Question

The trees found in the western side of Western Ghats and in the Northeast region generally don’t shed their leaves i.e. they are evergreen. What are the possible reasons?
1. These regions do not have a prolonged dry season.
2. These regions don’t have severe winters.
3. These regions have a humidity level beyond 75 per cent almost throughout the year.
Choose the correct reason from the codes
A. 1 Only.
B. 2 Only.
C. 1, 2 only
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The Western Ghats is a mountain range situated along the Indian western coast. The region possesses a hot and humid climate with abundant rainfall. On the other hand, northeast regions are mostly hilly regions where the climatic conditions are the same as that of the Western Ghats.

Complete step by step answer: The shedding of leaves by trees is due to extreme winters and a prolonged summer season. Thus, the trees which commonly shed their leaves are tropical and temperate deciduous trees. The persistent climatic conditions present in the Western Ghats favours evergreen trees since the Western Ghats does not experience extreme and long dry seasons or severe winters. Even during summer seasons, the high temperatures are reduced by the intermittent precipitation which is brought by the winds thereby, prolonged summer seasons are nil or are very rare in the area. The heavy rainfall experienced in the region is due to westerly monsoon winds carrying heavy moisture. The thick and diverse vegetation found in the area is also due to this reason. The area doesn’t experience extreme winters since there is only a mild reduction in temperature when compared to the temperature in summers. The area also experiences a high level of humidity throughout the year. Thus, the trees found in this region are evergreen and adapted to the climatic conditions of the region.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note: The forests of the Western Ghats are home to a wide variety of plants and animals. The area comes under the world’s ten “Hottest biodiversity hotspots” consisting of many species of plants, insects, mammals, freshwater fishes and much more.