Plants can be:
- Herbs
- Shrubs
- Trees
- Creeper
- Climber
The animal can be:
- Microorganism
- Insects
- Reptile
- Mammal
Plants and animals are the two most important renewable resources and both are not equally distributed over the earth.
The following factors affect the growth and distribution of plants and animals:
Abiotic factors:
- Relief:
- Land
- Soil
- Climate:
- Temperature
- Precipitation
- Photoperiod that influences by latitude, altitude, and seasons
- Hazards such as fire, landslides,
Biotic factors:
- Animal Husbandry
- Plant Humus
- Microorganism
- Human activities such as human settlement, urbanization, pollution, war, deforestation, etc.
Land:
- Plants and animals are different in different lands such as Mountainous, Plateau, and Plain.
- Pains are suitable for Agriculture while undulating and rough terrain are areas for grassland and woodland that support the variety of wildlife.
Soil:
- Sandy soil of desert support cactus and thorny bushes.
- Wet, Marshy and Deltaic soil are suitable for Mangrove and deltaic vegetation.
- Hill slopes with some depth are suitable for Conical Trees.
Climate:
Climatic factors are the most prominent factors that control the soil formation and spatial distribution of plants and animals. From the equator to the poles, there are different climatic belts and subsequently, there are variations in the plants and animal varieties also.
For examples:
- Tropical Wet Forest with broad-leaved evergreen trees near the equator.
- Dry forest and scattered trees between 10 to 23-degree latitudes.
- Desert vegetation largely comprises herbs and shrubs near 30 degrees latitudes.
- In the north of the desert, there is temperate grassland or prairie.
- In the north of the grassland, there is a deciduous temperate forest.
- Boreal forest in subarctic in the south of Arctic circle.
- Arctic tundra.
Temperature:
Temperature cause the growth and germination of plants.
Tropical vegetation:
- No frost
- The mean temperature is above 24 degrees C.
- 18 degrees C temperature in January month( in the northern hemisphere)
Subtropical vegetation:
- rare Frost
- The mean temperature is 17- 24 degrees C.
- 10-18 degrees C temperature in January month ( in the northern hemisphere)
Temperate forest:
- Frost and snow
- The mean temperature is 7-17 degrees C.
- (-1) to (-10) degrees C temperature in January month ( in the northern hemisphere)
Alpine:
- Snow
- The mean temperature is below 7 degrees C.
- below (-1) degrees C temperature in January month ( in the northern hemisphere)
Precipitation:
- The heavy rainfall region has more dense vegetation and a variety of wildlife.
- Control the growth and diversity of plants; dense forests are found on the equator. Diversity decrease from the equator to the poles as rainfall and temperature decrease from the equator to the poles.
Photoperiod( Sunlight)
- Variation in the duration of Sunlight at the different places is due to differences in latitude, altitude, season, and duration of the day.
- Larger the day duration larger the trees grow.
Try to solve the following question:
- Identify the importance of biotic resource regions of India and highlight their problems. ( UPSC 2016,250 words, 20 marks)
- Evaluate the impact of technology on resource utilization in India. (UPSC 2016, 200 words, 15 marks)
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