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UPSC Prelims 2015 · Environment · Nature’s Machinery
Consider the following States:
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh
- Mizoram In which of the above States do 'Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests' occur?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Arunachal and Mizoram have it; Himachal is temperate.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ YES The foothills and valleys of Arunachal get very heavy rain — tropical wet evergreen forest.
2. ✗ NO Himachal is temperate — pine, deodar, oak.
3. ✓ YES Mizoram has wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forest.
The idea
Tropical wet evergreen forest needs three things together: heat all year (so, low altitude in the tropics), more than about 250 cm of rain, and almost no dry season. In India only three areas qualify: the western side of the Western Ghats, the North-East, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Is it warm all year? Himachal: no, it is temperate → Does it get very heavy rain? Arunachal foothills and Mizoram: yes → Wet evergreen forest
The trap
Arunachal and Himachal are both Himalayan, so they feel alike. The east is wet and low at the foothills; the west is temperate.
Also know
Typical trees: hollong (the State tree of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh), rosewood, ebony, mesua. Where the rain is a little less, the forest is semi-evergreen, a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees.
🔒 Tropical wet evergreen: Western Ghats, NE, A&N Islands. None in the western Himalaya.
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