India: Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife CBSE Class 6 GEOGRAPHY Chapter 8 Notes

Textbook	NCERT
Board	CBSE Board, UP board, JAC board, HBSE Board, Bihar Board, PSEB board, RBSE Board, UBSE Board
Class	6th Class
Subject	GEOGRAPHY | Social Science
Chapter	Chapter 8
Chapter Name	India: Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife
Topic	India: Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife CBSE Class 6 GEOGRAPHY Chapter 8 Notes
Medium	English
Especially Designed Notes for	CBSE, ICSE, IAS, NET, NRA, UPSC, SSC, NDA, All Govt. Exam

India: Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife

• Weather is about day to day changes in the atmosphere that includes changes in temperature, rainfall and sunshine etc.
• For example, it may be hot or cold, sunny or cloudy, windy or calm.
  • When it is hot, one does not need to wear warm clothes.
  • In contrast when it is cold, everyone uses woollen clothes and needs to have something hot to drink and eat to keep themselves warm.

Seasons in India

Climate of India

• The climate is about the average weather condition, which has been measured over many years.
  • The climate of India has broadly been described as monsoon type.
  • Monsoon is taken from the Arabic word mausim, which means seasons.
  • Due to India’s location in the tropical region, most of the rain is brought by monsoon winds.
• Agriculture in India is dependent on rains. Good monsoons mean adequate rain and a bountiful crop.
  • The climate of a place is affected by its location, altitude, distance from the sea, and relief.
  • Due to differences in location, altitude, distance from the sea, and relief.
  • The climate of India is varied.
  • Therefore, regional differences tend to be experienced in the climate of India.
  • For example: Jaisalmer and Bikaner in the desert of Rajasthan are very hot, while Drass and Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir are freezing cold.
• Coastal places like Mumbai and Kolkata experience moderate climate.
  • They are neither too hot nor too cold.
  • Being on the coast, these places are very humid.
  • Mawsynram in Meghalaya receives the world’s highest rainfall, while in a particular year, it might not rain at all in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

Natural Vegetation

• The grasses, shrubs and trees, which grow on their own without interference or help from human beings, are called natural vegetation. eg small plants called bushes, cactus (shrubs), flowering plants, tall trees like neem, mango and palm, etc.
• Different types of natural vegetation are dependent on different climatic conditions, among which the amount of rainfall is very important.
  • Due to varied climatic conditions, India has a wide range of natural vegetation.

Vegetation of India can be divided into five types.

(i) Tropical Rain Forest

• Tropical rain forests occur in the areas which receive heavy rainfall and are so dense that sunlight doesn’t reach the ground.
• Many species of trees are found in these forests, which shed their leaves at different times of the year.
  • Therefore, they always look green and are known as evergreen forest.
  • Important trees found in these forests are mahogany, ebony and rosewood.
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of North-Eastern states and a narrow strip of the Western slope of the Western Ghats are home of these forests.

(ii) Tropical Deciduous Forests

• In India, a large part is covered by this type of forest, which is also called monsoon forest.
• They are less dense and shed their leaves at a particular time of the year.
• Important trees of these forests are sal, teak, peepal, neem and shisham.
• They are found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and in parts of Maharashtra.

(iii) Thorny Bushes

• This type of vegetation is found in dry areas of the country, Le Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Eastern slopes of Western Ghats and Gujarat
• Cactus, khair, babool, keekar are important trees of this vegetation cover and they survive because they retain water in their spine shaped leaves, which reduce the water loss.

(iv) Mountain Vegetation

• A wide range of species is found in the mountains according to the variation in height.
• With increase in height, the temperature falls. At a height between 1500 metres and 2500 metres, most of the trees are conical in shape, which are called coniferous trees.
• Chir, pine and deodar are important coniferous trees found in these forests.

(v) Mangrove Forests

• These forests can survive in saline water”
• These forests are found mainly in Sunderbans in West Bengal, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Sundari is a well-known species of trees in mangrove forests after which Sunderbans have been named.

Importance of Forest

The importance of forest is as follows:

• Forests are the natural habitat of wild life.
• Forests are very useful for us because they perform various functions like plants in forest release oxygen that we breathe, and absorb carbon dioxide.
• The roots of the plants bind the soil, thus, they control soil erosion.
  • Forests provide us with timber for furniture, fuel wood, fodder, medicinal plants and herbs, lac, honey, gum, etc.
• Some special programmes can be organised like Van Mohotsae in terms to create awareness among people about importance of forests cover and also involve them in making our earth green and pollution free.

Wildlife

• Forests are home to a variety of wildlife.
  • For example, large variety of reptiles, amphibians , mammals, birds, insects, worms etc.
  • The tiger is our national animal.
  • It is found in various parts of the country.
  • Gir forest in Gujarat is the home of Asiatic lions.
  • Elephants and one-horned rhinoceroses are found in the forests of Assam, Kerala and Karnataka.
  • Camels and wild asses are found in the Great Indian desert and the Rann of Kuchchh respectively.
• Wild goats, snow leopards, bears, etc are found in the Himalayan region.
  • Besides these, many other animals are found in our country such as monkey, wolf, jackal, nilgai, cheetal, etc.
• India is equally rich in bird life.
  • The peacock is our national bird.
  • Other common birds are parrots, pigeons, mynah, geese, bulbul and ducks.
  • There are several bird sanctuaries which have been created to give birds their natural habitat.
  • These provide the birds protection from hunters.
  • There are several hundreds of species of snakes found in India.
  • Cobras and kraits are important among them.
• Deforestation and hunting led to declining of several species of wildlife in India.
  • Many species have already become extinct.

Wildlife Protection

• In order to protect wildlife, many national parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves have been set-up.
• The Government has also started Project Tiger and Project Elephant to protect these animals.
• Every year the first week of October is observed as wildlife week, to create awareness of conserving the habitats of the animal kingdom.

1. Retreating Pull back or move away or backward.
2. Coniferous trees The trees having conical and evergreen leaves.
3. Saline water A water body having solution of sodium chloride (Salt).
4. Reptile Any cold-blooded species including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles etc.
5. Amphibian Cold-blooded species typically living on land but breeding in water.
6. Mammal Any warm-blooded species having the skin more or less covered with hair.
7. Sanctuaries A place where birds or animals are protected from being hunted.
8. Deforestation The removal of trees.
9. National parks A tract of land declared by the national government to be public property.