15.1 Locationand General description Located in the central part of India, Madhya Pradesh is the second largest State of the country with an area of 308,245 km? constituting 9.38% of the geographic area of the country. It ies ‘between lat 21°17 and 26°52" N and long 74°08" and 82°49" E, ‘The State can be divided into four physiographic regions; the low lying areas in north and north-west of Gwalior, Malwa plateau Satpura and Vindhyan ranges. The important rivers of the State are Chambal, Betwa, Sone and Narmada. The rainfall decreases from south east and east to north-west and west. The average annual rainfall varies from 800 mm to about 1,800 mm. ‘The annual average temperature ranges from 22.5°C 1025°C. 15.2 Forest Cover ‘The forest cover of the State is 76,013 km’, which is 24.66 % of the geographicarea. Very dense forest is 4239 km’, moderately dense forest, 36,843 km’, and open forest, 34,931 km’, whereas, the scrub is 2172 km* (Fig. 15.1). The recorded forest area of Madhya Pradesh is 94,689 km’ which is 30.72% of its ‘geographic area (Source : SFR 2005; Forest Type mapping project 1s started in the year 2008, therefore, forest cover map of 2005 has been used in thisexercise. 153 Soil ‘Madhya Pradesh has distinctly diverse topography and hence a wide range of variation in the soil and vegetation. Region 19008 Medersey Danco Fores it comprising of Gwalior, Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand in the Malwa region of the State is rich in black soil. The composition of soil and vegetation is differentin the Narmada valley. There arerichalluvial depositsin this part of theState 15.4 Topography ‘The Narmada runs east to west between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges; these ranges and the Narmada are considered. boundary between north and south of India, Madhya Pradesh comprises the following seven distinct physiographic regions: arove 260% 2600N z0N Fig. 15:1 Forest Cover Map of Madhya Pradesh Forest Survey of IndiaATLAS : Forest Types of India (Malwa: A plateau region in the northwest of the state, north of the Vindhya Range, with its distinct language and culture. Indore isthe major city of the region. Uji a townofhistorical importance. (i) Nimar (Nemar): The western portion of the Narmada River valley, lying south of the Vindhyas in the southwest portionofthe state. (iii) Bundelkhand: A region of rolling hills and fertile valleys in the northern part of the State, which slopes down, towards the Indo-Gangetic plains to the north. Gwalior is ahistoriccontre ofthe region. (jv) Chambal: The north-western region. A mountainous region rich in red, soft, and fragile sandstone. The climate is harsh, and the area is characterised by ravine formations. (¥) Baghelkhand: A hilly region in the northeast of the state, which includes the eastern end of the Vindhya Range. (vi) Mahakoshal (Mahakaushal): The southeastern portion of the State, which includes the eastern end of the Narmada river valley and the eastern Satpuras. Jabalpur is the most important ity inthe region, (vii) Central Vindhya and Satpura region: The region has the ‘most of the central Narmada river valley and watershed, and has the highest point in the state - Dhupgarh in Pachmarhi. Geographical area in the State in different altitude zones is shownin Table 15a. ‘Table 15a : Geographical area in different altitude zones. De Bey 1 75.79 2 ‘501 - 1000 74118 24.05 3 Above 1000 495 016 ‘Total 308,245 100 ‘based on SRTM, 90m (GLCF wwwlandeoverorg, 2006) 155 Climate Madhya Pradesh has a subtropical climate. Like most of north India, it has a hot dry summer (April-June) followed by monsoon rains (July-September) and a cool and relatively dry winter. Based on the climate, the State can be clearly classified into four physical divisions, mainly the Northern Plains, The Hilly Region. of the Vindhyas, the Narmada Valley, and the Malwa Plateau. The Northern Plains experience extreme climatic conditions. The Filly Region ofthe Vindhyasenjoys moderate weather. The average rainfall is about 1,370 mm. It decreases from east to west. The south-eastern districts have the heaviest rainfall, some places receiving as much as 2,150 mm, while the western and north-western districts receive L000mm orlessrainfall. 