Indian Forest Service Examination (IFoS) — Forestry optional · India · Union Public Service Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersProducts other than timber: gums, resins, tannins, fibres, oils, edible products, bamboo and rattan, and medicinal and aromatic plants, with their sustainable harvest, processing and trade.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF 59 Unit 7 (non-wood forest products); ICAR AIEEA-PG Group 09 (major and minor forest products including medicinal and aromatic plants); IFoS Forestry Paper II Section B
How our questions for Indian Forest Service Examination spread across the units of Non-Timber Forest Products, Bamboo & Medicinal Plants. Difficulty: 3 easy, 5 medium, 11 hard.
| NTFP classification and importance to livelihoods | 2 | |
| Gums and resins: tapping and processing | 2 | |
| Fibres and flosses | 2 | |
| Medicinal plants: collection, cultivation and conservation | 2 | |
| Bamboo and canes: resources, processing and uses | 2 | |
| Edible products: fruits, nuts, mushrooms, honey | 2 | |
| Sustainable harvest limits and certification of NTFPs | 2 | |
| NTFP marketing, cooperatives and value chains | 2 | |
| Tannins and dyes | 1 | |
| Essential oils and aromatic plants | 1 | |
| Regional products: lac, shea, chicle, rubber-tapping extractives and leaf products | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Borehole resin tapping is promoted mainly because it gives:
C. Cleaner resin and smaller wounds
Resin flows into a closed container through a small drilled hole.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Katha and cutch are prepared by boiling the heartwood of:
A. Khair (Senegalia catechu)
Boiling chips of khair heartwood gives katha and cutch. Babul, khejri and anjan are not the source.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Kapok floss comes from:
A. Ceiba pentandra
Kapok from Ceiba; semal floss from Bombax; Calotropis gives inferior floss.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Why have flosses lost much of their market?
D. Synthetic fibres replaced them
Flosses such as kapok and semal lost most of their market when synthetic fibres replaced them for stuffing and buoyancy. Collection was not banned, trees still produce floss, and it is not used mainly as fuel.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Palmarosa oil, rich in geraniol, comes from:
C. Cymbopogon martinii
Palmarosa is C. martinii; lemongrass C. flexuosus; vetiver Chrysopogon; lemon-scented gum Corymbia.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Which medicinal plant is listed in CITES Appendix I?
B. Kuth (Saussurea costus)
Kuth (Saussurea costus) is in CITES Appendix I; jatamansi, kutki and sarpagandha are in Appendix II, so they are the tempting but wrong choices.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Bamboo is attacked by borers such as Dinoderus mainly because it:
A. It is starchy
Bamboo is starchy and lacks natural durability, so borers such as Dinoderus attack it unless treated. It does not contain toxic resins, hard heartwood, or permanent internal water.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Why are current-year culms left uncut in a bamboo clump?
D. They support new shoots
Current-year culms are left because they feed the rhizome and support the emergence of new shoots. They are weaker than mature culms, not illegal to cut, and not about to flower.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
Brazil nut production depends on intact forest because:
A. Forest-dependent pollinators
Brazil nut trees depend on forest orchid bees for pollination and on agoutis for seed dispersal, so production needs intact forest. They are not plantation trees, not wind-pollinated, and nuts do not form on roots.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
The Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (2018) supports:
A. Tribal self-help group kendras
The Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana supports Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, clusters of tribal self-help groups that process and market NTFPs. It does not fund teak plantations, log exports or sanctuaries.
Further reading: FAO Non-Wood Forest Products series; CSIR, The Wealth of India; Peters, Sustainable Harvest of Non-timber Plant Resources (1994)
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