Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover by area, followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Arunachal Pradesh ranks high by area but is better known for the high percentage of its geographical area under forest, while Chhattisgarh and Odisha are among the top States by area but do not rank first.
- Statement 1: Tropical evergreen forests are found in areas receiving more than 200 cm of annual rainfall, such as the Western Ghats and parts of Northeast India.
- Statement 2: Mangrove forests are found mainly in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Statement 1 is correct — tropical evergreen forests need over 200 cm of rainfall and are dense and multi-layered, with trees such as rosewood, ebony and mahogany. Statement 2 is incorrect — mangroves grow in coastal intertidal zones and deltas such as the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika, the Andamans and the Godavari–Krishna delta, not in the Himalayan foothills.
Statement (c) is incorrect — deodar and chir pine are coniferous trees of the Himalayan temperate zone, while tidal (mangrove) forests are dominated by species such as sundari, Rhizophora and Avicennia. The other statements are correct: the Sundarbans, named after the sundari tree, form India’s largest mangrove forest, teak and sal are commercially important trees of tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests, and rhododendron and juniper grow in the alpine and sub-alpine zones.
- Assertion (A): Tropical thorn forests are found in north-western India, especially in Rajasthan.
- Reason (R): These regions receive less than about 70 cm of annual rainfall.
A is correct — tropical thorn forests and scrub occur in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and the semi-arid Deccan. R is correct and explains A — with rainfall below about 70 cm, vegetation adapts to dryness with thorns, small leaves and deep roots, as in babul, khair, khejri and cacti, so low rainfall is the direct cause of this forest type.
- The India State of Forest Report is published every two years by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun.
- The National Forest Policy, 1988 set a goal of bringing one-third of India’s geographical area under forest or tree cover.
- Very dense forest refers to land with a tree canopy density between 40% and 70%.
Statement 1 is correct — the ISFR is a biennial report of the Forest Survey of India, based on satellite data. Statement 2 is correct — the National Forest Policy, 1988 aims for 33% of geographical area under forest or tree cover. Statement 3 is incorrect — very dense forest has a canopy density of 70% and above, while the 40–70% band is moderately dense forest and 10–40% is open forest.