156 Forest Types ‘The forest types found in Madhya Pradesh (Fig. 15.2) are described as follows. ‘Farnat Garev of indie Madhya Pradesh 15.6.1 Slightly Moist Teak Forest (3B/Cle): The proportion of, dry deciduous associates is higher inthis type. Site quality is Ill or lower, Teak usually forms the major portion of the foverwood. Characteristic species are the Terminalia tomentosa, Tectona grandis, Anogeissus latifolia, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Pterocarpus marsupium, Dalbergia latifolia, Adina cordifolia, Salmalia malabarica, Stereospermum personaturn, Schleichera oleosa, Albizzia odoratissima, Dendrocalamus strictus. This type is found mainly in Balaghat, Betul, (Chhindwara, Dindori, Mandla and Seoni districts. Slightly Moist Teak Forest 15.6.2 Southern Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest (3B/C2) : Naturally growing moist Teak is one of the dominant species present in these forests. Kannimara Teak tree which sgrowsin this forest type having girth of 6.48 mand height 48.75 misone of the largest natural Teak treein Asia Physiognomically, the moist mixed deciduous forests have closed canopy with all and cylindrical trees. Trees tend to attain a height of 30 m and more. The under storey is well defined and the forest floor is full of vegetal growth. Anogeissus spp, Bomex spp, Tamarindus spp are also found in this forest type. Balaghat, Chhincware, Mandl are the main districts where this type exists. Southern Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest 15.6.3 Moist Peninsular Sal Forest (3C/C2e(i)) + Sal constitution is more than 70-80% compared with other species. Undergrowth is abundant with the presence of climbers. The main associates are Pterocarpus marsupium, Indigofera pulchella, Phoenix acaulis and ThemedaFOREST TYPE MAP (As per Champion & Seth's Classification-1968) MADHYA PRADESH 2aeo0N UTTAR PRADESH awoow i S8C To sayy wos Teak Fooet [il A872 scumam Most Med Decisis Foret [El 2010200 Mok Peni High eve So Fost Bi 84 C10 Wey oy Teor Fret '5C3 Souhen Diy Mod Dockduou Fret {81C2 Normom Dry Med Daccuous Feat I 5051 Dy Dacia Sou I 082 yy sovonnan Fost rz 2500N 2800 200M ML 92h Fvost I 62}¢2 avne tom Frost eed Bi Wor 1 NonFerest Forest Survey of indiaATLAS : Forest Types of India 4quadrivalvis. This type is found in Balaghat, Dindori and Mandla districts. “Moist Peninsular Sal Forest 15.64. Very Dry Teak Forest (5A/Cla): This type of forest is found mainly on steep slopes, undulating ground and raised lands of Dkar and West Nimar districts. The sol is shallow and is generally light brown sandy loam and murrumy with rocky out crops. A fair proportion of Teak forests of the area belongs to this type. The crop is mainly middle-aged but young trees are also found in good number. Scattered mature trees are also present. Density is hardly above 50%, Blank and understocked areas are also not uncommon The scattered trees of Boswellia serrata, Anogeissus latifolia and Acacia calechu are the common associates of Teakiin this type. Tall grasses are found at very steep inaccessible slopes. The common grasses ate Eragrostis tenella, Parthenium spp, Cynodon dactylon and Poa egnosurvides. ‘Very Dry Teak Forest 15.6.5 Dry Teak Forest (5A/CIb) : These forests are associated with Dhaura (Anogenissus latifoia), Tend. (Diospyros ‘melanoxylon), Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Faldu (Mitragyna spp), and Salai (Boswellia serrata). In the lower canopy, species like Nyctanthus arbortristis, Woodforida fruiticosa, Helicteres isora, Grewia hirsuta, Indigofera pulchella, Carissa spp and Holarrhena antidysenterica predominate. Barwani, Betul, Bhopal, Chhatarpur,Damoh, Dewas, Dindori, East Nimar, Guna, Harda, Hoshangabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jhabua, Katni, Narsimhapur, Raisen, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Shore, Seoni, Shivpuri, Tikamgarh, Vidisha, West Nimar are the districts where this type is mainly found. Madhya Pradesh Dry Teak Forest 15.6.6 Souther Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest (5A/C3): This type of forest is attributed to relatively low rainfall and lower altitude ic. 300m-400m above mean sea level. Many species growing in this forest type are common to the moist deciduous forests. Main species found in this type are Anogeissus latifolia; Terminalia tomentosa, Diospyros tomentosa, Chlororylon swietenia, Hardwickia binnata, Boswellia serrata, Soymida febrifuga, Mitragyna parciflia Maahiuca indica, Lagerstroemta parvifiora, Aegle marmetos and Butea monosperma Physiognomicaly, the dominant trees attain height of 18m to 24m and are not gregarious. The canopy is comparatively open allowing good percentage of grassand herb to grow. Bamboos occur as under growth which are heavily browsed and become bushy. New culms of Bamboo grow during November- December. These forests are highly prone to ire. By December and January the grass ‘and many herbs dry up and leaf fall starts too. The forest floor is thickly covered with dry twigs and leaves. As tribal settlements and estates are located in the vicinity of these forests forest fies are common due to high degree of biotic interference. Due to repeated forest fires in the past, the forestshave degraded and thus a few fire-hardy species are ‘growing in these areas. This type is found in most of the parts of Madhya Pradesh in the districts of Balaghat, Barwani, Betul, Bhopal, Chhatarpur, Chhindwara, Damoh, Dewas, Dhar, Dindori, East Nimar, Guna, Gwalior, Hoshangabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jhabua, Katni, Mandla, Mandsaur, Narsimhapur, Neemach, Panna, Raisen, Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous ForestATLAS : Forest Types of India Ratlam, Sagar, Sehore, Seoni, Shivpuri, Tikamgarh, ‘Vidisha and West Nimar. 15.6.7 Dry Peninsular Sal Forest (5B/Clc) : Sal occurs either pure or in mixture with Terminalia tomentosa, Terminalia bellerica, Pterocarpus marsupium, Anogeissus latifolia, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Madhuca latifolia, Diaspyros ‘melanoxylon, Buchenania lanzan, Ougeinia dalbergioides, etc. Under storey consists of Combretum decandrum, Flacourtia calaphracta, Rendia dumetorum, Zizyphus species, Gardenia _gummifera, Holarrhena spp, Lantana, Eupatorium odoratwn etc. Jabalpur, Shahdol, Sidhi are the districts where this typeis found, Dey Peninsula Sal Forest 15.6.8 Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest (5B/C2) : The upper canopy in this forest type is usually light, open and irregular, the trees having relatively short bole and poor form and a height rarely over 10 m. The canopy is formed entirely of deciduous trees. The main species found are Cassia fistula, Diospyros tomentosa, Acacia cateciu, Anogeissus latifolia, Bomba ceba, Albizzialebbeck, Albizaia procera, Melia zadirachta, Acacia nilotica, Acacia modesta, Bauhinia ‘variegata, Cassaria eliptica, Syeygum cumini, Mangifera indica, Fhrilia laevis, Phoenix spp, Morus alba, Morus australia, Terminatia tomentosa, Bosweltia~serrata, Aggle marmelos, Bauhinia racemosa, Bauhinia pupurea, Erythrina suberosa, Ficus glomerata, Grewia elastice, Mallotus philippinensis and Shorea robusta (rarely), ‘The undergrowth is mainly Zizykpus mauritiana, Carissa ‘apaca, Holarriena antidysenterica, Diospyros cordifolia, Norther Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest Madhya Pradesh Capparis decidua, Adhatoda vasica, Murraya koeniggi, Agave ‘americana, Capparis sepiaria, Cordia dichotoma, Cassia tora, Zizykpus mummularia, Zizykpus oenopolia, woodfordia fruticosa, Nyctanthus arbortristis, Vitex negundo, Dodonea Climbers found are Bauhinia vablii, Militia extensa, Mucuna spp, Tinospora cordifolia, Pueraria tuberosa, Vallais slanacea. Grasses are Panicum antidotate, Aristida depressa, Bothriochloa intermedia, Bothriocklon pertusa, Cynodon dactylon, Cymbopogon marini, Dendrophtoe falcate and Eriophorim comosum. Main districts where this type exists are Balaghat, Bhind, Guna, Morena, Panna, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Sheopur, Shivpuri, Sidhi and Umaria. 