Question:
What factors are responsible for the distribution of plants and animals in India?
Answer:
The distribution of plants and animals in India are affected by the following two factors:
- Land (Relief and Soil).
- Climate( Temperature, photoperiod, and precipitation).
Relief:
The nature of the land or the relief of the land affects the types of plants and animals.
For example,
- Rugged areas or hilly and plateau lands where relief is high are home to different types of forests and wildlife.
- Dense forests and rich wildlife are found in the Western Ghats, the North-Eastern hills, the central hills, and the southern slopes of the Himalayas.
- Crops are grown in the fertile plain area and there are not many animal species found here as found in the mountains.
- Preference is given to less fertile flat land for grass and animal husbandry.
Soil:
The types of vegetation and wildlife are also determined by the type of soil.
For example,
- Alluvial soil is good for crops.
- Cactus and thorny shrubs and desert ecosystems grow only on sandy soils.
- Mangrove vegetation grows on wet and marshy soils in the deltaic region.
- Large trees and large animals are found on laterite soils.
Temperature:
- Temperature affects the types of vegetation.
- Tropical vegetation such as rosewood, ebony, sal, teak, etc. are found in the region with high temperatures and the average temperature in the winter months in this region does not fall below 18 degrees centigrade.
- Alpine vegetation such as moss is found in snowy areas where the temperature is low. Such regions are found in the Himalayas.
- Between tropical and alpine regions, subtropical and temperate vegetation [coniferous forests] are found.
- Tropical flora is widely found in South India.
Photoperiod (sunlight):
- In the summer months, trees grow faster than in the winter months due to the longer duration of sunlight.
- In the southern slopes of the Himalayas, the light period is longer than in the northern slopes of the Himalayas, so the southern part of the Himalayas has dense vegetation and rich wildlife.
Precipitation:
- Precipitation is the most active deciding factor in the distribution of plants and animals in India.
- There is a close relationship between the amount of rainfall and the richness of vegetation and wildlife.
- High rainfall areas such as western ghats, Andaman & Nicobars, Coastal areas of West Bengal, and North Eastern hills are home to thick vegetation and rich wildlife.
- Low vegetation cover is found in low rainfall areas such as Rajasthan and Ladakh.
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