1. Natural Vegetation & Wildlifein
Karnataka

2. Natural Vegetation in Karnataka
Natural vegetation is plants that have not been grown by humans. It doesn’t need help from humans and gets whatever it needs from its natural environment.
Varied factors like relief, climate & soils have affected the growth of a great variety of plants, trees & grasses in the state.
Karnataka has a rich variety of plant species.
According to report ‘ State of Forests’ of the Department of Forests and Environment of India, the total area of forests in the state is 36,190 sq km.

3. Types of Vegetation
There are four major types of vegetation in Karnataka
Evergreen Forests
Deciduous Forests
Mixed Forests
Grasslands & Shrubs

4. Evergreen Forests
The tropical rainforests are confined to areas of heavy rainfall & high temperature.
Areas which receive more 250 cm of rainfall and have a short dry season are the best area for the rainforest.
The forest has a multilayered structure.
Flora – Mahogany, Rosewood, Kino, Teak, Hebbalasu etc.
Spices – Cinnamon, cardamom, Cloves etc.
Districts – Uttara Kannada, Dakshina kannada, Shimoga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Chamarajanagar & Kodagu.

5. Evergreen Forests (Western Ghats)

6. Teak
Mahogany
Rosewood
Hebbalasu

7. Deciduous Forests
The trees of these forests shed their leaves during dry-winter and dry-summer.
These are found in areas having 60cm to 120 cm of annual rainfall.
These forests can be divided into two types on the basis of availability of water.
Tropical moist deciduous forests
Tropical dry deciduous forests
Flora – Teak, mahogany, Neem, Mango, Jackfruit, Banyan, Bamboo etc.
Districts – Chikmagalur, Chamarajanagar, Mysore Mandya, Ramnagar .

8. DeciduousForests

9. Teak
Sandalwood
Peepal
Bamboo

10. Mixed Forests
The growing of Evergreen & Deciduous trees together form the mixed forests.
Annual rainfall is around 120 cm to 150 cm.
Flora – Mahogany, Teak, Kino, Sandal, Jackfruit & Bamboo etc.
Districts – Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Chikmagalur, Kodagu, Hassan & Mysore.

11. Grasslands & Shrubs
Areas receiving less than 60 cms of rainfall annually have this kind of vegetation.
Due to scanty rain & dry weather there is short grass, thorny shrub vegetation.
Flora – Cactus, Acacia, Babul, Palm trees etc.
Districts – Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Bijapur, Bellary, Chitradurga.

12. Cacti
Babool
Acacia
Palm

13. Mangrove Forests
Large and extensive types of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics.
Roots of the mangrove plants are submerged under water.
Hollow roots grow out vertically above water so that roots can breathe.

14. Mangrove Forests : World Distribution

15. Mangrove Forest

16. Wildlife in Karnataka

18. Bannerghatta National Park

19. Bandipura National Park

20. Ranganathittu Bird Sanctury

21. Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctury

22. Nagarhole Tiger Reserve

23. Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve

24. National Park vs Wildlife Sanctury
It is meant for protection of both flora and fauna.
Cultivation of land is not permitted.
Grazing is not allowed.
Forest products are not harvested.
Boundary is well demarcated.
Wildlife Sanctury
It is meant for protection of only fauna.
Cultivation of land is permitted to some extent
Grazing is allowed.
Forest products are harvested.
Boundary is not well demarcated.