Some Concepts in Biodiversity

Presentation by:Dr. Gazala Habib

Department of Civil EngineeringIIT Delhi

Biodiversity

Bio: Life

Diversity: Variety

Biodiversity: Variety of life forms

• From an ocean to a drop of ocean water has biodiversity of all sizes and forms.

• Biological diversity (abbreviated as biodiversity) represent the sumtotal of various life forms such as unicellular fungi, protozoa,bacteria, and multi cellular organisms such as plants, fishes, andmammals at various biological levels including gens, habitats, andecosystem .

INTRODUCTION

• The term Biodiversity was first coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1986.

• The biosphere comprises of a complex collections of innumerable organisms, known asthe Biodiversity, which constitute the vital life support for survival of human race.

• Definitions:

As defined in convention on Biological diversity singed at Rio De Jenerio (Brazil) in1992 by 154 countries, the Biodiversity defined as “the variability among livingorganisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquaticeco-systems and the ecological complexes of which the area part- this include diversitywith in species, between species and of ecosystem.”

According to IUCN in 1998, “the variety and variability of species of their population,the variety of species of their life forms, the diversity of the complex association withspecies with their interaction and their ecological process which influences perform.”

Three types of biodiversity

Diversity of Species

Diversity of Ecosystem

Diversity of Genes

1. Genetic diversity - Genetic variability or diversitywithin a species, i.e. between the individuals of aspecies

Example: 5,000 recorded varieties of mango

88,000 recorded varieties of Oryza sativa

Types of Biodiversity

2. Species diversity - Diversity between differentspecies

Example ; Felis tigris

Felis domestica

3. Ecosystem diversity: Diversity within a region

Grassland forest

DISTRIBUTION OF BIODIVERSITY

Flora and fauna diversity

depends on-

Climate

Altitude

Soils

Presence of other species

Most of the biodiversity

concentrated in Tropical region.

Values of Biodiversity1. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

• Protection of Water Resources & species.

• Soil formation and Protection

• Nutrient Storage and Cycling

• Degradation of waste, Pollution breakdown and Absorption• Biological productivity• Carbon sequestration and Regulation of global climate• Control of potential pest and disease causing species• Detoxification of soil and sediments, Stabilization of land against erosion• Maintenance of Soil fertility

2. ROLE OF BIODIVERSITY IN REGULATING CLIMATE

3. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES

• Food/drink

• Medicinal Resources

• Wood Products

• Fuel

4. SOCIAL BENEFITS

• Recreation

• Traditional values

• Research & Education

ENDANGERED SPECIES OF INDIA• VULNERABLE:

Species whose population has still not reduced but face the threat of extinction as thecausal factors like reduction in habitat can be easily observed.

E.g. Black Buck, Spotted deer, Golden langur, Asiatic wild ass.

• RARE:Species which have small populations in the world and are confined to limited areas orare thinly distributed over a more wide area.

E.g. Asiatic Pheasants, Satyr Tragopan, Temminick Tragopan.

• THREATENED:Species which are under the threat of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if thecausal factors like habitation loss continue operating. E.g. vultures.

• EXTINCT:A particular species is considered extinct when its last surviving member dies and hasnot been seen in wild for the last 50 years.

E.g. dodo, passenger pigeon.

Baseline data on Biodiversity• Red Data Book: The IUCN published a Red Data Book in

2000 where categorization of various species into extinct,endangered, vulnerable and rare was done. It is updatedfrequently.

• Green Book: The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) published aGreen Book which enlists rare plants growing in Protectedareas like botanical gardens.

• Blue Book: The United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) has compiled data on endangered species of theworld in the Blue Book.

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

• In situ conservation

• Ex situ conservation

Gene Bank

zoo

Bandhavgarh National Park

IN-SITU CONSERVATION

• The conservation of species done in their own ecosystem or habitat wherethey survive is called In-Situ conservation.

