Indian Forest Service Examination (IFoS) — Forestry optional
India · Union Public Service Commission · civil-service · unverified source
1293practice questions written to this syllabus
48subjects
Format
Three stages: the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination as a screening test; a written Main examination of six conventional papers (General English 300, General Knowledge 300, and two optional subjects of two papers each at 200 marks, 1,400 in all); and a 300-mark personality test.
Sections
Prelims: Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination used as the screening test (General Studies Paper I and CSAT Paper II)
Main Paper I: General English (300)
Main Paper II: General Knowledge (300)
Main Papers III–VI: two optional subjects, two papers each (200 marks a paper)
Forestry optional Paper I Section A: general silviculture; silvicultural systems; mangrove and cold-desert silviculture; silviculture of trees
Forestry optional Paper I Section B: agroforestry, social forestry, joint forest management and tribal realities; forest soils, soil conservation and watershed management; environmental conservation and biodiversity; tree improvement and seed technology
Forestry optional Paper II Section A: forest management and management systems; forest working plan; forest mensuration and remote sensing; surveying and forest engineering
Forestry optional Paper II Section B: forest ecology and ethnobotany; forest resources and utilization; forest protection and wildlife biology; forest economics and legislation
Personality test (300)
Over the years
Unverified this session: upsc.gov.in blocked automated reading, so the structure is from standard knowledge of the exam and must be checked against the current notification. Forestry is one of the optional subjects candidates choose two from (others include Agriculture, Botany, Zoology, Geology, Statistics and engineering subjects), with some combinations not allowed. Physical standards and a walking test apply. Selected officers train at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun.
Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.
1. A 2000 ha oil palm estate has trees over 10 m tall and canopy cover above 60%. Under FRA definitions it is:
Forest, because it exceeds every area, height and canopy threshold
Not forest, because it is land predominantly under agricultural use
Other wooded land, because palms are not true trees in botanical terms
Planted forest, because all of the trees were established by planting
Answer and working
B. Not forest, because it is land predominantly under agricultural use
FRA excludes tree crops on agricultural land, such as oil palm, orchards and agroforestry with crops, even when they meet the cover and height thresholds.
Introduction to Forestry & the World's Forests · Definitions of forest, forestry and forest land (FAO Forest Resources Assessment definitions)
2. Which tissue consists of dead cells with thick, lignified walls?
Parenchyma
Collenchyma
Meristem
Sclerenchyma
Answer and working
D. Sclerenchyma
Sclerenchyma (fibres and sclereids) is dead at maturity; parenchyma and collenchyma are living.
Ghatti from dhaura; gum arabic from Acacia senegal; karaya from Sterculia urens; Bengal kino from Butea.
Dendrology & Tree Identification · Field characters: bark, blaze, leaf arrangement, stipules, exudates
4. A bleached, ash-grey E horizon over a dark reddish B horizon enriched in iron, aluminium and humus is typical of:
Podzolisation
Laterisation
Calcification
Salinisation
Answer and working
A. Podzolisation
Organic acids from acid litter mobilise Fe and Al from the E and deposit them in the spodic B. Laterisation leaves Fe and Al oxides throughout a red profile.
Forest Soils & Soil Conservation · Soil-forming factors and processes under forest
5. Why are frost pockets found in valleys and hollows?
Valleys receive less sunlight at midday than slopes
Dense cold air drains downslope and pools there
Soil in hollows is always frozen beneath the surface
Warm air sinks into valleys and is replaced by cold air
Answer and working
B. Dense cold air drains downslope and pools there
Cold, dense air flows downhill on calm nights and collects in low ground, producing much lower minima.
Forest Meteorology & Climatology · Temperature, frost and heat regimes
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