Forest Inventory and Sampling Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The total forest and tree cover of India as per ISFR 2021 is 24.62% of the geographical area.

The India State of Forest Report 2021 put forest cover at 21.71% and tree cover at 2.91% of the country's geographical area, making a total of 24.62%.

21.71% is forest cover alone, the trap in this question, and the other figures do not match the report.

The report is prepared every two years by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, using satellite data; forest cover counts all land of more than one hectare with tree canopy density above 10%, whatever its legal status.

Answer: B

The district with the maximum forest cover in Madhya Pradesh as per ISFR 2019 is Balaghat.

Balaghat, in the south-east of the State with large sal and mixed forests and Kanha National Park in its neighbourhood, has the largest forest cover by area among the State's districts in the India State of Forest Report 2019.

Sheopur and Chhindwara also have extensive forests but less forest cover than Balaghat, and Tikamgarh in Bundelkhand has very little forest.

Answer: C

According to the India State of Forest Report 2021, forest cover is 21.71% of India's geographical area.

ISFR 2021, published by the Forest Survey of India, reports forest cover of about 7,13,789 sq km, which is 21.71% of the country's area. Adding tree cover outside forests (2.91%) gives a total forest and tree cover of 24.62%.

That is why 24.62% appears as a distractor: it is forest plus tree cover, not forest cover alone. 25.78% and 22.74% do not match the report's forest cover figure.

Answer: D

Open Forest is forest land with tree canopy density of 10% to 40%.

The India State of Forest Report classifies forest cover by canopy density: very dense forest has a canopy density of 70% and above, moderately dense forest 40% to 70%, and open forest 10% to 40%. Land with canopy density below 10% (degraded forest land) is classed as scrub, not as forest cover.

So 'more than 70%' describes very dense forest, '40% to 70%' moderately dense forest, and 'less than 10%' scrub, which leaves 10% to 40% for open forest.

Answer: A

The state with the maximum increase in forest cover between 2019 and 2021 was Andhra Pradesh.

The India State of Forest Report 2021 recorded an increase of 1,540 sq km in India's forest cover compared with 2019. The top three states were Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km).

Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of any state by area, but its increase over this period was small. Jharkhand's gain was also much smaller, and Arunachal Pradesh was among the states that recorded a loss of forest cover.

Answer: B

The first State of Forest Report was published in 1987.

The Forest Survey of India, set up in 1981, published its first assessment of India's forest cover based on satellite imagery in 1987. Since then the report, now the India State of Forest Report, has been published every two years.

1983 is too early, and 1991 and 1993 are later editions of the series. The reports give forest cover by State and district, divided into very dense, moderately dense and open forest, and are the official measure of India's forest cover.

Answer: D

The key gives Balaghat.

I could not find the district table of the India State of Forest Report 2019, so this is not independently confirmed. Balaghat, Mandla and Umaria all have heavy forest cover, and Sheopur is the driest of the four, so the choice lies between the first three. I could not rank them, and the key's choice of Balaghat stands as the Commission's answer.

Answer: A

Reserved forest makes up more than 60% of the forest area of Madhya Pradesh.

Of the state's recorded forest area of about 94,700 sq km, roughly 61,900 sq km is reserved forest, about 31,100 sq km protected forest and a small remainder unclassed forest, according to the India State of Forest Report. Reserved forest is therefore about 65% of the total.

The lower bands (50-60%, 40-50%, below 40%) would describe a state where protected and unclassed forest make up a much larger share, which is not the case in Madhya Pradesh, where most forest was constituted as reserved forest under the Indian Forest Act.

Answer: A

Forest cover means land of more than one hectare with tree canopy density of more than 10%.

The India State of Forest Report defines forest cover as all lands more than one hectare in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10 per cent, irrespective of ownership, legal status or land use. It is further divided into very dense (70% and above), moderately dense (40-70%) and open forest (10-40%).

20%, 30% and 40% are not the threshold; 40% is the lower limit of moderately dense forest, which is a likely source of confusion.