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Introduction to Biomes
What is a Biome?
plant structures
leaf types
plant spacing
climate
Ecozones, on the other hand, are defined by similarities of the following kinds:
genetic
taxonomic
historical
minerals available
amount of rainfall
availability of sunshine
Biodiversity:
a shift outward from the equator, and up from sea level, sees a decrease in
biodiversity
eg: the multitude of species present in the Amazon Rain Forests, 10 to 20 times more
than Temperate Forests, and thus the title Lungs of the Earth
Species Area Relationship within a region: species increase with the area, up to a certain
limit
Types of Biomes: 11 total types
1. Tropical Rainforests
o
also called Tropical Wet Forests, Tropical Moist Broad-leaf Forests, Lowland
Equatorial Evergreen Rainforests
Situated between between Cancer and Capricorn; 0-28 degree N and S. Eg.
South America (Amazonian forests)
this means that the terms weather and climate are interchangeable
receives 2% of sunlight, few species and holds all the decaying matter
understory layer
canopy layer: the primary layer of the forest, casts shade on the two
layers below it, 30-55 m in height
high biodiversity:
epiphytes plants that grow on other plants for support, not parasitic
despite the high diversity, the species themselves have few individuals
soil
2. Tropical Deciduous
3. Temperate Deciduous
4. Temperate Coniferous
Grasslands
5. Tropical: savannas
6. Temperate: steppes
7. Desert this is a climatic term
o
adaptations in vegetation
taproots
leaves
reproductive cycle: lie dormant until there is sufficient water, when they go
through an entire life cycle in a matter of days
types of deserts
hot: mostly subtropical. eg. Sahara, Kalahari, Thar, Great Sandy deserts
lie between 20-30 latitude North and South in the West of continents in
the trade wind belt
get barely any rainfall, resulting in low humidity levels and extremely
high levels of evaporation
cold: beyond the subtropics towards the poles. eg. Gobi, Karakum,
Patagonian deserts
8. Mediterranean
9. Tundra
10.
11.
Introduction to Biodiversity
It may also be used to refer to the totality of genes, species and ecosystems of a
region.
Levels of Biodiversity
Earth is not only unique for the presence of life but also the biodiversity. These may be
categorized as:
1. Genetic Diversity
o
Genetic diversity encompasses all the genes, its various alleles (different types
of genes) and its variations in a single species over its distributional range (total
genetic pool). For this reason, it is not advisable to marry relatives since the
genetic pool among the relatives is small thus the chances of inbreeding
depression increases.
2. Species Diversity
o
3. Ecological diversity
o
The Bio-Sphere/Eco-Sphere
It is the spot where in the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere interact and give
rise to life.
Definition of Terms
These are a group of countries that have the majority of the earths species.
They are mainly found in the tropical and subtropical regions. They include:
(i) The Americas: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, USA
(ii) South East Asia: Papua New Guinea, Philippines, India, China
(iii) Others include: Australia, Madagascar, DRC, and South Africa.
Number of Species
The total number of eukaryotic species is 8.74m, of which only 20% have been
discovered and on record.
Animals account for over 70% of this number, with insects numbering over 50%.
The topic Coral reefs and Eco-tourism is essential for IAS preparation as it forms a
part of the syllabus of both Geography and Environment & Ecology for both Prelims
and Mains Examination. Polychromatic fishes, temperate climate and clear waters
constitute the quaint scenery of coral reefs. It would be surprising to know that the
coral reef is an element of a larger ecosystem. The coral community represents one of
the worlds varigated systems consisting of a collection of biological communities.
This is why coral reefs are known as the rainforests of the ocean.
Corals are nothing but tiny animals which are a part of the group called cnidaria.
Hydras, jellyfish, and sea anemones form the other cnidarians. Corals are sessile in
nature which means that they do not move and remain static. Corals feed on small
fishes and plank-tonic animals and also serve as physical barriers against the erosion
of coasts and provide protection from natural disasters like tsunami and storm
waves. Coral reefs also act as an economic support and habitations for essential
species of fishes which play a role in commercial and recreation purposes and an
entertainment venue for activities of tourism and diving. This emphasises the role of
coral reefs in eco-tourism.
In the video titled EnE 2.4: Coral Reefs and Eco-tourism, Dr. Roman Saini explains
about coral reefs and their distribution through out the world, types of coral reefs,
various threats faced by coral reefs, eco-tourism and its principles and criticism
against eco-tourism.
