1. ENVIRONMENT,ECOSYSTEM AND BIODIVERSITY

2. Environment Definition:
Environment is derived from the French word Environ which means to encircle or surround.Environment is sum total of all living and non living things around us influencing one another.
Environmental Science:
Environmental Science is the study of the environment ,its biotic and abiotic components and their inter relationship.
Environmental Engineering:
Environmental Engineering is the application of engineering principles to the protection and enhancement of the quality of the environment and to the enhancement and protection of public health and welfare.
Environmental Studies and Environmental Education:
Environmental studies are the process of educating the people for preserving quality environment.

3. Scope:
To get an awareness and sensitivity to the total environment and its related problems.
To motivate the active participation in environment protection and improvement.
To develop skills for identifying and solving environmental problems.
To know the necessity of conservation of natural resources.
To evaluate environmental programme in terms of social, economic, ecological and aesthetic factors.

4. Importance and significance of Environmental studies:
The need of development without destruction of environment.
To develop a concern and respect for the environment.
A direct relation to the quality of life we have.

5. Hazards and risks Harm to living organisms-hazard
Risk- degree of hazard
Types:
Physical
Chemical
Biological

6. ECOSYSTEM Defined area in which a community lives with interaction taking place among the organisms between the community and its non-living physical environment
An ecosystem is formed by the interaction between all living and non-living things
Structure:
Living (biotic)
Nonliving (abiotic)

7. ABIOTIC components:
Solar energy provides practically all the energy for ecosystems.
Inorganic substances, e.g., sulfur, boron and carbon cycle through ecosystems.
Organic compounds, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and other complex molecules, form a link between biotic and abiotic components of the system.

8. BIOTIC components:
The biotic components of an ecosystem can be classified according to their mode of energy acquisition.
In this type of classification, there are:
Autotrophs
Organisms that produce their own food from an energy source, such as the sun, and inorganic compounds.
Heterotrophs
Organisms that consume other organisms as a food source.

9. Producers are able to capture the sun's energy through photosynthesis and absorb nutrients from the soil, storing them for future use by themselves and by other organisms. Grasses, shrubs, trees, mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria.
Consumers are organisms that do not have the ability to capture the energy produced by the sun, but consume plant and/or animal material to gain their energy for growth and activity. Consumers are further divided into three types based on their ability to digest plant and animal material
Herbivores eat only plants Deer, Elephant and Goat

10. Carnivores eat only animals, such as the snake, lion, tiger etc.,
Omnivores eat both plants and animals, such as the black bear, mice, rat, human etc.,
Decomposers they feed on dead organic matter that includes the insects, fungi, algae and bacteria both on the ground and in the soil that help to break down the organic layer to provide nutrients for growing plants. There are many millions of these organisms in each square metre of grassland.

11. Tropic Levels
A tropic level is the position occupied by an organism in a food chain.
Tropic levels can be analyzed on an energy pyramid.
Producers are found at the base of the pyramid and compromise the first tropic level.
Primary consumers make up the second tropic level.
Secondary consumers make up the third tropic level.
Finally tertiary consumers make up the top tropic level.

13. Food web In nature simple food chains occur rarely The same organism may operate in the ecosystem at more than one tropic level i.e. it may derive its food from more than one source. Even the same organism may be eaten by several organisms of a higher tropic level or an organism may feed upon several different organisms of a lower tropic level. usually the kind of food changes with the age of the organism and the food availability. Thus in a given ecosystem various food chains are linked together and interested each other to form a complex network called food Web.

15. ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION In a particular area, one community of species may be replaced by another community; The progressive replacement of one community by another till the development of stable community in a particular area is called as ecological succession. TYPES OF SUCCESSION Primary succession. If an area in any of the basic environments (such as terrestrial, fresh- water or marine) is established by organisms for the first time, the succession is called primary succession.

17. Secondary succession. If the area under established has been cleared by whatsoever agency (such as burning, grazing, clearing, felling of trees, sudden change in climatic factors, etc.) of the previous plants, it is called secondary succession. Autogenic succession. After the succession has begun, in most of the cases, it is the community itself (as a result of its reactions with the environment) modifies its own environment and, thus, causing its own replacement by new communities. This course of succession is known as autogenic succession.

19. ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM:
Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. For living organisms, it is the basic force responsible for running all the metabolic activities. The flow of energy from producer level to top consumer level is called energy flow. The flow of energy in an ecosystem is unidirectional. It flows from producer level to consumer level. The process of energy flow involves transfer of energy from autotrophs to various components of heterotrophs and help in maintaining bio diversity. The main source of energy in the ecosystem is sunlight. About 80% of energy is lost during flow of energy from one tropic level to the next one.

