Distribution of forests in Indian states Forestry in India

forests , valley of uttarakhand.

prior 1980s, india deployed bureaucratic method estimate forest coverage. land notified covered under indian forest act, , officials deemed land area recorded forest if devoid of vegetation. forest-in-name-only method, total amount of recorded forest, per official indian records, 71.8 million hectares. comparison of forest coverage number of year before 1987 india, current forest coverage in india, meaningless; bureaucratic record keeping, no relation reality or meaningful comparison.

in 1980s, space satellites deployed remote sensing of real forest cover. standards introduced classify india s forests following categories:

forest cover: defined lands, more 1 hectare in area, tree canopy density of more 10%. (such lands may or may not statutorily notified forest area).

very dense forest: lands, forest cover canopy density of 70% , above
moderately dense forest: lands, forest cover canopy density of 40-70 %
open forest: lands, forest cover canopy density of 10 40%
mangrove cover: mangrove forest salt tolerant forest ecosystem found in tropical , sub-tropical coastal and/or inter-tidal regions. mangrove cover area covered under mangrove vegetation interpreted digitally remote sensing data. part of forest cover , classified 3 classes viz. dense, moderately dense , open.
non forest land: defined lands without forest cover


scrub cover: lands, in , around forest areas, having bushes , or poor tree growth, chiefly small or stunted trees canopy density less 10%
tree cover: land tree patches (blocks , linear) outside recorded forest area exclusive of forest cover , less minimum mapable area of 1 hectare
trees outside forests: trees growing outside recorded forest areas

the first satellite recorded forest coverage data india became available in 1987. india , united states cooperated in 2001, using landsat mss spatial resolution of 80 metres, accurate forest distribution data. india thereafter switched digital image , advanced satellites 23 metres resolution , software processing of images more refined data on forest quantity , forest quality. india assesses forest distribution data biennially.

2007 forest survey data

the 2007 forest census data obtained , published government of india suggests 5 states largest area under forest cover following:

2013 forest survey data

according india s 2013 forest survey report, forest cover in top 5 states has increased, exception of arunachal pradesh: