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Bhur soil is found in border districts of Punjab and Haryana.

Thur, Reh, Kallar.

The parent materials for soil are:

1. Primary Rocks
2. Climate
3. Slope of land
4. Period of natural vegetation.

The loose and unconsolidated material which forms the upper layer of the crust is called soil. It is found in layers or horizons. Its thickness varies from some cm to meters. It consists of many mineral and organic particles, humus, bacteria, etc. Soil formation is a slow process. Soil is formed through the chemical and mechanical weathering of rock cover. Parent materials derived from rock cover and humus together lead to soil formation. Soil is the end product of the physical, chemical, biological and cultural factors which act and react together.

Chambal Valley.

An area of soils is Thar.

Alluvial is the mostly found soil in India.

Red soil is most indispensable on Deccan plateau.

The crop for black soil is used for Cotton.

Iron, Potash, Aluminium, Limestone and Potassium.

Assam, Himachal Pradesh (Lahul Spiti, Kinnaur), Western Bengal, Darjeeling, Uttar Pradesh and Nilgiris in South.

Mountain vegetation in southern plateau is found in Bastar, Panchmari, Mahabaleshwar, Nilgiri, Palni, Shevroy and the mountain areas of Anamalai.

Regur soil is given to Black soil.

The trees are grown to decrease the speed of winds in deserts. Along this, grass is grown on sand dunes.

Nearly 40% of plant species found in India have come from outside and are called exotic plants. These plants have been brought from Sino; Tibetan, African and Indo- Malayasian areas. These plants were brought as decorative garden plants in India. These plants grow rapidly as weeds under hot-wet tropical conditions. These rapidly multiply so that it is difficult to eradicate these.

Lantana and water hyacinth are two such species. Water Hyacinth is known as “Terror of Bengal”. It has choked up all the watercourses like rivers, streams, tanks, canals, etc.

The exotic plants have following disadvantages:

1. Our useful domestic vegetation can get destroyed.
2. It requires lot of money to destroy these exotic plants.
3. These spread diseases and are a hazard to public health.
4. It can pollute our water resources.
5. It can reduce our fertile land pastures and destroy the forest areas in the country.

Most of present vegetal cover in India is not really natural. A considerable part of the original cover has been destroyed or changed due to human settlement and use of the land. Much of vegetation is low in quality and content. The original natural vegetation survives only in inaccessible areas of the Himalayas and Thar Desert. In other parts of the country, the vegetation is not ‘natural’ in the real sense of the term.

Natural vegetation plays an important role in our life. There has been great deforestation during the last four years which can result in the following disadvantages:

1. Deforestation has great impact on ecological balance.
2. It can create problem of soil erosion due to floods on mountain slopes as well as on plains.
3. The northern parts of Punjab are facing the problems of soil erosion.

Natural vegetation provides the basis for many industries. The main industries based on forests are like this.

1. Match Industry. Soft wood is used to manufacture match boxes.
2. Lac Industry. Insects provide lac on trees and is used for records, polish, electrical goods.
3. Paper Industry. Bamboo, eucalyptus, and many types of grass are used in paper industry. Bamboo is found in Terai region.
4. Warnish and paints. Warnish and paints are prepared from resin which comes from forests.
5. Medicines. Many important medicines are made from forests, e.g. Quinine from cincona. Other Industries: Forests provide raw material for many industries like pencils, boxes, sandal oil, furniture and sports goods.

The trees of Khar, Sincona Quinine, Sarpgandha, Oak, Awla are used for the preparation of medicines.

The trees of Mangrove, Kach, Gambear, Harr, Bahera, Amtand Kikar help in tanning material.

Silver Fur, Pine, Spruce, Deodar, Blue Pine, etc.

The other names of tidal forests are Mangrove, Marshy, Sunder Ban.

State forests are those forests in which the sole right is of state govt.

The trees found in semiarid are mainly Kikar, Cactus, Jand, Phulahi, Ber, Neem, etc.

Reserved forests are protected forests are terms denoting forests accorded a specific degree of protection. These are protected from any depletion.

The trees grown in tropical evergreen forests are Mahogony, Rubber, Coconut, Bamboo, Cane, Rosewood, Palm etc.

Correct Answer is: (c) lava-made

(c) Alluvial soils

Alluvial soil is the most widespread and important soil of India.

Its characteristics are:

1. Alluvial soils are very fertile. Mostly these soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereals and pulse crops. 

2. Soils in the drier areas are more alkaline and can be productive after proper treatment and irrigation. 

3. The alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay. 

4. Alluvial soil particles appear some what bigger in size in the inlands towards the river valleys. In the upper reaches of the river valley, the soils are coarse. Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as Duars, Chos and Terai. 

5. Alluvial soils are also described on the basis of their age. According to their age, alluvial soils can be classified as Old Alluvial (Bangar) and New Alluvial (Khadar). The Bangar soil has higher concentration of Kanker nodules than the Khadar. It has more fine particles and is more fertile than the Bangar. 