20. Food Chain in Ecosystem
In an ecosystem one can observe the transfer or flow of energy from one tropic level to other in succession.
A tropic level can be defined as the number of links by which it is separated from the producer, or as the which position of the organism in the food chain.
Thus, primary producers trap radiant energy of sun and transfer that to chemical or potential energy of organic compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
When a herbivore animal eats a plant (or when bacteria decompose it) and these organic compounds are oxidized, the energy liberated is just equal to the amount of energy used in synthesizing the substances (first law of thermodynamics), but some of the energy is heat and not useful energy (second law of thermodynamics).

21. If this animal is eaten by another one, along with transfer of energy from a herbivore to carnivore a further decrease in useful energy occurs as the second animal (carnivore) oxidizes the organic substances of the first (herbivore or omnivore) to liberate energy to synthesize its own cellular constituents. Such transfer of energy from organism to organism sustains the ecosystem and when energy is transferred from individual to individual in a particular community, as in a pond or a lake or a river, we come across the food chains.

24. Biochemical cycles Nitrogen cycles oxygen cycles Phosphorous cycles
Carbon cycles

25. Classification of Ecosystems / Ecology
Terrestrial Ecosystems -which encompass the activities that take place on land.
Aquatic ecosystems - the system that exists in water bodies.
Terrestrial ecosystem
Forest ecosystem
Desert ecosystem
Grassland ecosystem
Aquatic ecosystem
Pond ecosystem
River or stream ecosystem
Marine ecosystem
Estuarine ecosystem

26. FOREST ECOSYSTEM
A forest ecosystem is the one in which a tall and dense trees grow that support many animals and birds.
Forest occupies 40% of the world’s land.
Total land area is 19% in India.
There are three important types of forests are
Tropical rain forests.
Temperate deciduous forests.
Coniferous forests.

27. Tropical rain forests
They are found near the equator.
These forests have a warm annual mean temperature.
These forests have high humidity and heavy rainfall almost daily.
These forests consists of broadleaf ever green plants.
These trees have larger surface on their leaves that allows them to collect more sunlight and do photosynthesis extensively.
Tropical rain forests have wide varieties of species.

29. Temperate Deciduous forests:
Temperate deciduous forests can be found in the eastern part of the United States and Canada, Europe ,China and Japan
Winter, spring and summer. Winters are cold and summers are warm.
Temperate deciduous forests have a great variety of plant species.
Conifers like spruce, fir and pine trees can also be found mixed in with the hardwood trees.
There is great diversity of life. Insects, fox,deer etc., are common.

31. Coniferous forests:
The temperate coniferous forest includes areas South America, New Zealand North America, northwest Europe and Iceland and southern Japan
Many softwood trees such as fir, pine, spruce.
 Most animals are herbivores, however some carnivores and omnivores are thrown in.  Animals in Coniferous Forests include the red fox, moose and owl.
Coniferous Forests are the largest land  of the World.
A Conifer is a tree that produces its seeds in cones.  The Pine tree is the most common example.  Conifer leaves conserve water with the thick, waxy layer that covers their leaves.

33. STRUCTURE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:
Climate factors(Temp,light,rainfall)
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
1.Producers: Trees,shrubs etc.,
2.Consumers:
Primary consumers : ants,flies & insects
Secondary consumers : snakes,birds.
Tertiary consumers : tiger,lion.
3.Decomposers: Bacteria,fungi

34. GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM 20% of earth surface.
It improves the production of grasslands.
Overgrazing leads to desertification.

35. There are three types of grasslands
A. Tropical grasslands
B. Temperate grasslands
C. Polar grasslands
Tropical grasslands
They has high temperature and moderate rain fall, cm.They have tall grasses with scatteres shrubs.They are the shelter for animals like zebras, giraffes and African elephant. Savanna grassland in Africa is good example for tropical grassland.

36. Tropical grassland

37. Temperate grasslands:
Cold in Winters and hot in summers, annual precipitation is less and falls unevenly through the year. Pampas in South America and Veldt in Africa are examples for temperate grasslands.
Polar grasslands:
It is also known as arctic polar region. Severe cold and strong winds along with ice and snow. They have animals like arctic fox.

