ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE – 17FE03

UNIT - III

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 ECOSYSTEM
Definition
An ecosystem is, therefore, defined as a natural functional ecological unit comprising of living
organisms (biotic community) and their non-living (abiotic or physio chemical) environment that
interact to form a stable self-supporting system. A pond, lake, desert, grassland, meadow, forest etc.
are common examples of ecosystems.

Ecology: The word ecology was coined by the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, who applied the
term oekologie to the “relation of the animal both to its organic as well as its inorganic environment.”
The word comes from the Greek oikos, meaning “household,” “home,” or “place to live.” Thus,
ecology deals with the organism and its environment. The concept of environment includes both other
organisms and physical surroundings. It involves relationships between individuals within a
population and between individuals of different populations. These interactions between individuals,
between populations, and between organisms and their environment form ecological systems,
or ecosystems. Ecology has been defined variously as “the study of the interrelationships of
organisms with their environment and each other,” as “the economy of nature,” and

Structure of an Ecosystem:
Each ecosystem has two main components:
(1) Abiotic
(2) Biotic

(1) Abiotic Components:

The non living factors or the physical environment prevailing in an ecosystem form the abiotic
components. They have a strong influence on the structure, distribution, behaviour and inter-
relationship of organisms.
Abiotic components are mainly of two types:
(a) Climatic Factors:
Which include rain, temperature, light, wind, humidity etc.
(b) Edaphic Factors:
Which include soil, pH, topography minerals etc.?

(2) Biotic Components:

The living organisms including plants, animals and micro-organisms (Bacteria and Fungi) that are
present in an ecosystem form the biotic components.
On the basis of their role in the ecosystem the biotic components can be classified into three
main groups:
(A) Producers
(B) Consumers
(C) Decomposers or Reducers.
(A) Producers:
The green plants have chlorophyll with the help of which they trap solar energy and change it into
chemical energy of carbohydrates using simple inorganic compounds namely water and carbon
dioxide. This process is known as photosynthesis. As the green plants manufacture their own food
they are known as Autotrophs (i.e. auto = self, trophos = feeder)
The chemical energy stored by the producers is utilised partly by the producers for their own growth
and survival and the remaining is stored in the plant parts for their future use.
(B) Consumers:
The animals lack chlorophyll and are unable to synthesise their own food. Therefore, they depend on
the producers for their food. They are known as heterotrophs (i.e. heteros = other, trophos = feeder)
The consumers are of four types, namely:
(a) Primary Consumers or First Order Consumers or Herbivores:
These are the animals which feed on plants or the producers. They are called herbivores. Examples
are rabbit, deer, goat, cattle etc.

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(b) Secondary Consumers or Second Order Consumers or Primary Carnivores:
The animals which feed on the herbivores are called the primary carnivores. Examples are cats, foxes,
snakes etc.
(c) Tertiary Consumers or Third Order Consumers:
These are the large carnivores which feed on the secondary consumers. Example are Wolves.
(d) Quaternary Consumers or Fourth Order Consumers or Omnivores:
These are the largest carnivores which feed on the tertiary consumers and are not eaten up by any
other animal. Examples are lions and tigers.
(C) Decomposers or Reducers:
Bacteria and fungi belong to this category. They breakdown the dead organic materials of producers
(plants) and consumers (animals) for their food and release to the environment the simple inorganic
and organic substances produced as by-products of their metabolisms.
These simple substances are reused by the producers resulting in a cyclic exchange of materials
between the biotic community and the abiotic environment of the ecosystem. The decomposers are
known as Saprotrophs (i.e., sapros = rotten, trophos = feeder).

Functions of the Ecosystem:

1. Nutrient Cycling: All the nutrients for the ecosystem is obtained from the soil. Producers
absorb the nutrients from the soil and passed over to the higher trophic levels. Whenever
death or excretion occurs at any level, through decomposers the nutrients come back to the
soil.
2. Energy Flow: All the energy for the ecosystem is obtained from the sun. Producers absorb
the sun from the sun and it is passed over to the higher trophic levels. At each step of energy
transfer 80 to 90% of energy is lost as heat and only 10 to 20% is passed over to higher
trophic levels.
3. Interrelation: All the ecosystems are interrelated. Energy and matter is exchanged between
them
4. Cybernetics: Every ecosystem maintains a functional balance within itself. This is called as
homeostasis. In order to achieve this ecosystem maintains certain limitations called
cybernetics.

FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEB

The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem is known as the food chain. It is the
path of transfer of food energy from the producers through a series of organisms i.e
herbivores to carnivores to decomposers. There are three basic types of food chain as
discussed below:

1. Grazing food chain / Predator food chain

2. Detritus food chain/ Saprophytic food chain

3. Parasitic food chain

1. Grazing food chain: The primary producers are the living green plants which are grazed
on by grazing animals. It is found in aquatic and grassland ecosystem.

E.g. of aquatic ecosystem

Phytoplankton →Zooplankton→ Fish→ Hawk

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E.g. of grassland ecosystem

Grass→Rabbit→Fox→Wolf→Tiger

Grass→ Grasshopper→ Frog→Snake→Hawk

2. Detritus food chain: This type of food chain starts from dead organic matter and so it is
less dependent on solar energy. The dead organic matter is broken down into simple nutrients
by microorganisms like fungi and bacteria. This type of food chain is found in forest
ecosystem.

Dead organic matter→ Detritivores→Predators

3. Parasitic food chain: In this type of food chain either the producer or the consumer is
parasitized and therefore the food passes to the smaller organism. The energy transfer through
this kind of food chain is not significant.

Producer→ Herbivores→ Parasite→ Hyperparasites

Trees→ Fruit eating birds→ Lice and bugs→ Bacteria and fungi

Significance of Food Chains and Food webs

1. They help in maintaining the ecological balance.

2. They help in understanding the feeding relations among organisms.

3. Energy flow and nutrient cycling take place through them.

4. It explains the concept of biomagnification.

FOOD WEB

Interlinking of various food chains forms a pattern called food web or food net.

Ecological succession is defined as the development of different communities over a period

of time at the same site.

There are two types of ecological succession:

1. Primary Succession
2. Secondary Succession

All types of successions e.g. hydrosere, xerosere, halosere etc. are characterized by a similar
series of stages:

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 1. Nudation- the formation of a bare area.
2. Migration and colonization
3. Ecesis – establishment and final maturation of colonizing species
4. Aggregation
5. Reaction between colonizing species and habitats
6. Competition amongst the inter-and intra-specific competition and
7. Climax- the final formation of species.

There are two main types of Ecological Succession

 Primary Succession: The process of initial invasion and progression , creating life in
an area where no life previously existed.
 Secondary Succession: The process of re-establishment of an ecosystem that was
originally present.

A climax community is a mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological
succession. In an ecosystem with a climax community, the conditions continue to be suitable
for all the members of the community.

Ecological Pyramid

It is a graphic representation of the relationship between organisms at various trophic levels in

a food chain. The basis of an ecological pyramid is the biomass, energy, and number. Just as the
name suggests ecological pyramids are in the shape of a pyramid. The concept was first
introduced by Charles Elton, the pioneer British Ecologist.

The bottom of an ecological pyramid is the broadest and is occupied the producers, which form
the first trophic level. Producers are at the lowest level. Just as in a food chain, the producers are
consumed by the primary consumers, in an ecological pyramid; the next level is occupied by the
primary consumers. The next level of the pyramid is occupied by the secondary consumers and
the last, by the tertiary consumers.

Types of Ecological Pyramids

Depending on the factors that we use to represent an ecological pyramid, there are three types.
They are:

 Pyramid of numbers– Here the factor that is taken into account is the number of organisms
in each trophic level. As we go up the levels of the pyramid, the number of organisms
decreases. The producers form the largest number and hence are at the bottom of the
pyramid.
 Pyramid of energy– This is an upright pyramid that represents the flow of energy from the
producers to the final consumers.
 Pyramid of biomass – This pyramid represents the amount of biomass of the organisms
present at each trophic level. Biomass is nothing but the weight of the organisms.
In general, all ecological pyramids are upright, except in certain cases. For example, in a detritus
food chain, the pyramid of numbers is not upright because many organisms feed on one dead

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plant or animal. The pyramid of biomass in an ocean is also inverted. But a point of note is that
the pyramid of energy is always upright as the flow of energy is unidirectional.