World Tourism Organization has stated eco-tourism as the fastest growing market in
the industry of tourism as it has a worldwide annual growth rate of 5% and
represents 6% of the world GDP and all consumer spending is 11.4%. Some of the
marine national parks which promote eco-tourism in India are Mahatma Gandhi
Marine National Park, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch Marine
National Park and Rani Jhansi Marine National Park.
Introduction to Biodiversity
The term biodiversity, the short form of biological diversity is used to explain all the
natural processes and variegated forms of life found on Earth. The various elements of
biodiversity have an impact on each other. Scientists state that there about 13 million
species in the world but certain estimated values range from 3 million to 100 million.
Genetic differences within every species (for e.g. between breeds of livestock and crop
varieties) is evident in biodiversity. Another important feature of biodiversity is the existence
of a number of ecosystems in rivers, lakes, agrarian landscapes, forests, mountains,
wetlands etc. It is our responsibility to protect the pillars of biodiversity which contribute to
a great extent in sustaining life. Landowners, fishermen, private firms and farmers play a
major role when it comes to determining the general health of the biodiversity in a region as
they consume the most out of it. Therefore, it is essential to focus on the sustainable
management of biodiversity from the part of Governments of nation-states, InterGovernmental Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations.
As far as India is concerned, it is the home to 10% of the worlds species. The relationship
between the species in India and culture is strong owing to how many species were
worshipped among communities who had close ties with Mother Nature since ancient
times. It is only in the recent times that the biodiversity scenario in India has been facing
numerous threats due to increased resource extraction, climate change, desertification,
influence of development projects, invasive alien species, pollution etc. The National
Biodiversity Authority (NBA) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government
of India which was established in 2003 is the statutory autonomous body which regulates
the implementation of the provisions under the National Biological Diversity Act, 2002. At a
time when many of the species on Earth are facing extinction, on June 5, 2015 which was
also the World Environment Day, a catalogue of new species was released by both the
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) which revealed the
discovery of 349 new species of flora and fauna. The new findings constituted 176 species
of animals and 173 species of plants. Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas accounted for
the regions from where majority of the discoveries were made which are few of Indias
major biodiversity hotspots.
In the video titled EnE Biodiversity 2.1 : An Introduction below, Dr. Roman Saini
elaborates on various concepts of biodiversity which includes the Types of biodiversity,
Biosphere, Eco-sphere, Bio-prospecting, Bio-piracy, Biodiversity Hotspot, Mega Bio-diverse
Countries, Number of Species, Species distribution and Vertebrates distribution.
The High Yield Series constitutes the Environment and Ecology (EnE) portion of the CSE
syllabus which has been carrying a heavy weightage of marks in the recent years. The
major topics of the EnE portion are as follows: Ecology, Ecosystem structure and function,
Ecological succession, Population interaction, Biodiversity, IUCN Red Data Book, Biomes,
Interaction, Energy Flow, Nutrient Cycle, Ecological Pyramids, Ecosystem services etc. It is
highly imperative to familiarise oneself with the terminologies of the Environment and
Ecology portion in order to gain better clarity of the concepts discussed.
In the video titled UPSC IAS: High Yield Series: Environment and Ecology Part 1.1, Dr.
Roman Saini deals with various aspects of the Environment and Ecology portion of Civil
Services Examination Preparation. Dr. Roman provides an introduction to Environment and
Ecology (EnE) and discusses about the major topics in EnE, terminologies, graphical
representation of major biomes (where x-axis is mean annual precipitation and y-axis is
mean annual temperature), list of abiotic factors, different responses of various organisms
to these abiotic factors, definition of adaptation, its various examples and finally explains in
detail the population pyramids.
Loss of Biodiversity
It is essential to understand what the term Biodiversity means before one can analyse the
causes behind the loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity can be defined as the number of species
in an environment and the number of individuals in each species. The functions of the
biosphere depends upon a number of existing ecosystems. Every organism in the
environment plays a significant role in ensuring the balance of nature. Biodiversity could be
called as the web of life and families, nations, communities and forthcoming generations
depend upon it for their survival.
