What are the different types of forests found in India?

What is a forest?

Forest refers to a complex ecosystem that predominantly consists of trees, shrubs, and generally, a closed canopy. They act as the storehouse of a diverse variety of flora and fauna.

They also home an abundance of microorganisms and fungi, which are crucial for the decomposition cycle which enriches the soil.

• Nearly, 30% of the total Earth’s land surface is covered by forests. The percentage refers to around 4 billion hectares of forest cover.

• Another implication of the word ‘forest’ is natural vegetation of an area which has existed for thousands of years and supports a variety of biodiversity. This eventually forms a complex ecosystem.

• Forests are crucial for the planet, global climate, animals and humans beings as well. They provide various natural services and products. Moreover, they have a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance and have its contribution to the economy also.

Forest Classification

Forests can be classified in various ways. The types of the forest depend upon the abiotic factors like the soil characteristic and the climate of the region.

The classification can be based on the nature of tree species or the most abundant tree species present.

However, forests in India are broadly classified as follows:-

Coniferous Forests

Most abundantly found in the Himalayan Mountain region where the temperature conditions are cool and low.

The trees in such forests characteristically are Tall with needle-like leaves and downward-sloping branches. This makes it convenient for the snow to slip off the branches.

Broad-leaved Forests

The trees found here usually have large leaves which have various shapes. They are abundantly found in the middle to lower latitudes.

There are several types of broad-leaved forests such as evergreen forests, deciduous forests, thorn forests, and mangrove forests.

What are the different types of forests found in India?

There are broadly five categories of forests in India. They are named as Tropical evergreen forests, Tropical deciduous forests, Tropical thorn forests, Montane forests, and Swamp forests. Although different geographers divide the forests into many other categories, these are supposed to remain uniform throughout the country. Let's take one by one in brief.

 What are the different types of forests found in India?

• Tropical Deciduous Forests. 
• Tropical Rain Forests. 
• Montane Forests. 
• Tropical Thorn forests. 
• Swamp Forests.

Tropical Deciduous Forests

These trees have broad leafs. India also has temperate deciduous forests but they are very less in number. These broad leaves are shed in the autumn season but it is in case of temperate deciduous mode. The tropical deciduous forests have the trees that shed their leaves in the winter season.

Tropical Rain Forests

These are also called equatorial rain forests. Rain forests are those forests which are characterized by heavy rainfall between 1750 mm and 2000 mm. These forests incur heavy showers of 100-600 cm a year, so they are named so. Coffee, bananas, and chocolates come from tropical rain forests.

Montane Forests

This type of forest is found in mountain or hilly areas. These areas include the hilly area of Himalayas and Vindhyas or Nilgiri hills. The forests in the northern region are denser than in the South. At higher altitudes, fir, juniper, deodar, and chilgoza can be found.

Tropical Thorn forests

They are found in the area with very little rainfall (as little as 50 cm). Arid regions of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh have these forests.

Swamp Forests

These are also called Wetland forests in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and in Rann of Kutch. The other name of these forests is Littoral forests.

Other geographers may even name alpine forests as another category of forests, but technically speaking there are commonly known as only five categories of forests, which are enlisted above.