38. Temperate grassland

39. Polar grassland

40. STRUCTURE OF GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:
Climate factors(Temp,light,rainfall),C,H,O,N.,
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
1.Producers: Grass,shrubs etc.,
2.Consumers:
Primary consumers : cow,deer.
Secondary consumers : snakes,birds.
Tertiary consumers : hawks,eagle
3.Decomposers: Bacteria,fungi

41. DESERT ECOSYSTEM
Deserts are dry places with unpredictable and infrequent precipitation.
Desert occupies about 35% of world’s land area.
It is characterizes by 25 cm rain fall.
The atmosphere is dry.

42. TROPICAL DESERTS TEMPERATE DESERTS COLD DESERTS
Temperatures are high around year
Day time temperature are high in summer & low in winter
Winters are too cold,
summers are too hot
There is very little rainfall during 1 or 2 months of a year.
There is more precipitation than
tropical deserts
Precipitation is too
low
These driest places on the earth have few plants along with wind blown sands and rocks
It consists of drought resistant shrubs, cacti and few animals
Small shrubs
Ex: Sahara desert
Majave desert
Gobi desert

43. STRUCTURE OF DESERT ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:
Climate factors(Temp,light,rainfall)
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
1.Producers: Trees,grass etc.,
2.Consumers:Squirrels,foxes,rabbits.
3.Decomposers: Bacteria,fungi

44. WATER or AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
The aquatic system deals with water bodies.The major types of organism found in this ecosystem. 1.Fresh water ecosystem :Ponds,river,stream,lake. 2.Salt water ecosystem: oceans and estuaries. POND ECOSYSTEM: It contains algae,plants,insects,fish. Characteristic : 1.Pond is temporary,seasonal,get polluted easily.

45. light penetrates to the bottom, allowing aquatic plants to grow.
Lake ecosystem:
Littoral zone
light penetrates to the bottom, allowing aquatic plants to grow.
Limnetic zone
the open water area where light does not generally penetrate all the way to the bottom.
Euphotic zone
the layer from the surface down to the depth where light levels become too low for photosynthesis.
Benthic zone
the bottom sediment.

47. LAKE ECOSYSTEM:
Lakes are natural shallow water bodies.
Characteristic:
1.Permanent water body.
2.It helps in irrigation and drinking.
3.It is fresh water body.
RIVER ECOSYSTEM or STREAM ECOSYSTEM:
Well oxygenated,no.of animals are less.
1.It is fresh,flowing water,DO is high,rich in nutrients.

48. Marine ecosystems:(Ocean ecosysytem)
70% of the earth's surface
zones

49. The ocean bottom is the benthic zone
water itself (or the water column) is the pelagic zone.
neritic zone is that part of the pelagic zone that extends from the high tide line to an ocean bottom less than 600 feet deep.
Water deeper than 600 feet is called the oceanic zone.
sunlit zone, enough light penetrates to support photosynthesis.
Twilight zone where very small amounts of light penetrate.
Ninety percent of the space in the ocean lies in the midnight zone which is entirely devoid of light.

50. ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEM: An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of river, where river joins the sea. Characteristic: 1.Estuaries are transition zone. 2.Water characteristic are periodically changed. 3.The living organism in this ecosystem have tolerence. 4.Salinity is highest during the summer 5.Salinity is lowest during the winter.

52. STRUCTURE OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:
Climate factors(Temp,light,water,organic and inorganic compounds.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
1.Producers: phytoplankton
2.Consumers:
Primary consumers : zooplankton
Secondary consumers : small fish
Tertiary consumers : big fish
3.Decomposers: Bacteria,fungi

53. Biodiversity

54. Biodiversity Bio means ‘life’ and diversity means ‘variety’
Totality of species, population, communities and ecosystem
- both wild and domesticated.
The variety and variability
among all groups of living
organism and the ecosystem
in which they live.

56. Genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the diversity within species.
variation is measured using DNA based techniques.
Genetic material- blue/brown eyes, blond/black hair, tall/short.,.
Genetic variation high in Indian Rhinos but less among cheetahs.
Rate of gene flow depends on the size of the area they adapted to live.
About 10,000,000,000 different genes across world’s biota.
More specialized species display genetic variation.
Ex: Teak wood trees : Indian teak, burma teak,malayasian teak.

