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Natural Vegetation and Forests: asked and not asked.
UPSC has asked 11 of these 21. 8 came more than once. 10 have not come yet. Lock the repeated ones first, then read the rest.
First, the concept
Rain decides the forest. Over 200 cm gives evergreen forest; 100–200 cm moist deciduous; 50–100 cm dry deciduous; under 50 cm thorn forest. Height decides it in the mountains.
Tropical moist deciduous (monsoon) forest is the most widespread type in India. Deciduous trees shed leaves in the dry season to save water.
The National Forest Policy (1988) aims at one-third of the land under forest or tree cover. Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest area; Mizoram the highest share of its land.
🔁 Asked again and again (8)
Tap a year to open that solved question.
Forest types
- Mangrove (tidal) forest · Deltas; Sundarbans (sundari tree), Bhitarkanika, Pichavaram 17 times:202620262026202320212021
- Tropical evergreen · Western Ghats, North-East, Andaman; rosewood, mahogany, ebony 8 times:202120212015201520152010
- Montane forest · Himalaya; oak and chestnut lower, deodar and chir pine higher, then alpine meadows 5 times:20232014201020101992
- Thorn forest · Rajasthan, Gujarat; babul, khair, khejri, cactus 4 times:2015201320021983
- Tropical moist deciduous · The most widespread type; sal, teak, bamboo 3 times:201520102003
✅ Asked once (3)
Forest types
- Tropical dry deciduous · Central plateau; teak, tendu, palash 2021
Grasslands
- Terai grassland · Tall grass of the Terai: Dudhwa, Jim Corbett, Kaziranga 2021
Trees and where they grow
- Sal · Moist deciduous; Shiwaliks, Chotanagpur, Odisha
❌ Not asked by UPSC yet (10)
Items marked 'asked in UPPCS' have already come in the UP state exam, so examiners do use them.
Grasslands
- Shola · Patches of evergreen forest amid grassland in the Nilgiris and Anaimalai asked in UPPCS
- Bugyal · Alpine meadows of Uttarakhand asked in UPPCS
- Marg · Mountain meadows of Kashmir (Gulmarg, Sonamarg) asked in UPPCS
- Banni · Grassland of Kutch, Gujarat asked in UPPCS
Trees and where they grow
- Khejri · Rajasthan's state tree; protected by the Bishnoi asked in UPPCS
Forest movements and policy
- Chipko Movement · 1973, Garhwal; Gaura Devi, Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasad Bhatt asked in UPPCS
- Appiko Movement · 1983, Karnataka; Pandurang Hegde asked in UPPCS
- Van Mahotsav · Tree-planting festival begun in 1950 by K. M. Munshi asked in UPPCS
- Social forestry and agroforestry · Trees on common land; trees grown with crops asked in UPPCS
- India State of Forest Report · Every two years by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun asked in UPPCS
⚠️ The most widespread forest type is moist deciduous, not evergreen. Shola is in the Nilgiris; Bugyal is in Uttarakhand. Chipko began in Uttarakhand, Appiko in Karnataka.
'Asked' is checked against the solved UPSC questions on this site. 'Not asked yet' does not mean it will surely come.