Chapter 6 Natural vegetation and Wildlife
With change in height the climate changes And that changes natural vegetation.
Growth of vegetation depends on temperature and moisture
Also depends on factors like slope and thickness of soil.
Natural vegetation classified into three broad categories
Forests-
Grow where temperature and rainfall are plentiful to support a tree cover.
Depending upon these factors dense and open forests grown
Grasslands-
Grow in the region of moderate rain
Shrubs-
thorny shrubs and scrubs grow in dry region
Changes in type of natural vegetation occur mainly because of the changes of climatic condition.
Forests
Tropical Evergreen forests(Rainforests)
Regions near the equator and close to the tropics.
Hot and receive heavy rainfall throughout the year
No particular dry season.
Trees do not shed their leaves all together.
Thick canopies do not allow sunlight to penetrate inside.
Examples- Hardwood trees like Rosewood ebony, mahogany
Tropical deciduous forest
Monsoon forests
Found in large part of India Northern Australia and in Central America
Experience seasonal changes, trees shed their leaves in the dry season to conserve water.
Example- Hardwood trees- Sal teak neem and shisham
Animals- tigers lions elephants langoor and monkeys
Temperate Evergreen forests
located in the mid-latitude null coastal region Along the Eastern margin of the continents.(Southeast USA, South China and Southeast Brazil)
Comprise both hard and soft wood trees like Oak Pine Eucalyptus
Temperate deciduous forest
Towards higher latitudes
Found in North Eastern part of USA China, New Zealand chile And Western Europe
Shed their leaves in the dry season.
Example- Oak Ash beech Etc
animals- deer foxes wolves
Birds like pheasants and monals
Mediterranean vegetation
West and southwest margins of the continent Have Mediterranean vegetation
Found in areas around Mediterranean sea in Europe Africa and Asia.
Also in California in USA South West Africa Southwestern America Southwest Australia
hot dry Summers and Mild rainy Winters.
Citrus fruits such as oranges figs olives and grapes Commonly cultivated here
Because people have removed the natural vegetation in order to cultivate.
Isn't much wildlife.
Coniferous forests
Higher latitudes 50 degree to 70 degree of northern hemisphere
Also called as taiga
Tall softwood evergreen trees
Useful for making pulp Used for making paper and newsprints match boxes and packing boxes
Example- cheer Pine said are
Animals- Silver Fox mink polar bear
Grasslands
Tropical grasslands
Occur on either side of the Equator extend until the tropics
In areas of moderate to low amount of rainfall.
Grass can grow very tall about 3 to 4 meters in height.
Example Savanna grassland of Africa
Animals- elephants zebras giraffes, deer Leopard
Temperate grasslands
Found in mid-latitudinal zones and interior part of continents.
Grass, here is short and nutritious. Animals wild buffalos Bisons antelopes
Thorny bushes
Found in dry desert regions
Western margins of the continents
Vegetation coverage scars because of scanty rain And scorching Heat
In polar reason growth of natural vegetation is very limited.
Only mosses lichens and very small shrubs are found there.
Grows during the very short summer called Tundra type of vegetation.
Found in polar areas of Europe Asia and North America
Animals have thick fur and thick skin.
Example seal walruses Musk Oxen Arctic owl polar bear and snow foxes
Chapter 7
Human environment settlement -transport and communication
Settlements Places where people build their homes
Settlements can be permanent or temporary.
The place where a building or a settlement develops is called a site.
Natural conditions for selecting an ideal site are - favorable climate, availability of water, suitable land, fertile soil.
Two different types of settlements-
The rural and the urban
Villages are rural settlements where people engaged in activities like agriculture fishing forestry crafts work and trading.
Rural settlements can be compact or scattered.
Compact settlement is closely built area of dwellings wherever flat land is available.
Scattered settlement dwelling are spaced over an extensive area.
Mostly Found in Hilly tracks Thick forests and regions of extreme climate
The towns are small and the cities are larger Urban settlements.
Urban areas people are engaged in manufacturing trading and services.
Transport Means by which people and goods move.
Four major means of Transport- roadways Railways waterways and Airways
Roadways
Most commonly used Short distances
Can be metalled and unmettaled
Plains have a dense network of Roads.
Manali Leh Highway in the Himalayan Mountains one of the highest roadway in the world
Roads built underground Are called Subways or under path
Flyovers are built over raised structures.
The golden quadrilateral connects Delhi Mumbai Chennai and Kolkata
Railways
Carry, heavy goods and people over long distances quickly and cheaply.
Invention of steam engine and the Industrial Revolution Helped in Speedy development of rail transport
Superfast trains have been introduced to make the journey faster.
Developed over the plain areas.
Indian Railway network is well developed. It is the largest in Asia.
Train from xining to Lhasa Runs at an altitude of 4,000 meter above sea level and the highest point is 5072 meter.
Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway system connecting st Petersburg in Western Russia to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.
Waterways
Cheapest for carrying heavy and bulky good for long distances
Two types- inland waterways and sea routes
Rivers and lakes are used as inland waterways.
Important one ganga brahmaputra river system
Great lakes in North America and River Nile in Africa
Sea routes and oceanic routes are mostly used for transporting merchandise and goods from one country to another. Connected with ports
Some important parts of the world Singapore and Mumbai in Asia, New York Los Angeles in North America, Rio de Janerio in South America
Durban and Cape Town in Africa Sydney in Australia, London and Rotterdam in Europe
Airways
Fastest way of transport
Most expensive due to high cost of fuels
Air traffic is adversely affected by bad weather like fog and storms.
Only mode to reach the most remote and distant areas.
Helicopters are mostly useful In time of calamities
Some important airports are delhi-mumbai, New York, London Paris, Frankfurt Cairo.
Communication
Process of conveying message to others
Develop new and fast modes of communication
Different modes of communication are used to provide information to educate as well as to entertain.
Through newspaper radio and televisions we can communicate with a large number of people they are therefore called mass media.
Satellites have made communication even faster.
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