Littoral And Swamp Forest in India-Types, Characteristics and Biodiversity details for UPSC!

Littoral and swamp forests are among the most specialised varieties of tropical natural vegetation. Wetland environments are abundant in India. They have soft tissue roots that allow the plant to breathe in the water. Littoral and swamp forests are also known as wetland and tidal forests.

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What are Littoral and Swamp Forests?

• Littoral and Swamp Forests, also known as Wetland forests, consists primarily of whistling pines, Mangrove dates, palms, and other flora. They have spongy tissue roots that allow the plant to breathe underwater.
• Littoral forests are salt-tolerant forests that can be found near the coast and in cayes.
• They can be found in isolated areas and in narrow sweeps along the mainland and caye beaches. Because of the swampy soil conditions, only low herbaceous or shrubby vegetation may thrive in this type of forest.

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Distribution across Indian Sub-Continent

• Littoral forests and Swamp forests are also called the wetland forests. Littoral and Swamp Forests can be found in India’s natural vegetation and are widespread.
• Littoral and swamp forests can be found along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as the Ganga and Brahmaputra deltas. Wetlands in the India occurs in and around deltas, estuaries, and creeks that are subject to tidal influences.
• The reservoirs of the southern Deccan Plateau, as well as the lagoons and other wetlands of the south-west coast. Rajasthan, Gujarat, and the Gulf of Kaehehh have vast saline expanses.
• From Gujarat eastward through Rajasthan (Keoladeo National Park) and Madhya Pradesh, freshwater lakes and reservoirs; Swamp forests are restricted to the Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery deltas.
• Dense mangroves grow in sheltered estuaries, tidal creeks, backwaters, salt marshes, and mudflats all along the coast. It provides valuable fuelwood.
• They are made up of a variety of salt-tolerant plant species. These forests, crisscrossed by creeks of stagnant water and tidal floods, provide habitat for a diverse range of birds.
• Wetlands can be found in India’s Himalayan area, desert, coastal plains, and adjacent river plains.
• Littoral forests can be found all along the coast. Swamp forests are restricted to the Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery deltas.
• These are found in the Sunderban delta, the eastern coastal plains of the rivers Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, and Mahanadi, the desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, Kashmir and Ladakh, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the Lakshadweep islands, and the western coastal plains of the Malabar coast to the Konkan coast.

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Characteristics of Littoral and Swamp Forests

• Littoral and Swamp both indicate wetlands. Littoral and swamp forests can be found along seashores and creeks.
• It grows at river estuaries or deltas, swampy island edges, and along sea beaches. Mangrove forests occur in salt marshes, tidal creeks, and estuaries along the coast. The soil is composed of silt, silt-loam, or silt-clay, as well as sand. It is home to a wide range of birds.
• Mangroves thrive in salt marshes, tidal streams, mud flats, and estuaries along the coast. They are consists of a variety of salt-tolerant plant species.
• There are vast and impenetrable trees in some of these areas. These evergreen forests are home to a small number of plants.
• Littoral forests and Swamp forests consists mostly of whistling pines, mangrove dates, palms, etc. They have roots that consist of spongy tissue so that the plant can respire in the water.
• Along the coast, mangroves thrive in salt marshes, tidal streams, mud flats, and estuaries. They are made up of many salt-tolerant plant types.
• Some of these regions are densely forested and difficult to navigate. A tiny number of plants live in these evergreen forests.
• The majority of whistling pines, mangrove dates, palms, and other plants grow in littoral and swamp forests. They contain spongy tissue roots that allow the plant to breathe in the water. Swamp forests grow on peat-depleted soils that are continually flooded.

Found in	Swamp forests are found on peat-poor soils that are permanently waterlogged. There are vast and impenetrable trees in some of these areas which are home to evergreen forests.
Temperature conditions	The moderate temperature(26°C to 29°C) is required for Littoral Swamp Forests.
Rainfall Range	The littoral forest has warm , wet climatic conditions and rainfall is about 200cm.
Distribution	The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as the Ganga and Brahmaputra delta areas, are home to this species. The Mahanadi, Godavari, and Krishna deltas are also significant locations.
Topography	Littoral Swamp Forests contains Mangroves which thrive in salt marshes, tidal streams, mud flats, and estuaries along the coast. They are made up of a variety of salt-tolerant plant species.

Source: Government of Gujarat

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Classification of Littoral and Swamp Forests

The Littoral and Swamp Forests are classified into different types such as Beach Forests, Tidal Forests and Freshwater swamps. These are described in detail below:

Beach Forests

• Beach forests can be found all along seashores and river deltas. Depending on the location, rainfall ranges from 75 cm to 500 cm.
• The soil is sandy and rich in lime and salts, but low in nitrogen and other mineral nutrients.
• Manilkara littoralis, Thespesia, Spinifex littoreus, Casuarina equisetifolia, and other common species can be found in these forests.

Tidal Forests

• Tidal forests are also referred to as mangrove forests. It grows at river estuaries or deltas, swampy island edges, and along sea beaches.
• Mangrove forests occur in salt marshes, tidal creeks, and estuaries along the coast. The soil is composed of silt, silt-loam, or silt-clay, as well as sand. It is home to a wide range of birds.
• Tidal forests are further categorised into the four categories listed below:
  • Tree mangrove forests are found on both the east and west sea shores.
  • Low mangrove trees occur on soft tidal mud near estuaries that are flooded by salt water.
  • Saltwater forests are found beyond tree mangrove forests in large river deltas where the ground is flooded with tidal water.
  • Brackish water forests are found near river deltas where the forest floor is flooded at least once daily.

