Social Science 3 Marks Each

• Man causes the maximum destruction of forests. Reasons for the destruction of forests are Increasing population The policy to establish industries away from the cities Urbanization and industrialization Multi-purpose projects and construction of canals Construction of railways, roads and airports Activities to get wood for buildings and, for fuel Jhoom (shifting cultivation) method of cultivation Poverty of forest-dwellers Increasing theft of timber wood.

• The environmental importance (utility) of forests are as follows:
• Forests keep the atmosphere cool and help to bring rain.
• Forests spread humidity in the atmosphere and thus prevents it from becoming adverse.
• Forests suck harmful gases like carbon dioxide from the air and release life-saving oxygen.
• Forests are useful to control the floods in the rivers.
• They prevent the erosion by wind and rain.
• They prevent the advancing deserts and this protects the fertile soil.
• Forests conserve the humidity and retain the groundwater.
• They reduce pollution and maintain environmental equilibrium.
• They increase the natural beauty.
• They keep the air pure.
• They provide dwellings to wildlife.
• Forests are the ideal fields for ‘Adventure – Tourism ’ Activity’.
• Some forests in India are reserved as National Parks and Sanctuaries.

Forests play a very important role in maintaining environmental balance.
Forests provide countless things as raw material and even readymade forest products.
Man cuts down trees and causes harm to nature ruthlessly to fulfil his needs. As per the standard norms, 33% of any landmass should be under forest cover.
India has only 23% cover of forests and states like Gujarat have only 10% forest cover.
Thus, for the protection and growth of forests, the Government of India has announced forest policy in year 1988.

Diversity in Indian natural vegetation (Flora):
About 47,000 species
There are about 5000 varieties of trees, in India. Out of them 450 are used for commercial purpose.
About 15,000 varieties of flowering plants are found here. This forms about 6% of the flowering plants grown across the world.
Several non-flowering plants like fern, algae, moss, etc. also grow in India.
Since ancient time India is famous for a variety of herbal plants it grows. Indian Ayurveda has discussed about 2000 medicinal plants.
Thus, India has a great diversity of natural vegetation.

• The natural vegetation of India is created due to the following factors:
• (1) Physiography,
• (2) Soil,
• (3) Temperature,
• (4) Insolation,
• (5) Amount of rainfall and
• (6) Humidity.
• The physiography of India consists of mountains, plateaus, plains, coastal plains and deserts. Due to this diversified physiography of India, a large diversity is seen in the natural vegetation also.
• There are five types of soils in India such as alluvial, red, black, mountainous and sandy. The diverse natural vegetation follows the diversity in soils.
• The diversified natural vegetation is the result of difference in the temperature and the humidity of the peninsular India and the snow clad and cold Himalayan regions.
• Insolation affects the growth of vegetation. The vegetation growth is faster in the regions where the insolation is more and it is slower in the regions of less insolation.
• It does not rain uniformly in India everywhere. 6 There are regions getting more than 200 cm of rainfall annually and also regions getting 10 to 12 cm rain annually. Thus, the vegetation is 5 diverse due to the unequal distribution of rain.