What are the Features of Tropical Deciduous Forests?

Features of Tropical Deciduous Forests

Tropical Deciduous Forests

(i) Vegetation:

i. These forests are the most wide spread forests of India.

ii. Another name of these forests is the monsoon forests.

iii. They spread over areas of annual rainfall ranging between 200 cm and 70 cm.

iv. Trees of these forests shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry season.

v. Every species has its own time of shedding leaves. Therefore, the forest does not appear leaveless at any time of the year.

vi. On the basis of rainfall, these forests are further divided into moist and dry deciduous.

The wet forest is found in areas receiving rainfall between 200 and 100 cm.

a. They exist mostly in the eastern part of the country.

(a) North-eastern states

(b) Along the foothills of the Himalayas.

(c) Jharkhand

(d) West Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

(e) On the eastern slope of the Western Ghats.

b. Teak is the most dominant species of most forests.

c. Bamboo, Sal, Shisham, Sandalwood, Khair, Kusum, Aijun, Mulberry are other commercially important species, grown in most deciduous forests.

The dry forest is found in areas of rainfall ranging between 100 cm and 70 cm.

d. These forests are found in the areas of less rainfall.

e. Parts of the Peninsular Plateau and the plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are major areas of these forests.

f. There are open stretches in which teak, sal, poles grow.

g. A large part of this region has been cleared for cultivation.

h. Some parts of these forests are used for grazing,

(ii) Wildlife:

Common animals of these forests are lion, tiger, pig, deer, and elephants, huge variety of birds, lizards, snakes, tortoise, insects and worms.