Class- 9th Social Science (Geography)

Lesson-5: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

Answer the following questions in a single word to one sentence length:

1. Plants prepare their food by the way of photosynthesis by receiving light from sun.
2. Punjab's 1837 km area is under forests which comes to 6.07 percent of total area.
3. Vegetation belongs to Biosphere and types of vegetation makes effect on soil.
4. Which sphere of the earth has living beings (Human beings):
a) Atmosphere b) Lithosphere
c) Hydrosphere d) Biosphere
Ans: Biosphere.
5. Which of the following district has maximum area under forests:
a) Mansa b) Roopnagar
c) Amritsar d) Bathinda
Ans: Hoshiarpur.
6. 'Chinkara' is type of which animal?
Ans. Indian Gazelle
7. What is a 'Beerh'?
Ans. Small densely forested area is called 'Beerh or 'Jhirri'.
8. Name the grass found in sem-tropical shrub vegetation.
Ans: Reed (Sarkanda).
9. What percentage of Punjab's total area is under forests?
Ans: 6.07%.
10. Which animals are found in forests with thorny vegetation?
Ans: Camel, lion, mouse and rabbits etc.
Give short answers for the following questions:
:
Q1. Explain Flora and Fauna
Ans. Vegetation available on the earth is called ‘Flora’ while human world is called ‘Fauna’.
Q2. Why forests be protected? Write a note.
Ans. 1. Forests help in rainfall.
2. Forests control soil erosion and floods.
3. Forests provide us timber which is used for different purposes.
4. The evapotranspiration from the forest make the temperature drop.
5. Forests consume carbondioxide and release oxygen which is mandatory for human and animal
survival.
Q 3.Describe characteristics of evergreen forests.
Ans.1. These forests never shed their leaves and therefore they are called evergreen forests.
2. These forests are found in areas where annual rainfall is more than 200 to 300 cm.
3. The height of trees goes up to 60 meters or it may be high.
4. Tropical evergreen forests are dense, multi-layered and harbor many types of plants and animals.
5. Major species of tropical rainforest are Mahogany, Rosewood, Sheesham, Cinchona and Magnolia
etc.
Q 4.Introduce with natural vegetation of Punjab.
Ans: At present only 6.07% area of Punjab is under vegetation or forests. The vegetation of Punjab
may be categorised as per following:
1. Himalayan type Moist Temperate vegetation.
2. Subtropical Pine vegetation.
3. Subtropical Shrub hill vegetation.
4. Tropical Dry Deciduous vegetation.
5. Tropical Thorny vegetation.
Q5. How Amla, Tulsi and Cinchona may be beneficial for human beings?
Ans. Amla: Amla can be partially attributed to its high vitamin C content. Amla enhances food
absorption, balance stomach acid, fortifies the liver and nourishes the brain and mental functioning
and supports the heart.
Tulsi: Tulsi is extremely beneficial for warding off some of the most common ailments,
strengthening immunity, fighting bacterial and viral infections to combating and treating various
hair and skin disorders.
Cinchona:It is a medicinal plant, its bark is used for the production of quinine, which is an anti fever
agent.

D) Answers the following questions in detail:

