Q.

Define various levels of biodiversity in terms of genetic species and ecosystem

diversity in relation to a field work in a national park surrounded nearby you?
Biodiversity can be simply defined as the total diversity and variability of living things plant,
animals, and microbes of the places where they live in.

Biological diversity or diversity means the variability among living organisms from all the
sources, including inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystem and the ecological
complexes of which they are part, this include diversity within species, between species and the
ecosystem.

Today, urban expansion in India is causing complex changes to the local and regional
biodiversity, ecosystem services, and forest cover. As cities grow, vital habitat is either
completely destroyed or reduced to fragments too small to support complex ecological
communities. In cities, several species have become endangered or even locally extinct as areas
that were previously wilderness areas have been swallowed up by the urban jungle. In addition,
biotic homogenization is another factor that has had a major contribution to the loss of
biodiversity in urban areas. Biotic homogenization refers to the replacement of native (and often
endemic) species with non-native, invasive and cosmopolitan species. This results in a decrease
in the regional biodiversity, and also causes drastic alterations to the composition of urban
biological communities. This happens either accidentally, or is done deliberately, so as to create
additional sources of food or for aesthetic reasons. Non-native plants which are often planted in
urban and suburban gardens, subsequently 'escape' into the wild. Thus, urban growth is often
responsible for the introduction of non-native species. The trend towards global biotic
homogenization of urban areas poses a serious threat to native species, which may not be so
well-adapted to the urban environment.

Once the lifeline of many civilizations and cities that emerged along its banks, the river Yamuna
suffers from inadequate water flow and heavy pollution. The length of the river in the National
Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) of Delhi is 48 km with a total river bed of around 97 sq km.
Apart from being a major source of water for Delhi; it is also one of the major sources of
groundwater recharge and irrigation for the states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Recently,
however, rapid urbanization, overexploitation of natural resources and extremely high levels of
pollution have taken a severe toll on the biodiversity of the rivers flora and fauna.

In order to rescue and restore the lost native biodiversity in urban areas, the creation of
biodiversity parks is an innovative and novel approach. Biodiversity parks, which are
assemblages of species in the form of biotic communities that belong to a particular ecological
range, help promote urban biodiversity conservation as they serve as nature reserves within
urban areas. They create a healthy ecosystem and also provide conservational, educational and
recreational benefits to the cities.

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YAMUNA BIODIVERSITY PARK

Plants play a vital role in mitigating the ill effects of environmental degradation vis-a-vis
enhancing the land productivity. To restore an ecological balance and to enhance the productivity
of lands, it has become essential to bring large areas under tree cover. Some of the potential areas
for the purpose are the salt-affected lands, which are treated as wastelands. Afforestation has
been recommended as one way to reclaim saline-sodic lands. Plants tend to improve the
degraded site by changing the chemical properties, physical structure, microclimate, infiltration
capacity and moisture regime of the soil. With time, process such as litter fall, nitrogen fixation,
root extension, crown expansion and nutrient cycling contribute to nutrient and organic matter
build-up in the top soil leading to physical, chemical and biological improvement in the critical
rooting zone. Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) which lies on river basin, or often Khadar, area
of Yamuna flood plain in the semi-arid region of Delhi has many types of different plant
communities. When the park first developed in 2002, the soil was found to be highly saline. The
land was covered by a crust of salt deposition on its surface. This saline-sodic characteristic of
the soil that revealed to have pH of up to 9.8 makes it extremely difficult for the wild plant
species to survive in the park. Many types of plants, most initially grasses and legumes, have
been introduced to the park to reduce the soil pH and salinity and to enrich its nutrient content,
so other sensitive plants can also share the habitats. Legume plants such as Leucaena
leucocephala, Sesbania aegyptica and Sesbania sesban are some of the examples. Some
indigenous plant species like Syzygium cumini and Punica granatum as well as native species
like Tectona grandis are also introduced. Presently, after almost eight years operation, the plant
communities in YBP have increased remarkably due to suitable condition of soil profile and
nutrients required for plant growth.

