Dry deciduous forest
Topic: Natural Vegetation and Forests of India · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Natural Vegetation"
Meaning
Dry deciduous forest grows where rainfall is 70-100 cm. It covers the rainier parts of the Peninsula and the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar plains. Trees stand apart with grass between them, so it looks like parkland. In the dry season the trees drop their leaves to save water, and the forest looks like grassland with bare trees. Typical trees are tendu, palas, amaltas, bel, khair and axlewood. On wetter edges it turns into moist deciduous forest, and on drier edges into thorn forest. It is the forest type most exposed to fire and clearing.
Example
The plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have patches of dry deciduous forest. Their tendu and palas trees stand bare in the hot, dry months before the monsoon.
Don't confuse with
- Moist deciduous forest: this gets more rain (100-200 cm), is denser, and is dominated by teak and sal.