Biodiversity, Its Importance And Its Threat

Question 1

What is biodiversity?

Answer 1

The variety of plants and animals living in a particular region or habitat and their interaction with one another is called biodiversity.

Question 2

What is an ecosystem? What is the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem?

Answer 2

An ecosystem includes the living organisms of a region and their interaction with the non- living components of the environment such as weather, water, soil, sunlight and atmosphere. Rainforests have the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem.

Question 3

How is biodiversity useful to us?

Answer 3

1. Trees provide economically useful products such as wood, timber, medicine,latex, gums, resins, etc.
2. Trees also
   a. Provide shelter to innumerable species of animals
   b. Regulate the oxygen-carbon cycle
   c. Regulate the mount of moisture in the atmosphere
   d. Control floods and prevent soil erosion
3. As living organisms coexist in nature, the removal of 1 species would drastically affect the existence of another. Flowers depend on pollinators like insects to increase in number who in turn depend on flowers for food or nectar.

Question 4

What are some threats to biodiversity? Name the major one.

Answer 4

1. Deforestation (major)
2. Over exploitation
3. Climatic changes

Question 5

What is deforestation?

Answer 5

It is the cutting of trees and destruction of forests for agricultural land ,building of houses and industrial units, mining and extraction of wood, procuring fuel and timber.

Question 6

What is the reason for loss or forest cover?

Answer 6

Overgrazing
It not only removes grasses but also small tree saplings

Question 7

Explain the effects of deforestation.

Answer 7

1. Natural Calamities such as forest fire, floods, tsunamis, etc.
2. Soil erosion (in these steps)
   a) due to lack of forest cover, the top layer of the soil is exposed to sunlight
   b) The moisture in the soil gets dried up, the nutrients evaporate and the bacteria responsible for breakdown of organic matter gets affected
   c) The rain water washes away the soil and causes erosion
   d) the humus gets removed, and the hard rock layer gets exposed, making the soil infertile
   e) this leads to desertification and the land becomes unsuitable for growing any kind of vegetation
3. It affects the water cycle as it affects the atmosphere, water bodies and water table causing them to dry out
4. Loss of biodiversity, causing many species to become extinct or endangered due to loss of habitat

Question 8

What are threatened species? Give an example.

Answer 8

Threatened species are ones facing problems and may endangerment if these problems are not addressed. Sparrows have been introduced in the list of threatened animals by the IUCN.

Question 9

Full form of IUCN

Answer 9

International union for conservation of nature

Question 10

What are vulnerable species? Give examples

Answer 10

They are likely to be endangered if their reproduction rates are not improved. Examples include Asiatic lion, Lion tailed macaque, pink headed duck, one horned rhinoceros, Ganges river dolphin, snow leopard, red panda, etc.

Question 11

Give examples of extinct animals.

Answer 11

Quagga ( a type of zebra)
Dodo
Tasmanian wolf