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Tidal or Mangrove Forest • On higher slopes ranging between 1,500
metres to 3,500 metres, temperate conifer
• Tidal or mangrove forests grow along
the coasts and on the edges of deltas, for trees (pine, fi r, oak, maple, deodar, laurel
example along the deltas of the rivers Ganga, spruce, cedar) grow.
Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. • Rhododendrons and junipers are
• In West Bengal these forests are known as found growing at higher altitudes of the
Sundarbans. Himalayas.
• Sundari is the most signifi cant tree in • Beyond these vegetation belts, alpine
these forests. grasslands mostly appear upto the snowfi eld.
• Th e other notable trees of these forests are • Snow leopard, panda, yak, tahr, musk
hogla, garan, gewa, golpata, and pasur. deer and chiru are found in this region.
Palm and coconut trees adorn the various
coastal strips.
• Most of the vegetation consists of trees
that have breathing roots to adapt to the
mangrove mud which has a poor oxygen
storage capacity.
• Th ese forests supply timber and fi rewood.
• Sundarbans are home to the royal Bengal
tiger, saltwater crocodile, horseshoe crab,
olive ridley turtle and the Ganga dolphin. Himalayan Mountains with red rhododendron
fl owers in the foreground
Mountain Forests
Conservation of Forests
• Mountain forests are also known as Alpine
or Montane forests. Th e fi rst National Forest Policy (NFP) was
• Mountain forests vary considerably along devised in 1894 by the British administration.
the slopes of mountains. Aft er the nation’s independence, it was revised
• On the foothills of the Himalayas up to a in 1952 and 33 per cent of total forest cover was
height of 1,500 metres, evergreen trees (sal, declared as the benchmark target. Presently,
teak, bamboo and cane) grow abundantly. India’s forest policy requires that there should
be 60 per cent forest cover in the hills and
20 per cent in the plains. Some of the steps
that can be taken to conserve forests are listed
below.
• Indiscriminate deforestation should be
prohibited.
• Wastage of timber and fi rewood should
be avoided.
• Forest area should be increased by
aff orestation.
The Sundarbans of West Bengal
breathing root: a root that is exposed to the air
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