Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Geography Class 9 Lesson 5 Questions And Answers

 

              Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

1. Choose the right answer

1. To which one of the following types of vegetation does rubber belong to ?

a) Tundra.  b) Tidal. c) Himalayan.  d) Tropical Evergreen  

Answer:- d) Tropical Evergreen

2. Cinchona trees are found in the areas of rainfall more than

a) 100cm.  b) 50cm. c)70cm.  d) less than 50cm.  

Answer:- a) 100cm.

3. In which of the following state is the Simlipal bio-reserve located ?

a) Punjab.  b) Delhi. c) Odisha d)West Bengal

Answer:- c) Odisha

4. Which one of the following bio-reserves of India is not included in the world network of bioreserve ? 

a) Manas  b) Nilgiri.  c) Gulf of Mannar. d) Nanda Devi

Answer:- b) Nilgiri

2 . Answer the following questions briefly. 

i. Define an ecosystem

Answer:

    All the plants and animals are in interdependent on each other.The plant's and animals, along with their physical environment make the ecosystem.

    

ii. What factors are responsible for the distribution of plants and animals in India ? 

Answer:-  Relief factor : Land ,soli

Climate factor : Temperature,Photoperiod (sunlight), precipitation.

    

iii. What is a bio-reserve ? Give two examples. 

Answer:- Bio-reserve is legally protected areas meant to preserve biological diversity. Example: Sundarbans & Nanda Devi.

iv. Name two animals having habitat in tropical and montane type of vegetation.

Answer:

     Tropical: Tiger, pig  Montane Kashmir stag, spotted deer

 

3. Distinguish between 

  

i. Flora and Fauna

Answer:

 1.Flora:

    The flora of a country consists of plant kingdom of that country. It covers trees in the forests, other flowering and non-flowering frees grown by man, grassland, scrubs, fens, etc. India possesses about 47,000 different species of plants and 5,000 of them are exclusively found in India.

 

2.Fauna:

    The fauna of a country consists of birds, fish and animals. It also includes amphibians, reptiles, mammals, small insects and worms. The fauna of India is quite rich and varied. There are about 89,000 species in India.

ii. Tropical Evergreen and Deciduous forests

Answer:-Tropical Evergreen forest 

(i) These forests are restricted to heavy rainfall areas of the Western ghats and the island of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of Assam and Tamil Nadu coast.

(ii) They are at their best in having more than 200 cm of rainfall with a short dry season.

(iii) The trees reach great height up to 60 metres or even a bow.

(iv)There is no definite time for trees to shed their leaves.

Tropical Deciduous forests

(i) There are most widespread forest of India.

(ii) They are also called the monsoon forests and spread  over the region receiving rainfall between 200 and 70 cm.

(iii) Trees of this forests type shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer.

(iv) On the basis of the availability of water, these forests are further divided into moist and dry deciduous. 

    

4. Name different types of Vegetation found in India and describe the vegetation of high altitudes.

Answer:-Types of vegetation

(i) Tropical Evergreen Forest

(ii) Tropical Deciduous Forest

(iii) Tropical Thorn Forest's and Scrubs

(iv) Montane Forests

(v) Mangrove Forests

    In mountainous area, the decrease in temperature with increasing altitude leads to the the corresponding change in natural vegetation. As such, there is a succession of natural vegetation belts in the the same order as we see from the tropical to the tundra region. The wet temperate type of forests are are found between a height of 1000 and 2000. Evergreen broad-leaf trees, search as oaks and chestnuts predominate. Between 1500 and 3000 metres, temperate forest containing coniferous trees , like pine,deodar  ,silver fir, spruce and cedar ,are found. This forests cover mostly the southern slopes of the Himalayas, places having high altitude in the southern and north east-India. At higher elevations, temperate grasslands are common. At high altitudes, generally, more than 3,600 metres above the sea level, temperate forests and grasslands give way to the Alpine vegetation. Silver fir, junipers,pines and birches are the common trees of these forests. However, the get progressively stunted as they approach the snow-line. Ultimately, through shrubs and Scrubs , they merge into the Alpine grasslands. These are used extensively for grazing by nomadic tribes, like the gurjaras and the Bakarwals. At higher altitude, mosses and lichens form part of tundra  vegetation.

5. Quite a few species of plants and animals are endangered in India. Why?

Answer:

    About 1,300 of plant species are endangered and 20 species are also extinct. Quite a few animal species are also endangered and some have become extinct.

The main cause for this major threat to nature are hunting by greedy hunters for commercial purposes. Population due to chemical and industrial waste, acid deposit , introduction of alien species and reckless cutting of the forests to  bring land under cultivation and habitation,are also responsible for the imbalance.

6. Why has India a rich heritage of flora and fauna?

Answer:

     Our country India is one of the 12 mega bio-diversity countries of the world. With about 47,000 plant species India occupies tenth place in the world and forth in Asia in in plant diversity. There are about ,15,000 flowering plants in India, which account of fore 6% in the world's total number of flowering plants, such as ferns,algae and fungi. India also has approximately 90,000 species of animals,as well as ,a rich variety of fish in its fresh and marine waters.