Biogeochemical Cycle

A biogeochemical cycle or an inorganic-organic cycle is a circulating or repeatable pathway by

which either a chemical element or a molecule moves through both biotic (biosphere) and
abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere) components of an ecosystem.

Let us try to understand this definition. Firstly let us understand that the Earth only receives
energy from the Sun, all other elements on Earth remain within a closed system. These
chemicals, however, are the building blocks of life, they are the raw materials all living
organisms use as nutrients to produce energy. These chemicals are called biogeochemicals.
Some of the main elements that are in a cyclic pattern are Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen,
Phosphorous, Sulphur and Water. Let us now take a look at few of these cycles.

Carbon cycle: The carbon cycle is the process in which carbon travels from the atmosphere into
organisms and the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. Plants take carbon dioxide from the air
and use it to make food. Animals then eat the food and carbon is stored in their bodies or released as
CO2 through respiration.

Oxygen Cycle

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After carbon, oxygen is one of the most abundant elements on earth. About 21% of our air is
composed of oxygen. It is also an atom in the molecule of water (H2O). Oxide compounds, such
as CO2 also contain oxygen.

As we are aware oxygen is absolutely essential for all living organisms to survive. It is the main
component in respiration. It is also the element that allows and assists combustion of any kind.
Through photosynthesis, the replenishment of oxygen in the atmosphere is done, where oxygen
is one of the by-products. In fact, photosynthesis and respiration are interdependent mechanisms
that perform a unique and amazing balancing.

Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is available in abundance in our atmosphere (78%), however, this nitrogen is useless to
animals and plants until it is converted to ammonia and other nitrogen compounds. This
conversion process is called Nitrogen Fixation. And through a process is called denitrification,
once these plants and animals are dead, this ammonia is broken down by bacteria and fungi and
returned to the atmosphere as Nitrogen.

Phosphorous Cycle

phosphorous moves in a cycle in our atmosphere via rocks, sediment, soil, water and living
organisms. Over a long period of time weathering of rocks leads to phosphate ions and minerals
being released into the soil and water. This is absorbed by living organisms who need
phosphorous to build nucleic acids such as DNA. Then when these living organisms die,
phosphates are released back into the soil.

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There are still various other biogeochemical cycles such as water, rock, sulphur etc. The
importance of these cycles is that they essentially support all life on the planet because without
these cycles living organism would not get all the elements they need to survive.

SULPHUR CYCLE:

Sulfur is a component of a couple of vitamins and essential metabolites and it occurs in two
amino acids, cysteine and methionine. In spite of its paucity in cells, it is an absolutely
essential element for living systems. Like nitrogen and carbon, the microbes can transform
sulfur from its most oxidized form (sulfate or SO 4) to its most reduced state (sulfide or H 2S).
The sulfur cycle, in particular, involves some unique groups of prokaryotes and prokaryotic
processes. Two unrelated groups of prokaryotes oxidize H 2S to S and S to SO4. The first is
the anoxygenic photosynthetic purple and green sulfur bacteria that oxidize H 2S as a source
of electrons for cyclic photophosphorylation. The second is the "colorless sulfur bacteria"
(now a misnomer because the group contains many Archaea) which oxidize H 2S and S as

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sources of energy. In either case, the organisms can usually mediate the complete oxidation
of H2S to SO4.

H2S----------------> S ----------------> SO4 litho or phototrophic sulfur oxidation

Sulfur-oxidizing prokaryotes are frequently thermophiles found in hot (volcanic) springs and
near deep sea thermal vents that are rich in H 2S. They may be acidophiles, as well, since they
acidify their own environment by the production of sulfuric acid.

Since SO4 and S may be used as electron acceptors for respiration, sulfate reducing bacteria
produce H2S during a process of anaerobic respiration analogous to denitrification. The use of
SO4 as an electron acceptor is an obligatory process that takes place only in anaerobic
environments. The process results in the distinctive odor of H 2S in anaerobic bogs, soils and
sediments where it occurs.