It has been estimated that human beings are currently utilising 25% more natural
resources than the Earth can actually sustain. Therefore, many of the species and
communities are under threat. As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) and he World Conservation Union, US$33 trillion is the estimated monetary value of
the goods and services made available by ecosystems. Apart from contributing heavily in
terms of money, Biodiversity has direct impact on saving lives. About 50,000 70,000 plant
species are utilised for both modern and traditional medicine across the world. Another
important area where the loss of biodiversity can have massive consequences is the food
security of nation states. Fishes, molluscs and crustaceans which constitute a large part of
the aquatic life amounting to 100 million metric tonnes are consumed annually. In
countries where high levels of poverty and food insecurity prevail, the food sources
constitute a major portion of meat obtained from wild animals. Do watch the video below to
learn more about the impact caused by the loss of biodiversity on various life forms.
In the video titled EnE Biodiversity Loss of Biodiversity 2.3 Unacademy UPSC IAS
Preparation Roman Saini, various important topics related to loss of biodiversity has been
dealt with in detail. Dr. Roman discusses themes such as the loss of biodiversity, major
biogeographic zones in India, extinction: definition, mass extinction and its stages like
Cretaceous and Holocene, list of prominent extinct species, Causes of biodiversity losses,
Introduction of exotic species, Conservation biology, Stable communities and Ecosystem
services.
Ecosystem Biotic (living vi plants, animals) plus abiotic (non-living viz soil).
Ecads: Plant species with same genetic stock (genetically) but different physically.
Changes are reversible.
Ecotype: Plant species who can interfertile but are somewhat different genetically.
Changes are irreversible.
As we know, temperature & precipitation plays a major role in any biome. So,
different biomes are as under:
Desert
Biomes (D in
the image): High temperature & low precipitation.
Abiotic Factors:
o
Water
Light
Soil
Conformers: Line joining dots show conformers as they conform to external level.
Examples are:
Cam Pathway (photosynthesis during night time), leaves into spine: desert adaptation
Kangaroo rat: doesnt drink water for days, get water from fat oxidation + urine
concentration.
Population Pyramid
In all 3 diagrams, at the bottom is children, middle is reproductive group & top is
elderly.
1st diagram (upright pyramid): children are more, so it depicts expanding population.
2nd diagram: more or less stable, all 3 age groups in equal numbers-so depict stable
population.
3rd diagram: both children & elders are less- depicts declining population.
This video below deals with introduction to Environment and Ecology (EnE), includes all the
major topics in EnE, terminologies, graphical representation of major biomes (where x-axis is
mean annual precipitation and y-axis is mean annual temperature), list of abiotic factors,
diffrent response of various organisms to these abiotic factors, definition of adaptation, its
various examples and finally it culminates with explaining in detail the population pyramids.
Primary Succession: It starts from an area where life never existed (barren
area) i.e. uninfluenced by pre-existing communities. The species are called
Pioneer species as they first enter in a particular area.
Serule: As informed in the previous article, it is Ecological Succession of microorganism like fungi & bacteria.
Equilibrium stage
Population interaction no species can live in isolation, each species interacts with
other for its survival.
Sr. No.
Description
Species 1
Species 2
Mutualism
Competition
Amensalism
Predation
Parastitism
Commensalism +
Ammensalism: Some plants releasing chemicals which is toxic for other plants so the
others are negatively affected.
Predation
o
If Predator is too efficient then prey will vanish & eventually it will also vanish.
So, predator needs to be prudent.
In order to save life, preys have developed various modification, some of them
are listed below:
Competition:
Exception: even unrelated species viz flamingos & fish compete for
zooplankton. Further, feeding efficiency of species may interfere
even if sufficient resources are available.
Parasitism
Parasite gets free residence/home, food & transport. They are available in
huge variety from plants to higher vertebrates.
No sensory organs
They have complex life cycle. Eg: Human liver fluke lives in human liver,
trematode has 2 intermediate hosts i.e. fish & snail.
Commensalism
Sea anemone has stingy tentacles, so clown fish hide among them.
Mediterranean Orchid Ophyrus Petal resembles female of species and when that male
species pseudo copulate with 2 or more petals, pollination occur.
Ecosystem (term coined by Tansley): Smallest structural & functional unit of nature,
consisting of both biotic (i.e. living) and abiotic (i.e. non-living) having close
interaction.
It may be small (as small as drop of water may consists of bacteria, viruses,
etc.) or as large as entire earth.
Biotic component: include all living components viz bacteria, fungi, microbes to
large plants, animals.
On the basis of temperature, there is zoning of water bodies which is also known as
thermal stratification in lakes
o
Different forms of precipitation drizzle (v. Light rain), rain, snow, sleet (type of
snow), hail (big balls of snow).
