Class 9 Geography Natural vegetation and wildlife
Short Answer Questions
Q.1 Mention any three features of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve.
Ans
1. Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is a national park located 2 km from Tura Peak in the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya in India.
2. e Reserves in May 2009.
3. There is a vast range of plants and animals found in the park, including the fishing cat, the serow and the tiger. Famous sites in the park include the famous Siju Cave.
Q.2 How does relief and rainfall influence the distribution of natural vegetation in India. Explain.
Ans The relief and rainfall of any region determine the natural vegetation of that place. In Indian sub- continent it can be seen through the following points:
1. The western slopes of the Western Ghats receive more than 200 cm of rainfall. Due to heavy rainfall, tropical evergreen forests are found in this region on a large scale.
2. Indifferent mountainous regions different types of vegetation are found, at the height of 1500 to 3000 coniferous trees are found but at the height of 1000 to 2000 wet temperate forests are found.
3. In areas with rainfall of 70 cm to 100 cm and in semi-arid regions, the vegetation consists of acacias and palm.
Q.3 What is biome? State the number of biomes into which land ecosystem is divided with their names.
Ans A large ecosystem on the land having distinct type of vegetation and animal life is called biome. In general, biomes are divided into the following categories:
1. Forests: It consists of evergreen forests, deciduous forests, and coniferous forests.
2. Grasslands: Savana grasslands.
3. Alpine/Tundra vegetation.
4. Desert vegetation.
Though the animals are also included in the biomes but they are not counted in the classification of biomes.
Q.4 Distinguish between flora and fauna.
Ans The major differences between Flora and Fauna are as follows:
Flora
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Fauna
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1. Natural vegetation growing in an particular area is referred as flora.
2. It makes its food with help of solar energy.
3. It was the very first form of life that appeared on the earth in the chronological history of earth.
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1. Wild life living in a particular area of the globe is termed as Fauna.
2. They cannot make their own food so they are dependent upon the flora.
3. They developed on earth after flora because they are dependent upon flora.
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Q.5 Why has India a rich heritage of flora and fauna? How can you say that India has rich bio-diversity?
Ans This is because the factors like, temperature, sunlight, precipitation, soil and relief are suitable for the growth and development of both animal and plant kingdom in India. These five factors are essential for the growth of the bio-diversity.
India has been listed among the twelve mega biodiversity countries of the world.47,000 plant species and 89,000 animal species are found here. Besides these species, there are about 15,000 flowering plants in India.
Q.6 Distinguish between thorn forests and mangrove forests.
Ans
Thorn Forests
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Mangrove Forests
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1. Rainfall:Rainfall in these types of forests are somewhere 70 cmor less.
2. Vegetation: Babool, kiker, palm, cacti and acasia are the main plants.
3. Location: Found in semi-arid regions of Gujrat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
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1. Rainfall: These types of forests develop in the deltaic region, and does not concern with the rainfall.
2. Vegetation: Sundari is the major tree type in these types of forests. The others are Agar and Keora.
3. Location: They are found in the deltas of Ganga, Mahanadi, Kaveri, Krishna and Godavary.
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Q.7 “India has extremely rich and wild variety of fauna.” Explain this statement. Ans India has a rich variety of wild fauna. It can be explained through following ways:
1. The richness of wild variety of fauna is due to the high variety of variation in the relief, rainfall, temperature, etc. There are 89,457 known species of flora, out of which many are in the list of endangered species.
2. The variety of fauna can be seen in different parts of India such as in the mountains, the deserts, the plateaus, the rivers, the lakes, etc.
3. If we try to divide the species then it may make several groups as follows: Mammals – 390, Fish – 2546, Birds – 1232, Insects – 60,000, Reptiles – 456, Mollusks – 5,000, Amphibians – 209.
Q.8 Write any three major factors responsible for the huge diversity in plant and animal kingdom?
Ans The three factors, which are responsible for the huge diversity in flora and fauna kingdom, are as
follows:
(i) Relief: Natural vegetation are different in mountains, plateaus and plain areas mainly due to the difference in their relief. It is also different in wet and dry land. Fertile level plains are generally devoted to agriculture. The undulating and rough terrains are devoted to terrace cultivation.
(ii) Soil: Different types of soils provide basis for different types of vegetation. The sandy desert soils support cactus and thorny bushes. Wet, marshy and deltaic soils support mangroves and deltaic vegetation. The hill slopes with some depth of soil have conical trees.
(iii) Temperature: On the hills of the Himalayas above the height of 915 metres, the temperature get reduce and affects the types of vegetation and its growth. This changes it from Tropical to Subtropical, Temperate and Alpine Vegetation.
Q.9 Why are forests important in our life? Write any six points. Ans Forests play a vital role in the life of human beings by:
(i) Modifying local climate.
(ii) Controlling soil erosion.
(iii) Supporting a variety of industries.
(iv) Providing livelihood for many communities.
(v) Controlling wind and temperature and cause rainfall.
(vi) Providing humus to the soil and shelter to the wild life.
Q.10 Distinguish between Montane Forests and Mangrove Forests. Give three differences. Ans The major differences between montane forests and mangrove forests are as follows:
Montane forests
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Mangrove forests
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1. The decrease in temperature with increasing altitude leads to the appearance of montane forests at higher altitude.
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1. These forests are found in the coastal areas where mud and silt get accumulated.
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2.These forests are mainly found along the southern
slope of the Himalayas, places having high altitude innorthern and north-east India.
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2. The deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the
Krishana, the Godavari and the Kaveri are covered by such vegetation.
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3. Evergreen broad-leaf Oaks and Chestnuts are the common trees.
Between 1500 and 3000 meters, temperate forest containing coniferous trees like pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce and cedar, are found.
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3. Dense mangroves are the common varieties with roots of the plants submerged under water. Palm, coconut, keora, agar, also grow in some parts of the delta.
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Q.11 What is a Biosphere Reserve? Name the four-biosphere Reserves of India, which have been included in the world network of biosphere reserve?
Ans Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.
Four-biosphere reserves of India, which have been included in the world network of biosphere reservesare:
(i) The Sunderbans in the West Bengal (ii) Nanda Devi in Uttranchal
(iii) The Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu (iv) Nilgiris of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
