• Bio-Diversity is a term we use to describe the variety of life on Earth. This includes living forms that vary from plants, animal life and micro-organisms.

It is the total number of genes, species and ecosystems of a region.

There are three levels at which biodiversity can be classified.

Ecosystem biodiversity: Any part of a landscape that includes biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living components is known as ecosystem.

Species biodiversity: A group or class of animals and plants having certain common and permanent characteristics that clearly distinguish it from other groups or species.

Genetic biodiversity: The basic biological unit of hereditary.Genes of an individual belonging to the same species are similar.

Marine Biodiversity

Genes : In the Fish species the star fishes share some same genes, their characters may be similar

Species : Various Fish species, Plant species,

Ecosystem : Marine ecosystem

Coral reefs are colonies of tiny animals found in marine waters

They provide a home for 25% of all marine species.

Biodiversity hotspot• A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species

(species that are found in a certain limited area).

The Two Biodiversity hotspots in India.

Mega biodiversity• A unique combination of different plants and animal species which is not

available anywhere else is called a Mega biodiversity.

The interrelationship between natural vegetation, wildlife and micro-organisms.

• 1. Biodiversity is fundamental for the existence of life on earth.

• 2. There are a variety of living things that exist in a given physical environment.

• 3. These are interdependent and interrelated.

• 4. When the vegetation is altered, animal life also changes and this in turn affects mankind.

The interrelationship between natural vegetation, wildlife and micro-organisms.

• 5. Loss of any component in the system affects the other components too.

• 6. The ecosystem provides food, water, fibre, fuel etc., and also regulates the climates, which in turn affects our vegetation and also our economy.

• 7.We are part of an ecosystem, by cutting the trees and killing animals we are disturbing the ecological balance.

International year of Biodiversity proclaimed by the united Nations

2010

The causes of Loss of biodiversity

• 1. Increasing population.• 2. Changing of lifestyles

and development.• 3. Public policies • 4. Commercial

exploitation of land and forests.

• 5. Pollution.• 6. Over harvesting.

Natural vegetation and Wildlife.

Natural vegetation and Wildlife.

• Natural vegetation of a place is determined by the climate, physiographic and soil factors.

• India has a diverse vegetation pattern.

Natural vegetation of India be divided into the following groups

• 1. Tropical Evergreen Forests• 2. Tropical Deciduous Forests• 3. Thorn Forests• 4. Tidal Forests• 5. Himalayan Forests

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Western Ghats

Eastern Ghats

Tropical Evergreen Forests

Tropical Evergreen Forests

• Climate warm and wet throughout the year

• Rainfall 200cm with a short dry weather

• Height of trees 60metres or more.

• Vegetation Dense and mixed vegetation

• Type of trees Rosewood, ebony, mahogany, rubber, jack wood and bamboo

• In India Regions of Western Ghats, Upper parts of Assam and Islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshdweep.

• Uses Hardwood from these forests are used for furniture and handicrafts.

• Benefits They prevent landslides and soil erosion.

• The number of species of trees is very large in a small area.

Tropical evergreen forests

The leaves of the trees do not fall in any particular season.

Trees in the Evergreen forests remain green all the year round

As the climate of the region is warm and wet throughout the year.

Hence they are evergreen.

Tropical evergreen Forest

Vegetation Dense and mixed vegetation

Trees: Rosewood, ebony, mahogany, rubber, jack wood and bamboo Uses Hardwood from these forests are used for furniture and handicrafts.

Tropical Deciduous Forests• Vegetation shed their leaves once in a year.

• Most widespread forests in India.

• Rainfall between 75cm to 200cms.

• Found in the entire country except the Deccan plateau,

• North- Eastern regions, Western Ghats and eastern coasts.

• These forests have been cleared by humans for cultivation.• On the basis of rainfall these are further divided into

a. Moist deciduous forests and b. Dry Deciduous forests.

Tropical moist deciduous forestRainfall between 100 to 200cm.

Mainly distributed in the eastern parts of the country.

Trees : Teak, Bamboo, Sal, Sandalwood, Khair,

Kusum,

Arjun, Mahua, Jamun and Mulberrry.

Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh and Eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.