• This is done by declaring certain areas as Protected to save the whole area orcertain endangered species.

• This could be forests i.e. natural environment or man made i.e. nationalparks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves etc. as discussed below:

National Park (103): It is a land strictly and legally reserved for conservationof wildlife. It is funded and maintained by Central Government. KeoladeoGhana National Park (Bharatpur, Rahasthan), Kaziranga National Park(Assam), etc.

Wildlife Sanctuaries (536): It is an area of land strictly and legally reservedfor conservation of wildlife. It is funded and maintained by State Governmentwith aid from Central Government. Gir Wildlife Sanctuary (Gujarat),Bamboo Island (Andaman) etc.

Biosphere Reserves (18): It is an area where multiple use of land ispermitted. E.g. Gulf of Mannar, Great Nicobar, Nanda Devi, etc.

ZONES OF BIOSPHERE RESERVE

EX-SITU CONSERVATIONThe conservation of species outside their habitat in scientifically managed facilities istermed as Ex-Situ Conservation. The species are provided their natural habitatartificially. E.g. Zoos, botanical gardens, gene banks etc.

Plant Seed Bank: Seeds can be dried to low moisture content and stored at lowtemperature (cryo-preservation) without losing their viability in seed banks whichprovide a controlled environment. Approximately 90% of all "ex situ" accessions arestored as seeds.

Animal Seed Bank: The semen and eggs of stronger, better adaptable and moreproductive individuals of species are preserved and stored. These can be transportedfar and wide as well as in future.

Field gene banks: Such as arboreta, plantations and botanical gardens are useful forspecies that are difficult or impossible to store as seed, including vegetativelypropagated crops and tree species.

In-vitro methods: They conserve species that do not readily produce seeds. The cellsor tissues in a culture media or where the seeds cannot be dried without damagingthem.

Gene Banks: This process involves the selection of useful genes and cross breedingthem to produce better varieties of plants and animals.

Biodiversity Conservation

In situ

Sacred groves and

lakes

Biosphere Reserves

Terrestrial

Marine

National parks, wildlife

sanctuaries

Ex situ

Sacred plant home garden

Seed Bank, Gene bank,

Cryopreservation

Botanical garden, Zoological garden,

Aquaria

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

Natural causes:

Narrow geographical area

Low population

Low breeding rate

Natural disasters

Anthropogenic causes:

Habitat modification

Overexploitation & Hunting

of selected species

Innovation by exotic species

Pollution

Global warming and climate change

Facts related to Biodiversity

Total Land Area of Earth:

510,065,284 sq.km

Forest Cover: 38.7 m. sq.km

(26%)

40% of Global Forest Land is

in South America, Africa,

and South Asia.

Facts related to Biodiversity contd..

There are estimated 5 million to 100

million species on earth (most yet to be

discovered).

Only about 1.9 million species have

been catalogued so far.

There are 35 recognised “Hotspots”in the world.

44.4% of Global Plant species and

35.3% of Vertebrate species are

present in Hotspots.

Total land area of India - 143 million ha

India occupies 2.47% of the World’s geographical

area and has only 1% of the forest

Facts related to Biodiversity contd..

India has 16.1% of world human population and 15.1% of cattle population

Forest Cover in India –23.57 %

(As per laws it should be >33%)

•India hosts 12.53 % of world’s

biodiversity

•India has 3.9 % of grasslands,

2.0 % of hot deserts, 4.1 m.ha

of wetland ecosystems.

•India is the 7th largest country

in the world and one among the

17 mega diversity centers.

Facts related to Biodiversity contd..

Facts related to Biodiversity contd..

India:

45,000 + species of wild plants

89,000 + species of wild animals

At least 320 species of wild

relatives of crops have been

originated here.

Facts related to Biodiversity contd..

