Moist deciduous forest
Topic: Natural Vegetation and Forests of India · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Natural Vegetation"
Meaning
Moist deciduous forest is a monsoon forest that grows where rainfall is 100-200 cm. Its trees drop their leaves in the dry season to save water. It grows in the northeastern states along the Himalayan foothills, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, and in Odisha. Main species are teak, sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum and sandalwood. Together with dry deciduous forest it makes tropical deciduous forest, the most widespread forest type in India.
Example
Sal leads on the Chota Nagpur plateau (Jharkhand), in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and in the terai-bhabar foothills. Teak leads in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.
Don't confuse with
- Tropical semi-evergreen forest: this grows in wetter areas next to evergreen forest. Its climbers keep it green all year, and its species are white cedar, hollock and kail.