Tropical moist deciduous forests

Tropical dry deciduous forest

Rainfall = 75cm to

100cmTemperature = 35°C to 40°C

Trees:Teak, Sal, Peepal and Neem.

They are found in the interior parts of the Peninsular plateau and the plains of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Thorn Forests

Thorn Forests

• Rainfall less than 75cm rainfall.

• Climate dry with occasional wet period.

• Places North-Western region, interior parts of the Peninsular India including semi-arid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

• Vegetation small trees and bushes with deep roots. The stems conserve water. Leaves are mostly thick and small to minimize evaporation.

• Trees: Acacia, euphorbias, babul, cacti, khair, date and palms are common variety of trees in this type of vegetation.

Tropical thorn forest HIRADA

KHAIR

BOR

BABUL

ALOEVERA

CACTUS

Tidal Forests:

These forests are found in tidal creeks and swamps influenced by the tides and wetland topography.These areas have mud, silt and water on the surface.Roots and branches of the trees are submerged under water for a specific period of time.They are also called Mangrove forests.Mangroves are evergreen with thick leaves.

They are found in the deltas of Sunder bans, Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, Kaveri and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Sundari

Mangrove or Sundari are the common tree in Sunder bans while Palm, coconut, keora and agar are other important species of tidal forest.

They are located along the coasts. They provide protection against cyclones.

MANGROVE FORESTS

Mangrove forests are found in coastal regions.

Himalayan Forests: up to 1000 metres• Areas with low altitude up to 1000metres.• Warm climate and good amount of

rainfall are characterized by dense forests. • These look like tropical forest. • Sal and Bamboo are main species in these

areas.

Himalayan Forests 1000-2000meters• Areas between 1000 to 2000 metres • evergreen broad leaf Oak and Chestnut

are the common species.• In Eastern Himalayas the same

elevation is occupied by sub-tropical Pine Forests. Chir is common species found here.

Himalayan Forest 1500 -3500metres

• Areas between 1500 to 3500metres which receives annual rainfall in the range of 100 to 250cm.

• Oak, Laurel, Chestnut, Cedar, Silver Fir, Spruce and deodar are the main species.

• They have been exploited for timber.

• Areas between 3000 to 3800 metres it’s called the Alpine vegetation which has large and extensive highland grassland and sparsely distributed pine, birch, sliver, fir and rhododendron trees. Oak

Chestnut

Spruce Fir

Wildlife in India.• 1. Wild life in India is a great natural heritage.

• 2. 80% of all known plants and animal species on earth are known to be found in India.

• 3. Many plants and their products are found to be useful for the good health of man and animals.

• 4. People had started clearing forests and destroying it.

• 5. This is why in 1935 the system of National Parks, Wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas was established.

• 6. The Wildlife Protection act 1972 provides protection to wildlife.

Wildlife in India.

• Various efforts are made to protect and preserve biological diversity of our country.

Special projects like the Project tiger 1973

and Project Elephant 1992 have been launched.

All these steps are important to save species from extinction.

WILD LIFE SANCTUARIES: (551 in India)

The main objective is to maintain the population and the desired habitat of wildlife.

The wildlife sanctuaries are home to more than different species of

birds,

mammals, insects

an

varieties of plants

Endangered species • They are home to endangered species of

animals and birds like:

Asiatic Elephant

The Royal Bengal Tiger

The snow leopard Siberian crane

• Kaziranga in Assam is known for the

Indian Rhino.

• Periyar in Kerala is known for its

elephants.

• India is also home to migratory animals land birds like

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, Siberian Cranes and the Flamingos.

WILD LIFE SANCTUARIES: (551 in India)

National Parks• 1. The purpose of establishing national parks is to conserve the natural

habitat of the wildlife.

• 2. India passed the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972 to safeguard the habitats and conserve the species.

• 3. The two main objectives of the act are:• i. To provide protection to the endangered species.• ii. to provide legal support to the conservation

area of the country classified as national Park.

Wetlands

A wetland is an area whose soil is filled with moisture either permanently or seasonally.They may be covered partially or completely by pools of water.

Wetlands

• They include swamps, marshes, mangroves and bogs.• The water found can be fresh water, salt water or brackish.• They serve as a natural wastewater purification system.

swamps

marshes

mangroves

Wetlands

• Plant life found in wetlands include mangroves, water lilies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, black spruce, cypress, gum and many others.

