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BIODIVERSITY
The word biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms (flora and fauna).Biodiversity or
Biological diversity is defined as the variability among all livingorganisms from all sources,
including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystemsand the ecological complexes of which
they are part. Wilson, 1988 defined Biologicaldiversity or biodiversity as that part of nature
which includes the differences in genesamong the individuals of a species, the variety and
richness of all the plant and animalspecies at different scales in space, i.e. local, regional, country
wise and globally, andvarious types of ecosystems- both terrestrial and aquatic-within a defined
area.
Types of Biodiversity:
Biological diversity deals with the degree of natures variety in the biosphere. Thisvariety can be
observed at three levels, i.e., genetic, species and ecosystem.
Genetic diversity: Genetic diversity refers to the variation at the level of individualgenes. The
tremendous amount of genetic diversity exists within individual species. Thisgenetic variability
is responsible for the different characters in species. Genetic diversityis the raw material from
which new species arise through evolution. Today, the geneticdiversity is made use to breed new
crop varieties, disease resistant crops.
Species diversity:The number of species of plants and animals that are present in aregion
constitutes its species diversity. This diversity is seen both in natural ecosystemsand in
agricultural ecosystems. Some areas are richer in species than others. For example,natural,
undisturbed tropical forests have much greater species richness than monocultureplantations
developed by the forest department for timber products. A natural forestecosystem provides a
large number of non-timber forest products that local people dependon, such as fruits, fuel,
wood, fodder, fiber, gum, resin and medicines. Timber plantationsdo not provide the large variety
of goods that are essential for local consumption. The modern intensive agro ecosystem has a
relatively lower density of crops than traditional agro pastoralfarming systems, where multiple
crops were planted.

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Areas that are rich in species diversity are called hotspots of diversity and thecountries with the
highest species richness or have a relatively large proportion of these hotspots of diversity are
referred to as megadiversity nations. India is among the worlds15 nations that are
exceptionally rich in species diversity. The earths biodiversity isdistributed in specific ecological
regions. There are over a thousand major eco-regions inthe world. Of these, 200 are said to be
the richest, rarest and most distinctive naturalareas. These areas are referred to as the Global 200.
It has been estimated that 50,000endemic plants which comprise 20% of global plant life,
probably occur in only 25 hotspots in the world. These hotspots harbor many rare and
endangered species. Twocriteria help in defining hotspots namely rich endemism and the degree
of threat. Toqualify as hotspots an area must contain at least 0.5 per cent or 1500 of the worlds
3,00,000 plant species as endemics.
Ecosystem diversity:
There are a large variety of different ecosystems on earth, each having their owncomplement of
distinctive interlinked species based on differences in the habitat.Ecosystem diversity can be
described for a specific geographical region or a politicalentity such as a country, a state or a
Taluk. Distinctive ecosystems include landscapes likeforests, grasslands, deserts, mountains,
etc.as well as aquatic ecosystems like rivers, lakesand seas. Each region also has man- modified
areas such as farmland or grazing pastures.It refers to the variation in the structure and functions
of the ecosystem. It describes thenumber of niches, trophic levels and various ecological
processes that sustain energyflow, flood webs and the recycling of nutrients. It has focused on
various biotic interactionsand the role and functions of keystone species (species, determining
the ability of a large number of other species to persist in the community).
Methods of measuring Biodiversity:
There are three perspectives measuring of diversity at the level of community.
These are (i) Alpha diversity, (ii) beta diversity and (iii) gamma diversity. Communitydiversity
refers to the variations in the biological communities in which species live.

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(i) Alpha diversity indicates diversity within the community. It refers to the diversity
oforganisms sharing the same community or habitat. A combination of species richness
andequitability / evenness is used to represent the diversity within a community or habitat.
(ii) Beta diversity indicates diversity between communities. Species frequently changewhen
habitat or community changes. There are differences in species composition ofcommunities
along environmental gradients, e.g, altitudinal gradient, moisture gradient,etc. the higher
heterogeneity in the habitats ina region or greater dissimilarity betweencommunities exhibit
higher beta diversity.
(iii) Gamma diversity refers to the diversity of the habitats over the total land scope
orgeographical area. The sum of alpha and beta diversities of the ecosystems is anexpression of
the biodiversity of landscape, which is considered as Gamma Diversity.Higher diversity at
community level provides stability and higher productivity. Intemperate grasslands, it has been
observed that diverse communities are functionallymore productive and stable, even under
environmental stresses such as prolonged dryconditions.
Biogeographic Classification of India
Our country can be divided into ten major regions based on the geography,climate and pattern of
vegetation seen and the communities of mammals, birds, reptiles,amphibians, insects and other
invertebrates that live in them. Each of these regionscontains a variety of ecosystems such as
forests, grasslands, lakes, rivers, mountains andhills which have specific plant and animal
species.
Indias Biogeographic Zones:
1. The cold mountains snow covered Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh
2. The Himalayan ranges and valleys of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttatkhand,
Assam and other North Eastern States.
3. The Terai, the low land where the Himalayan rivers flow into the plains
4. The Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains.