Sulfur is assimilated by bacteria and plants as SO 4 for use and reduction to sulfide. Animals
and bacteria can remove the sulfide group from proteins as a source of S during
decomposition. These processes complete the sulfur cycle.

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 Biodiversity and its conservation
The term Biodiversity was first coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1986.
The biosphere comprises of a complex collections of innumerable organisms, known as the
Biodiversity, which constitute the vital life support for survival of human race.

Definition: “Biological diversity refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and
ecological complexes”.

Various Levels of Measuring Biodiversity:

 Diversity of Genes:
It refers to the variation of genes within species from all others

 Diversity of Species:
It refers to the variety of species within a region. Which is measured using
Species richness :It refers to the number of species per unit area. The number of species increases
with the area of the site.

Species evenness: It indicates the evenness in the number of individuals of a species.

 Diversity of Community & Ecosystem: It refers to the variations in the biological communities
in which species live. Which is measured at three levels
Alpha diversity
Beta diversity
Gamma diversity

(a) Alpha Diversity: indicates diversity within the community.

(b) Beta Diversity: indicates diversity between the communities

(c)Gamma diversity: refers to the diversity of the habitats over the total geographical area.

Biodiversity or biological diversity simply means the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological
complexes in which they occur. Such variety refers to the variety at the species, genetic and ecosystem level.

Values of Biodiversity
Direct values

These are those ways by which we can directly use biodiversity for our benefit. For example
we can use plants as food of for deriving medicines in the laboratory. Economic value and
recreational value comes under this category.

Direct values are further classified into:

 Consumptive use Value: Consumptive use value is the value put on the products of
nature which are consumed directly without passing through a market. For example, if
we use firewood by cutting down a tree or consume an animal after hunting it.

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  Productive use value: Productive use value is the value put on the products of nature
which are consumed after passing through a market. For example, if we buy fish from
the market then it will have productive use value.

Indirect values or Non-Consumptive value

These are those ways by which we don't physically use a plant or animal, but by virtue of its
existence it provides services that keep the ecosystem healthy. Indirect values would include
ethical or moral value, existence value, ecological value, aesthetic value, cultural or spiritual
value, option value and scientific or educational value.

Social values

Social value of biodiversity lies in the more and more use of resources by affluent societies.
Local use or sale of products if biodiversity is not included in it. Yet, 'ecosystem people'
value biodiversity as a part of their livelihood as well as through cultural and religious
sentiments. Now a day's Government is spending a lot of money on lush green vegetation and
Coral Reef Island for the purpose of tourism. Apart from traditional agricultural systems, in
recent years, farmers have begun to receive economic incentives to grow each crop for
national or international markets rather than to supply local needs. This has resulted in local
food shortages, unemployment, landlessness and increased tendency to drought and floods.

Ethical and Moral value

Every species has its moral right to exist on earth. Every human culture, religion and society
has its own ethical values. There are several cultural, moral and ethical values, which are
associated with the conservation of biodiversity. We have in our country a large number of
sacred grooves or deolis preserved by tribal people in several States. These sacred groves
around ancient sacred sites and temples act as gene banks for wild plants.

Aesthetic value

Nature contributes immensely to the beauty of the world. Can you imagine a world without
trees, grass, flowers, birds or animals? Thus, biodiversity has immense aesthetic value for us.

Cultural and Spiritual value

Many cultures of human beings are closely related to many species of plants and animals. For
example, Hindus Identify owls as the transport of Goddess Lakshmi. Many religions identify
themselves with such plants and animals which renders to them a cultural or spiritual value.

Option value

There are many plants and animals which have not yet been discovered or even if they have
been discovered we do not know if they can be of any use to us. This untapped potential is
referred to as option value. For example, there might be a plant or animal which we can use
in the future to find a cure for corner. If we destroy biodiversity then we lose this chance of

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finding a cure for cancer. Thus biodiversity has great potential of being useful to us in the
future.

