State Forest Service — Assistant Conservator of Forests (state PSC exams) · India · State Public Service Commissions (e.g. TNPSC, MPPSC, UPPSC, HPPSC, KPSC, MPSC)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersHow forests are classified and mapped: world biomes and forest formations, and national forest-type classifications such as Champion and Seth's for South Asia.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF 59 Unit 1 (forest types, world forest types, phytogeographical regions); ICAR AIEEA-PG Group 09 (types, classification); IFoS Forestry Paper I Section A (temperate, tropical, mangrove and cold-desert silviculture)
State Forest Service, Range Forest Officer and Forester examinations
Forest types of the state with Champion and Seth codes and species, ISFR figures for the state, and identification of mangrove and littoral species.
How our questions for State Forest Service spread across the units of Forest Types, Phytogeography & World Biomes. Difficulty: 5 easy, 19 medium, 9 hard.
| National forest-type classifications (e.g. Champion and Seth, European forest types, US forest-type groups) | 6 | |
| Forest cover mapping, national forest-cover reports and the FAO Forest Resources Assessment | 4 | |
| World biomes: boreal, temperate, Mediterranean, tropical moist and dry forests | 3 | |
| Phytogeographic regions of the world | 3 | |
| Tropical forest formations: evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist and dry deciduous | 3 | |
| Temperate, subalpine and alpine forests | 3 | |
| Mangrove and littoral forests | 3 | |
| Dry, thorn and cold-desert vegetation | 3 | |
| Biodiversity hotspots and endemism | 3 | |
| Forest classification systems: physiognomic, floristic, ecological | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Why do vegetation belts usually lie higher on south-facing slopes in the Himalaya?
A. South-facing slopes are sunnier, warmer and drier
In the northern hemisphere, south aspects receive more sun, so belts shift upward.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Daubenmire's habitat type classification groups sites by their:
A. Potential climax vegetation
Habitat types are defined by potential climax, so disturbed sites can still be classified.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Champion and Seth's classification is best described as:
A. A combined climatic, floristic and site-based system
It combines several criteria in a hierarchy.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
In Champion and Seth's numbering, type group 3 is:
A. Tropical moist deciduous forests
Group 3 is tropical moist deciduous; 5 dry deciduous; 6 thorn; 9 subtropical pine.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Which pair of type groups together cover the largest share of India's forest area?
A. Tropical dry and moist deciduous
Dry and moist deciduous forests dominate India's forest area.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
In the western Himalaya, which oak typically grows highest, near the upper limit of the temperate belt?
B. Kharsu oak (Quercus semecarpifolia)
Ban lower, moru middle, kharsu upper; cork oak is Mediterranean.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Shola forests of the Nilgiris and Anamalais are classed as:
C. Montane wet temperate forest
Sholas are stunted evergreen forests of the southern hills, type group 11.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Why are Himalayan dry temperate forests found in inner valleys behind the main ranges?
B. They lie in the rain shadow, with low monsoon rain and winter snow
The main ranges block monsoon rain; precipitation is mainly winter snow.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
In the ISFR, moderately dense forest has a canopy density of:
B. 40 to 70 per cent
Very dense ≥70%; moderately dense 40–70%; open 10–40%; scrub <10%.
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Which of these hotspots includes part of India?
B. Indo-Burma
India's four: Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Sundaland (Nicobars).
Further reading: Champion & Seth, A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (1968); FSI, India State of Forest Report; FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
Ten here, 33 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to State Forest Service in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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