Indian Forest Service Examination (IFoS) — Forestry optional · India · Union Public Service Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersIdentifying trees in the field by bark, leaf, flower, fruit, wood and habit, and knowing the range, ecology and uses of the commercially and ecologically important species of each forest region.
In the exams: ICAR AIEEA-PG Group 09 (dendrology, hardwoods, softwoods, multipurpose tree species); IFoS Forestry Paper I Section A (silviculture of named species); Korea Forestry Engineer written subject Silviculture; SAF and state forester field identification
How our questions for Indian Forest Service Examination spread across the units of Dendrology & Tree Identification. Difficulty: 2 easy, 6 medium, 12 hard.
| Field characters: bark, blaze, leaf arrangement, stipules, exudates | 2 | |
| Dichotomous and multi-access keys | 2 | |
| Important conifers of temperate and boreal forests | 2 | |
| Important tropical hardwoods: teak, sal, dipterocarps, mahoganies | 2 | |
| Important dry-zone and arid species: Acacia, Prosopis, Hardwickia, Anogeissus | 2 | |
| Eucalypts, poplars, casuarinas and other plantation genera | 2 | |
| Bamboos and rattans | 2 | |
| Phenology: leafing, flowering and fruiting calendars | 2 | |
| Native ranges, exotics and naturalised species | 2 | |
| Winter and leafless-state identification | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
An advantage of a multi-access key over a dichotomous key is that it:
D. Any order of characters
Polyclave keys accept whatever characters are observable.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
A dichotomous key for a region fails for a tree specimen. Which is the likeliest reason?
A. Missing characters or out of scope
Keys fail when characters are missing or the plant is not covered.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Deodar is recognised by:
B. Short-shoot tufts and erect cones
Cedrus deodara has short-shoot tufts, a drooping leader and erect cones that break up.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Sal is described as brevideciduous because it:
A. Leafless only briefly
Sal sheds leaves in the hot dry season and flushes almost at once.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Eucalypt juvenile leaves differ from adult leaves in usually being:
D. Opposite, sessile and broad
Juvenile leaves are opposite and broad; adults alternate and narrow.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Clump-forming tropical bamboos such as Bambusa have:
C. Pachymorph (sympodial) rhizomes
Pachymorph rhizomes form clumps; leptomorph rhizomes spread.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
The 2017 amendment of the Indian Forest Act concerned bamboo by:
D. Farm bamboo ceased to be a tree
This freed farm bamboo from felling and transit permits.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Which tree flowers bright orange on leafless branches in the late dry season?
C. Butea monosperma
Flame of the forest flowers while leafless.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
A Himalayan conifer planted in the Western Ghats is, in the Western Ghats:
D. An exotic
Native status is regional.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Clusters of buds at the twig tip are typical of:
B. Oaks
Oaks bear terminal bud clusters.
Further reading: Harlow et al., Textbook of Dendrology (9th ed., 2001); Troup, The Silviculture of Indian Trees (1921); Luna, Plantation Trees (1996)
Ten here, 20 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to Indian Forest Service Examination 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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