Species Extinction:

DEFINTION: The complete disappearance of the species, that is, not a single member
of the extinct species is found on Earth.

Types of Extinction:
Biological Extinction is of two types
1. Background Extinction : Gradual disappearance of the species from the habitat is
called background extinction

Background extinction is the natural phenomenon of the every species but its rate is
increasing due to human activities like
1. Hunting
2. Poaching
3. Destruction of habitat
4. Habitat fragmentation
5. Introduction of exotic species etc

2. Mass Extinction: Sudden disappearance of the species from the habitat is called mass
extinction
Mass extinctions are rare. The predictions for mass extinction of species are
1. Global warming
2. Global cooling
3. Competition
4. Predation
5. Asteroids or comets might be hitting the Earth creating dust clouds and blocking the
sun light for long time. Etc.

Biological Extinction may be followed

1. Local Extinction: If the species are not found in their local habitat but are found
elsewhere in the world, then they are said to be locally extinct.
2. Ecological Extinction: If the number of members in the species are very less that
they are unable to perform their normal ecological role then they are said to be
ecologically extinct.

For a species to survive and flourish, enough numbers must be present in the habitat t make
reproduction possible.
 Threatened or Vulnerable Species: A threatened species is one that is still found in
reasonable size in its natural habitat but whose numbers are declining.
 Endangered Species: A species is declared endangered when the number of
survivors is so small that it could soon become extinct. Unless protected it will move
into critically endangered list.
 Endemic Species: The species restricted to small geographical areas and not found
anywhere else in the world are called as endemic species

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 HOT SPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY

The term ‘hot spot’ was introduced by N. Myers in 1988 for those geographical regions particularly
rich in ‘endemic’, ‘rare’ and ‘threatened’ species found in relatively small areas but facing significant
threats to habitat loss. To qualify a hot spot the area must contain 0.5 % (i.e. 1500) of the world’s
300,000 plant species and should have lost 70 % or more of its primary vegetation.
To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:
 It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high
percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, isirreplaceable.
 It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must bethreatened.
Around the world, 35 areas qualify as hotspots. They represent just 2.3% of Earth’s land
surface,but they support more than half of the world’s plant species as endemics — i.e., species found
no place else — and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species as endemics.
Of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hot spots, India harbour four of them, which are as follows:

1. Eastern Himalaya
2. Indo-Burma
3. Western Ghats and Sri Lanka; and
4. Sundaland (Andman & Nicobar)
The two hotspots of biodiversity in India are Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats.

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

1. Climate change
Changes in climate throughout our planet's history have, of course, altered life on Earth in the
long run — ecosystems have come and gone and species routinely go extinct. But rapid,
manmade climate change speeds up the process, without affording ecosystems and species
the time to adapt. For example, rising ocean temperatures and diminishing Arctic sea ice
affects marine biodiversity and can shift vegetation zones, having global implications.
Overall, climate is a major factor in the distribution of species across the globe; climate
change forces them to adjust. But many are not able to cope, causing them to die out.
2. Deforestation and habitat loss
Deforestation is a direct cause of extinction and loss of biodiversity. An estimated 18 million
acres of forest are lost each year, due in part to logging and other human practices, destroying
the ecosystems on which many species depend. Tropical rainforests in particular, such as
the Amazon, hold a high percentage of the world's known species, yet the regions themselves
are in decline due to humans.

3. Overexploitation
Overhunting, overfishing and over-harvesting contribute greatly to the loss of biodiversity,
killing off numerous species over the past several hundred years. Poaching and other forms of
hunting for profit increase the risk of extinction; the extinction of an apex predator — or, a
predator at the top of a food chain — can result in catastrophic consequences for ecosystems.
4. Invasive species
The introduction of non-native species into an ecosystem can threaten endemic wildlife
(either as predators or competing for resources), affect human health and upset economies.
5. Pollution
From the burning of fossil fuels (releasing dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere and, in
some cases, depleting ozone levels) to dumping 19 billion pounds of plastic into the ocean
every year, pollution completely disrupts the Earth's ecosystems. While it may not
necessarily cause extinction, pollutants do have the potential to influents species' habits.
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For example, acid rain, which is typically caused by the burning of fossil fuels, can acidify
smaller bodies of water and soil, negatively affecting the species that live there by changing
breeding and feeding habits.