6. Alluvial soils are transported soils. Most of these soils are derived from the sediments deposited by the rivers. In the entire northern plains the soils are deposited by the three important river systems- the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

1. Black soils are made up of extremely fine, i.e., clayey material. 

2. They are well known for their capacity to hold moisture. In addition they are rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime. They are generally poor in phosphoric contents. 

3. These soils are black and are also known as regur soils. As black soil is ideal for growing cotton, it is also known as black cotton soil. 

4. These soils are sticky when wet and difficult to work on unless tilled immediately after the first shower or during the pre-monsoon period. They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The vegetation covers of India in large parts are no more natural in the real sense. Except some inaccessible regions like the Himalayas the hilly region of central India and the Marusthali,( desert) the vegetation of most of the areas has been modified at some places, or replaced or degraded by human occupancy. 

India’s natural vegetation has undergone many changes due to several factors such as the growing demand for cultivated land, development of industries and mining, urbanisation and over-grazing of pastures. 

• Natural vegetation refers to a plant community which has grown naturally without human aid and has been left undisturbed by humans for a long time. 

• This is termed as virgin vegetation. Thus, cultivated crops and fruits, orchards form part of vegetation but not natural vegetation. 

The teakwood is used for household works, furniture, tools and agriculture.

Correct Answer is: (c) Dehradun

Correct Answer is: (c) 200 cm

Forests are important to us in a number of ways: 

1. Forests provide us with plenty of useful products, out of which, wood is the most important. Trees provide hardwood for making doors, windows, furniture and other various products like plywood, packing boxes and matchsticks. It is a major raw material to make paper and newsprint. 

2. The forests also yield a host of other products such as lac, resins, gums, fruits, medicinal herbs, dyes, honey, cellulose, grasses and leaves. 

3. They prevent soil erosion by binding the soil with tree roots. Hence, floods are also controlled.

4. They provide natural habitat for wildlife. 

5. They play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance, by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.

 6. Forests increase the moisture content in the air. Therefore, we need to conserve our forests.

Classification of forests in Rajasthan: 

1. The Sub-Tropical Evergreen Forests 

2. The Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests 

3. The Tropical Thorny Forests 

4. The Dry Teakwood Forests 

5. The Mixed Deciduous Forests 

6. The Palas Forests 

7. The Salar Forests

IUCN is working at the international level for the conservation of bio¬diversity, with its headquarter at Switzerland.

Godawan is the state bird of Rajasthan.

Effects of loss of biodiversity: 

1. Hole in ozone layer 

2. Rise in temperature, i.e., global warming 

3. Decrease in rainfall 

4. Likelihood of floods and droughts 

5. Problem of pollution 6. Expansion of desert belt

The animal species which are in danger of getting extinct, are called the endangered animals. Some of them are lions, panthers, elephants, alligators, rhinoceros, Kasturi, deer, etc.

(b) Banswara and Udaipur

Environment awareness is found in India right from the Vedic age. In different ancient texts, importance of environment and their conservation have been discussed. Indian saints have always considered the natural powers to be local deities. In ‘Bhoomi Sukta’ of Atharva Veda and in Yajur Veda it is asked to give respect to environment as gods and goddesses. Purity of water, natural elements mixture, awareness is discussed in Vedic texts. Respect towards trees is depicted in our great epics i.e., Ramayana and Mahabharata. In Puranas, cutting of trees has been described as a punishable offence. The earth has been regarded as the mother.

29 points related to environment conservation of Bishnoi samaj of Rajasthan are important rules of environment conservation.

Correct Answer is: (c) 1894

Need to establish more and more of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, etc. and also to conduct social forestry scheme and to develop a sense of environmental awareness in the public. There should be total prohibition on hunting.

A few examples of environmental awareness in India are the Khejarli movement, the Chipko movement, the Appico movement, the Silent Valley movement and Save Narmada movement.

There are 537 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 166 National Parks established in India for the conservation of wildlife. Two National Parks namely Kaziranga of Assam and Keoladeo of Rajasthan have been recognised as the world heritage sites. The important, National Parks of India are Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand), Kanha (Madhya Pradesh), Kaziranga (Assam), Bandipur (Karnataka) Palamau (Bihar), Dachigam (Jaramu- Kashmir), Sunderban (West Bengal), Silent Valley (Kerala), Nandar Kanan (Odisha), Keoladeo (Rajasthan), Kaibul Lamjae (Manipur), Annamalai (Tamil Nadu), etc.

Major research institutions working in our country for the conservation of bio-diversity are: Indian Forest Research Institute, Dehradun; Indian Botanical Garden, Kolkata; Ecological Research Institute, Bengaluru; National Environmental Engineering Institute, Nagpur; etc.