Chapter 6: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

Question 1:Answer the following questions.

(i) Which are the two factors on which the growth of vegetation mostly depends?

Answer:The growth of vegetation depends on temperature and moisture. It also depends on factors like slope and thickness of soil.

(ii) Which are the three broad categories of natural vegetation?

Answer:The three broad categories of natural vegetation are :

• Forests: Which grow where temperature and rainfall are plentiful to support a tree cover.
• Grasslands: Which grow in the region of moderate rain.
• Shrubs: Thorny shrubs and scrubs grow in the dry region.

(iii) Name the two hardwood trees commonly found in tropical evergreen forests.

Answer:The two hardwood trees commonly found in the tropical evergreen forests are:-

• Rosewood
• Mahogany

(iv) In which part of the world are tropical deciduous forest found?

Answer:The tropical deciduous forests are found in:-

• India
• Northern Australia
• Central America.

(v) In which climatic conditions are citrus fruits cultivated?

Answer:Citrus fruits are cultivated in hot dry summers and mild rainy winters.

(vi) Mention the uses of coniferous forest.

Answer:

• The woods of these trees are very useful for making pulp, which is used for manufacturing paper and newsprint.
• Matchboxes and packing boxes are also made from softwood.

(vii) In which part of the world is seasonal grassland found?

Answer:The seasonal grasslands are found in the mid-latitudinal zones and in the interior parts of the continents.

Question 2:Tick the correct answer.

(i) Mosses and Lichens are found in:

(a) Desertic Vegetation

(b) Tropical evergreen forest

(c) Tundra vegetation

(ii) Thorny bushes are found in:

(a) Hot and humid tropical climate

(b) Hot and dry desertic climate

(c) Cold polar climate

(iii) In tropical evergreen forest, one of the common animals is:

(a) Monkey

(b) Girraffe

(c) Camel

(iv) One important variety of coniferous forest is:

(a) Rosewood

(b) Pine

(c) Teak

(v) Steppe grassland is found in

(a) S. Africa

(b) Australia

(c) Central Asia

Answer:

(i). (c) Tundra vegetation

(ii). (b) hot and dry desertic climate

(iii). (a) Monkey

(iv). (b) Pine

(v). (c) Central Asia

Question 3:Match the following.

Answer:

Question 4:Give reasons.

(i) The animals in polar region have thick fur and thick skin.

Answer: The animals in the polar region have thick fur and thick skin to protect themselves from the extremely cold climatic conditions of the polar region. Seal, walruses, musk-oxen, Arctic owl, polar bear, and snow foxes are some of the animals found here. The growth of natural vegetation is very limited here.

(ii) Tropical deciduous trees shed their leaves in the dry season.

Answer:Tropical deciduous trees shed their leaves in the dry season to conserve water. Tropical deciduous is the monsoon forests. They are found in the large part of India, Northern Australia, and Central America. These regions experience seasonal changes.

(iii) The type and thickness of vegetation changes from place to place.

Answer:The type and thickness of natural vegetation varies from place to place because of the variation in the following factors:-

• Climatic condition.
• Height of land.
• Type of vegetation
• Temperature and moisture
• Slope and thickness of soil

Question 5:Activity.

(i) Collect pictures and photographs of forests and grasslands of different parts of world. Write one sentence below each picture.

(ii) Make a collage of rainforest, grassland and coniferous forests.

Answer(I):Tropical rainforests in Amazon basin South America. Also referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest.

A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone.

Boreal forests is also known as Taiga.These have coniferous trees.

Temperate grasslands: A temperate grassland is an area of open grassland with very few trees.

Tropical Grassland, dominated by grasses and shrubs, with or without scattered trees.

Answer(ii):

Question 6:For fun.

In the crossword table given below, some words are hidden. They are all about vegetation and wildllife and are to be found horizontally and vertically. Two have been worked out for you. Work in pairs with a friend.

Answer:

Vegetations: Neem, Bamboo, Flora, Lichen, Pine, Grass, Taiga, Tulsi, Tundra, Ebony, Pampas, Savanna etc.
Wildlife: Bear, Whale, Ox, Zebra, Goat, Tiger, Yak, Owl, Deer, Lion, Fowl, Horse, Pig, Apes etc.

Intext Questions:

Question :Where in India do tropical evergreen and tropical deciduous forests occur? Name the state.

Answer:In India the tropical deciduous forests are found in Jharkhand, West Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. The tropical evergreen forests are found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of Assam, parts of Odisha, along the Western Ghats (Goa, Karnataka, Kerala)

Question :Which type of forest dominates most parts of India?

Answer:Tropical Deciduous Forests.

Question :Now can you tell why Salima saw changes in the natural vegetation as she climbed higher and higher? What types of vegetations did she see in the Himalayas starting with the foothills and going to the higher altitudes?

Answer:Salima saw changes in the natural vegetation because of the following reasons:

1. With the change in height, the climate changes and that changes natural vegetation.
2. The growth of vegetation depends on temperature and moisture.
3. It also depends on factors like slope and thickness of soil.

Types of vegetation she saw:

1. Sal and teak forests
2. Coniferous forests
3. Rhodo-dendrous
4. Short grass