Emerging as the capital's most visited public place and prominent center for learning and
understanding the environment, the Yamuna Biodiverstity Park has become a home for
biologically rich wetlands, grassland communities, a wide variety of fruit yielding species and an
abundance of medicinal herbs. The Park also comprises a native flora and fauna which used to
exist a 100 years ago and then became extinct locally. It further, acts as a natural conservation
site for specific group of endangered plants. The Yamuna Biodiversity Park is presently spread
over an area of approximately 457 acres near Wazirabad village on the flat alluvial plains of the
Yamuna and can be approached:

(i) From East Delhi through Bhajanpura,

(ii) From South and Central Delhi through ISBT, and

(iii) From North Delhi through Burari. The Biodiversity Park is 15 kms north-east of Connaught
Place, and 4 kms north of ISBT.

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LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY

Fours levels of biodiversity are recognized:-

1.Genetic Diversity- Diversity variation at nucleotide gene, chromosomes, individual and

population levels.

2.Species Diversity- Diversity at all levels of taxonomic hierarachy-individuals,populations,sub-

species,species,genera,family,phyla and kingdom.

3.Ecological Diversity-Diversity at the level of population, niche, habitats, ecosystem,

landscape, bioregions and biomes. It also covers the complex set of structural and functional
relationships within and between these different levels of organization.

4.Cultural Diversity-Human interactions with biological diversity at all levels.

All levels of biodiversity are intimately interlinked and action at one level will impact on other
levels of hierarchy.

The Yamuna Biodiversity Park was developed in two phases in two different areas on the
inactive floodplains of the river in Phase I and on the active floodplains in Phase II.

Phase I is spread out over an area of 157 acres near the village of Wazirabad. Once this area was
acquired in the year 2002, the soil profile, physicochemical parameters and nutrient levels were
estimated, and it was found that the soil was highly alkaline and nutrient impoverished. Around a
100 species of grass were planted as an early measure to ameliorate the quality of the soil.
Initially, the area was highly alkaline with a pH of 9.8. Many species of grasses such as

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Leptochloa fusca, Vetiveria zizanoides, Bothriochloa species, Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus
setigerus etc. along with many native legume species such as Rhynchosia species, Indigophera
tinctoria, Indigophera linifolia, Sesbania sesban were utilized not just to increase the nutrient
levels but also to initiate microbial activities in the soil. Afterwards, plantation of seedlings of
different forest species representing upper, middle and lower canopies was done each year during
the monsoons in 30-35 biotic communities. In addition, landscaping was also done in a few
areas by creating mounds of different shapes, heights and sizes. It was anticipated that during
rainfall the salt would leach down from the mounds and act as a specialized niche for several
plant and animal species. Each mound represents a forest ecosystem found along the river
Yamuna, from Vikas Nagar in Uttarakhand to the city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, where it
joins the river Ganga. To meet the ideal requirements for the creation of mounds, soil was
excavated from areas which had the potential to develop as wetlands. For that, soil was used
from areas with a presence of several indicator species such as Typha, Phragmites and Cyperus.
Several marshy areas were restored and wetlands were de-silted.

The park is divided into two zones the visitor zone and the nature reserve zone. The major
components of the visitor zone are the conservatory of medicinal plants', butterfly garden',
rangelands', sacred grove', acacia woodland', migratory ducks wetland', resident ducks
wetland and conservatory of fruit-yielding species.

The conservatory of medicinal plants consists of over 300 plant species known to have
therapeutic values. Some of the most important herbs planted here are ashwangandha (Withania
somnifera), artimisia, sarpagandha (Rauwolfia serpentine), nirgundi (Vitex negundo) and isabgol
(Plantago major). A climber grove was also created here for climbers of medicinal importance
such as dama bel (Tylophora indica), gurmar (Gymnema sylvestre), antmool (Celastrus
paniculata). A small lily pond in the medicinal garden houses aquatic plants such as brahmi
(Bacopa monerii) and bach (Acorus calamus).

The conservatory of butterflies is a well-designed, open air, circular area whose outer periphery
consists of host plants, while the inner portion has nectar-producing flowers. Small ponds have
also been created to add moisture to the area. These ponds are also utilized for mud puddling of
butterflies, an activity that enhances the strength of their eggs. Here, one can see all the stages in
a butterflys life cycle egg, larvae, pupa and finally adult.

