THE TROPICAL MONSOON AND TROPICAL MARINE CLIMATES
1. Tropical Monsoon Forests
- The natural vegetation of tropical monsoon land depends upon the amount of summer rainfall.
- These are normally deciduous because of the dry period, during which they shed their leaves to withstand drought
- In tropical monsoon forests, the ecosystem which develops is very similar to the true rainforests which develop in equatorial climates but are more open, less luxuriant & contain far fewer species
- The layer structure of the forests contains canopy, understory & shrub layer with an average height of 25-45m and an average rainfall of 100-200cm
- most of the forests yield valuable timber & prized for their hardwood such as teak, Rosewood, Sal, Sandalwood, Shisham, Banyan, Aracia and some varieties of Eucalyptus in North America
- These forests have Bamboo thickets, which often grow to great heights, thorny scrubs with scattered trees & long grass
- Rice is the most important crop grown in tropical lowlands in which rain exceeds 70cm
- Wheat
- Maize
- Millet
- Gram and beans
Lowland crops
| Crop | Countries |
| Sugarcane |
India, Java, Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados |
| Jute | Ganga, Brahmaputra regions in India and Bangladesh |
| Manilahemp/ abaca | Philippines |
Highland Crops
| Crop | Countries |
| Coffee |
. Originated in Ethiopia& Arabia, where it is still grown · Brazil accounts for half the world's population · Grows on highland slopes of India, Eastern Java and Central American States |
| Tea |
· Originated in China & still is an important crop there for local consumption · Major exporters are India, Java, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka |
|
Previous Year Questions
1. In India, in which one of the following types of forests is teak a dominant tree species? (upsc 2015) (a) Tropical moist deciduous forest (b) Tropical rain forest (c) Tropical thorn scrub forest (d) Temperate forest with grasslands Answer: A
2. Consider the following States: (UPSC 2022) 1. Andhra Pradesh 2. Kerala 3. Himachal Pradesh 4. Tripura How many of the above are generally known as tea-producing States? (a) Only one State (b) Only two States (c) Only three States (d) All four States Answer: C |
