Sundarbans are which of the following types of forests?

Question

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Correct — D, Littoral or Tidal forest. The Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, lies in the tide-influenced Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta spanning West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh. In India's forest classification (Champion & Seth), such saline, tide-washed coastal forests are grouped as Littoral and Swamp (tidal) forests — distinct from inland deciduous, alpine, or pine forest types.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Dry deciduous forests grow under moderate, seasonal rainfall (e.g. much of central India) — not in a tide-washed saline delta like the Sundarbans.  (b) Alpine forests occur at high Himalayan altitudes in cold climates; the Sundarbans is a low-lying tropical coastal delta — the opposite setting.  (c) Pine forests are found in the Himalayan foothills (e.g. Chir pine belts); unrelated to the mangrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans.

Concept: India's forests are classified (Champion & Seth, 1968) into 16 major types grouped under broader heads — moist tropical, dry tropical, montane, and littoral & swamp forests. Littoral/tidal forests grow in saline, tide-flooded coastal and deltaic zones and are dominated by salt-tolerant mangrove species, including the Sundari tree (Heritiera fomes) after which the Sundarbans is named.

State PCS 2022 Q57 — Environment & Ecology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2022 Q57 — Environment & Ecology PYQ with Answer