KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / NATURAL VEGETATION /
NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / NATURAL VEGETATION / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
·
Natural
vegetation refers to a plant community that has been left undisturbed over long
time
·
Flora
denotes the plants of a particular country or region
·
Fauna
denotes the animal kingdom found in a particular geographical region
·
The
world climate types have been classified on the world’s climatic/temperate
zones
·
A
biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities
best adapted to the region’s physical natural environment, latitude, altitude
and terrain.
Equatorial Vegetation/Rainforest
·
Excessive
temperature and heavy rainfall in the equitorial regions, support a luxuriant
type of vegetation – the tropical rain forest
·
Mahogany,
ebony, greenheart, cabinet wood and dyewood are main tropical hardwood found in
this regions
·
Multiple
species of plants is another most outstanding feature of tropical rainforest
·
More
than half of the world’s species of plants and animals are found in the
rainforest
·
The
regions where equatorial forests exist abundantly are lowlands of Amazon Basin
in Brazil, the Congo Basin, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Malaysia and East Indies.
Generally, these areas lie between 5º and 10º north and south of the equator.
Tropical Monsoon Forest
·
The
natural vegetation or trees of the tropical monsoon regions are normally deciduous.
Trees of this regions depend on the amount of summer rainfall, and there is a
marked dry period, during which they shed their leaves to withstand the
drought.
·
They
are best developed in the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia, parts of Vietnam and South China and Northern Australia
·
Tropical
Monsoon forests are valued for their valuable timber and are prized for their
durable hardwood. Among these teak is the best. Other kinds of timber comprise
sal, acacia, eucalyptus, shisham etc..
Temperate Coniferous Forest
·
The
Temperate Conifers forests thrive in the cool temperature continental climate
·
The
coniferous forests are evergreen forest, which also better known as ‘taiga’
·
The
strong oceanic influence reduces the severity of winter. That’s why, these
forests are not found in abundance in southern hemisphere
·
The
tree has a spindle (conical) type structure while the leaves are in
needle-shape. It is because of to check the excessive transpiration
·
The
under growth in the coniferous forests are very little.
Mediterranean Vegetation
·
These
forest are confined to the western portion of the continental masses between 30º
and 45º north and south of the equator
·
Trees
are luxuriant but trees with small broad leaves are widely spaced and never
tall. Plants are xerophytic
·
The
important plants an; evergreen oak, sequoia, pine, firs, cedars, laurel,
lavender etc… All are well adapted to the climatic condition
·
Olive,
grapes and other citrus fruits are typical cultivated vegetation
·
Besides
Mediterranean regions, these vegetation is found in Central Chile, California, Cape
region of Africa, Southern and South-west Australia
Savanna Vegetation
·
This
vegetation is confined within the tropics and best developed in Sudan where the
dry and wet seasons are most distinct. That’s why, it is sometimes named as
Sudan vegetation, too.
·
The
trees are deciduous shedding their leaves in cool dry season to prevent
excessive loss of water through transpiration.
·
In
true savanna, the grass is tall and coarse which grows up to 6-12 feet high. The
elephant grass may attain a height of even 15 feet
Xerophytic or Desert Vegetation
·
All
deserts have some form of vegetation such as grass, scrub, herbs, weeds, roots
or bulbs. The predominant vegetation is xerophytic or drought resistant scrub.
·
Most
of desert plants have long roots and well-spaced out to gather moisture and
search for ground water
·
Plants
have few or no leaves and the foliage is either waxy, leathery, hairy and
needle-shaped to reduce the loss of water through transpiration. Some of them
are entirely leafless, with pricks and throns
·
Desert
vegetation is found in the Great Sahara, Kalahari, Atacama, the Nubian, the
Thar etc…
Tundra Vegetation
·
The
Arctic region (mainly north of the Arctic Circle) is very adverse for plant
survival due to severe cold and dryness. Precipitation is mainly in the form of
snow
·
Only
some license mosses and dwarf willows are found in this type of vegetation
Mangrove
·
Mangroves
provides significant value in coastal zone as a buffer against erosion, storm
surge and tsunamis
·
Rhizophora
is the most specific genus of the mangrove vegetation
KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / NATURAL VEGETATION / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
