has more than 20 thousand different species. There are more than two thousand trees and shrubs alone!
A little about the past
It is worth saying that this country was one of the most forested in the past, but the colonialists did not consider it necessary to preserve the natural beauty and constantly used the forests in India for their own purposes. After the proclamation of the freedom of the Indian region, the issue of preserving natural resourcesstood up very sharply. At that time, protective strips were actively planted along irrigation canals and roads, and the necessary measures were actively taken to prevent soil erosion (including in tropical zones). The following fact is interesting: if most of the countries of our planet suffer from deforestation, then India can boast of an increase in the forest area. Over the past few decades, forest cover has increased by about 15-20%.
About the variety of forests
Indian forests can be conditionally divided into three large subgroups:
- Indian rain forest (wet, rain and evergreen). Location: slopes of the Western Ghats, southeastern Himalayas, Nilgiri Mountains and Cardamom Mountains.
- Shola rainforest, gradually turning into deciduous monsoon forests. Primary Location: Above tropical rainforests.
- Savanna forests. Location: Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Deccan Plateau.
About the tropics
When studying the topic "India's Rainforest" it is worth saying a few words about the climate of those places. So, in tropical forests, air humidity is significantly increased, which is why they are also called evergreen rainforests. However, this fact works to the advantage of vegetation: very lush greenery is grown here, because the abundance of heat and moisture is what is ideal for plants. As for temperature regimes, it is very hot in the tropics during the day, but at night it is six to eight degrees cooler.
Values
It is worth saying that the tropical forest of India is rich in very valuable tree species. Among them, one can single out salwood (it forms pure forest stands that are used in the construction of houses and creating sleepers), teak, sissu, and jat wood. The aforementioned salve tree is inhabited by a lacquer insect, from which shellac is made - a wax that is widely used in radio engineering needs, and more recently in manicure. The most valuable sandalwood, miroblan (high-quality raw material for the manufacture of expensive furniture) and bassia, from which methyl alcohol is made, grow in the state of Karnatka.
Trees
What else is rich in the rainforest of India? It is important to note that bamboo grows in the monsoon forests, from which you can easily weave all kinds of basket shapes that are widely used by the inhabitants of this country.
Some parts of the tropics are filled with tough and thorny vegetation (Western Ghats region), which the locals use very well. These plants are good for various handicrafts and for obtaining tannins and dyes. An interesting fact: a saturated orange coloring pigment is extracted from catechu acacia extract in India, which is one of the national colors of this country. On the second tiers of the rainforest, you can find breadfruit and Indian mango. There are quite a lot of laurel and myrtle trees here.
Palms
What Indian riches will appeal to schoolchildren? What else is rich in the rainforest of India? 3rd gradeschool already got acquainted with natural history with palm trees. The Indian tropics have about 20 species of them on their territory. The most recognizable palm tree for schoolchildren is the coconut palm. In the southern parts of the tropics, wild date and bushy nipu can be found. The northern parts are ready to showcase a rattan palm with a very long and thin trunk. The shaded wet gorges are filled with orange, banana and lemon trees.
Plants
What other plants can boast of the rainforest of India? The 3rd grade of the secondary school, unfortunately, does not yet consider the small-colored hopei, the tall cullenia, the Indian vateria and the dipterocarpus. Not only would all these names be sure to captivate inquisitive kids, but the plants themselves would arouse keen interest, because you won’t be able to meet relatives like them in our latitudes.
Animals
Considering this topic, we wondered what kind of animals of the rainforest of India live here? First of all, attention should be paid to monkeys - these are the most common inhabitants of these regions. There are a huge number of them here. Moreover, here you can meet a great ape. Another very remarkable inhabitant of the tropics is the Indian elephant. It is somewhat smaller than its African counterpart, but the difference is not significant. The peculiarity of the African elephant is that its female individuals do not have tusks, that is, they are so short that they are not visible. The elephant is still used for some heavy work. Well known deerliving in the forests of India. There are a great many types of it: muntjac, sambar (whose horns are up to 100 cm long), axis (or read), barasinga (its horns have more than 14 processes).
The richest is the fauna of the Himalayas. Musk deer, Malay bear, mountain sheep live in the local tropics. Since the tropics attract herbivores, they are followed by predators: jaguars, tigers, leopards, panthers, mustelids.
Birds
The rainforest in India is full of birds. Here you can meet playful and noisy parrots (more than 150 varieties!) with bright and colorful plumage. Maina (Indian starling), kites, crows and vultures live in the tropics. In winter, the number of birds almost doubles, as a large number of birds from North Asia and Europe arrive here for the winter.
Other living creatures of the tropical climate
Studying what animals of the Indian rainforest exist, it is worth paying attention to the insects that inhabit this climatic zone. So, first of all, here you can find a lot of charming butterflies. And this is not surprising: about 700 species live in the tropics. Most will love the giant butterfly, which has a wingspan of up to 30 centimeters! A huge variety of ants lives here.
The tropics can also be home to all kinds of reptiles: crocodiles, turtles, snakes and lizards. Interestingly, some crocodiles reach ten meters in length, and the anaconda snake grows up tonine meters. It is noteworthy that only on one island of Kalimantan there are seven times more different species of amphibians than in all of Europe.