Freshwater Swamps

• Freshwater swamp forests thrive in low-lying locations where rain or overflowing river water collects for an extended period of time.
• Salix tetrasperma, Acer, Putranjiva, Holoptelia, Cephalanthus, Barringtonia, Olea, Phoebe, Ficus, Murraya, Adhatoda, Canna, and a variety of grasses are among the plants found here.
• Mangrove forests cover 6.740 square kilometres in India, accounting for 7% of the world’s mangrove forests. They are well developed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the West Bengal Sunderbans.
• Other significant locations are the Mahanadi, Godavari, and Krishna deltas. These forests, too, are being encroached upon and hence require protection.

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Biodiversity of Littoral and Swamp Forests

Wetland forests are another name for the littoral and swamp forest ecosystem, which can be found close to freshwater lakes. Minerals and poor drainage characterise forest soil. The soil remains waterlogged as long as there is an adequate supply of water.

Soil Vegetation

• Swamp forests grow where topography causes poor drainage and permanent soil waterlogging.
• Plant waste tends to accumulate on the forest floor as a result of the obvious distinctive hydrologic environment, which can lead to the formation of thick peat deposits over time.
• Peat is a type of soil composed primarily of partially decomposed organic materials. As a result, swamp forests thrive on peat-depleted soils that are frequently flooded.

Flora

• Littoral and Swamp Forests are made up of evergreen species with varying densities and heights that are typically linked with mesic settings. These forests are largely in the early stages of development and are seral in nature.
• On sandy beaches and dunes along the sea face, the tall and evergreen Casuarina is the most distinctive plant.
• Manilkara littoralis dominates the jungles of Andaman. In the Ganga and Brahmaputra river deltas, tidal and swamp forests (mangrove scrub) are dominated by various evergreen and semievergreen species.
• Mangroves can be found in India’s east and west coasts, as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Gulf of Kachchh, and the Khambat River (Gujarat). Sundarban (40% in West Bengal) is the world’s largest mangrove.
• Trees from the genera Rhizophora, Avicennia, Sonneratia, Bruguiera, and Ceriops dominate mangrove forests. Heritiera and Xylocarpus are two examples. Palm swamp can be found in the drier areas of the salt water mangrove forest.
• Tropical fresh water swamps like Myristica swamp forest can be found in Travancore, Kerala, and contain species like Myristica spp. and Lagerstroemia speciosa.

Fauna

• Littoral and Swamp Forests are recognised for remarkable animal species, including flamingos, spot-billed pelicans, spoonbills, and egrets.
• The mangrove also harbours the now-endangered lesser florican bird species. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the most well-known animal in the Sunderbans’ Mangrove forests.
• Mangrove root systems are home to a variety of organisms, including snails, barnacles, bryozoans, tunicates, mollusks, sponges, polychaete worms, isopods, amphipods, shrimp, crabs, and jellyfish. Some invertebrates thrive in the mangrove canopy, with crabs being the most abundant.

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Wetlands in India

• Wetland environments are abundant in India. India features a diverse range of wetland ecosystems.
• Approximately 70% of this region is under paddy agriculture. Wet land covers an area of 3.9 million hectares. Wetlands form in response to certain hydrological regimes.
• Wetland forests and tidal forests are other names for littoral and swamp forests, respectively. The “Ramsar Convention” is an intergovernmental agreement for the preservation and wise use of wetlands.
• Under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention), two locations are designated as water-fowl habitats.
• Wetlands are transitional lands between terrestrial and aquatic systems, with the water table usually at or near the land’s surface and covered by shallow water and scattered over several Ramsar sites in India.
• The many types of wetlands depicted in the flowchart above emerge in response to specific hydrological regimes.

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Significance of Littoral and Swamp Forests

• Littoral and Swamp Forests are essential landscape features that give multiple benefits to people, fish, and animals.
• Littoral and swamp forests are among the world’s most productive ecosystems, ranking alongside rain forests and coral reefs. A wetland ecosystem can contain a wide range of bacteria, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals.
• Littoral and swamp forests can be found along sea shores and creeks. Although their relative extent in the Country is marginal, these forests are vital for seacoast and marine life conservation.
• Littoral and Swamp Forests are critical to the watershed’s ecology. Shallow water, high nutrient levels, and primary productivity are ideal for the development of organisms that form the foundation of the food web and feed many species of fish, amphibians, shellfish, and insects.
• Littoral and Swamp Forests improve natural water quality, protect against flooding, and control shoreline erosion, all while protecting people’s safety and welfare.
• Swamps were also thought to be wastelands with little or no use. Such lands could not be used for agriculture or construction. These areas were also unsuitable for navigation or recreation. Thus, swamps were given little importance until science demonstrated their value.

Conclusion

Littoral forests are understudied ecosystems that are significantly endangered by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. The geographic location of littoral forest remnants played an essential effect in selecting which species lived there. On this basis, we argue that the littoral forest remnants of southeastern Madagascar should be prioritised for conservation.

In this article, we studied the features and distribution of Littoral and Swamp Forest in India. Testbook provides a set of comprehensive notes for different competitive exams. Testbook is always on the top of the list because of its best quality assured product like live tests, mocks, Content pages,GK and current affairs videos and much more. To study more topics from Geography for UPSC, download the Testbook App now!

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