In India:

1,39,000 species of plants, animals and microbes are recorded

More than 4 lakh species are yet to be identified

There are three mega centers of endemism and 26 micro centers of endemism

PLANT SPECIES IN INDIA AND WORLD

Taxa Species

India World

Bacteria 850 4000

Viruses unknown 4000

Algae 6500 40,000

Fungi 14,500 72,000

Lichens 2000 17,000

Bryophyta 2850 16,000

Pteridophyta 1100 13000

Gymnosperms 64 750

Angiosperms 17,500 250,000

ANIMAL SPECIES IN INDIA AND WORLD

Taxa Species

India World

Insects 60,000 8,00000

Mollusca 5000 100000

Fishes 2,500 23,000

Amphibians 190 4,520

Reptiles 400 6,550

Birds 1,175 8,400

Mammals 872 4,231

Value of a TreeA tree that lives for 50 years generates:

• Rs. 5.3 lakhs worth of oxygen

• Facilitates Rs. 6.4 lakhs worth of soil erosion control

• Creates Rs. 10.5 lakhs worth of air pollution control

• Provides Rs. 5.3 lakhs worth of shelter for birds and animals

• Recycles Rs. 6.4 lakhs worth of fertility

• Besides provide flower, fruits and timber

• When a tree is fell it is something worth more than Rs. 33. 9 lakhs.

Important Terms

• Vascular Plants: A plant that is characterized bythe presence of conducting tissue (like xylem,Phloem, etc.)

• Endemic Species: A species unique to aparticular bio-geographic location and not foundelsewhere in the world. Ex. Habenariapanigrahiana, Lasiococca comberi, SapriaHimalayana, Ovaria Lurida are endemic to India.

Criteria

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:

1. It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants asendemics (i.e. 0.5% of the world’s total of3,00,000).

2. It must have ≤30% of its original naturalvegetation left.

Important Statistics• Worldwide 35 areas qualify as hotspots.

• They represent just 2.3% of Earth’s land surface.

• They support >50% of the world’s plant species and~ 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibianspecies as endemics.

• India has 2 hot spots of biodiversity:Western Ghats.Eastern Himalayas.

Important Statistics

• The Hot Spots host about 1, 50,000 plant species asendemics which is about 50 % of the world’s total.

• > 50% of the planet’s species are endemics to only 16 %of its land area.

• About 11,980 terrestrial vertebrates i.e. 42 % of allterrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to Hot Spots.

List of Hotspots of Biodiversity: World North and Central America: (California Floristic Province, Madrean pine-oak woodlands, Mesoamerica ) The Caribbean: (Caribbean Islands) South America:(Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests, Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena, Tropical

Andes ) Europe: (Mediterranean Basin ) Africa: (Cape Floristic Region, Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa, Eastern Afromontane, Guinean Forests of West

Africa; Horn of Africa; Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands; Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany; Succulent Karoo)

Central Asia: (Mountains of Central Asia) South Asia: (Eastern Himalaya, Nepal; Indo-Burma, India and Myanmar; Western Ghats, India; Sri Lanka ) South East Asia and Asia-Pacific: (East Melanesian Islands; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Philippines; Polynesia-Micronesia; Southwest

Australia; Sundaland; Wallacea;) East Asia:( Japan; Mountains of Southwest China ) West Asia:( Caucasus; Irano-Anatolian)

Hotspots of Biodiversity: World

Hotspots of Biodiversity: India

References• Jyoti Sinha and Avdesh Bhardwaj (2011). Environmental

Science. Galgotia Publications.• Myers, Norman, et al. "Biodiversity hotspots for

conservation priorities."Nature 403.6772 (2000): 853-858.• http://www.conservation.org/How/Pages/Hotspots.aspx• Roy Sovan, Environmental Science, Publishing Syndicate ,

2003, Kolkata.• Dara.S.S., Environmental chemistry and Pollution Control,

S.chand & company Ltd., New Delhi• Schulze Ernst- Detlef, Mooney Harold, Biodiversity and

Ecosystem Function, Springer- Verlag, London• www.eolss.net• www.ibc2010.com