Conservation of Plants and animals

An Introduction to conservation of plants and animals

Biodiversity What is it?

• Biodiversity means the variety of plants and animals in a particular habitat interacting with each other.

• It defines the biological richness of an ecosystem.

Ecosystem What is an Ecosystem?

• An Ecosystem includes all the living organisms interacting with the non-living organisms like atmosphere,

• water,

• sun,

• soil,

• weather, etc.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

BIODIVERSITY HAS MANY IMPORTANCE, SOME OF THEM ARE AS FOLLOWS :-

• TREES PROVIDE ECONOMICALLY USEFUL PRODUCTS LIKE WOOD, TIMBER, GUMS, RESINS, LATEX, RUBBER.

• SOME MEDICINES LIKE QUININE, AN ANTI - MALARIAL DRUG IS OBTAINED FROM THE BARK CINCHONA TREE ; THE ROSY PERIWINKLE OF MADAGASCAR AND THE PACIFIC YEW TREE ARE THE SOURCES OF ANTI CANCER DRUGS.

• TREES HELP IN PROVIDING SHELTER TO INNUMERABLE SPECIES, THEY REGULAE THE OXYGEN – CARBON DIOXIDE CYCLE

• THEY HELP IN CONTROLLING FLOODS AND PREVENTS SOIL EROSION

• MANY SPECIES CO EXISTS AND ARE INTRICATELY INTERDEPENDENT, REMOVAL OF ONE SPECIES FROM THE ENVIRONMENT WOULD DRASTICALLY AFFECT THE OTHER.

• FOR INSTANCE FLOWERS POLLINATED BY INSECTS WOULD NOT INCREASE IN NUMBER IF THE INSECTS ARE EXTINCT, IF THESE PLANTS SPECIES DO NOT EXIST THEN THE POLLINATORS HAVE TO LOOK FOR OTHER SOURCE OF FOOD OR SIMPLY PERISH.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

India’s Biodiversity

India is one of the 12 centres of origin of cultivated plants.

Animals Species

▪ 2.4% of the world's area, India accounts  for 7.31% of the global faunal total with a faunal species count of 89,451 species.

Plant Species▪ India has 49,000 plant (12% of the world species) of which 70% are

critically endangered, and 20% are under the thereat of extinction.

THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY

Over-Exploitation• Illegal hunting or poaching of wild animals is one of the major

threat to biodiversity .

• Animals are hunted for their hide, bone, or tusk.

DEFORESTATION

• Removal of trees on a large scale is known as deforestation.

• Deforestation can happen in many ways like cutting it down to build industries, for products obtained from trees like wood. timber, etc..

CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION

Natural causes like :-• Forest Fires.

• Tsunamis

• Earthquakes

Man-made causes like :-

• Cutting of trees

• Soil pollution

AFTER EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION

• Less control against Floods

• Less rain

• Destruction of habitats of animals.

• Global Warming

• Soil erosion

• Imbalance in oxygen carbon-dioxide cycle

• Landslides, etc.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

Changes in the climatic condition affect the biodiversity.

• For instance :

• With increasing global warming polar ice caps are melting. As a result animals like polar bear which live in the polar ice caps are finding it hard to survive, because of the increasing temperature and their bodies are not designed to withstand temperature above the freezing points.

How can we conserve our rich biodiversity

Discourage deforestation and encourage afforestation.

Preventing global warming by effective measures like

a) Conserving paper

b) Discouraging the use of plastic

Preventing hunting of animals

Encouraging the government to build more National Parks

And Wildlife sanctuaries.

Avoid use of pesticides.

How can we conserve our rich biodiversity

India has :

5 world heritage sites

12 biosphere reserves

6 Ramsar wetlands

Amongst the protected areas, India has

88 national parks and

490 sanctuaries

covering an area of 1.53 lakh sq. km.

88 National Parks

490 sanctuaries

Levels of endangerment

Threatened species:• The animals which face serious problems and becomes

endangered if the problems are not attended to.

Endangered species :• The animals which may become extinct in the distant

future.

Vulnerable species:• The those animals which are likely to become extinct if their

survival and reproduction rates are not improved.

Endangered Species

• They are the animals which may face extinction in the near future.

• Eg are Pandas, West Bengal tiger, Polar bear, Asiatic lion, one-horned rhinoceros, etc..

Questions

DONE BY

• ROHIT

• SAMSON

• KISHAN

• ZINDA

• FASMIN

• JEFFRIN

• AMAN