Biodiversity

Definition: “Biodiversity is the variation among living organisms from different sources
including terrestrial, marine and desert ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which
they are a part.”

Levels/types/elements of Biodiversity
Species diversity
 Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular
area. It is the biodiversity at the most basic level. It includes all the species ranging
from plants to different microorganisms.
Genetic diversity
 It refers to the variations among the genetic resources of the organisms. Every
individual of a particular species differs from each other in their genetic constitution.
That is why every human looks different from each other. Similarly, there are different
varieties in the same species of rice, wheat, maize, barley, etc.
Ecological diversity
 An ecosystem is a collection of living and non-living organisms and their interaction
with each other. Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the plant and animal
species living together and connected by food chains and food webs.

Biogeographic zones of India

Trans- This region is extremely cold and consists of bare rock and Tibetian plateau and
1. Himalayan glaciers. Animals like wild goats, sheep, marble cats, snow Ladakh mountain
region leopards, and black necked cranes are found here. ranges.
This region consists of different kinds of forests such as
East, northwest,
Himalayan tropical forest, dense forest, subtropical and alpine forest.
2. west and central
region There are more than 10,000 species of plants and animals
himalayas.
in this region.
They consist of tropical thorn forest, sandy deserts, dry
deciduous forest and mangroves in the main estuaries. Kutch and Thar
3. Indian desert
Major insect species, reptiles and few species of birds are desert.
found here.
 Kathiawar peninsula, desert region of thar and Rajasthan,
Gulf of kutch and Cambay belongs to this region. They
Semi arid Gujarat rajputana
4. consist of tropical dry forest, thorn forest, mangroves and
region and Punjab plains.
moisture forests. They have trees like acacia and prosopis
and also have the endangered species lion of Gir.
Though it covers only 5% of land in India, there are more
Wester ghats and
5. Western ghats than 4000 species of plants and animals. It has diversities
malabar plains
of forest from evergreen to dry deciduous forest.
Deccan south, chota
It is a raised land area that covers a large area of about 43%
Deccan nagpur, eastern and
6. of India’s land surface. It has a variety of forest resources,
peninsula central highlands,
flora and fauna like wild boar, sloth bar, tiger etc.
central plateau.
It is one of the most fertile regions of India. They have
Lower and upper
7. Gangetic plain diverse plant and animal species like mammals,
gangetic plains.
amphibians, reptiles etc.
They consist of mangrove vegetation. Animal species Lakshadweep, east
8. Coastal regions
include crocodiles, dolphins, turtles, tortoises etc. and west coast.
This region is rich in biological resources. It is rich in
The North- Northeast valley and
9. evergreen, semi evergreen, deciduous monsoon forests.
East hills.
They include about 390 species of flora and fauna.
It has about 325 islands. There is heavy rainfall due to
The Indian Andaman and
10. northwest and southwest monsoon. It has unique species
Islands Nicoba
of plants, animals and coral reefs.
Biodiversity Hotspots in India
1. Himalya : includes the entire Indian Himalayan region (and that
falling in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar).
2. Indo-Burma: Includes entire North-Eastern India, except Assam
and Andaman group of Islands (and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
etc).
3. Sundalands: includes Nicobar group of Islands (and Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines).
4. Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: includes entire Western Ghats (and
Sri Lanka).

India as a Megadiversity Nation

 India has attained a unique place as it has been assigned the

status of megadiversity nation along with eleven other countries
of the world. The country is rich in biodiversity due to diversified
climatic conditions.
 The country has large number of species of microorganisms,
plants and animals.
1. The country has biogeographical regions namely Trans Himalaya,
Himalaya, dessert, etc.
2. India has 89 national parks, 500 wild life sanctuaries, 14
biosphere reserves, 6 wetlands. The country has also 27 tiger
reserves.
3. The country is rich in flora and fauna. The richest regions are the
Himalayas western ghats, Indian islands. 53% fresh water fishes,
60% amphibians, 36% reptiles, 10% mammals.
Endangered and endemic species of India

 1. Endangered: A species that is close to extinct is known as endangered. This

species has a relatively small population in the wild that is rapidly declining.
 A few examples of endangered species are the giant panda and the blue
whale.
 2. Endemic: An endemic species is one that is found only in a particular region
or a particular area. These organisms are adapted to a region and are unable
to grow and thrive in other locations.
 An example of an endemic animal is the platypus which is found only in
Australia.

Factors affecting endangered species or Threats to

Biodiversity

1. Climate changes: Long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns

can affect species.
2. Habitat Loss: Habitat loss includes habitat destruction, altering the physical
environment such that a species can no longer live there.
3. Poaching of wildlife: Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of
wild animals also referred to the illegal harvesting of wild plant species. Its an
environment crime against the natural resources, illegal hunting of wildlife
for animal products such as ivory, horn, teeth, skin and bone.
4. Man wildlife conflicts: Man wildlife refers to the interaction between man and
animal and resultant negative impact on man and his resources or animal and
its habitat. Example: A pregnant Elephant dies after eating cracker filled
pineapple.
5. Invasive Alien Species: New species getting into geographic region are called
alien species. The introduction of alien species causes a major loss to the
biological community. Example: Native to South America, Lantana camara
was brought to India by the British as ornamental plants.
 Causes of Biodiversity Loss

Natural Disasters:
1. Storms and cyclones are the atmospheric disasters caused by strong winds.
Depending upon the speed of the wind and its shape these are termed as
hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes. Strong winds destroy many plants and
animals.
2. Powerful earthquakes may result in cracks appearing on the earth which the
plants and animal life in the region may get buried. Thus destroying many
species of organisms. Earthquakes along seacoast may also cause huge sea
waves called Tsunami which destroy life forms.
3. Climate Changes, draught and floods may also cause destruction of many life
forms forever thus disturbing biodiversity.
4. Landslides along the hilly terrain carry many of the life forms with the sliding
earth and bill them forever under the debris under which many life forms
disappear from the earth forever.

Man-Made Disasters
1. Population and urbanisation: Growth in human population and urbanisation
has tremendously affected the wildlife on the earth.
2. Deforestation: forests being cut and destroyed are causing the disappearance
of many plant and animal species from the earth.
3. Changes in land use patterns: changes in land use patterns for cultivation of
crop plants, raising of orchards, building of the houses, laying of roads and
canals, raising of dams and creating artificial lakes and all such human
activities have caused loss of biodiversity.
4. Energy consumption and Emissions: The poisonous gases emitted by burning
fuel cause pollution, adversely affecting biodiversity, both directing and
indirectly.
5. Pollution: Excessive use of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides
have not only harmed the life of earth but also caused the pollution of
groundwater resources are harmful for man and many animal forms die
eating poisoned food and also by consuming polluted water.
6. Invasive Alien Species: New species getting into geographic region are called
alien species. The introduction of alien species causes a major loss to the
 biological community. Example: Native to South America, Lantana camara
was brought to India by the British as ornamental plants.
7. Co-Extinction: when a species becomes extinct, the plants and animal species
associated with it in also become extinct. When a host fish species becomes
extinct, its unique assemblage of parasites also meets the same fate.
8. Natural resources exploitation: Excessive exploitation of natural resources
also results in degradation of certain species. Ex: Dodo, a flightless bird from
Mauritius was captured and killed for food which is extinct today.