RAS Pre 2021, held on 27 October 2021. Question text as printed in RPSC's booklet; answer as per RPSC's final answer key.

In which among the following district, sub-tropical hilly forests are found?

Q: What is the answer to RAS Pre 2021 Q51?

(1). Correct — option (1), Sirohi. Champion and Seth's forest-type survey links sub-tropical hill forest to Mount Abu, and Mount Abu is in Sirohi district: the Forest Department's list of protected areas places the Mount Abu Sanctuary in Sirohi. H. G. Champion and S. K. Seth, in A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968), say subtropical types occur above about 1,000 m "on the higher hills of Central India including outliers such as Mt. Abu (1,360 m.) and Parasnath (1,220 m.) though mostly only in vestigial form." Under type 8A/C3, Central Indian subtropical hill forest, they give the distribution as hill tops over about 1,200 m in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar, "probably also Mt. Abu and Parasnath". Their placing of Mount Abu is hedged. The survey defines the zone by elevation. It notes that light frost is occasionally recorded at the higher elevations "as at Mt. Abu (1,200 m.)", and that species of Himalayan origin there suggest subtropical conditions. Not every source uses the subtropical label for Rajasthan. The India State of Forest Report 2019 says that, by Champion and Seth's classification, Rajasthan's forests belong to two tropical type groups, Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn. The idea to remember: the subtropical hill forest that Champion and Seth place, with a 'probably', in Rajasthan is on Mount Abu, in Sirohi.

(1)Sirohi
(2)Udaipur
(3)Banswara
(4)Jhalawar

Answer

(1)

Why

Correct — option (1), Sirohi.

Champion and Seth's forest-type survey links sub-tropical hill forest to Mount Abu, and Mount Abu is in Sirohi district: the Forest Department's list of protected areas places the Mount Abu Sanctuary in Sirohi.

H. G. Champion and S. K. Seth, in A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968), say subtropical types occur above about 1,000 m "on the higher hills of Central India including outliers such as Mt. Abu (1,360 m.) and Parasnath (1,220 m.) though mostly only in vestigial form."

Under type 8A/C3, Central Indian subtropical hill forest, they give the distribution as hill tops over about 1,200 m in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar, "probably also Mt. Abu and Parasnath". Their placing of Mount Abu is hedged.

The survey defines the zone by elevation. It notes that light frost is occasionally recorded at the higher elevations "as at Mt. Abu (1,200 m.)", and that species of Himalayan origin there suggest subtropical conditions.

Not every source uses the subtropical label for Rajasthan. The India State of Forest Report 2019 says that, by Champion and Seth's classification, Rajasthan's forests belong to two tropical type groups, Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn.

The idea to remember: the subtropical hill forest that Champion and Seth place, with a 'probably', in Rajasthan is on Mount Abu, in Sirohi.

Why the others are wrong

(2)
Udaipur — Udaipur has the most forest of any district in the India State of Forest Report 2019: 2,757.54 sq km, 23.51 per cent of its area.
Much forest is not the same as subtropical hill forest. The subtropical type Champion and Seth tentatively link to Rajasthan is on Mount Abu, which the Forest Department places in Sirohi district.
(3)
Banswara — The India State of Forest Report 2019 records 268.42 sq km of forest cover in Banswara, 5.94 per cent of the district's area, most of it open forest.
The subtropical hill forest that Champion and Seth tentatively link to Rajasthan is on Mount Abu, in Sirohi district.
(4)
Jhalawar — The India State of Forest Report 2019 records 435.58 sq km of forest cover in Jhalawar, 7.00 per cent of the district's area.
Champion and Seth tentatively place subtropical hill forest in Rajasthan on the heights of Mount Abu, which lies in Sirohi district.

Concept

H. G. Champion and S. K. Seth's classification sorts India's forests into type groups; Group 8 is Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forests. They place subtropical types between about 1,000 m and 1,700 m on the higher hills of South India, and above 1,000 m on the higher hills of Central India.

On Mount Abu, Champion and Seth record that, whatever the original vegetation, "there is now no sub-tropical evergreen to be found", though some higher valleys have Syzygium cumini, Ixora arborea and Strobilanthes, and species of Himalayan origin.

