9th Class Social Science Nature Vegetation & Wildlife Important Terms and Concepts - Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS

1. Ecosystem.  The in terlinkage and interdependence of all plants and animals in a given area form an ecosystem.
2. Biosphere.  It is the narrow belt of living organisms.
3. Biosphere Reserve. It is the forest area where all types of flora and fauna are preserved in their natural environment.
4. Biomes.  Plant species occurring in distinct groups in areas having similar climatic conditions.
5. Savanna.  It is similar to grassland but with scattered trees. There is a rich growth of grasses during hot or wet season.
6. Coniferous forests. They are evergreen cone bearing trees with needle-shaped leaves found between 1,600 and 3000 metres above sea level, e.g., pine, spruce, cedar etc.
7. Deciduous forests. They consist of trees which shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in summer, e.g., sal, teak, shisham etc.
8. Natural vegetation. A plant community that has not been disturbed over a long period.
9. Flora.  The original natural vegetation cover consisting of forests, grasslands, and shrubs.
10. Alpine vegetation. Above coniferous forests, there lies the Alpine vegetation at an altitude of about 3,600 metres and above. This is the tree line in the Himalayas. It has dense scrub forests of silver fir, birch and junipers. The Alpine forests give way to the Alpine grassland and shrubs.
11. Tundra vegetation. At about 5000 metres (snowline) there is a permanent cover of ice and snow, tundra vegetation of moss and lichen is found in this region.
12. Thorn and Scrub forests. They are so called due to the dominance of thorny trees, bushes and scrubs. They grow in dry areas of less than 75 cm annual rainfall. These trees and bushes have long roots which spread in radial pattern, thick bark, sharp thorns and waxy leaves. These devices help them to preserve water and protect themselves from animals, e.g., Kiker, Babool, Datepalm etc.
13. Fauna.  All forms of animals found on the earth in natural environment.
14. Biosphere.  Narrow belt of living organisms.
15. National Parks. They are relatively large area where one or several ecosystems exist and where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats are of special educative and recreative interests, e.g., Jim Corbett Park.
16. Wildlife sanctuary. It is similar to national park but is dedicated to protect wildlife and conserve pecies, e.g., Gir Lion Sanctuary.
17. Biosphere reserve. It is a multipurpose protected area to preserve the genetic diversity in the representative ecosystem, e.g., Nanda Devi.
18. Endemic.  They are purely Indian plant species,
19. Exotic plants. Plants which have come from outside India.
20. Virgin vegetation. Plants which have grown naturally without human effort.
21. Photoperiod.  It is the duration of sunlight.
22.  Marustali. It is desert, arid region.