18.69 Dry Deciduous Scrub (5/DS1) : This forest type represents a degradation stage of the dry deciduous forest and has been brought into existence by adverse biotic factors like excessive grazing, lopping, felling and fires. In spite of sufficient rains, moisture retention is poor and the type has now become a stable edaphic climax. The crop is open with less tree cover. The main tree species found are Diospyros tomentosa, Acacia leucopholea, Butea monosperma, Premna barbata, Cassia fistula, Anogeissus latifolia and Lannea grandis. The undergrowth is mainly Carissa apaca, Woodfordia fruticosa; Nyctanthes arbor-tristis and Flacorta indica. I is, found in whole of Madhya Pradesh. Dry Deciduous Scrub 15.640 Dry Savannah Forest (5/DS2) : This forest resembles, Savannah. There are no true savannah types of vegetation in India. The grasslands with scattered trees of Acacia Forest Survey of Indiar ATLAS : Forest Types of India catechu, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Boswellia serrata etc occur on the hill tops of Neemach and Mandsaur districts. Grasses viz, Themeda quadrivalvis, Aristida spp, Heteropogon contortus ete, are dense and up to 1 m tall. The suriace is extremely stony and with rocky outcrops. Trees are scattered, 15.611 Dry Grassland (5/DS4) : Grasses grow on the sites, ‘where the site has been subjected to some biotic pressure, Soil surface has medium size stones. Grasses grow up to 1 m tall. Grasses, found as ground flora is less dense. Dominant grasses are Apluda spp, Themeda quadrivalvis, Aristida spp, Heleropogon contortus etcand occur om hill tops in Ujjain district. Dey Grassland 156.12. Anogeissus Pendula Forest (5/E1) : This corresponds to an edaphic climax in tropical dry deciduous forest according to Champion & Seth (1968). The Dhok (Aniogeissus pendula) is a gregarious tree species and is often found in ‘pure stands in the middle slopes of the hills where it may form over 80% of the crop. Dhok leaves are good fodder. ‘Anogessus Pendula Forest The common associates of Dhok are Khair (Acacia catecht), ‘Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon), Khirni (Wrightia tinctoria), Gurjan (Lannea coromandelica), and Ber (Zizyphus ‘mauritiana) which are found at the foothill, in valleys and along nallahs. Tree species like Jamun (Syzygium cumini), Kalam (Mitragyana parvifolia), Guar (Ficus glomerata), Rohini (Mallotus philippensis) are found in moist localities of Bhind, Guna, Gwalior, Morena, Seoni and Shivpui districts, Madhya Pradesh 6.13 AnogeissusPendula Scrub (5/EV/DS1) : Large areas of Anogeissus pendula forests have degraded due to continued maltreatment met during the past. Many of these areas are close to towns and villages of Guna, Gwalior, Shivpuri districts. These have been recklessly cut and subjected to unrestricted grazing and browsing during the past. The growing stock mainly comprises root stock of Anogeissus pendula with its associates like Grewia tenaz, Rhus mysorensis, Dichrostachys cinerea and Grewia flevescens. Regeneration of Anogeissus pendula the main spp is generally absent and the top soil has been washed away due to continued exposure to rainsin the absence of proper soil cover, ‘Anogelssus Pendula Scrub 15.6.14 Boswellia Forest (5/E2) : Salai (Boswellia serrata) is the principal tree species of these forests. This type corresponds to an edaphic climax. It is found on hill tops and is mixed with Anogeissus pendula upto middle of the slopes of Rewa, Seoni, Sheopur,Umaria districts. The common associates are Karaya (Sterculia wrens), Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon), Dhaman (Grewia latifolia), Khair (Acacia catechu) ete. Boswellia Forest 15.6.15 Butea Forest (5/ES) : This forest type is found on the lower slopes and on the plain and undulating lands of Balaghat, Mandla, Neemach, Mandsaur districts. Bufemis often found in small patches associated with Terminalia and Syzygium spp. Main species include Butea ‘monosperma, Cochlospermum gossypium, Acacia leucophloea and Prosopis spicigera.ATLAS : Forest Types of India Butea Forest 15.6.16 Dry Bamboo Brakes (5/E9) : In this forest type, only ‘onespecies Dendrocalamus strictus occurs and forms low but often dense bamboo brakes. This forest type occurs mainly on dry hillsides