MAN AND WILD LIFE CONFLICTS

Reasons:
 Destruction of wildlife habitat
 Man encroaching their habitat
 Wild animal getting injured
 Females protecting their new borne
 Wild animal tasting the human flesh.
 Shortage of staple food
 Disruption of migratory roots
 Government not paying compensation to the farmers whose crop was damaged by
wild animals; they develop hatred towards wild animals.
Measures:
 Adequate food and fodder in the habitat.
 Near forest boundaries farmers should not cultivate the crops that attract wild animals.
 Solar powered fencing to be used for the fields
 Declaring the migratory roots of the wild animals as wild life corridors and not
disturbing them.
 Forest guards should be equipped with vehicles, binoculars, radio-sets, tranquillizer
guns to deal the emergency situation
 Farmers should be paid compensation for the damage.

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Conservation of Biodiversity:

Biodiversity Conservation

In situ Nation Ex situ

Sacred Biosph al
groves ere parks, Sacred plant home
and Reserv wildlife garden
lakes es sanctu
Terre aries
strial
Seed Bank, Gene
bank,
Cryopreservation
Marin
e
Botanical garden,
Zoological garden,
Aquaria

Biodiversity is being depleted by the loss of habitat, fragmentation of habitat, over exploitation of
resources, human sponsored ecosystems, climatic changes, pollution invasive exotic spices, diseases,
shifting cultivation, poaching of wild life etc.
Since the human beings are enjoying all the benefits from biodiversity, they should take proper care
for the preservation of biodiversity in all its form and good health for the future generation i.e., the
human being should prevent the degradation and destruction of the habitats thereby maintaining the
biodiversity at its optimum level.
Conservation of biodiversity is protection, upliftment and scientific management of biodiversity so as
to maintain it at its threshold level and derive sustainable benefits for the present and future
generation. In other words, conservation of bio-diversity is the proper management of the biosphere
by human beings in such a way that it gives maximum benefits for the present generation and also
develops its potential so as to meet the needs of the future generations.

Mainly the conservation of biodiversity has three basic objectives:

(a) To maintain essential ecological processes and life supporting systems.
(b) To preserve the diversity of species.
(c) To make sustainable utilisation of species and ecosystems.

There are two types of conservation methods namely in-situ and ex-situ conservations. Let us discuss
the different conservation methods along with their importance.

(a) In situ conservation:

The conservation of species in their natural habitat or natural ecosystem is known as in situ
conservation. In the process, the natural surrounding or ecosystem is protected and
maintained so that all the constituent species (known or unknown) are conserved and

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benefited. The factors which are detrimental to the existence of species concerned are
eliminated by suitable mechanism.

The different advantages of in situ conservation are as follows:

(a) If is a cheap and convenient way of conserving biological diversity.
(b) It offers a way to preserve a large number of organisms simultaneously, known or
unknown to us.
(c) The existence in natural ecosystem provides opportunity to the living organisms to adjust
to differed’ environmental conditions and to evolve in to a better life form.
The only disadvantage of in situ conservation is that it requires large space of earth which is
often difficult because of growing demand for space. The protection and management of
biodiversity through in situ conservation involve certain specific areas known as protected
areas which include national parks, Sanctuaries and Biosphere reserves.

1. Protected areas:
The protected areas are biogeographical areas where biological diversity along with natural
and cultural resources are protected, maintained and managed through legal and
administrative measures. The demarcation of biodiversity in each area is determined on the
basis of climatic and physiological conditions.
In these areas, hunting, firewood collection, timber harvesting etc. are prohibited so that the
wild plants and animals can grow and multiply freely without any hindrance. Some protected
areas are: Cold desert (Ladakh and Spiti), Hot desert (Thar), Saline Swampy area (Sunderban
and Rann of Kutch), Tropical moist deciduous forest (Western Ghats and north East) etc.
Protected areas include national parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves. There are 37,000
protected areas throughout the world. As per World Conservation Monitoring Centre, India
has 581 protected areas, national parks and sanctuaries.