The survey describes subtropical types on such outlying Central Indian hills as "mostly only in vestigial form".

RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists "Natural Vegetation & Soil" and "Biodiversity & its Conservation" under the Geography of Rajasthan.

Sources differ on how to classify Rajasthan's forests. The India State of Forest Report 2019, by the Forest Survey of India, says that by Champion and Seth's classification Rajasthan's forests belong to two type groups, Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn, divided into 20 forest types.

Champion and Seth's own text places Mount Abu with the subtropical hill forests, but only as "probably" and in a mostly vestigial form.

The Report's table puts northern dry mixed deciduous forest at 40.07 per cent of the State's forest cover, the largest single type.

Key facts

Champion and Seth (1968): subtropical types occur on Central Indian hills above about 1,000 m, including outliers such as Mt. Abu (1,360 m), mostly in vestigial form.
Champion and Seth, type 8A/C3 Central Indian subtropical hill forests: 'probably also Mt. Abu and Parasnath'.
Rajasthan Forest Department's list of protected areas: Mount Abu Sanctuary is in Sirohi district.
India State of Forest Report 2019: Rajasthan's forests belong to two type groups, Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn, with 20 forest types.
ISFR 2019: Sirohi district has 911.91 sq km of forest cover (17.76 per cent of its area); Udaipur has the most, 2,757.54 sq km.

Two sources on Rajasthan's forest types

Champion and Seth (1968)→Subtropical hill forest 'probably also' on Mount Abu (Sirohi), 'mostly only in vestigial form'

India State of Forest Report 2019→Two type groups in Rajasthan: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn; 20 types

Largest type in ISFR 2019→Northern dry mixed deciduous forest, 40.07% of forest cover

Sources: H. G. Champion and S. K. Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); Forest Survey of India, ISFR 2019, Rajasthan chapter.

Study next

Champion and Seth classification of forest typesMount Abu Wildlife SanctuaryTropical dry deciduous and tropical thorn forests of RajasthanIndia State of Forest Report: RajasthanGuru Shikhar and the Aravalli range

Common traps

Picking the district with the most forest: Udaipur leads in forest cover in ISFR 2019, but Champion and Seth tentatively place the subtropical hill type on the heights of Mount Abu.
Forgetting Mount Abu's district: it is in Sirohi, not Udaipur.
Assuming all sources agree: ISFR 2019 groups Rajasthan's forests as tropical only, while Champion and Seth place Mount Abu, with a 'probably', among the subtropical hill forests.

A question can name a forest type and ask in which district of Rajasthan it is found, or name a district and ask its main forest type.

A question can also ask which forest type covers the largest share of the State's forest cover.

Related PYQs

RPSC_2023_PRE_GS_Q122023Open & attempt →

Which is not a correct match ? Wildlife Sanctuary – District

(1) Shergarh – Bundi
(2) Bassi – Chittorgarh
(3) Ramsagar Van Vihar – Dholpur
(4) Sitamata – Pratapgarh

Answer(1)

Same skill of placing a natural area in its district: that question asks which wildlife sanctuary–district pair is not a correct match (RPSC's key: Shergarh – Bundi). This one asks the district where sub-tropical hilly forests are found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
According to the India State of Forest Report 2019, the forests of Rajasthan belong to which two type groups under the Champion and Seth classification?
- (a)Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn
- (b)Tropical Moist Deciduous and Tropical Thorn
- (c)Subtropical Pine and Tropical Dry Deciduous
- (d)Tropical Semi-evergreen and Littoral
Answer(1) — The Report names Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn Forests, divided into 20 forest types. Options (2), (3) and (4) name groups the Report does not give for Rajasthan.
practice — not a real PYQ
The Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is located in which district of Rajasthan?
- (a)Udaipur
- (b)Pali
- (c)Sirohi
- (d)Jalore
Answer(3) — The Rajasthan Forest Department lists the Mount Abu Sanctuary under Sirohi district. Options (1), (2) and (4) are other districts of Rajasthan.