India's vegetation cover and soil types, both shaped by its varied climate and geology.
India's natural vegetation, classified largely by rainfall, spans tropical evergreen forests (high rainfall areas like the Western Ghats, northeast), tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests (India's most widespread type, shedding leaves in dry season), thorn and scrub vegetation (arid/semi-arid regions like Rajasthan), mountain vegetation (altitude-based zonation in the Himalayas), and mangrove forests (coastal deltas, notably the Sundarbans).
India's soils are classified into six major types: alluvial soil (most fertile and widespread, found in river plains, ideal for agriculture); black/regur soil (found in the Deccan trap region, ideal for cotton — hence 'black cotton soil'); red and yellow soil (found in areas of low rainfall on crystalline rocks); laterite soil (formed by intense leaching in high-rainfall tropical areas); arid/desert soil (low humus, found in Rajasthan); and mountain/forest soil (found in hilly regions).
APPSC tests matching soil type to region and suitable crop (black soil-cotton, alluvial-most crops), and vegetation type to rainfall zone.
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