Temperate forests of South India, known as 'Sholas' are found in which of the following hills? 1. Anaimalai; 2. Nilgiris; 3. Palani.
- (a)1 only
- (b)1 and 2 only
- (c)2 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Correct — D, 1, 2 and 3 (Anaimalai, Nilgiris and Palani). Sholas are patches of stunted montane temperate evergreen forest that grow in the sheltered valleys of the high Western Ghats, set within rolling grassland to form the shola-grassland mosaic. All three hill groups named — the Anaimalai, the Nilgiris and the Palani — rise above about 1,800–2,000 m and carry these shola forests, so every listed option is correct.
- (a)1 only — Sholas are not confined to the Anaimalai hills — the Nilgiris and Palani hills carry them too — so restricting the answer to (1) is wrong.
- (b)1 and 2 only — This leaves out the Palani hills, which also have well-known shola forests, so it is incomplete.
- (c)2 and 3 only — This drops the Anaimalai hills, which also carry sholas, so it too is incomplete.
Sholas are high-altitude tropical montane temperate forests of the southern Western Ghats. They survive as compact, evergreen tree patches in the folds and hollows of hills above roughly 1,800 m, interspersed with natural grassland — together known as the shola-grassland ecosystem.
All three ranges in the list — Anaimalai, Nilgiris and Palani — are high blocks of the southern Western Ghats, so all support sholas. The temptation is to pick only the most famous name (the Nilgiris) and exclude the others, but the ecosystem spans every one of these high hills, making the full set correct.
- Sholas are montane temperate evergreen forests of the high southern Western Ghats.
- They form a mosaic of forest patches set within natural montane grassland.
- They occur in the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills, generally above about 1,800 m.
- Sholas act as natural sponges, feeding the headwaters of many peninsular rivers.
- Sholas belong to the high southern Western Ghats, not the Eastern Ghats.
- All three of Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani carry sholas — do not pick only the Nilgiris.
Sholas are tested as a 'which hills have them' multi-statement item, with the trap of excluding the less-famous ranges.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The shola-grassland ecosystem is characteristic of which mountain region of India?
- (a)The Eastern Ghats
- (b)The high southern Western Ghats
- (c)The Aravallis
- (d)The Shiwaliks
Answer(b) The high southern Western Ghats — sholas grow in the upper reaches of the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Shola forests are best described as
- (a)tropical thorn forests
- (b)mangrove forests
- (c)montane temperate evergreen forests
- (d)alpine coniferous forests
Answer(c) montane temperate evergreen forests — stunted evergreen patches set in high-altitude grassland.