You went for a study tour to Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats. On reaching there, you found a luxuriant vegetation and evergreen trees. What accounts for such a growth of vegetation? What type of forests did you find in the area? Name any three types of trees found there and their economic importance.

Recently I went to Mahabaleshwar for a study tour and found luxuriant vegetation and evergreen trees. My teacher explained that such vegetation and evergreen trees are found in the areas where the annual rainfall is more than 200 cm with a short dry season, average annual temperature is between 25°C and 27°C and average annual humidity exceeds 77 percent.

I found tropical evergreen forests there. The main variety of trees found in these forests include rosewood, ebony and mahogany. Rosewood is used for making furniture, floor board wagon parts, etc. It is used as decorative wood for carving and for making ornamental ply-boards. Ebony is used for ornamental carving and for decoration. It is used for inlaying, for making musical instruments, sports goods, piano keys and caskets. Thus, the timber produced by evergreen trees is of high economic value.