What factors are responsible for the distribution of plants and animals in India?

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Solution

The following factors play the most important role in the distribution and diversity of animals and plants in India.
Relief – Land and Soil
Climate – Temperature, Photoperiod (Sunlight), Precipitation
Land
The natural vegetation is affected indirectly and directly by the Land.
The type of vegetation is influenced by the nature of the land.
Hence the vegetation is not the same in wet regions, plateaus, mountainous areas, and plain areas.
Agricultural activities are majorly done in fertile land.
Woodlands and grasslands develop in rough and undulating terrains, thereby giving shelter to different varieties of wildlife.
Soil
Over space, there is variation in soils.
Different types of vegetation are formed over different types of soils.
Deltaic and Mangrove vegetation is supported by deltaic, marshy, and wet soils.
Thorny bushes and cactus are supported by sandy soils.
Conical trees are found in soil having some depth on the slopes of hills.
Temperature
The hills of the Peninsula and on the slopes of the Himalayas above the height of 915 meters, the growth, and type of vegetation is affected by the reduction in temperature, and it changes from tropical to subtropical to alpine vegetation.
The extent and character of vegetation is mainly based on temperature, soil, precipitation, and humidity in the air.
Photoperiod (Sunlight)
In summer, trees grow faster, due to sunlight which is available for a longer duration.
Season, altitude, and latitude, are the factors that create differences in the duration of sunlight at different places.
Precipitation
From June to September the onset of Southwest monsoon winds and the retreating monsoon winds are responsible for almost all the rains received in India.
Dense vegetation is found in areas having high rainfall when compared to areas having lesser rainfall.

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