Euryhaline: Organisms who can tolerate wide range of salinity. Average salinity
of sea is 35 ppm.
Oxbow lake: Part of a water body which has been cut from a river.
Generally, soil composition = 45% minerals + 25% water + 25% air & other
gases + 5% organic matter + innumerable organisms. But this composition
varies widely depending upon type of soil.
Pedogenesis is the process of soil formation. It is a very slow process & takes
100-1000 yrs.
Loamy soil (40% sand + 40% silt + 20% clay) is the best soil for growth of
plants. It has high water holding capacity, high aeration & root penetration.
Residual Soil weathering i.e. breaking of parent rock & pedogenesis i.e.
soil formation occur at same place.
Laterite soil
Red soil
Black soil
Alluvial soil
Desert soil
Continuing with the last article, types of soil as per ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture
Research) are as under:
1. Red Soil:
a. It is light textured with porous and friable structure;
b. Absence of lime, kankar & free carbonates;
c. Neutral to acidic in nature
d. Deficient in nitrogen, humus & phosphoric acid.
e. Found in Periyar & Salem districts of Tamil Nadu, MP, Andhra Pradesh, East
Rajasthan, etc.
2. Laterite & Lateritic Soil:
a. Red to reddish yellow in color
b. Deficient in N,P,K, Lime & magnesia
c. This is made in situ under conditions of heavy rainfall with alternate wet &
drying periods
d. It is porous so results in leaching i.e. essential material move down.
e. Found in almost entire India Eastern Ghats, entire South India, Satpura,
VIndhyan Plateau, Maikal & Mahadeo range in MP.
3. Black Soil/Indian Regur Soil/Black Cotton Soil:
a. It is originated from vulcanism.
Soil Erosion:
o
Causes
Stream bank erosion- Rivers during flood splash their water against the
banks & cut through them.
Limnetic zone: Neither too deep nor too shallow, well-lit, open surface
water away from shore, main photosynthetic body producing oxygen &
food for lakes consumers.
Gamma radiation
X-ray radiation
Infrared radiation
Tetrahertz radiation
Microwaves radiation
Radio waves
UV radiation is of 3 types:
Visible spectrum (400-700 nm) VIBGYOR (Violet is 400 & red is 700 nm)
Photosynthetic Active Radiation.
Albus meaning white, so white body reflect all incident radiation so albedo
value will be 1 (100%) & 0 albedo value for no reflection of a black body.
Productivity
Decomposition
Energy Flow
Nutrient Cycling
Solar input, temperature cycle, day length & other climatic conditions regulate
rate of function of entire pond.
Autotrophs are phytoplanktons (planktons mean passive drifters), algaefloating/submerged & marginal plants.
Decomposition & mineralisation of the dead matter to release them back for
reuse.
There is unidirectional movement of energy towards higher trophic levels (i.e. 1>2->3) & its dissipation & loss as heat to the environment & respiration.
Productivity
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Standing crop: total dried biomass of all the organisms at a particular trophic
level (autotrophs) present in a given area. So, biomass of plants in a given area.
Primary Production total amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit
area. Units weight/area (g/m2) or energy (kcal/m2).
Note: rate of production is called productivity. Units weight/area time (gm-2 year-1) or
in terms of energy (kcalm-2 year-1).
Primary Productivity: amount of biomass or organic matter (in terms of dry weight)
produced per unit area over period of time by plants during photosynthesis.
year-1).
Plant species
Environmental factors
Availability of nutrients
The annual net primary productivity of the whole biosphere is approx 170 billion
tonnes of organic matter or 104.9 Giga or Billion tonnes Carbon per year (Gt C yr-1).
Of this, 56.4 Gt C yr-1 (53.8%) was the product of terrestrial organism while the
remaining 48.5 Gt C yr-1 was accounted for oceanic production even though they
occupy 70% of earths surface.
Nitrogen is the limiting factor for oceans & phosphorus is for lakes.
Moving on to Decomposition
Decomposers break down complex organic matter (Detritus- leaves, bark, flowers,
dead remains of animals, faecal matter) into inorganic substances like CO2, water &
nutrients & this process is called decomposition (thru 5 steps fragmentation,
leaching, catabolism, humification & mineralisation).
o
Leaching Water soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon &
get precipitated as unavailable salts.
Catabolism- Bacterial & fungal enzymes degrade detritus into simpler inorganic
substances.
On the contrary, if detritus is rich in lignin & chitin & environment is cold &
anaerobic then decomposition is very slow.