in the districts of Panna, Satna, Rewa, Sidhi and Umaria. Characteristics species include Dendrocalamus strictus alongwith dry deciduous forest species like Anogeissus latifolia and ee jd 6 Dry Bamboo Brakes 156.17 Khair-Sissu Forest (5/152): This type is found in the riverain sites mainly in Guna, Gwalior, Neemach, Mandsaur and Shivpuri districts. The main species are Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia catechu and Salmalia malabarice. The KhainSissu Forest Madhya Pradesh undergrowth comprises Cannabis satioa, Erianthus munja, Zizyphus nummularia, Acacia farnesiana, Adhatoda vasiea and Saccharum spontaneum. 15.6.18 Ravine Thorn Forest (6B/C2): 6B/C2-Ravine thom forest consists of a mixture of small thorny trees in which Acacia spp is predominant. In this type of forest, the top canopy comprises Acacia leucophloea, Azadirachta indica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Acacia arabica, Holoptelea integrifolia, and Flacourtia indica. Capparis decidua, Cassia sepiaria, Zizyphus species are the characteristic species of the secondary or middle storey. Herbs are particularly represented by ‘Tephrosia purpurea, Cassia tora and Argemone mexicana, Grasses like Desmostachya bipinata, Heteropogon contortus, Apluda mutica and Chloris virgata represent the ground layer of this type of forest. This type is mainly found in Bhind, Datia and Morena districts Ravine Thorn Forest 15.7 Areaunder different Forest Types: ‘The area statistics of the forest types found in Madhya Pradesh areshownin Table 15b. ‘The Table shows that Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest is the dominant type which occupies 33.51% of the forest cover, Next dominant type is Dry Teak Forest occupying 27.26% of forest cover. Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest occupying 11.81% of forestis the third dominant type in the State. Each of therest forest types occupy less than 6% of forest cover. Total eighteen forest types have been identified in Madhya Pradesh. Broadly, these forest types belong to three type ‘groups of the classification given by Chanmpion & Seth, eee eae ile so ca gms octet mipafroe Tn ee Forest Survey of IndiaATLAS : Forest Types of India ‘Type Group 5 ~ Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests accounts for maximum forest cover of 88.65% followed by Type Group 3- ‘Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest (8.97%) and Type Group 6- ‘Tropical Thorn Forest (0.26%). Table 5b: Areaunder different forest types S.No. Forest Type 3B/Cle Slightly Moist Teak Forest 38/2 Southern Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest 3C/C2e{i) Moist Peninsular Sal Forest 5A/Cla Very Dry Teak Forest 5A/Cib Dry Teak Forest 5A/C3 Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest 5B/Clc Dry Peninsular Sal Forest '5B/C2 Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest 9 5/DSI Dry Deciduous Scrub 10 5/DS2 Dry Savannah Forest 11 5/DS4 Dry Grassland 12 5/EI Anogeissus Pendula Forest 13. 5/B1/DSI Anogeissus Pendula Scrub Forest 14 5/E2 Boswellia Forest 15 5/E5 Butea Forest 16 _5/E9 Dry Bamboo Brakes 17 5/182 Khair-Sissu Forest 18 6B/C2 Ravine Thorn Forest 19 Plantation/TOF Total ‘Table 15c: Area under different Forest Type Groups and Canopy Density Classes S.No. Forest'Type Group Group-3 Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests Group-5 Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest Group-6 Tropical Thorn Forest Plantation/TOF Total Madhya Pradesh Area under different Forest ‘Type Groups and canopy density classes have been shown in Table 15c. (area in km’) Area % of Total Forest Cover 1,677.77 215 1371.05 175 3,962.37 5.07 484.42 0.62 2131171 27.26 26,202.16 3351 3,896.97 4.98 9,234.18 1181 2,335.53 299 785 01 104 0.00 2,635.27 337 18758 020 432.96 055 288.10 037 1,012.29 129 1315.31 168 203.17 0.26 1655.27 212 78,185.00 100.00 (area in km’) VeryDense Mod.Dense Open Scrub Total Forest Forest Forest. 380.13 3,308.88 3,758.11 313240 19478 7,011.19 32,663.37 30,968.30 1,925.59 69,315.37 11.01 95.74 907 565 203.17 89.75 780.01 73953 «= «45:98 1,655.27 4239.00 36,843.00 34,931.00 2,172.00 78,185.00