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5. The Thar Desert of Rajastan

6. The semi- arid grassland region of the Deccan plateau, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu
7. The North Eastern States of India
8. The Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala
9. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
10. The long western and eastern coastal belt with sandy beaches, forests andmangroves.

Hot- spots of Biodiversity

A biodiversity hotspot is a bio-geographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that
is threatened with destruction.
An area is designated as a hot spot when it contains at least 0.5% of plant species as endemic.
In hot spots covering less than 2% of the worlds land area are found to have about 50% of the
terrestrial biodiversity
Criteria for determining hotspots
No. of Endemic Species i.e. the species which are found nowhere else.
Degree of threat, which is measured in terms of Habitat loss.
There are 25 such hot spots of biodiversity on a global level, out of which two are present in
India.
The western Ghats
The Eastern Himalaya

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The western Ghats Faced with tremendous population pressure, the forests of the Western Ghats
have been dramatically impacted by the demands for timber and agricultural land. Remaining
forests of the Western Ghats are heavily fragmented; The region is home to a rich endemic
assemblage of plants, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as important populations of Asian
elephants, Indian tigers, and the Endangered lion-tailed macaque The area is one of the worlds
eight "Hottest biodiversity hotspots" and has over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal
species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species. At least 325 globally threatened species
occur in the Western Ghats.
Total area 17,000 km2
Out of indias49219 plant species, 1600 found western ghats
Loss of biodiversity 2.4% per year.

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The Eastern Himalaya- The Himalaya Hotspot is home to the worlds highest mountains,
including Mt. Everest. The mountains rise abruptly, resulting in a diversity of ecosystems that
range from alluvial grasslands and subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine meadows above the
tree line. Vascular plants have even been recorded at more than 6,000 meters. The hotspot is
home to important populations of numerous large birds and mammals, including vultures, tigers,
elephants, rhinos, and wild water buffalo is situated between Central Nepal in the west to
Myanmar in the east, occupying southeast Tibet in China, Sikkim, North Bengal, Bhutan and
North-East India. The area has been declared a biodiversity hotspot by Conservation
International.
India as a mega diversity nation
India - one of the 12 mega diverse countries
India contains about 8% of world biodiversity
India is home to 5 world heritage sites
6% of the global species are found in India.
INDIA ranks 10th among the Plant richness countries.
INDIA ranks 11th in terms of Endemic species of high vertebrates.
INDIA ranks 6th among the Centre of Biodiversity and origin of agricultural crops.
With only 2.4% of worlds land area, accounts for 8% of the species of the world
So far in India: Plant species: 45,500 and animal species: 91,000 of which;
Group

No. of species in No.

Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fishes
Flowering Plants

INDIA (SI)
350
1,224
408
197
2,546
15,000

of

species

WORLD (SW)
4,629
9,702
6,550
4,552
21,730
2,50,500

in SI/SW (%)
7.6
12.6
6.2
4.4
11.7
6.0

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A large number of species which are originated in India are called as Center of Origin.
Home to 33% life forms of the world
Nearly 5000 species of flowering plants, 160 species of crops and 320 species of wild relatives
of cultivatable crops having the Centre of Origin in India.
India having around 7500 KM long coastline.
It majorly contains Mangroves, Estuaries and Back waters where more than 340 species of corals
of the world are found.
The marine diversity is rich in crabs, corals, Mangroves, sea grasses etc.
A large portion of the Indian Biodiversity is still unexplored.
Due to very diverse climatic conditions there is a major diversity of species exists in our country.
Threats

to

Biodiversity:

Habitat

loss

is

mainly

due

to

human

population

growth,industrialization and changes in the land use patterns, poaching of wildlife and
manwildlife conflicts. Man began to overuse or misuse most of these natural ecosystems.Due to
unsustainable resource-use, once productive forests and grasslands have beenturned into deserts
and wastelands have increased all over the world. Scientists haveestimated that human activities
are likely to eliminate approximately 10 million speciesby the year 2050.
1) Human population growth, industrialization and changes in the land use patterns:
Around 1.8 million species of plants and animals are known to science. The actualnumber of
species has been existing is >10x1.8millions. Though new species have beencontinuously
identified, the rate of extinction is very high (10-20,000 species per year i.e.,1000 to 10,000
times faster rate). Human actions are expected to exterminate 25% ofthe worlds species in next
20-30 years. The mega extinction spasm is related to humanpopulation growth, industrialization
and changes in the land use patterns in India. Thereasons are:
i) Forests and grasslands are changed to agricultural land. Encroachments are beingrepeatedly
legalized.

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ii) Natural wetlands are drained to establish crop lands leading to loss of aquaticspecies.
iii) Mangroves have been cleared for fuel wood and prawn farming, which has led todecrease in
the habitat essential for breeding of marine fish.
iv) Grasslands are changed to other forms, degraded by overgrazing. Loss of cattle,goat and
sheep.
v) Natural forests are being deforested for timber and replanted for teak, sal etc.
Suchmonoculture does not support biodiversity as in forests which have closed canopyand rich
undergrowth. Excess collection of firewood by lopping off branches of thetrees canopy is opened
up altering the local biodiversity.
vi)Overgrazing of cattle retard regeneration of forest as young seedlings are trampled.
vii) Ever increasing population gradually decreases buffer zones and forested areas. Aprime
example is a Gir national park, the last bastion of the Asiatic lion with a metergauge railway line,
state expressway and 3 temples.
viii) Repeated fires by local grazers to increase growth of grass ultimately reducethe regeneration
of grasses.
ix) Introductions of exotic weeds eg. Lantana bushes, Eupatorium shrubs and congressgrass are
invading at the expense of indigenous undergrowth species. Followingtraditional farming
techniques like slash and burn in the Himalayas, and Rab, lopping oftree branches for making
wood ash fertilizer in Western ghats are now leading toloss of biodiversity.
x) Over harvesting of fish by large trawling boats is leading to depletion of fish stocks.Marine
turtles caught in the net are massacred of the coast of Orissa. The rare whaleshark, a highly
endangered species, is being killed off the coast of Gujarat.
2) Poaching: Specific threats to certain animals relate to large economic benefits.The skin and
bones from tigers, ivory from elephants, horns from rhinos and perfumefrom the musk deer are
extensively used abroad. Bears are killed for their gall bladders.Corals and shells are also
collected for export or sold on the beaches of Chennai,Kanyakumari and the Andaman and
Nicobar islands. Tortoises, exotic birds and othersmall animals are packed into tiny containers

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and smuggled abroad for the pet trade. Avariety of wild plants with real or sometimes, dubious
medicinal values are being overharvested.The commonly collected plants include Rauwolfia,
Nux vomica, Datura, etc.
The garden plants collected for illegal trade include orchids, ferns and mosses.
3) Man wild life conflicts: Conflicting situations with wildlife starts causing immensedamage
and danger to man. Ex: In Sambalpur, Orissa 195 humans are killed in the last 5years by
elephants and in retaliation villagers killed 98 elephants and badly injured morethan 30
elephants. Similar incidents with tigers, leopards etc. are in the news.Shrinkingforest cover,
human encroachment, ill and weak animals, lack of food (one adult elephantneeds 200 kg green
fodder and 150 kg of clean water) for animals, protecting villagers byputting electric fence are
the main reasons for such happenings. As the compensation by government is not enough,
conflicts occur between the forest department and villagers.
Endangered & endemic species in India
Several species of plants and animals have been endangered due to humanactivities. The Species
whose existence are in danger from human activities are endangered species. These endangered
species have been categorized into four viz, 1) Vulnerable 2) Rare 3) Intermediate 4) Threatened.
Endangered species which are onthe verge of extinction are called threatened species. Most of
the endangered species arefound today only in protected areas (PAs). Some examplesof the
species being Tiger, rhino,elephant; bird species include Siberian crane, great Indian bustard,
Florican, vultures;reptiles and amphibians. Habitat loss caused by human activity is causing a
threat toplant species like orchids. Over harvesting as ingredients in medical products
orcosmetics is also threatening species. To protect endangered species in India has created
awildlife protection act. Under this plants and animals are characterized according tothreat to
their survival.The species which are unique to a locality/region are called endemic species.Some
species are found only in India and are thus endemic (restricted to our country).Some have very
localized distribution and are considered highly endemic. Some speciesof this category being
Indian wild Ass, angular Kashmiri Stag, golden Langur, Pigmyhog.
Conservation of biodiversity: is of two types i.e., In situ and Ex situ