The sacred grove houses plant species which have some religious significance. The conservatory
of fruit plants, as the name suggests, has plant species that are specially grown in the Yamuna
river basin for their fruits. Khirni (Manilkara hexandra), is an important fruit plant which was
once found in Delhi but has now altogether disappeared from the wild. The other fruit plants are
pomegranate, amla, cheeku, mulberry, kaith etc. The species in this conservatory yield a variety
of fruits, which not only serve as a food source for the rich biodiversity of the park but also act as

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a conservatory of landraces (primitive cultivars). Birds such as green pigeons, peafowls, bulbuls
and parakeets have carved their niches in this conservatory.

In the nature reserve zone, around 30 forest communities have been developed which offer
multiple micro-niches and habitats for a diversity of animal species to live and breed in. The
wetlands also harbour aquatic vegetation, fish, dragonflies and microorganisms that were once
found in the river Yamuna but have now disappeared. When they were created, the wetlands
were first inoculated with aquatic vegetation, fingerlings and sediments from well-known
wetlands of nearby areas. Presently, these wetlands also receive flocks of migratory birds
(around 5000) from Siberia and other Palearctic regions every year. Some notable species are the
Red-crested Pochard, Northern Shovellor, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall etc. In addition, many
resident birds have made the parks wetlands their home. The Spot-billed Duck, Indian Moorhen,
Lesser Whistling Teal, Purple Moorhen and grey and purple herons are a few such species. The
darter, also called snake bird, is a near-threatened species which nests in the wetlands of YBP
each year. The Tamarix-Phragmite forest all along the shallow wetlands has become one of the
most important habitats for the nesting and breeding of the Black-crowned Night Heron, which
was once found all along the Yamuna but latterly had disappeared due to habitat destruction.

Phase II of the Yamuna Biodiversity Park is spread out over an area of 300 acres on the active
floodplain of the river and consists of a mosaic of wetlands together with grasslands and
floodplain forests. The wetlands, which are in an area of around 100 acres, are presently under
development and have already started attracting a diversity of resident and migratory birds such
as Grey Herons, Painted Storks, Spoonbills, Open-billed Storks, Red-crested Pochards, Wagtails
and Sandpipers. Once completed, this mosaic of wetlands will impound floodwaters to the extent
of around 500 million gallon, recharge aquifers during dry months, minimize the impact of flood
water on the Wazirabad barrage and reduce siltation of the reservoir.

Thus, the Yamuna Biodiversity Park harbours a wide range of ecosystems indigenous to the
Yamuna river basin and supports more than 1,500 plant and animal species. The diversity of
birds has shown a remarkable increase with specie numbers having risen from 37 to 196 since
2002, while reptiles have increased from 3 to 18. The nature reserve zone with different forest
communities interspersed with sprawling grasslands and wetlands forms a fully functional
ecosystem. Some forest communities already have developed canopies and have attracted
animals like porcupines, civets, jungle cats and nilgai. As a result, mammal diversity has
increased from 4 to 18.

Biodiversity parks with their rich flora and fauna, managed and developed using scientific
expertise are ideal instruments for promoting conservation education that will ultimately have a
positive impact on environment quality and conservation ethics. These parks offer a wide range
of opportunities for people to learn and adapt the ways and means by which they may live in
harmony with nature. The Yamuna Biodiversity Park is also an open-air laboratory for a range of
students and researchers. Groups are led through the park on a predetermined nature trail and it

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has already become a location where education on environment, sustainable development and
conservation is being imparted at a primary, secondary and tertiary level. Around 10,000
students/trainees/nature lovers from schools, colleges, institutions and NGOs visit it every year.

The chart below provides a glimpse into the biodiversity profile of the Yamuna Biodiversity Park
over time.

Species Group Year

2002 2007 2014

Terrestrial Plants 90 656 874

Aquatic Plants 0 76 99

Avifauna 37 168 196

Invertebrates 39 122 380

Herpetofauna 3 16 18

Mammals 4 17 18

Fishes 0 12 18

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latterly had disappeared due to habitat destruction.