:
Q1. How natural vegetation is the lungs of a society?
Ans. Natural vegetation is the lungs of human society. It helps us in many ways. The following
is the list of certain blessings of forests: -
1. Forests consume carbondioxide and release oxygen which is mandatory for animals and human
survival.
2. Forests attract animals, give them habitat and food.
3. Forests control sunshine, sound pollution and reduce the wind velocity.
4. Forests improve the level of underground aquifers.
5. Forests provide us many medicinal plants and provide us valuable medicines for research
purposes by our scientists.
6. Forests make our environment beautiful and healthy.
7. Forests control soil erosion and helpful in rainfall.
2. Which geographical factors put effect upon natural vegetation?
Ans: The geographical factors responsible for the differentiation in the natural vegetation has been
mentioned below:
1. Land or relief:-The type of land is a determining factor for the vegetation type with increasing
height from mean sea level. This type of natural vegetation also changes.
2. Soil: -Soil is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids and organisms that together
support life. The type of soil determines the type of natural vegetation for example in dry sandy
soils, cactus plants are grown.
3. Temperature:-The temperature is also one of the important factors for the growth of natural
vegetation. Extreme or very high and very low temperatures play a negative role in the growth of
natural vegetation.
4. Duration of sunlight:- The duration of sunlight is determining factor for the growth of vegetation.
Since the plants are autotrophs and make their own food in the presence of sunlight, the process
called photosynthesis
5. Rainfall:-Availability of water is necessary for proper growth of a plant. Dense natural vegetation
is found in heavy rainfall areas while in desert areas because of less rainfall, the growth of natural
vegetation is less.
Q 3.Classify Indian forests on basis of climate and name trees of each class.
Ans: 1.Tropical Evergreen Forests: - These forests never shed their leaves and therefore they are
called evergreen forests. Major species of tropical rainforest are Mahogany, Rosewood,
Sheesham, Cinchona and Magnolia etc.
2. Tropical Deciduous or Monsoon forest:- These forests are found in the regions receiving
70 to 200 cm rainfall. Peepal, neem, teak, eucalyptus, saal etc. are species of tropical dry deciduous
forest.
3. The Scrubs and thorny forests:- These types of forests are found in the regions receiving rainfall
less than 70 cm.Babul, date, palm, Khair are main trees found in such forests.
4. Tidal or Mangrove forests:-Tidal and mangrove forests are found in the deltaic areas close to
the sea coast where the action of tides is prominent. These forests are salt bearing. The Ganga
Brahmaputra delta is also called Sunderban Delta because of abundance of Sundari trees there.
Coconut and palm are other trees found here. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the world famous animal
found here.
5. Mountainous Forests:- Increasing height from mean sea level and decreasing temperature
change type of vegetation in mountainous regions swiftly. Natural vegetation changes from tropical
deciduous to Alpine type. Evergreen walnut, oak and pine trees are found in these forests.
Q4. Put light on classification of natural vegetation of Punjab.
Ans: The vegetation of Punjab may be categorised as per following:-
1. Himalayan Type moist Temperate Vegetation:- This type of vegetation is found in North Punjab
in Dhar Kalan tehsil of district Pathankot. Pine, Bamboo, Sheesham, Mango, Babul etc. are important
trees of this region.
2.Subtropical Pine vegetation:- This type of vegetation is mainly found on the high slopes of
Pathankot tehsil of the district, Mukerian, Dasuhya and Hoshiarpur tehsils of district Hoshiarpur.
Pine, Sheesham, Shehtoot are important trees of such areas.
3.Sub-tropical Scrubs hill vegetation:-This type of vegetation is found in the rest of districts of
Pathankot and Hoshiarpur, Eastern parts of district Rupnagar where mountaineers shrubs are in
abundance .The long grass found here is used to make paper and ropes.
4.Tropical Dry Deciduous Vegetation:- This type of vegetation is found in hot and dry areas of
Punjab. The undulating plains and kandi area of Punjab are home of this type of vegetation. Small
densely forested areas are called Beerh in SAS Nagar Mohali and Patiala, for example, Chhatt Beerh,
Beerh Bhadson, Beerh Moti Bagh etc.
5.Tropical Thorny Vegetation:- Such type of vegetation is found in the less rainfall receiving areas
of Punjab like Mansa, Bathinda, Fazilka and some parts of Ferozepur and Faridkot districts.
Sheesham and Babul are main trees found in these districts.
Q5.Give detail of wildlife and ways of its protection.
Ans: The animals, birds and insects living in the forests are wildlife. The rich diversity of forests,
physiographic units, climate and soils in India give natural habitat for thousands of species of
wildlife. In our country more than 89,000 species of wildlife are found which is 6.5% of the total
animal species of the world.

Ways to Protect Wildlife

Wildlife is an integral part of human life. Therefore, it is the moral duty of human beings to protect
and preserve wildlife. Some wildlife conservation methods are given below:
1. We should establish more national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
2. Living conditions for wildlife in all national parks and wildlife sanctuaries must be improved.
3. Wildlife Protection laws must be implemented strictly.
4. Hunters and nomads should not be allowed to enter in the forested areas.
5. Endangered species must be protected at any cost.
6. Seminars, workshops and presentations should be conducted in order to aware the general
public about the importance of wildlife.

Prepared by: Vetted by:-

Baljit Kaur, S.S. Mistress, Ranjit Kaur (SS Mistress), GSSSS TIBBER,
GSSSS Magarmudian, Gurdaspur GURDASPUR and
Neha Kansal (SS Mistress) G.H.S. Landhe Ke,
MOGA.