India’s Top 5 States With The Largest Forest Cover

Forest play a major role in the lives of people by providing food,timber,gum and shelter to the wild animals,birds and reptiles. India is one of the 10 most forest-rich countries in the world and also one of the 17 mega bio diverse regions of the world. The largest forest cover states of India includes Madhya Pradesh,Arunachal Pradesh,Chhattisgarh,Odisha and Maharashtra.

Madhya Pradesh

The heart of incredible India, Madhya Pradesh is the second-largest state in the country by area and more than 30% of its area is under the forest cover. The geographical area of the state has been classified into Protected Forest, Reserved Forest and Unclassified Forest of sal,bamboo, grass and dry deciduous forest. Famous reserves in the state of Madhya Pradesh are Kanha National park, Bandhavgarh National Park,Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary,Bori Wildlife Sanctuary and Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve.

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh has the 2nd largest forest cover in India and the state also has the largest primary forest cover. The state receives heavy rainfall every year and the mountain slopes and hills are covered with alpine,oak,pine,maple and fir forest. Most of Arunachal Pradesh is covered by the Himalayas,Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests and has number of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks with highest diversity of mammals in India. Namdapha National Park of the state is India’s one of the largest protected area in Eastern Himalaya region and third largest national park in India.

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh is another major forest covered states of India,41.33% of the total area of state has the rich forest resources and trees including wood, tendu leaves, honey and lac. The state has hilly,fertile plain and deciduous forest area with full of dense forests, mountains, rivers and waterfalls. Chhattisgarh state tree is the Sal or Sarai mostly found in Bastar division and Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary of the state has number of endangered animal species.

Odisha

According to a Forest Survey of India, the state of Odisha has 31.41% of the area covered by forest. The forests of Odisha are classified as dense forest,open forest and scrub forest. Odisha also has bamboo forest and mangroves forest which are suitable habitats for wildlife and orchid flowers. Major protected wildlife area of Odisha are Simlipal National Park,Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary and Bhitarkanika National Park.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is surrounded by Western Ghats,coastline and Satpura Hills at the border, Sahyadri range running parallel to the coast of Konkan has majority of the forests in Maharashtra. 20.13% of the state’s geographical area is covered with evergreen forest and dense forest,Some of the forest areas are converted into wildlife reserves such as Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and Chandoli National Park.