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UP Forest Guard study materials
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UP Forest Guard: Forest and Wildlife Knowledge: Types, Protected Areas and UP Species

UP Forest Guard · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Forest and Wildlife Knowledge: Types, Protected Areas and UP Species

Forest and wildlife questions test classification, protected-area geography and species recognition, with a strong Uttar Pradesh focus. Learn the forest type by species, and the protected area by district.

Forest types

Champion and Seth classify Indian forests into 16 major types. Know the broad families: tropical wet evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist and dry deciduous, thorn forest, montane, and littoral/mangrove. Sal and teak dominate the deciduous belt; mangroves occur in deltas, not in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh's forests

  • Shivalik and Terai-Bhabar belt (Saharanpur to Maharajganj): sal-dominated moist deciduous forest with tall grasses and the highest wildlife densities.
  • Gangetic plain: scattered plantations, Yamuna and Chambal ravines, wetlands and bird sanctuaries.
  • Bundelkhand and the Vindhyan south: dry deciduous and thorn forest - dhak, khair, tendu, mahua.
  • Protected areas: Dudhwa National Park and Tiger Reserve; Kishanpur and Katarniaghat sanctuaries (with Dudhwa forming the tiger reserve); Pilibhit Tiger Reserve; Ranipur, Hastinapur, Chandra Prabha, Kaimur and Mahavir Swami sanctuaries; Nawabganj, Sandi and Samaspur are bird sanctuaries.
  • State animal: swamp deer (barasingha); state bird: sarus crane.

Conservation instruments

Project Tiger (1973), Project Elephant (1992), Joint Forest Management (1990), Van Panchayats, the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 as amended in 2022 (schedules restructured), and the Forest Rights Act 2006 recognising community rights.

Worked example

'A forest has sal, semal, khair and bamboo, a 20–25 m canopy and a dry season of about six months. Identify the type.' Sal dominance with a partly deciduous canopy and bamboo understorey indicates tropical moist deciduous forest - the Terai type.

Traps

  • National park vs sanctuary: rights may be permitted in a sanctuary, not in a national park.
  • A tiger reserve is not the same as a national park; it has a core and a buffer.
  • Swamp deer (state animal) confused with chital or sambar.