Moonsoon Forests

          Indian Natural Vegetation

Tropical Deciduous Forests

These Forests are also known as monsoon forests. They are the most widespread forests in India. Based on the availability of water, these forests are further categorised into two types:-   (i)the moist deciduous forests; and (ii)the dry deciduous forests.

(i)The Moist Deciduous Forests

(a) Climatic Conditions: Such forests are found in the areas with moderate or low annual rainfall of 100 cm to 200 cm and the mean annual temperature of 24 degree celcius to 27 degrees celcius and humidity percentage of 50 to 80.

(b) Distribution: These forests occur in the north-eastern part of the Peninsula, along the foothills of Himalayas and eastern slope of Western Ghats. They occupy a sizeable area in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and have an area bigger than the Evergreen forests. 

(c) Characteristic Features: 
    i> The trees in these forests shed there leaves from six to eight weeks during spring and early summer when the storage of water is acute. Further, the sub-soil water is not enough for the trees to keep there leaves all the year around.
    ii> A particular species can be found over a large area.
    iii> They are commercially most exploited forests of India.
    
The common trees of such forests are sal, teak, arjun, shisham, mahua, mulberry, palas, semul and sandalwood.

(ii)The Dry Deciduous Forests

(a) Climatic Conditions: These forests are found in areas having a mean annual temperature of 23 degree celcius to 27 degree celcius, annual rainfall between 70 cm to 100 cm and humidity between 51 to 58 percent.

(b) Distribution: These forests are found in the rainier parts of the Pennisular Plateau and the plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

(c) Characteristic Features: These forests thrive between moist deciduous forests (in the east) and tropical thorn forests (in the west). On the wetter margins, these forests have a transition into moist deciduous, while on the drier margins they degrade into thon forests. In the Northern Indian plains and in the areas of higher rainfall in the Pennisular Plateau, these forests have open stretches in which teak and other trees are interspersed with patches of grass. During the dry season, the trees in these forests shed their leaves completely and give the forests a look of a vast grassland with naked trees.

The common trees of these forests are teak, tendu, sal, rosewood, amaltas, bel, khair, axlewood, etc.

(d) Economical Value: The trees of these forests provide timber, fruits and other useful products. Large tracts of these forests have been cleared for agricultural activities.