Andhra Pradesh Forest Department is one of the administrative divisions of Government of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. It is headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Head of Forest Force. The primary function of this department is protection, conservation and management of
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s in the Andhra Pradesh State. The Forest Department is organized into 12 territorial circles and 43 divisions. In addition, one Senior Officer of the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests functions as Planning and Extension Officer in each district.
Flora and fauna
Andhra Pradesh State is bestowed with two mighty river systems of
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and
Godavari
The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
. The State has wide and varied vegetation types enriched by a variety of flora and fauna. Andhra Pradesh being located strategically in the central region of the Indian sub-continent has representatives of the magnificent Indian plant and animal life. Its varied topography ranging from the hills of
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
and
Nallamallas to the shores of
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
supports varied ecotypes, which in turn support a rich diversity of flora & fauna. The forests in the state can broadly be divided into four major biotic provinces.
1) Deccan Plateau - 53%
2) Central Plateau - 35%
3) Eastern Highland -11%
4) East Coastal Plains - 1%
The vegetation found in the state is largely of dry deciduous type with a mixture of
Teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
, and
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of the
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
''
Terminalia
Terminalia may refer to:
* Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus
* ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus
* Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects
* ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...
'', ''
Dalbergia
''Dalbergia'' is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. T ...
'', ''
Pterocarpus
''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' ...
'', ''
'' etc. The hills of Eastern Ghats add greatly to the Biological Diversity and provide centers of
endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
for plants, birds and lesser forms of animal life. The varied habitat harbors a diversity of fauna which includes Tiger, Panther, Wolf, Wild Dog, Hyena, Sloth Bear, Gaur, Black Buck, Chinkara, Chowsingha, Nilgai, Cheetal, Sambar and a number of Birds and Reptiles. The long sea coast provides the nesting ground for sea turtles, the back water of Pulicat lake are the feeding grounds for Flamingo & Grey Pelican, the estuaries of river Godavari and Krishna support rich mangrove forests with Fishing Cat and Otters as key stone species.
The state is a proud possessor of some rare and endemic plants like ''
Cycas beddomei
''Cycas beddomei'' is a species of cycad in the genus ''Cycas'', native to India, where it is confined to a small area of Andhra Pradesh state in the Tirumala Hills in scrubland and brush covered hills.
Superficially similar to ''Cycas revolu ...
'', ''
Pterocarpus santalinus
''Pterocarpus santalinus'', with the common names red sanders, red saunders, protect it Yerra Chandanam, Chenchandanam, red sandalwood, Rakta Chandana, and saunderswood, is a species of ''Pterocarpus'' endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mou ...
'', ''Terminalia pallida'', ''Syzygium alternifolium'', ''Shorea talura'', ''Shorea tumburgia'', ''
Psilotum nudum
''Psilotum nudum'', the whisk fern, is a fernlike plant. Like the other species in the order Psilotales, it lacks roots.
Its name, ''Psilotum nudum'', means "bare naked" in Latin, because it lacks (or seems to lack) most of the organs of typica ...
'' etc. Among its rich fauna, the Double Banded or the Jerdon’s courser, the golden gecko, and the gray slender loris are some of the rare and endemic fauna of the state.
Protected areas
Andhra Pradesh has a network of 13 sanctuaries and 1 national park in the state. There are 2 zoo parks established in the state.
References
External links
Andhra Pradesh Forest Department
{{Authority control
State agencies of Andhra Pradesh
Environment of Andhra Pradesh
State forest departments of India
Forest Department
Year of establishment missing