Page 123 - SST Class 08
P. 123

plum, peach, almond, grapes, apricot, cherry,
                                                                    walnut etc.

                                                                        Quiz Time
                                                                     Fill in the blanks :

                                                                     1. There are nearly ___________  plant species and
                                                                        ___________   animal species on the earth.
               A rubber tree   A rosewood tree  A sandalwood tree
                                                                     2. ___________   are rooted in the soil.
            The chief varieties of trees found in tropical           3. The ___________   are very important for life on
            evergreen    forests   are    mahogany  ,   rubber ,
            rosewood  , bamboo   , ebony  , sandalwood      etc.        the earth.
            These forests are found in South America                 4. The ___________   forests are found in hot and
            (Amazon and Orinoco basins), Africa (Congo and              humid areas.
            Zaire basins), Malaysia, Myanmar, Kampuchea,             5. Species of animals are known as ___________  .
            Indonesia, Vietnam and New Guinea.
                                                                    Coniferous Forests
            Temperate Evergreen Forests
                                                                    These forests cover a wide belt of land in North
            The temperate evergreen forests are found on
                                                                    America, Asia and Europe, situated between 50°N
            eastern coastal margins in mid-latitude regions.
            They are hardwood trees with broad leaves. They         and 70°N latitudes where winters are long and
            are widely found in the southern US, south-             severe. They include Canada, Norway, Finland,
                                                                    Sweden and Latvia. In Siberia, they are called
            eastern Australia, east coast of southern Africa,
            southern Brazil and southern China. The main            Taiga. They are seen on the mountain slopes from
                                                                    1,500 to 2,000 metre altitudes. Forests on the
            trees  are   oak ,  pine ,  mulberry ,  eucalyptus ,
                                                                    slopes of the Alps and the Himalayas are of this
            camphor  , bamboo    and wattle  , and they have
            immense commercial value.                               type. In the Southern Hemisphere, their growth is
                                                                    scarce. Two large areas of South America have
            Mediterranean Forests                                   coniferous forests—the western coastal lands of

            These forests are found on western margins of           southern Chile and the
            continents between latitudes 30° and 40° on both        southern    part   of   the
            sides of the Equator. These regions have a dry          Brazilian   Plateau.   The
            summer and a wet winter with moderate rainfall.         former is remote and little
            Trees adapt themselves to the seasonal changes in       exploited, while the latter
            temperature and do not shed their leaves in the         is  an   important   forest
            dry summer. Trees contain waxy leaves, and are          region   and   grows    the
            spiny and small, so transpiration is low. Trees and     valuable Panama Pine.            A coniferous forest
            shrubs are widely spaced, and their barks are thick     The common trees of this region include pine,
            to control loss of moisture.                            cedar, silver trees, hemlock, fir, spruce and
            These forests are found in regions bordering the        deodar. Coniferous trees are tall and straight with
            Mediterranean Sea, which include Asian, African         narrow and needle like leaves. They have great
            and European countries. Other areas are central         commercial value as their wood is light.
            and southern California, Rhone Valley of France,        Deciduous Forests
            Cape Town area of South Africa, southern Italy
                                                                    The deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn
            and East Coast of Africa. The important trees are
                                                        ,
                                           ,
                                                  ,
            olive , oak fig pine fir cork cedar cork citrus         and remain leafless in winter. Hardwood is
                      ,
                           ,
                                     ,
                                 ,
            trees (lemon, orange etc.)    and chestnut  . These     durable and strong, and is not heavy or difficult to
                                                                    work. These forests are found in tropical,
            areas are suitable for cultivation of fruits, such as
                                                                    subtropical and temperate regions. Their wood is
                                                                                      Plant and Wildlife Resources
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