The tropical forest of India: features of flora and fauna

On our planet there is a huge amount of different natural resources. In this article will be touched upon the theme of the tropical forests of India. What are they so remarkable and special, what kind of flora and fauna fill them?

A few words about India

It should be said that this country is unique. On its expanses one can find such plants that can not be found anywhere else. The flora of India can be divided into several large groups. Moreover, each part of the country cultivates its vegetation and a unique animal world. Perhaps this is why the flora of India is considered the richest on our planet. Surprisingly, it has more than 20 thousand different species. Only woody and shrubby species can count more than two thousand!

A little bit about the past

It should be said that this country in the past was one of the most wooded, but the colonialists did not consider it necessary to preserve natural beauty and constantly used forests in India for their own purposes. After the proclamation of the freedom of the Indian region, the issue of preserving natural resources was particularly acute. At that time protective strips along the irrigation canals and roads were actively planted, the necessary measures were 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, the forest cover has increased by about 15-20%.

On the variety of forests

Conventionally, Indian forests can be divided into three large subgroups:

1. The tropical forest of India (wet, rain and evergreen). Accommodation: the slopes of Western Ghats, the southeastern part of the Himalayas, the Nilgiri Mountains and the Cardamon Mountains.
2. The Shola rain forest, gradually turning into deciduous monsoon forests. Main location: above the humid rainforest.
3. Saved forests. Accommodation: the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Deccan plateau.

About the Tropics

When studying the topic "The tropical forest of India" it is worth saying a few words about the climate of those places. So, in the rain forests the humidity of the air is significantly increased, because of what they are also called evergreen wet forests. However, this fact works on the "hand" of vegetation: here is cultivated very lush greenery, because the abundance of heat and moisture is what is ideal for plants. As for temperature regimes, in the daytime it can be very hot in the tropics, at night it is cooler by six to eight degrees.

Values

It should be said that the tropical forest of India is rich in very valuable tree species. Among them, you can identify a sallow tree (it forms pure stands that are used in the construction of houses and the creation of sleepers), teak, sissa, jat tree. In the above-mentioned sallow tree, a varicoloured larva lives, from which shellac is made - wax, which is widely used in radio engineering needs, and more recently in manicure. In the territory of the state of Karnatka, there is a valuable sandalwood, myroblan (high-quality raw materials for the manufacture of expensive furniture) and bass, from which methyl alcohol is made.

Trees

What else is rich in the tropical forest of India? It is important to note that bamboo grows in monsoon forests, from which you can easily weave all kinds of baskets widely used by the inhabitants of this country.

Some parts of the tropics are filled with hard and prickly vegetation (the area of Western Ghat), which the locals quite competently use. These plants are good for various crafts and for obtaining tanning and coloring substances. An interesting fact: from Acacia extract, a catechum in India produces a rich orange coloring pigment, which is one of the national colors of this country. On the second tiers of the rain forest, you can find breadfruit and Indian mango. There are quite a lot of laurel and myrtle trees here.

Palm trees

What Indian riches do schoolchildren like? What else is rich in the tropical forest of India? The third grade of the school has already been introduced to nature studies with palm trees. The Indian tropics have about 20 species on their territory. The most recognizable palm tree is coconut. In the southern parts of the tropics, you can meet wild date and bushy nipa. The northern parts are ready to demonstrate the palm rattan with a very long and thin trunk. Shaded wet gorges are filled with orange, banana and lemon trees.

Plants

What other plants can the India rainforest boast? The third grade of the general education school, unfortunately, does not yet consider the small-color Hopey, the high culmination, the Indian Water and the Indian dipterocarpus. Not only that all these names would have surely captivated inquisitive kids, so the plants themselves would arouse a keen interest, because similar kindrednies in our latitudes will not be met.

Animals

Looking at this topic, we asked ourselves about the animals that live in the tropical forest of India. First of all, attention should be paid to monkeys - these are the most common inhabitants of these regions. They are home to a huge number. Moreover, here you can meet an anthropoid ape. Another very remarkable inhabitant of the tropics is the Indian elephant. He is somewhat smaller in size than his African counterpart, but the difference is insignificant. 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 now used for some heavy work. A deer inhabiting the forests of India is well known. There are a great number of species: muntzhak, zambar (length of horns of which reaches 100 cm), axis (or read), barassing (its horns have more than 14 sprouts).

The most rich is the fauna of the Himalayas. In the local tropics there is a musk deer, a Malay bear, a mountain ram. Since the tropics attract herbivores, they are followed by predators: jaguars, tigers, leopards, panthers, representatives of the detachment of cunts.

Birds

The tropical forest in India is full of birds. Here you can meet playful and noisy parrots (more than 150 varieties!) With bright and colorful plumage. Live in the tropics of the mine (Indian starling), kites, crows and vultures. In winter, the number of birds increases almost twice, since a large number of birds from Northern Asia and Europe arrive here for wintering.

Other living creatures of the tropical climate

Studying what are the animals of the tropical forest of India, it is worth paying attention to the insects that inhabit this climatic zone. So, first of all here you can meet many charming butterflies. And this is not surprising: about 700 species live on the territory of the tropics. Most like a giant butterfly, the wingspan of which reaches 30 centimeters! Here lives a huge number of the most diverse ants.

Tropics can 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 to nine meters. It is remarkable that only on one island of Kalimantan different species of amphibians are seven times greater than in all Europe.