2. National parks:
These are the small reserves meant for the protection of wild life and their natural habitats.
These are maintained by government. The area of national parks ranges between 0.04 to 3162
km. The boundaries are well demarcated and circumscribed. The activities like grazing
forestry, cultivation and habitat manipulation are not permitted in these areas. There are about
89 national parks in India.

3. Sanctuaries:
These are the areas where only wild animals (fauna) are present. The activities like harvesting
of timbers, collection of forest products, cultivation of lands etc. are permitted as long as
these do not interfere with the project. That is, controlled biotic interference is permitted in
sanctuaries, which allows visiting of tourists for recreation. The area under a sanctuary
remains in between 0.61 to 7818 km.

4. Biosphere reserves:
Biosphere reserves or natural reserves are multipurpose protected areas with boundaries
circumscribed by legislation. The main aim of biosphere reserve is to preserve genetic
diversity in representative ecosystems by protecting wild animals, traditional life style of
inhabitant and domesticated plant/ animal genetic resources. These are scientifically managed
allowing only the tourists to visit.

Some importance of biosphere reserves are as follows:

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(a) These help in the restoration of degraded ecosystem.
(b) The main role of these reserves is to preserve genetic resources, species, ecosystems, and
habitats without disturbing the habitants.
(c) These maintain cultural, social and ecologically sustainable economic developments.
(d) These support education and research in various ecological aspects,

Ex-situ-conservation:
Ex-situ conservation involves maintenance and breeding of endangered plants and animals
under partially or wholly controlled conditions in specific areas like zoo, gardens, nurseries
etc. That is, the conservation of selected plants and animals in selected areas outside their
natural habitat is known as ex-situ conservation.
The stresses on living organisms due to competition for food, water, space etc. can be
avoided by ex-situ conservation there by providing conditions necessary for a secure life and
breeding.

Some important areas under these conservation are:

(i) Seed gene bank,
(ii) Field gene bank;
(iii) Botanical gardens;
(iv) Zoos.

The strategies for ex-situ conservations are:

(i) Identification of species to be conserved.
(ii) Adoption of Different ex-situ methods of conservation.
(i) Long-term captive breeding and propagation for the species which have lost their habitats
permanently.
(ii) Short-term propagation and release of the animals in their natural habitat
(iii) Animal translocation
(iv) Animal reintroduction
(v) Advanced technology in the service of endangered species.

The different advantages of ex-situ conservation are:

(a) It gives longer life time and breeding activity to animals.
(b) Genetic techniques can be utilised in the process.
(c) Captivity breed species can again be reintroduced in the wild.

Some disadvantages of this method are:

(a) The favourable conditions may not be maintained always.
(b) Mew life forms cannot evolve.
(c) This technique involves only few species.

The following strategies should also be undertaken in order to conserve biodiversity:

(1) All the possible varieties (old or new) of food, forage and timber plants, live stock, agriculture
animals and microbes should be conserved.
(2) All the economically important organisms in protected areas should be identified and conserved.
(3) Critical habitats for each species should be identified and safeguarded.
(4) Priority should be given to preserve unique ecosystems.
(5) There should be sustainable utilisation of resources.
(6) International trade in wild life should be highly regulated.
(7) The poaching and hunting of wildlife should be prevented as far as practicable.
(8) Care should be taken for the development of reserves and protected areas.

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(9) Efforts should be made to reduce the level of pollutants in the environment.
(10) Public awareness should be created regarding biodiversity and its importance for the living
organisms.
(11) Priority should be given in wildlife conservation programme to endangered species over
vulnerable species and to vulnerable species over rare species.
(12) The habitats of migratory birds should be protected by bilateral and multilateral agreement.
(13) The over exploitation of useful products of wild life should be prevented.
(14) The useful animals, plants and their wild relatives should be protected both in their natural
habitat (in-situ) and in zoological botanical gardens (ex-situ)
(15) Efforts should be made for setting up of National parks and wild life sanctuaries to safeguard the
genetic diversity and their continuing evolution.
(16) Environmental laws should be strictly followed.

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