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Overview:

• It is a biennial report released by the Forest Survey of India since 1987.

• The India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2017 is the seventh report in the series.

• The forest cover in India has increased by 1 % in the last two years.

• The report is based on the satellite data received by mapping 633 districts, from October

2015 to January 2016.

• The report uses the scientific tools like forest mensuration to get information on tree cover,

mangrove growth, carbon stock in the forests and the forest cover.

• ISFR, 2017 consists data about the decadal change in the water bodies in the forests during

2005-15, forest fire, state wise carbon stock, forest types and densities.

• The earlier satellite imagery scale was 1: 1 million (leading to some miscalculations), but

the new scale has been changed to 1: 50,000 to accommodate even the tiniest of patches.

According to the report Indian forest cover (based on canopy density) can be

classified as:

• Very Dense Forest: Canopy density of 70 % or more

• Moderately Dense Forest: Canopy density between 40 % and 70 %

• Open Forest: Canopy density between 10 % and 40 %

• Scrub: Forest land with canopy density of 10 and less

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Statistical overview:

• The forest cover has increased by 6, 778 sq km

• The tree cover has increased by 1, 243 sq km

• The maximum increase has been observed in the very dense forest category followed by

open forest category

• Moderate dense forest category is the only category where decline has been observed

• India has 24.4 % of its geographical area under forest and tree cover and is ranked at 10th

place in the world in this regard

• India has total forest cover of 21.54 % of its geographical area

• 15 states/UTs have above 33% of geographical area under forest cover

• Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland,

Meghalaya and Manipur have more than 75 % of geographical area under forest cover

• India has been ranked at 8th place amongst the nations reporting greatest net gain in forest

area according to Food and Agriculture Organisation

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Mangroves in India:

• A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term

is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species.

• Mangrove cover in India was calculated at 4,92,100 hectares, which 0.15% of the country’s

geographical area.

• The total increase that has been observed in the mangrove cover stands at 181 sq km.

• FSI estimated soil carbon stock for mangrove forests in India to be 3,979 million tonnes.

Overall, carbon stock from all forests in India is 7,082 million tonnes.

• Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have registered the highest growth in Mangrove

cover.

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Water Bodies in forests:

• A total increase of 2,647 sq km has been observed in the area under water bodies according

to the State of Forest Report, 2017.

• Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are the top gainers in this regard.

Bamboo in India:

• The extent of bamboo-bearing area in the country has been estimated at 15.69 million ha.

• In comparison to the last assessment done in 2011, there has been an increase of 1.73

million ha in bamboo area.

• The growing stock of the bamboo in forest has been estimated to be 189 million tonnes.

States with maximum area under forests:

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• Madhya Pradesh

• Arunachal Pradesh

• Chhattisgarh

• Maharashtra

• Odisha

• Karnataka

• Assam

• Uttarakhand

• Tamil Nadu

States with maximum forests (percentage area under forest cover):

• Lakshadweep

• Mizoram

• Andaman & Nicobar Island

• Arunachal Pradesh

• Manipur

• Meghalaya

• Nagaland

• Tripura

• Goa

• Kerala

Category-wise topper states:

Very Dense Forests Arunachal Pradesh

Moderately Dense Forests Madhya Pradesh

Open Forests Madhya Pradesh

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