NCERT 7th Class (CBSE) Social Science: India – Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

Question: Why does India have a large variety of forest?

Answer: Natural vegetation is the plant cover in its original without much changes done by man. At present about one-fifth of the total area of India is under forest. There are more than 5,000 species of tree in India, half of which are timber trees. The forest are unevenly distributed and can be broadly classified as under:

1. Tropical rainforests
2. Tropical deciduous forests
3. Desert vegetation
4. Mountain vegetation
5. Mangrove forests

Question: Mention different types of vegetation found in India.

Answer: Five different types of vegetation is found in India:

1. Tropical rain forests. These forests are found in the areas which receive heavy rainfall. They are very dense and sunlight never reach the ground. The trees of these forests shed their leaves at different times of the year. Therefore, they always appear green are called evergreen forests. Important trees of these forests are mahogany, ebony and rosewood. They are found in Andaman and Nicobar islands, parts of North-Eastern states and a narrow strip of the western slope of the Western Ghats.
2.  Tropical deciduous forests. These forests are also known as monsoon forests and are found in a large part of the country. They are less dense. They shed their leaves at a particular time of the year. Sal, teak, neem, peepal and shisham are important trees found in these forests. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa etc. are home of these forests.
3. Thorny bushes. They are found in the dry areas. Cactus, khair, babool and Keekar are important thorny bushes. They are found in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, etc.
4. Mountain Vegetation. A variety of trees are found in the mountains. They are conical in shape. Hence trees are called conical trees. Chir, pine and deodar are important trees of these forests.
5. Mangrove Forests. These forests grow in saline water. They are found in Sundarbans in west Bengal and in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Sundari is a well-known species of trees in mangrove-forests.

Question: Describe the wildlife of India.

Answer: Forests are home to wildlife, which include several species of animals and a variety of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, insects and worms.

The tiger, our national animal, is found ip various parts of the country. Gir forest in Gujarat is the home of Asiatic lions. Elephants and one-homed rhinoceroses are found in the forests of Assam. Elephants are found in Kerala and Karnataka. Camels and wild asses are found in the Great Indian desert and the Rann of Kutch respectively. Wild goats, snow leopards, bears, etc. are found in the Himalayan region. Besides these, monkeys, wolf, jackal, nilgai, cheetal, etc. are other animals found in our country.

Our country is rich in bird life too. Peacock is our national bird. Other common birds are parrots, pigeons, myna, geese, bulbul and ducks. Several bird sanctuaries have been established to protect different species of birds.,
There are hundreds of species of snakes found in India. Cobras and Kraits are important among them.