Natural Vegetation and Wildlife – Class 9
Q. What is natural vegetation?
Answer: Natural vegetation means that plant communities which are growing naturally. In the other word natural vegetation means that plant communities which are growing without the interference of human beings. Cultivated crops or other planted trees are not natural vegetation.
Q. What are the differences between moist deciduous and dry deciduous?
Answer: Difference between moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests are as follows:-
Moist Deciduous Forests
(i) They are found in areas where rainfall is between 100 to 200 cm.
(ii) They cover the Eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, Shivalik, Chota Nagpur Plateau,etc.
(iii) They provide better and more valuable timber.
(iv) Examples: Teak and Sal trees and bamboo, shashank and sandalwood. Dry Deciduous Forests
(i) They are found in the areas of lower rainfall, I.e., 70 to 100 cm.
(ii) they cover rainier parts of the Deccan Plateau and the Western Ganga plains.
(iii) They are less important for commercial exploitation.
(iv) Examples:- Sal is the most important tree and others are peepal and neem.
Q. "Survival of man is at stake if we do not conserve our rich fauna." Justify the statement.
Answer: It is true that survival of man is at stake if we do not conserve our rich fauna, because
animals play a major role in our life.
1. They provide us with milk and milk products.
2. They help us in cultivating and ploughing the fields.
3. The fish is nutritious and provides us with rich proteins.
4. Many insects help in pollination of crops and fruit trees.
So,every species has a role to play in the ecosystem. Hence we have to take some effective measures to conserve these resourceful species.
Q. Discuss the conservation measures necessary to protect natural vegetation and wildlife.
Answer: Conservation measures for natural vegetation and wildlife include setting up national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves, promoting afforestation and reforestation, enforcing laws against poaching and illegal logging, and raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem balance.
Q. Why it is necessary to increase the area under forests? Describe any five reasons.
Answer: (1) Forests play an important role in the growth and development of the national economy.
(2) They help in checking soil erosion, attracting moisture from the atmosphere and causing rainfall and decreasing air pollution.
(3) Forests also provide us with timber, herbs, wood pulp and other raw materials for our industries.
(4) They also act as abode for wild animals and birds.
(5) For the balanced development of our economy, the forest cover should be 33.3% of the total geographical area but our present forest cover is 22.3% of the total geographical area.
(6) Hence there is a dire need to increase our area under forest.
Q. What steps have been taken by the government to protect the flora and fauna of the country?
Answer: Steps taken by the government to protect the flora and fauna are as follows:-
(1) Eighteen biosphere reserves have been set up in the country to protect both flora and fauna.
(2) Ten out of these - the Sunderbans, Nanda Devi,Gulf of Mannar and Nilgiri,Nokrek,Great Nicobar,Manas, Simlipal,Panchmarchi and Achanakmar-have been included in the world network of Biosphere Reserves.
(3) Since 1992,financial and technical assistance is being provided to many botanical gardens by the government.
(4) Project Tiger,Project Rhino,Project Great Indian Bustard and many other eco-developmental projects have been introduced.
About 101 National parks,553 wildlife Sanctuaries and Zoological gardens have been set up to take care of the natural heritage.
Q. Describe the different types of natural vegetation found in India. Explain the factors influencing the distribution of vegetation across the country.
Answer: India exhibits a diverse range of natural vegetation due to its varied climatic and geographical conditions. The major types of vegetation includes -
- tropical rainforests,
- deciduous forests,
- thorn forests,
- Montane forests/vegetation,
- Mangrove forest.
Q. What is flora or fauna?
Answer: The term flora means all the plant communities on the earth. On the other hand fauna means all the animal species on the earth.
Q. What are the factors are affecting the diversity of flora and fauna?
Answer: There are so many factors affecting the diversification of flora and fauna. Which are as follows:
Relief:
- Land: Directly or indirectly land effects on the diversification of natural vegetation. For example fertile soils are very suitable for cultivation. Or undulating surface are suitable for growing of grasses or other plants.
- Soil: Different types of natural vegetation are growing in different types of soil area. For example thorny bushes or grasses are growing in the dry soil area and in the alluvial soil area different types of natural vegetation grows very well.
Climate:
- Temperature: The growths of natural vegetation are mainly controlled by temperature. If we observe the growth of natural vegetation in the cold area and hot area, their characteristics are totally different.
- Precipitation: Precipitation or rainfall also controls the distribution of natural vegetation. Example in the tropical evergreen forest area high rainfall occurred. But in the case of desert area due to low rainfall natural vegetation s are sparsely the distributed.
- Photo period or sunlight duration: Photo period also is one of the most important controlling factor of the distribution of natural vegetation. For proper growing of natural vegetation sunlight is very important for photosynthesis process.
Q. Explain ecosystem with example.
Answer: In a geographical area all the plants and animals are directly or indirectly interrelated with each other which form an ecosystem. For example ecosystem of the pond, ecosystem of the forests etc.