NIOS Class 12 Environmental Science Chapter 15 Biodiversity Conservation

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NIOS Class 12 Environmental Science Chapter 15 Biodiversity Conservation

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Biodiversity Conservation

Chapter: 15

Module 5: Environmental Conversation

Textual Question Answer

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.1

1. What do you understand by biological diversity? 

Ans: Sum total of all the variety of living organisms on earth constitute biological diversity.

2. List the various levels of biodiversity.

Ans: Genetic, species and ecological biodiversity.

3. Name the two hot spots in India.

And: Western ghats and eastern Himalayas.

4. Name the two abundant (i) group of plants and (ii) group of animals recorded in India. 

Ans: (i)Angiosperms (ii) Arthropods.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.2

1. Name the three important categories under which the uses of biodiversity can be described.

Ans: Ecological services, biological resource, aesthetic and cultural values.

2. Mention two examples of ecosystem services.

Ans: Pollination, protection of soil, climatic control.

3. List any two ways by which biodiversity contributes towards cleaner environment.

Ans: Reduce pollutants, maintenance of gaseous composition of air, degradation of wastes.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.3

1. Which region in India has the richest wild sheep and goat community in the world? 

Ans: Trans-Himalayan region.

2. List any three factors by virtue of which India has a rich and unique biodiversity.

Ans: (i) Its tropical location.

(ii) Varied physical features and climatic situations.

(iii) Meeting of three major biogeographical realms.

3. Name the richest regions of biodiversity.

Ans: North east India.

4. What are exotic species? What effect do they have on the local species? 

Ans: New species entering a geographical region or exotic species and may cause disappearance of native species through changed biotic interaction.

5. List the three zones of a biosphere reserve and which one of them allows settlements etc.

Ans: Core zone, buffer zone and transition zone; transition zone.

6. List the three objectives of convention of biological diversity signed during the Earth summit-1993.

Ans: Conservation of biological diversity; sustainable use of biodiversity and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

7. Expand IUCN.

Ans: International Union for Conservation of nature and Natural Resources.

8. How many animals and how many plants in India are listed are critically endangered in red list.

Ans: 18 animals and 44 plants are listed as critically endangered in the Red List (India).

INTEXT QUESTIONS 15.4

1. What are the main conservation strategies? 

Ans: Two strategies- (i) In-situ and (ii) Ex-situ.

2. Name two important tiger reserves.

Ans: Jim Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal, Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National park.

3. Expand WCS.

Ans: Wildlife Conservation Society.

4. What are the main functions of Biosphere reserve? 

Ans: (i) Conservation. (ii) Development. (iii) Scientific Research.

5. Expand the following:

(i) NBPGR.

Ans: The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi.

(ii) NBG.

Ans: National Botanical Garden.

(iii) CITES.

Ans: Convention on International Trade inN Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

(iv) IUCN.

Ans: The international Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

(v) CBD.

Ans: Convention on Biological Diversity.

(vi) NBA.

Ans: National Biodiversity Authority.

TERMINAL EXERCISE

1. What is biodiversity? Why has it become important in recent years?

Ans: Biological diversity refers to the community complexity expressed in terms of species richness and species evenness. Species richness is the number of species within a community, while species evenness refers to the relative abundance of the different species in a region. Biodiversity can be seen at various levels like genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

Biodiversity is crucial for sustaining ecological balance. Biodiversity provides the base of a functioning ecosystem, they are means of economic benefit, sources of recreation, they have cultural aspects and are important for scientific evaluation.

2. List different levels of biodiversity and explain what is meant by genetic diversity.

Ans: Biological diversity is considered at three levels -a) genetic diversity seen at the genetic level, b) species diversity is seen at the level of species, and c) ecosystem diversity is seen at the level of the ecosystem.

Genetic diversity is the genetic variation within a species, both within a given population and among geographically separate populations.

3. What are various in-situ methods of conservation?

Ans: In-situ methods include the following;

(i) Protection of habitat: The main plan for the protection of species is the conservation of habitats in representative ecosystems. Currently, India has 96 National Parks, 500 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 13 Biosphere Reserves, 27 Tiger Reserves, and 11 Elephant Reserves.

(ii) Species-oriented projects: Certain species have been identified as needing a specifically directed protection effort. Project Tiger, Project Elephant, and Project crocodile are examples of focusing on single species through conserving their habitats.

(iii) Sacred forests and sacred lakes: These are small forest regions conserved by tribal communities due to religious sanctity, These have been free from all disturbances. Sacred forests are located in several parts of India like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Meghalaya.

4. Write short notes on: 

(a) Cryopreservation.

Ans: Cryopreservation is the preservation of biological materials at an ultra-low temperature of liquid nitrogen (-190°C) in a living state of suspended cellular metabolism.

Individual cells or tissues can be cryopreserved in a living state of suspended cellular metabolism at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. In such a state the specimen may remain in a state of suspended cellular metabolism indefinitely and can be thawed as needed. One cryopreservation techníque is to add a cryopreservation agent, such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Ultra Low storage temperatures work by maintaining cells below the glass transition temperature (Tg) of pure water.

(b) Protected areas.

