The forest area is generally flat or undulating broken by isolated hillocks and ranges of low hills. Slopes are generally steep and are eroded by numerous nullahs. There are four main ranges or groups of hills in the forest tract, viz. (i) Ambagad range, an outlier of the Satpudas to the north-west of the district, (ii) the Gaikhuri range in the middle; (iii) Pratapgad range to the south, and (iv) a group of hills near Pauni in the extreme south-west corner of the district.
The forests exist in all the three tahsils, viz., Bhandara, Gondia and Sakoli in the district. They fall in the broad type " Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests" and consist of sub-types: (1) teak forests and (2) mixed forests. The proportion of teak forests is very small and teak occurs in mixture with its associates.
The most valuable species found in the forests is teak. It has a reputation for the decorative veneer in large sizes and as important constructional timber. The other commercially important assocites of teak are Sag, Halda, Tinsa, Shisham, Mhowa, Rohan, Khair, Dikamali, Garari, etc.
The mixed forests and the teak forests are the important species found in the district. The mixed forests include: (i) superior quality mixed forests, (ii) medium quality mixed forests, and (iii) poor quality mixed forests.
The mixed forests extend over 90 per cent of the total reserved forest area and practically over the entire protected forest area. The main species found are Garari (Cleistanthus coll inus, Bonth). Sag (Terminalis tomentosa spreng), Dhaora (Anogeisus latifolia, Wall.), Lendia (Lagerstroemia parviflora, Roxb), Aonla (Embica officinalis, Geerta), Tendu (Diospyros peregrina, Roxb), Mahua (Bassia latifolia, Roxb), Achar (Buckanania lanzen, Spreng), Moyen (Lannea grandis, Engl), Rohan (Soymeda febrifuga, Aluss), Bija (Pterocarpus marsupium, Roxb), Bhandarara (Chlo-roxylon sweitenia, D.C.), Salai (Boswellia serrata, Roxb), Mokha (Schrebera sweitenioides, Roxb), Dhaman (Grewia titiaefolia, Vabl), Semal (Salmalia malabaricum, Schott), Haldu (Adina cordifolia, Hook), Tiwas (Ougenia Oojenenbis, Benth), Chichwa (Albizzia odoratissima, Benth), and Sewan (Gmelina arborea, Linn).
The Teak Forests cover only about 5 per cent of the forest area of the district. Fairly extensive patches of teak are found in the Tirora range of Bhandara division and Pratapgad and Rajoli ranges of Gondia division. Small patches of teak forests are also found in Tumsar, Bhandara and Pauni ranges of Bhandara division. Among other species growing with teak Garari is also found though in low proportion.
Based on the National Forest Policy, the forests have been classified into the following classes: (i) protected forests, (ii) tree forests, (iii) minor forests, (iv) pasture forests, and (v) miscellaneous forests.
Bamboos.—The entire forests are divided into 15 bamboo felling series from reserved forests and 26 from protected (fazal) forests. Each felling series is divided into three annual working units called coups as laid down in the Working Plan. A felling cycle of three years is adopted. Felling of bamboos is not allowed between 1st July and 30th September. A clump having less than 10 culms is not worked. Culms more than 2 years old are permitted to be felled. Care is taken to reserve mature culms equal to double the number of culms of the current season in a clump. Digging of rhizomes is prohibited. Felling series are exploited partly by the consumers on rated passes and parts of the areas are assigned to the Ballarpur Paper and Straw Board Mills.
Tendu Leaves and Lac.—These are important minor forest products in the division. The entire forests are divided into 207 tendu and 101 lac units and are sold annually by public auctions.
Grass and Grazing.—Grazing area per cow unit is fixed at three acres in the three categories of forests and two acres per cow unit in the minor forests. Regulated grazing as per grazing settlement, is permitted all over the forest areas. Grass is sold by auction or is allowed to be cut and removed on sale by rated passes from the areas closed to grazing, such as grass birs, closed coupes, plantation areas, etc.
The other commercially important associates found in the forests are: (1) Tendu leaves, useful in bidi industries, (2) Mhowa flowers and fruits, (3) Palas for propagation of lac, (4) Kadai or Rulha and Dhaora for gum, (5) Khair for manufacture of kath, etc. There are a number of species which are useful as fuel and for making charcoal which has a ready market at Nagpur. Bamboo which is valuable in paper industry and also for constructional purposes is found in large numbers in the hilly tracts. Katang bamboos are found along nullahs on a limited scale. Tassar silk cocoons are reared on forest trees especially on Ain and are sent to Bhandara for making indigenous silk. Fodder and thatching grass are also available in large quantities.
Forest produce is transported in bullock carts to several forest depots. From these depots the produce is carried by bullock carts and trucks to Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Arjuni-Morgaon, Deulgaon, and Deori markets. A large share of the produce is also transported to Raipur in Madhya Pradesh and to coastal areas of Gujarat by trucks and rail. Bamboos are also taken by rail to Ballarpur and Sirpur Paper Mills. The important centres of collecting produce for market are: Tumsar, Bhandara, Tirora, Pauni, Sakoli, Arjuni-Morgaon, Deulgaon, Gondia, and Deori.
