A Study of Man-Made Rain Forest- A Case Study Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad

A closed plant community dominated by trees ("forest'') occurring under conditions of abundant moisture ("rain"). Four types of rainforests, considered that "the most essential characteristic of a rainforest" was its being composed of evergreen hygrophilous trees. Most rainforests are structured in four layers: emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor. Each layer has unique characteristics based on differing levels of water, sunlight and air circulation.

On the forest floor, you can find many plants like herbs, shrubs, ferns, and flowers called orchids. Some plants, known as epiphytes, even grow on the branches of other trees! The bark of trees and the surfaces of leaves are home to tiny plants, fungi, and mosses. All these different plants create a rich environment that supports many animals, from tiny bugs in the soil to big animals like elephants and birds called hornbills. All these living things work together to make the rainforest a special place. Rainforest can be defined as a closed community of essentially, but not exclusively, broadleaved, evergreen, hygrophilous trees, usually with two or more layers of trees and shrubs, and with dependent synusiae of other life-forms, such as climbers and epiphytes. Tropical rainforests are located between 10°N and 10°S of the Equator, where temperatures stay near 28°C throughout the year. Rainforests typically receive over 2000mm of rain each year. The largest rainforests are in the Amazon in Brazil (South America), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Africa) and Indonesia (South East Asia). Tropical rainforests are also found in Hawaii and the islands of the Pacific & Caribbean the tropical rainforest is the place on Earth where the most different kinds of plants and animals live. It is also known as a tropical wet evergreen forest. This special forest is   found near the equator, where it rains a lot—more than 2,000 millimeters every year! It only has a few short dry weeks when it doesn’t rain much. Because of all the rain, the plants grow really well, and most of the trees stay green all year long. "Rain forests represent the world's richest repository of terrestrial biodiversity, and play a major role in regulating the global climate. They support the livelihoods of a substantial proportion of the world's population and are the source of many internationally traded commodities.

Rainforests are situated at low latitude where forests enjoy steady and strong radiation. Biodiversity in rainforests has been very high, for historical and climatic reasons. The number of species is very high and tends to increase with precipitation and decrease with seasonality. In parts of the world that avoid extremely harsh winters and receive high, widely distributed rainfall, rainforests make up the majority the vegetation have almost equal distributions of tropical rainforests along the equator. Tropical rainforest has been a center of evolutionary from which the rest of the world's flora has been recruited.

Tropical rainforests are the most complex ecosystems on Earth. For literally millions of years, rainforests—which many people refer to as jungles—have dominated tropical flora. There may be a diversity of organisms beneath their soaring canopy that is unmatched anywhere else on the planet. High temperatures with little variation throughout the year are found in rainforest regions. Throughout the year, temperatures hover around 20°C to 28°C, with the warmest months in a particular location maybe being a degree or so warmer than the coldest. Because the sun lies primarily above, there are not many fluctuations in the length of daylight throughout the year, which leads to this homogeneity. The vast majority of current rainforest species seem to have floristic affinities with groups that have evolved and arisen in environments very similar to those currently found in rainforests around the world, while also making significant contributions to the vegetation of the more unfavorable climatic conditions found at the edges of rainforest zones. America, Africa, and Southeast Asia all have almost equal distributions of tropical rainforests along the equator. Larger areas were covered by rainforests in earlier geological times.  This is supported by the fossil record as well as the discontinuity of rainforest presence with in distinct geographical masses. Under the general definition of "rainforest," they can be considered distinct formations of equal status bound together by their shared characteristics. In the subtropics, both floristic elements come into direct contact, but despite some element mixing, there is a tendency for one or the other to clearly predominate and for the structure of the subtropical rainforests to show a strong similarity to either tropical or temperate rainforest, depending on which element is dominant. The temperate rainforest is far less common. It is fairly limited north of the equator except from montane rainforests, with sections of Formosa and southern Japan being the only significant area. This is likely due to the harsh winters in the land-dominant northern hemisphere. No other vegetation zone on Earth can match this level of arboreal diversity.

MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

Examine the background data

Obtain background data on Ahmedabad’s rainforest garden including design, management techniques, and maintenance of rain garden in Gandhi Ashram.

Visit

I visit the rainforest garden in Sabarmati Gandhi ashram Ahmedabad at the date of 15thfeb for survey, and I collected listed data. Here are the few of the most typical items.

LOCATION:

Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Ashram Rd, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380027 23°03′36″N 72°34′51″E / 23.06000°N 72.58083°E At the site of rain garden in Gandhi ashram Ahmedabad Jayant Solanki sir (DFO Gujrat) guide me and provide more information about the rain forest and rain garden.

Site plan

This is the plan drawing plan of Gandhi Ashram rain garden.

Tree List of Rain Garden In Gandhi Ashram