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In situ conservation: Conserving a species in its own environment by creating nationalparks and
wildlife sanctuaries. Biodiversity at all levels can be best preserved in situ by setting aside
wildness asprotected areas (in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries) with distinctive
ecosystemincluded in the network. Such network preserves the total diversity of life of the
region.
Biologists

view

point

is

to

deal

with

areas

which

are

1)

Species

rich

2)

Rare/threatened/endangered species / endemic species which would easily become extinct due to
human activity. For eg. Elephants utilize opengrasslands after the rains (when it is nutritious) but
move into the forest to feed on foliage indry season. Hence a PA for elephant must be large to
include a diverse habitat thatsupports a complete complement of interlinked species.India has
589 PAs of which 89 are national parks and 500 are wildlife sanctuaries.Over 100 PAs are
created in Andaman and Nicobar to preserve the special islandecosystem. The great Himalayan
national park is the largest sanctuaries in the ecosystemand is the home of snow leopard.
Dachigam sanctuary for Hangul or Kashmiri stag;Kaziranga national park for animals like
elephant, guar, wild boar and swamp deer, andbirds like ducks, geese, pelicans and storks; Manas
sanctuary for GoldenLangur, pigmyhog and wild boar are some of the examples worth
mentioning under in situ conservation.
Advantages:
Best strategy for long term protection of biodiversity.
It is cheaper to protect species population in their natural habitat.
Disadvantages:
Many protected habitats are used for tourism or other profitable activities, which is diluting the
objective of biodiversity conservation.

Ex situ conservation: Conserving the species outside the natural habitat in a carefullycontrolled
situation, such as botanical garden for plants or zoological parks for animals,expertise exists to
multiply the species under artificially managed condition. Germplasm ispreserved in a gene bank

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for future need, this is taken up for expensive endangered/extinct species. Care is taken to avoid
inbreeding, such that the weak offspring would notdevelop. Breeding programs in zoos provide
animal needs, including enclosures thatsimulate their wild habitat. Modern zoos function is to
breed endangered species as conservation. Successful examples are1. The Madras crocodile trust
bank has successfully bred the 3 crocodiles. Herecrocodiles lay two clutches of eggs in one year
year instead of one in wild.2. Guchali zoo has bred pigmy hog3. Delhi zoo has bred the rare
Manipur brow antlered deer.The successful breeding program also aims at the reintroduction of
the species intowild habitat, with simultaneous removal of problems like poaching disturbances
andman-made influences.
Advantages:
The organisms are assured of food, shelter and security and hence can have longer life spam and
breeding activities.
Under human care and secured condition, the chances of survival increases.
Provithe possibility of using genetic techniques to improve the concerned speciesdes.
Disadvantages:
Limitation of space, finance and facilities for selected species.
The organisms were adapted to the ever changing natural environment and hence gene-pool gets
stagnant.
Conservation of cultivars and livestock breeds:
Fifty years ago nearly 30,000 rice var. were grown in India now only a few ofthese are
cultivated. The new varieties being developed use the germplasm of theseoriginal types. But if
all these traditional types vanish, it would be difficult to developnew disease resistant varieties
for the future. Use of varieties from gene banks has beenexpensive and risky. Farmers need to be
encouraged to grow traditional varieties. This isa concern for the future of mankind. Gene banks
have at present 34,000 creeds and 2200pulses). Traditional breeds/ varieties have to be
encouraged for genetic variability. Incontrast, men interested in cash returns in short time
wouldnt appreciate the benefits ofgrowing indigenous varieties.

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Conservation of cultivars and livestock breeds:

Fifty years ago nearly 30,000 rice varieties were grown in India now only a few of these are
cultivated. The new varieties being developed use the germplasm of these original types. But if
all these traditional types vanish, it would be difficult to develop new disease resistant varieties
for the future. Use of varieties from gene banks have been expensive and risky. Farmers need to
be encouraged to grow traditional varieties. This is a concern for the future of mankind. Gene
banks have at present 34,000 creeds and 2200 pulses). Traditional breeds/ varieties have to be
encouraged for genetic variability. In contrast, men interested in cash returns in short time
wouldnt appreciate the benefits of growing indigenous varieties.