Forests

Geography of Pakistan · Natural resources. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Forests cover only a small part of Pakistan, because most of the country is too dry. Where trees grow depends on physical factors: rainfall, temperature, height and soil. Cool, wet northern mountains have coniferous forest. Dry hills have scrub. Land flooded by the Indus has riverine forest, and the muddy, salty creeks of the coast have mangroves.

People have added irrigated plantations on the Indus Plain to supply timber and fuelwood close to the cities.

People also remove forest, for fuelwood, timber, farmland, grazing and building. Deforestation leaves slopes bare. Rain then washes soil away, the soil silts up reservoirs and canals, and water runs off faster, which makes floods worse.

Rules to remember

Common mistake

Riverine forests are watered by river floods, and irrigated plantations by canals. Do not swap the two.

Worked example

Forest is cleared from steep slopes in the northern mountains. Why may floods on the plains become worse?

  1. Leaves and branches no longer catch the rain, and roots no longer hold the soil or help water soak in.
  2. More rainwater runs quickly over the bare surface into the rivers.
  3. The water also carries soil, which settles on river beds and makes the channels shallower.
  4. More water arriving faster in a shallower channel overflows the banks.

Answer: Faster run-off and silted river channels cause higher floods downstream.

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