Flora and Fauna

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Flora refers to plant species and fauna refers to animal species. Our country has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. There are over 45,000 plant species and 81,251 animal species. It represents about 7% of world's flora and 6.5% of world's fauna. The term biota includes both plant as well as the domesticated and wild species of animals.

Flora and fauna of India form the two most important natural resources.

Flora

Forests are uncultivated and uninhabited pieces of land covered by trees and shrubs. They play a vital role in the life and culture of the people. They form an important renewable natural resource. India has about 63.5% million hectares of forests and forms 1/5^th of the geographical area of the country.

Uses of Forests

• Forests provides timber for furniture and buildings

• Forests provides raw material for paper, board and plywood industry

• Forests provides fodder for cattle, sheep, goat and other animals

• Forests provides bamboo which is called poor man's timber

• Forests helps in balancing the carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere. During photosynthesis, plants release O₂ and use CO₂ thus, they reduce the green house effect.

• Forests regulate the earth's temperature and weather cycle. They enhance local rainfall

• Forests check soil erosion, landslides and also prevent floods

• Forests protect wild life

• Forests provide fruits, nuts, gums, rubber, dyes, fibre, medicines, camphor, essential oils, tannin etc.

• Forests are major sources of animal products such as honey, wax, tussore, lac etc.

Fauna

The Indian fauna includes variety of animal life such as mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects etc i.e. about 800 species of mammals, 2000 species of birds, 420 species of reptiles, 2000 species of fish, 50,000 species of insects, 4000 species of molluscs (Source K.C.Agarwal, 1998).

The animals like black buck, nilgiri tahr, pigmy hog, golden langur, lion tailed macaque etc are unique to India.

Wild life includes the undomesticated plant and animal life. We derive benefits from food chains occuring naturally in wild life. Population of rodents and different insects are controlled by hawks, kites and snakes playing a vital role in biological control and ecological balance. When man destroys wild life, the ecological balance is upset. Wild life resources provide aesthetic, biological and nutritional value to human life on earth.