BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF INDIA

ARUN JOSHI

BIO-GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS OF INDIA

Biogeography deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals. Communities of plants and animals in different geographical areas of the world differ widely from each other. Biogeography is divided into branches: i] Phyto-geography and ii] Zoo-geography.
Phyto-geography (plant geography) deals with origin, distribution and environmental interrelationships of plants. Zoogeography deals with the migration and distribution of animals.
From the stand point of biodiversity, India is given the status of a “Mega-diversity” zone. There are 10 biogeographic zones witch are distinguished clearly in India. They are as follows—

v Trans Himalayan zone.
v Himalayan zone.
v Desert zone.
v Semiarid zone.
v Western ghat zone.
v Deccan platea zone.
v Gangetic plain zone.
v North east zone.
v Coastal zone.
v Islands present near the shore line.
1. Trans Himalayan zone:
This is the northern most area of the country around Himalayas. This zone is not related to mountains but it is the area present surrounding the mountains. This region shows 1. Irregular vegetation.
2. It has the richest wild sheep producing quality wool. 3. It has not only quality sheep but also goat community which is qualitatively and quantitatively in superior in the world. 4. Snow leopard is a special animal observable in this zone. 5. Migratory birds like black neck crane are seen here. The great Indian bustard which is an endangered variety is also seen in the grasslands west to this zone.
2. Himalayan zone:
This is a hilly region with good flora and fauna, exhibiting maximum biodiversity in this region. There are national parks here in this zone.
3. Desert zone:
This is a part of Rajasthan state, from where, the great desert of western India namely ‘Thar desert’ starts, and Desert zone is really a deserted zone with areas like Jaisalmir surrounded by sand dunes, which are the best centers for studying soil erosion by wind.
4. Semi arid zone:
It starts in Rajasthan and extends up to some parts in the state of Punjab and Haryana. In this area, ground water and surface water is much less. Dry xerophytic vegetation is predominant, fauna is also minimum. Very few orchids and bamboo and other plants are seen.
5. Western ghats:
It represents the mountainous western zone of south peninsular India having rich flora and fauna with tropical rain forests extending from Konkan region of Maharashtra up to the western part of Kerala generally called Malabaar coast of Arabian Sea.
Wild relatives of cultivated plants like banana, mango, citrus, black pepper are found abundantly in this part.
6. Deccan Plateau zone:
This is the central table land of south India with rich flora and fauna. But some areas represent semiarid type of vegetation. Rainfall occurs mainly by the south west monsoon, in these areas and so limited number of dense forests is present in Deccan. Deccan platean is represented in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
It may be interesting to note that many medicinal plants are available South India like Rauwolffia serpentine, Cinchona officinalis, Vinca rosea commonly called perwinkle-which gives drugs like Vinicristin and Viniblastin that are used for treating cardio vascular ailments is also cultivated in this zone.
7. Indo-Gangetic plain:
This is a very fertility land zone. At the central part of North India, through which 2 mighty rivers, Indus (Sindhu) and Ganges (Ganga) flow along with their tributaries. Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej are 5 rivers from Indus that make Punjab, the granary of India. For Ganges there are tributaries like Yamuna that flow and enrich this zone.
8. North East part of India zone:
This is the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) having 7 sister states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. These states have humid weather and mountainous terrain, having rich culture along with flora and fauna of rare endemic and endangered species of plants and animals in Khasi and Garo hills of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam which are the pioneering states that lead in cultivation of tea and coffee plantations.
9 & 10. Coastal zone and islands near by the coast:
The Eastern Ghats are not as high as Western Ghats and not having many dense forests. They are characterized by having dry zones with scrub jungle type of xerophytic forests. The Andaman and Nicobar islands show flora and fauna similar to Eastern ghats. Lakshadweep islands, show flora and fauna similar to Malabaar coast. The islands on either side of peninsular India are also rich in their flora and fauna exactly replicating the peninsular type of vegetation in the Sea Islands also.