Pariksha SaathiLesson 7 of 10 · Madhya Pradesh General Knowledge
Climate, Soils, Forests and Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh
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Climate
Madhya Pradesh has a tropical monsoon climate with three seasons: summer from March to mid-June, the rainy season from mid-June to September, and winter from November to February. Being far from the sea, the state has a continental character, with very hot summers in the north and north-west, where temperatures in the Gwalior-Chambal region can rise above 45 degrees Celsius, and cool winters. Most rain comes from the south-west monsoon, largely through its Bay of Bengal branch entering from the south-east. Rainfall therefore decreases from south-east to north-west: Pachmarhi in the Satpura receives the most, while the Bhind-Morena-Gwalior region receives the least. Western disturbances bring light winter rain (mawatha) that helps the rabi crop.
Soils
Black soil (regur or kali mitti) covers the Malwa plateau, the Narmada valley and parts of the Satpura. Formed from Deccan Trap basalt, it is clayey, holds moisture, swells when wet and cracks when dry, is rich in lime, iron, magnesium and potash but poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter, and suits soybean, cotton, wheat and gram. Red and yellow soils cover eastern districts such as Balaghat, Mandla, Shahdol and Sidhi, where rice is the main crop. Alluvial soil is found in the Chambal plains of Bhind, Morena and Gwalior, and mixed red and black soils cover Bundelkhand. Soil erosion is severe along the Chambal, where gullies have carved badlands (ravines) in Bhind and Morena.
Forests
Madhya Pradesh has long had the largest forest area of any Indian state. Teak (sagaun) dominates the dry deciduous forests of the centre and west, especially in the Satpura and Vindhyan hills, while sal dominates the moist deciduous forests of the east and south-east around Mandla, Balaghat and Dindori; thorn forests of babul and khair occur in the dry north-west. Minor forest produce supports tribal families, especially tendu leaves used for bidis, mahua, chironji and bamboo. The Bori forest in the Satpura was declared India's first reserved forest in 1865. The Indian Institute of Forest Management is at Bhopal and the Tropical Forest Research Institute at Jabalpur.
Tiger reserves and national parks
Kanha (Mandla and Balaghat), a national park since 1955, was among the first nine tiger reserves of Project Tiger in 1973 and saved the hard-ground barasingha from extinction. Bandhavgarh in Umaria, with its ancient hill fort, is known for its high density of tigers. Pench (Seoni and Chhindwara) is linked with Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Panna on the Ken lost all its tigers by 2009 and was restocked through a reintroduction that became a conservation success. Satpura with Bori and Pachmarhi, Sanjay-Dubri in Sidhi, Madhav at Shivpuri, Van Vihar in Bhopal and the Ghughua fossil park in Dindori are other protected areas. The white tiger Mohan was captured in the Rewa forests in 1951, and a white tiger safari opened at Mukundpur near Rewa in 2016.
Kuno, the lion plan and Project Cheetah
Kuno National Park in Sheopur district takes its name from the Kuno river, a tributary of the Chambal. It became a wildlife sanctuary in 1981 and a national park in 2018. It was chosen as a second home for the Asiatic lions of Gir, so that the species would not depend on a single population, and villages were relocated from the forest for that purpose. In 2013 the Supreme Court ordered that some lions from Gir be moved to Kuno. Kuno then became the home of Project Cheetah: on 17 September 2022 eight cheetahs brought from Namibia were released there, returning the species to India, where it had been declared extinct in 1952; a second group came from South Africa in February 2023.
Sanctuaries and biosphere reserves
The National Chambal Sanctuary, shared with Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, protects the gharial, the Ganges river dolphin and river turtles, and the Ken and Son gharial sanctuaries do the same on those rivers. Sailana (Ratlam) and Sardarpur (Dhar) were set up for the kharmor or lesser florican, and Ghatigaon near Gwalior for the great Indian bustard. The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, set up in 1999 around Satpura National Park and the Bori and Pachmarhi sanctuaries, joined UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2009. Amarkantak-Achanakmar (2005), shared with Chhattisgarh, joined the network in 2012, and Panna (2011) joined in 2020.
Key facts
- Rainfall decreases from south-east to north-west: Pachmarhi gets the most, the Bhind-Morena-Gwalior region the least; winter rain from western disturbances is called mawatha.
- Black soil (regur) of Malwa: formed from Deccan Trap basalt, holds moisture, rich in lime and potash, poor in nitrogen and phosphorus; ideal for soybean and cotton.
- Red and yellow soils of the east (Balaghat, Mandla, Shahdol) grow rice; alluvium in Bhind-Morena; the Chambal ravines are the result of gully erosion.
- MP has long had the largest forest area of any state: teak in the centre and west, sal in the east; Bori (1865) was India's first reserved forest.
- Kanha (Mandla, Balaghat): national park 1955, Project Tiger reserve 1973, home of the hard-ground barasingha.
- Bandhavgarh (Umaria), Pench (Seoni, Chhindwara; The Jungle Book), Panna (on the Ken; tigers reintroduced after 2009), Satpura and Sanjay-Dubri (Sidhi).
- Kuno (Sheopur), on a tributary of the Chambal: wildlife sanctuary in 1981, national park in 2018, prepared as a second home for the Asiatic lions of Gir; cheetahs from Namibia released here on 17 September 2022 (Project Cheetah).
- White tiger Mohan was captured in the Rewa forests in 1951; a white tiger safari opened at Mukundpur near Rewa in 2016.
- Biosphere reserves: Pachmarhi 1999 (UNESCO network 2009), Amarkantak-Achanakmar 2005 (UNESCO 2012), Panna 2011 (UNESCO 2020).
- Kharmor (lesser florican) sanctuaries: Sailana (Ratlam) and Sardarpur (Dhar); gharial: National Chambal, Ken and Son sanctuaries.
Quick revision
Tropical monsoon climate, three seasons; rainfall falls south-east to north-west, most at Pachmarhi, least in Bhind-Gwalior; mawatha winter rain; black regur soil of Malwa from Deccan basalt, red-yellow soils in the east, alluvium in Chambal plains, Chambal ravines; long the largest forest area of any state, teak west, sal east, tendu leaves; Bori first reserved forest 1865; Kanha 1955 and Project Tiger 1973, barasingha; Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, Satpura; Kuno sanctuary 1981, national park 2018; Pachmarhi biosphere reserve 1999, UNESCO 2009.