Moist Tropical Forests of India
These forests thrive in regions that are warm and receive abundant rainfall. So think: high temperature + high humidity + high rainfall. This is the ideal combination for dense, luxurious vegetation.
They are further divided into four sub-types, based on slight variations in climate and location.
1. Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests (Rainforests)
🌦️ Climatic Conditions
- Rainfall: More than 250 cm annually
- Temperature: Around 25–27 °C
- Humidity: Above 77%, almost always
- Dry Season: Very short (or almost absent)
🌳 Characteristics
- Evergreen Nature: Trees don’t shed all leaves at once — continuous leaf shedding and regeneration keeps them green year-round.
- Mesophytic Vegetation: Neither water-hungry like lotuses (hydrophytes) nor desert-loving like cacti (xerophytes). Just balanced.
- Height: Trees can reach 45–60 metres — tall, towering giants.
- Canopy: Very thick — like an umbrella from the sky. It blocks sunlight from reaching the forest floor.
- Struggle for Sunlight: Each plant tries to climb higher. Creates layered structure — emergent, canopy, understory, and floor.
- Less Undergrowth: Due to limited sunlight, not much grows below — mostly bamboo, ferns, orchids, climbers.
📍 Distribution
- Western Ghats (especially western slopes, 500–1370m elevation)
- Purvanchal Hills
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
🪵 Timber and Species
- Hardwood: Fine-grained, strong, but hard to extract due to dense, inaccessible terrain
- Common Trees: Mahogany, Mesua, White Cedar, Jamun, Bamboo
2. Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests
These are transitional forests — a bridge between wet evergreen and moist deciduous types.
🌦️ Climatic Conditions
- Rainfall: 200–250 cm annually
- Temperature: Around 24–27 °C
- Dry Season: Longer than evergreen forests
🌳 Characteristics
- Less Dense: Compared to wet evergreen
- More Gregarious: Meaning — trees grow in groups or pure stands, making timber extraction easier
- Species Variety: Still high — but trees have thicker bark, less bamboo, more climbers
- Buttressed Trunks: Thick base for support
- Epiphytes Abound: Plants growing on other plants (like orchids on branches)
📍 Distribution
- Western Coast
- Assam
- Lower Eastern Himalayas
- Odisha and Andaman Islands
🪵 Timber and Species
- Hardwood: Similar to evergreen, but easier to access
- Trees: Laurel, Rosewood, Mesua, White Cedar, Champa, Mango, Indian Chestnut
3. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests
The most extensive forest type in India — found in areas with a long dry season but ample rainfall during monsoon.
🌦️ Climatic Conditions
- Rainfall: 100–200 cm
- Temperature: Around 27 °C
- Humidity: 60–75%
- Dry Season: Spring and summer are dry
🌳 Characteristics
- Leaf Shedding: Trees shed leaves for 6–8 weeks during dry period
- Bare Look: Especially during April–May
- Irregular Top Storey: Tree heights vary between 25–60 m
- Undergrowth: Fairly complete with shrubs, grasses, and herbs
- Extensively Cleared: For agriculture — especially because of flat terrain and valuable timber
📍 Distribution
- Surrounding Western Ghats
- Shiwalik Hills (77°E to 88°E)
- Manipur, Mizoram, Chota Nagpur Plateau, Eastern MP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Parts of West Bengal, Andamans
🪵 Timber and Species
- Easier to Exploit: Because of gregariousness
- Common Trees: Teak, Sal, Laurel, Rosewood, Amla, Jamun, Bamboo
Fact Tip: These forests are the workhorse of India’s timber industry — practical and profitable.
4. Littoral and Swamp Forests
These forests are hydrologically unique — found where land meets water: coasts, estuaries, deltas, tidal areas.
🌊 Climatic & Soil Conditions
- Occur in brackish water zones (mixture of seawater and freshwater)
- Found in deltas, estuaries, creeks, salt marshes
🌳 Characteristics
- Mangroves dominate — dense forests that can survive flooding and salt
- Special Adaptations: Aerial roots for breathing, salt-filtering roots
- Important Ecosystem: Controls coastal erosion, protects biodiversity
- Fuelwood and Timber: Useful for locals
📍 Distribution
- Deltas: Ganga (Sundarbans), Mahanadi, Godavari (Coringa), Krishna, Cauvery
- Coastal Regions: Throughout India
🪵 Timber and Species
- Hard and Durable Timber – for boats, construction
- Common Trees: Sundari (Heritiera), Agar, Rhizophora
Analogy: These are like the “soldiers” standing at the coastal boundary — absorbing tidal shocks, guarding the mainland.
✅ Summary Table: Moist Tropical Forest Types
| Forest Type | Rainfall (cm) | Density | Timber Use | Key Trees | Major Location |
| Wet Evergreen | >250 | Very Dense | Difficult to exploit | Mahogany, Mesua, Jamun | Western Ghats (especially western slopes, 500–1370 m), Purvanchal Hills, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
| Semi-Evergreen | 200–250 | Less Dense | Moderate | Rosewood, Champa, Mango | Western Coast, Assam, Lower Eastern Himalayas, Odisha, Andaman Islands |
| Moist Deciduous | 100–200 | Moderate | Easy to exploit | Teak, Sal, Bamboo | Surrounding Western Ghats, Shiwaliks, Chota Nagpur Plateau |
| Littoral & Swamp (Mangrove) | Varies | Dense in estuaries | Durable | Sundari, Rhizophora, Agar | Deltas of Ganga (Sundarbans), Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery. |