Ans: A protected area is a legally conserved region that aims to preserve and conserve the ecosystem. A network of 668 protected areas has been established in India.

They consist of 102 National parks, 512 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 47 Conservation Reserves, and 4 Community Reserves. UNESCO has designated 5 protected areas as World Heritage sites.

There are 4 categories of protected areas; National parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves, and Community reserves.

(c) Biosphere Reserves.

Ans: Biosphere reserves are a sustainable conservation plan that does not only protect the particular flora and fauna of a particular ecosystem but also helps in coexistence with human settlements already present. For example, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in Uttarakhand.

The biosphere reserves are divided into 3 zones; core, buffer, and transition zone. The Core region is legally conserved. Any form of human intervention is prevented by law. The area enclosing the Core area is the buffer Zone. In this zone education and research activities are permitted. The transition zone permits human settlements and activities.

(d) IUCN Red List. 

Ans: IUCN has designated 8 Red List categories according to the conservation status of species. These 8 categories include; extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Lower risk, Data deficient, and not evaluated. The lUCN Red List uses a set of criteria, relevant to all species and all regions of the world, to evaluate the extinction risk of species.

(e) Gene banks.

Ans: Gene banks are biorepositories that are means of Ex-situ collection and conservation of genetic resources.

The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi preserves seeds of wild relatives of crop plants as well as cultivated varieties; the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources at Karnal, Haryana maintains the genetic material for domesticated animals, and the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow for fishes.

(f) Hot spots of biodiversity.

Ans: The hot spots are the richest and the most endangered reservoirs of biodiversity on the earth. For an area to be considered a hotspot it should support >1500 endemic species and it must have lost over 70 % of the original habitat. There are currently 25 biodiversity hot spots in the world. Two of these are found in India known as western ghats and the eastern Himalayas.

(g) Biodiversity Act,2002.

Ans: Biodiversity Act 2002 provides for the setting up of a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards (SBB), and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) in local bodies. This act aims to preserve biodiversity, equitable and fair use of its components, and sustainable use of its components.

5. Describe various causes of depletion of biodiversity.

Ans: The main causes of biodiversity loss are:

(i) Habitat destruction: Deforestation, draining of wetlands, mining, construction of roads, urbanization, and conversion of forests into agricultural or industrial land destroy or modify the natural habitats of organisms.

(ii) Introduction of exotic species: Exotic (invasive) species are introduced species not normally found in a particular region. In the absence of natural predators, they multiply rapidly, disturb trophic structures, and sometimes drive native species to extinction.

(iii) Pollution:

(a) Air pollution & acid rain destroy forests.

(b) Water pollution (sewage, oil spills, plastics, toxic waste) kills aquatic plants and animals.

(c) Soil pollution affects fertility and plant life.

(iv) Overpopulation and poverty: The growing human population puts heavy pressure on ecosystems for food, fuel, water, and land, exceeding the carrying capacity of nature and accelerating biodiversity loss.

6. How is biodiversity distributed along major environmental gradients?

Ans: Species diversity is not evenly distributed across the globe. The overall richness of species is clustered in equatorial regions and decreases as one moves away from equatorial to polar regions.

Besides, bíodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems generally declines with increasing altitude. The other parameters that affect biodiversity are the quantity of rainfall and nutrient level in the soil. In marine ecosystems, species richness tends to be much higher in continental shelves.

7. Write a brief note on biodiversity conservation efforts in India.

Ans: Two types of strategies are involved in conserving biodiversity in India. 

These include;

(i) In-situ conservation: In-situ conservation includes the establishment of parks and reserves, concentrates on preserving biological díversity in nature. These include habitat protection, species-oriented projects, and sacred forests. Currently, India has 96 National Parks, 500 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 13 Biosphere Reserves, 27 Tiger Reserves, and 11 Elephant Reserves. Project Tiger, Project Elephant, and Project crocodile are examples of focusing on single species through conserving their habitats. Sacred forests are located in several parts of India like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Meghalaya.

(ii) Ex-situ conservation: Many botanical gardens have been set up for the conservation of species. For example, the Indian Botanical Garden in Howrah. A number of zoos have been developed in the country like Manipur Thamin Deer. Several gene banks and seed banks have been established like the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.

Besides these various laws have also been passed in accordance with international treaties for the conservation of biodiversity. These laws include; The biological Diversity Act, 2002; The Wildlife Protection Act 1972, and Forest Act 1980 to name a few.

8. Match the words in column I with those Column II 

Column I	Column II
(i) 13000 genes	(a) Lantana camara
(ii) Exotic species	(b) Drosophila melanogaster
(iii) Transition zone	(c) Red List
(iv) Endangered	(d) Biosphere Reserve

Ans: (i) 13000 genes – Drosophila melanogaster.

(ii) Exotic species – Lantana camara. 

(iii) Transition zone – Biosphere Reserve. 

(iv) Endangered – Red List .

9. What is the resultant of the Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992?

Ans: The Convention on Biological Diversity was the product of the Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

10. What is an approximate percentage of endemic vascular plants in India?

Ans: 33% of vascular plants found in India are endemic.