Flora and fauna of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh is often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh was originally the largest state in India until November 1, 2000 when the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out. It borders the states Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Lying between latitude 21°04'N-26.87°N and longitude 74°02'-82°49' E, it is a reservoir of biodiversity. The geographical area of the state is 308,252 km2 which constitutes 9.38% of the land area of the country. The forest area of the state is 95,221 km2 constituting 30.71% of the geographical area of the state and 12.44% of the forest area of the country. Legally this area has been classified into "Reserved Forest, Protected Forest and Unclassified Forest", which constitute 61.7%, 37.4% and 0.9% of the forest area respectively. Per capita forest area is 2,400 m2 as against the national average of 700 m2
As per the latest estimates of Forest Survey of India, published in the State of Forest Report (IFSR) 2011, the total forest cover of M.P. is 94,690 km2., which is 30.71% of the land area - dense forest constituting 13.57% and open forest 11.22%.
One third of the state is forested and offers an exciting panorama of wildlife. In the national parks of Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Shivpuri and many others, one has the rare opportunity to see the tiger, bison and a wide variety of deer and antelope in sylvan surroundings. There are ten national parks and twenty five wildlife sanctuaries.
Central, eastern and southern parts of the state are rich, whereas northern and western parts are deficient in forest. Variability in climatic and edaphic conditions brings about significant difference in the forest types of the state. There are four important forest types: tropical moist, tropical dry, tropical thorn and subtropical broadleaved hill forests. The forest area can also be classified based on the composition of forest and terrain of the area. Based on composition, there are three important forest formations: teak forest, sal forest, and miscellaneous forest. Bamboo bearing areas are widely distributed in the state. To obviate pressure on the natural forests, plantations have been undertaken in forest and non forest areas to supplement the availability of fuel wood, small timber, fodder etc. Madhya Pradesh lost a good amount of forest recently when Chhattisgarh was carved out of it, as that region was the richest in forest.
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