Plants and Animals of India

The plant and animal life of India are both very diverse. The natural vegetation largely reflects the distribution of rainfall. Much of the northeast, the Western Ghats, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands get more than 80 inches (200 centimeters) of rainfall annually. This is usually enough to keep the soil moist throughout the year. The natural vegetation associated with these regions is an exceedingly varied broad-leaved, evergreen rainforest, typically tall and dense.
Areas with 40 to 80 inches (100 to 200 centimeters) of rainfall (enough to grow at least one crop of rice) include much of central and eastern India, a narrow belt just south of the Himalayas, another belt just east of the crest of the Western Ghats, and the southeastern coast. In these areas, as average rainfall declines, the forests become progressively shorter, less dense, and less varied. Also, as rainfall declines from 80 to 60 inches (200 to 150 centimeters), evergreens gradually give way to deciduous species, which in these regions lose their leaves during the cool, dry season. Where government protection has kept forests intact, they include good stands of teak, sal, and other excellent timber species.
Most of the rest of India averages from 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 centimeters) of rainfall, enough to grow one crop of grain other than rice. The natural vegetation consists of low, open forests, intermixed with thorny shrubs and grasses. Little of the original vegetative cover remains.
A wide variety of distinctive vegetation types occurs as a result of special ecological conditions. Tall-grass savannas, with scattered acacias, grow on the moist soils of the Tarai, the fringe of plains bordering the northern mountains. Coniferous forests are found in the Himalayas. Mangrove forests are found in the brackish deltas of the east coast, and many types of palms grow in sandy or salty soils. Often impenetrable stands of bamboo sprout up in fields formerly given over to slash-and-burn cultivation.
The alterations in India’s vegetation over the centuries have brought about many changes in the animal life. In the forests and the high, rugged areas where wild species are still dominant, the array of animals remains rich. Among the large mammals are the Asian elephant, the Indian rhinoceros (living almost exclusively in game sanctuaries), more than a dozen species of deer and antelope, and wild cattle, sheep, goats, and boars. The carnivores include foxes, mongooses, jackals, bears, leopards, and the Bengal tiger. The Asiatic lion was once wide-ranging but is now found only in India, in the Gir Forest in the state of Gujarat. Monkeys, especially langurs and rhesus monkeys, are common even in cities. The cobra is the best-known reptile. Crocodiles and the related gavial live in the rivers. Among the more than 1,200 species of birds are vultures, hawks, peacocks, cranes, flamingos, parrots, mynas, quail, and bustards.
Written by Arya K Sivadas from IHS, Dubaai

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