In India, in which one of the following types of forests is teak a dominant tree species?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Tropical moist deciduous forest
Teak is a dominant species of the tropical moist deciduous (monsoon) forests. These forests grow where annual rainfall is about 100–200 cm: in the north-eastern states along the Himalayan foothills, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and in Odisha. Teak is not characteristic of rain forest, thorn forest or temperate forest.
- ✓ (a) Teak heads the list of main species of the moist deciduous forests, along with sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum and sandalwood. These forests receive 100–200 cm of rainfall a year.
- ✗ (b) Tropical rain (evergreen) forests grow where rainfall exceeds 200 cm. They are dense, multi-layered and always green. Their typical trees are rosewood, mahogany and ebony, not teak.
- ✗ (c) Tropical thorn forests occur where rainfall is below about 50 cm. They have scrub species such as acacias (babool), ber, khejri and euphorbias. Teak needs far more moisture.
- ✗ (d) Temperate forest-with-grassland vegetation occurs at higher altitudes in the hills, where cool conditions favour temperate species. Teak is a tropical tree and is not dominant there.
Remember · Teak and sal are the key species of the tropical moist deciduous (monsoon) forests of the 100–200 cm rainfall belt. Dry deciduous forests get 70–100 cm.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 5 “Teak, sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum, and sandalwood etc. are the main species of these forests.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
