6.10   Natural Vegetation

. Natural Vegetation Natural vegetation refers to the forest cover. Landforms, nature of soil, temperature and rainfall are the major factors that control the distribution of natural vegetation. As per National Forest Policy, , a minimum of one-third of the total geographical area must be under forest cover. The total forest cover of Tamil Nadu is far lower than this. According to the Tamil Nadu State of Forest Report - assessment, the area under forest in the state is , sq.km, which constitutes . % of the total area. Tamil Nadu constitutes . % of India’s forest cover. The forest types in the state varies from wet evergreen to scrub forests. Forest Types The forest in the state is broadly divided into five types as follows,  Physical Geography of Tamil Nadu