NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

Geography is a crucial part of our day-to-day life which tells us about different places and spaces on earth.. 

Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 discusses Natural Vegetation and Wildlife. The chapter talks about innumerable bio-forms in India, each within a place amongst the diverse climatic conditions and terrains taught through an extensive content full of pictorial representation, map reading, case studies, practical projects etc.

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The chapter study solutions prepared by the Extramarks for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 encompasses all the critical topics with necessary detailing, keeping CBSE guidelines and the  examination pattern in mind. The professional team has drafted detailed solutions to each exercise and every question including explained concepts with illustrations, statistical data, maps, etc., for students’ easy understanding. Students can register on our website and get access to our NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5. 

Extramarks has also developed similar concise course content for other Classes, easily accessible on their website. 

Key Topics covered in NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5

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Below are a few of the important topics covered in our NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5.

Introduction:

Our country falls in the category of 12 mega biodiversity countries worldwide. The NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 elaborates on flora and fauna, which are the plant and animal life found in an area during a particular period in time. India boasts of an enviable variety of flora and fauna, which results from different factors like climate and physiographic features. 

Factors affecting Flora and Fauna:

The most fertile land is used to cultivate fruits and vegetables. The remaining area of the plains, mountains, deserts, rough grasslands, forests, and plateaus is home to India’s variety of plant and animal life. Climate controls like temperature, humidity, precipitation, and the soil, affect the vegetation growth of a region and the ensuing animal life there. As we ascend altitude from the plains to hills, the vegetation changes from tropical to subtropical and finally alpine or tundra on the mountain top. 

We can learn from the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 that trees grow faster in the summers due to prolonged exposure to sunlight. Sunlight exposure varies with altitude, latitude, season and day duration. 

Other than soil and sun, water is equally critical for the growth of flora. The areas receiving heavy and regular rainfall develop dense vegetation as compared to others. Forests conserve the water, prevent erosion, modify the climate, provide humus to the soil, provide shelters to animals, bird and insect, support industrialisation, and other needs of man, other than providing panoramic views for recreation. Trees can influence rain-bearing clouds and rainfall by controlling the temperature and winds. Increased deforestation by humans to expand cultivativable land, mining, industries, urbanisation, and overgrazing of pastures has depleted this renewable resource and degraded the environment. The reduced vegetation cover has also affected flora and fauna in India. 

Vegetation found in India.

Five varieties of trees and forest life are found in India, based on the temperature zone, altitude, soil, and precipitation received. We find detailed explanations about each in the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5.

Tropical Evergreen Forests:

Tropical areas receiving maximum rainfall throughout the year (more than 200 cm), with only short periods of dry weather, are best suited for these kinds of forests, for example , the windward side of Western Ghats, the island groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, northern parts of Tamil Nadu and Assam. 

The plantation is thick, with trees reaching heights above 60 metres, as explained in the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5. Trees rarely shed leaves, so the cover is primarily green throughout the year. High-value trees like rosewood, ebony, rubber, mahogany and cinchona are part of these forests. Commonly found animals in this vegetation are one-horned rhinoceroses, elephants, monkeys, lemurs and deers, and various birds, bats, scorpions, sloths and snails. 

Tropical Deciduous Forests:

The NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 describes these forests as monsoon forests for their dependency on rains (70-200 cm). In the dry season, the trees shed leaves for about two months. Animals like lions, tigers, pigs, deers and elephants are commonly found here, apart from different bird species, reptiles, and tortoises. The further subdivision of these forests is based on rainfall received. 

Any area which receives 100 cm or more is commonly known as  moist deciduous trees like teak, sal, shisham, sandalwood, bamboo, mulberry etc. West Odisha, Jharkhand, the eastern side of the Western Ghats and Chhattisgarh are areas where these forests are found. 

The dry deciduous forests are spread out in the rain-laden parts of the Peninsular plateau and part of the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh plains, where rainfall is between 70-100 cm. Commonly found trees in these forests are sal, teak, peepal and neem. This forest cover has reduced due to conversion of the forest land for agriculture and animal grazing. 

Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs:

In regions where rainfall is less than 70 cm, the trees and bushes are usually scattered, with deep roots, thorny succulent stems, and small thick leaves. These are the features modified to absorb maximum moisture and retain them. The vegetation is reduced to thorny trees and shrubs in more arid areas. This type of vegetation is found in the dry lands of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where plants like palms, euphorbias, acacias and cacti are common. Animals such as rats, rabbits, camels, ox, wolves, tigers, lions, and horses form the fauna. 

Montane Forests:

As the terrain and altitude change, we see a gradual change in the vegetation type. Wet temperate forests with broad evergreen leaves that grow at 1,000 and 2,000 metres, for example , chestnuts and oaks. Up to 3000 metres, like the high altitude northeastern India and southern slopes of the Himalayas, one can find deodar, pine, spruce, silver fir and cedar trees. Above 3,600 metres are suited for montane or Alpine forests of juniper, silver fir, pine and birch. Further up, snow and frost stunt vegetation growth, with only shrubs, scrubs and the Alpine grasslands existing. These regions are common to cattle grazing by nomadic tribes like the Gujjars and the Bakarwals. The tundra vegetation generally houses animal species such as the Tibetan antelope, yak, snow leopard, squirrels, shaggy horned wild ibex, bear, the Kashmir stag, sheep and goats with thick hair.

Mangrove Forests:

These forests are localised to deltaic soil created naturally at the mouth of rivers, near coastal areas, where continuous silt and mud deposits by tidal movements create rich deposits. Tidal mangrove forest trees have their roots submerged under water and the interconnected trees forming dense vegetation. In India, we can find this vegetation in the deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers, where common varieties of plants are coconut, palm, agar etc. The Sundari trees, known for durable hardwood, are found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta. Animal life is mainly crocodiles, turtles, gharials and snakes, with the Royal Bengal tiger being the most famous. 

Indian Wildlife and its conservation

India holds a fair share of fauna, with the birds, fishes, and other animals accounting for 13%, 12% and 8%, respectively, of the world’s total strength, as per the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5. Elephants in the wet forests, one-horned rhinoceroses in the swamp and marshy areas, camels in deserts, yaks and wild oxen in the tundra regions and turtles, crocodiles and gharials in the freshwater bodies are some of the commonly found animals. The forests and wetlands are rich in bird variety like peacocks, cranes, ducks, parakeets etc. 

Eighteen biosphere reserves have been set up in India by our government to protect flora and fauna. Ten out of these, Pachmarhi, the Sundarbans Nanda Devi, Nokrek, Great Nicobar, the Gulf of Mannar, the Nilgiri, Manas, Achanakmar-Amarkantak and Simlipal have been included in the global network of biosphere reserves.

Our dietary requirements in the form of fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, meat etc., are provided by flora and fauna around us. However, human greed, abuse and overexploitation of nature have created an imbalance in this ecosystem. As a check mechanism, the Indian government has brought out many initiatives, which are stated below:

• Setting up of eighteen biosphere reserves.
• Assisting the botanical gardens with finance and technical know-how.
• Eco-developmental projects to safeguard tigers, rhinoceroses etc.
• Built 535 wildlife sanctuaries, 103 national parks and multiple zoological gardens across India.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5: Exercises &  Solutions

The notes included in Extramarks NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 will help students revise before the CBSE examination, along with the question and answer solutions prepared by Extramarks. Students are suggested to practise a few questions from the past years’ question papers to get a good understanding about the exam specific question patterns. 

Students can access questions and answers for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 from below links:

• Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Class 9 Questions Answers  
• Class 9 Social Science Geography Chapter 5: Questions & Answers

Students can register on the Extramarks website to access NCERT Solutions for different classes. 

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NCERT Solutions Class 11

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NCERT Solutions Class 1

Key Features of NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5

The essential features of the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Geography Chapter 5 are given below:

• India stands in tenth place worldwide and fourth in Asia, with 47,000 species of plant. 
• Six per cent of the world’s flowering plants are found in India, with approximately 15,000 in number. The count of non-flowering plants like algae, fungi and ferns is innumerable. 
• About 90,000 different animal species exist in our country apart from the abundant varieties of fish in fresh and sea waters. 
• Five different varieties of forests and vegetation are found in our country based on the latitude, altitude, precipitation and terrain, each with its characteristic flora and fauna.