Wetlands

The Convention on wetlands of International Importance or Ramsar Convention

Is an international treaty designed to address global concerns

regarding wetlands loss and degradation.

Wetlands

• The primary purpose is to list wetlands of international importance and promote the goal of preserving them.

• i. By restricting access to the majority portion of wetlands.

• ii. By educating the public to not think wetlands to be wastelands.

Wetlands

• They perform two important functions in relation to climate change

• they have mitigation effects through their ability to sink carbon and

• adaption effects through their ability to store and regulate water.

List of Wetlands In India.

• No. Name State• 1 Astamudi Kerala• 2 Bhitarkanika Mangroves Orissa• 3 Chilika Lake Orissa• 4 East Calcutta wetlands West Bengal• 5 Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh• 6 Loktak Lake Manipur• 7 Point Calimere Tamil Nadu• 8 Pong Dam Lake Himachal Pradesh• 9 Sambhar Lake Rajasthan• 10 Tsomoriri Jammu and Kashmir• 11 Upper Ganga Canal Uttar Pradesh• 12 Vembanad- Kol wetlands Kerala• 13 Wular Lake Jammu and Kashmir• 14 Harike Lake Punjab• 15 Bhoj Wetland Madhya Pradesh

Wetlands

Wetlands

Biosphere reserves:They are multiple protected areas to preserve the genetic diversity in the ecosystem.

Biosphere reserves:

The Indian government has established 15 Biosphere reserves which protect larger areas of natural habitat (National park or wildlife sanctuary).

Biosphere reserves:

• They often include one or more National Parks or preserves along buffer zones that are open to economic uses.

Biosphere reserves:• Protection is given not only to the flora and

fauna but also the human communities who inhabit these regions.

Biosphere reserves:Name State

1 Nilgiri Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala2 Gulf of Mannar Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala3 Sundarbans West Bengal4 Nanda Devi Uttarkhand5 Dihang-Dibang Arunachal Pradesh6 Pachmarhi Madhya Pradesh7 Simlipal Orissa8 Achanakmar Amarkantak Madhya Pradesh and Chahattigarh

Justify the need for conservation of natural vegetation, wildlife and micro-organisms with suitable reasons.

• 1. Vegetation is an important part of biodiversity. Without this animals and micro-organisms will die because vegetation gives them food, shelter and oxygen.

• 2. The roots of the plants helps prevent soil erosion.• 3. Vegetation plays an important role in the water cycle. It absorbs water from the

ground and releases it as water vapour from its leaves.• 4. Vegetation is a natural barrier and slows down the flow of water from the surface.• 5.Through photosynthesis vegetation removes carbon dioxide from the air and

replaces it with oxygen.• 6. Vegetation acts as a stabilising effect for greenhouse effect. • 7. Wildlife plays an important role in maintaining the balance of food in the ecology.• 8. The invisible micro-organisms paly an important part by improving the fertility of

the soil.• Now that we understand how important this is we must take proper actions to

conserve our ecology.

Why we should learn about Biodiversity

• 1. We see a variety of plants, animals, insects, landscapes around us.

• 2. We depend on them for our living.• 3. They are the product of over four billion years of evolution.• 4. But today because of human activities most of them are

being lost.• 5. It is important for us to know them and conserve them.

The status of biodiversity in India

• 1. Biodiversity increases as we move from the poles towards the equator.

• 2. India is in a unique position therefore is rich in biodiversity.• 3. India occupies only 2.4% of the world’s land surface but its contributes

to world biodiversity is 8% of the total number of species.• 4. Two of the twelve biodiversity hotspots in the world are in India.

CONSERVATION OF FORESTS HOW CAN WE CONSERVE OUR FORESTS? Conservation means to protect or keep safe. Conservation of forests is

the process of keeping our forests safe from destruction. 1. stop cutting trees. 2. Plant more trees. (afforestation) 3. Protect animals. 4. Stop throwing garbage and polluting the environment. 5. Do not waste paper, reuse paper. By conserving our forests, we protect our wildlife, prevent global

warming, prevent soil erosion, get cleaner air, receive regular rainfall etc.

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