UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 72 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectGeography
- TopicIndian Geography
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Consider the following States:
1. Arunachal Pradesh
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Mizoram
In which of the above States do 'Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests' occur?
Show answer
Answer: C. 1 and 3 only
Verdict
The answer is 1 and 3 only. Tropical wet evergreen forests occur in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, but not in Himachal Pradesh.
Analysis
Statements 1 and 3 are CORRECT. Evergreen forests in India occur on the slopes of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra, and in the heavy rainfall North-East, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal, as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. Himachal Pradesh lies in the western Himalaya with far lower rainfall and a temperate to alpine climate, so it carries coniferous and temperate broadleaf forest rather than tropical wet evergreen forest.
Source
NCERT Class XI, India: Physical Environment, page 58.
How to crack it
Vegetation questions are rainfall questions in disguise, so convert the forest type into its rainfall requirement before looking at the States. Tropical wet evergreen needs more than about two hundred centimetres and continuous warmth, which confines it to the wettest tropical belts. The word tropical alone disqualifies a western Himalayan State, since Himachal is temperate. Learning the four rainfall bands and the forest type each produces answers this whole family without State lists.