57. Genetic diversity

58. SPECIES DIVERSITY
Species diversity is the diversity between different species
About 1.7 million species have found
Total estimate of species is more than 100 million
Micro-organisms - 5% have been found
Micro-organisms loss- major change in ecosystem
Plant species : Apple,mango,graphs,wheat
Animal species : Lion,tiger,elephant,deer

60. Ecosysytem diversity
The diversity at the ecological or habitat level is known as ecosysytem diversity. A large region with different ecosysytem can be considered as ecosysytem diversity.
Examples :
forest ecosystem
variety group of plants,
animals,birds…

61. Methods of measuring Biodiversity:
There are three perspectives measuring of diversity at the level of community.
They are
(i) Alpha diversity( within the community)
(ii)Beta diversity (between two communities)
(iii)Gamma diversity(total geograhical area.(i.e) sum of alpha and beta diversity)

62. Value of Bio-Diversity
1.Consumptive value:
Maintainance of global food supply
Animals- 9 species( cattles, pigs,ducks…)
Fish-estuaries and rivers
Plants –50,000 edible – human food -150
-90% of world population- 15 species.
2/3 amount- wheat, corn and rice

63. 2.Productive Values: 1.Pesticides:
Calabar bean-development of methyl carbamide insecticide
Daisy plants- discovery of pyrethrum insecticides
Industries- paper and pulp, textiles, leather…
2.Medicines and drugs

64. 3.Social Values
The manner in which the bio-resources are used by the society.
Holy plants:Many of the plants are considered holy plants in our country like Tulsi,Mango, Lotus, Neem etc.
Holy animals : Many of the plants are considered holy animals in our country like cow,snake,peacock etc.,

65. 4.Ethical values Ethical value:
It involves ethical value like ‘’all life must be preserved.
The ethical value means that a species may or may not be used, but its existence in nature gives us pleasure.
Eg., The river ganga,neem,tulsi etc.,

66. 5.Aesthetic value
People from far and wide spend a lot of time and money to visit beautiful areas where they can enjoy the aesthetic value of biodiversity and this type of tourism is now known as ecotourism.
The pleasant music of world birds, colour of flowers, peacock,butterfly are important asthetic value.
currently 5% GDP(India)
10.8% of exports and 5.8% of total employment

67. 6.Optional values:
The optional values of biodiversity suggests that any species may be proved to be a valuable after someday.
At present the potentials/uses/values are unknown
Eg., growing technology field is searching a species for causing the diseases of cancer and AIDS.
medincinal herbs and plants – economic growth

68. Biogeographical classification of India
India – 10th position in list of plant rich countries.
Four planning units- conservation planning
Biogeographic Zone(The Himalayas)
Biotic province(North west and western Himalayas)
Land region(plateau)
Biome (grasslands)

69. 10 Biogeographic Zones S.No Biogeographic Zone Biotic province
Total area (sq.km.) 1
Trans-Himalayan
Upper Regions
186200 2
Himalayan
North-West Himalayas
West Himalayas
central Himalayas
East Himalayas
6900
720000
123000
83000 3
Desert
Kutch
Thar
Ladakh
45000
180000 NA 4
Semi-Arid
Central India
Gujarat-Rajwara
107600
400400 5
Western Ghats
Malabar Coast
Western Ghat Mountains
59700
99300

70. 10 Biogeographic Zones 6 Deccan Peninsula Deccan Plateau South
Central Plateau
Eastern Plateau
Chotta Nagpur
Central Highlands
378000
341000
198000
217000
287000 7
Gangetic Plain
Upper Gangetic Plain
Lower Gangetic Plain
206400
153000 8
North-East India
Brahmaputra Valley
North-Eastern Hills
65200
106200 9
Islands
Andaman Islands
Nicobar Islands
Lakshadweep Islands
6397
1930
180 10
Coast
West Coast
East Coast
6500

71. Levels of Bio-Diversity
BIODIVERSITY AT GLOBAL LEVEL
The huge number of species which are still unknown on this earth(100 million).
About 1.7 million species have been identified till date.
0.5% reduces every year.

72. 1.Terrestial Biodiversity
Tropical rain forest
Largest store house (50%- &70%) of biodiversity.
The trophical rainforests have species of plants, insects, animals, amphibians, repitles…
Medicinal plants and flowering plants
EX: Silient valley in kerala

73. Contd… Temperate forests Less biodiversity 1,70,000 flowering plants
30,000 vertebrates
Other species- 2,50,000

74. Marine diversity higher biodiversity compared to terrestial
Less known and biologically named species
Ex: sea, estuaries,rivers and oceans…

75. Biodiversity- national level
2nd largest nation -5% of world biodiversity and 2% of earth surface
10th rank in plant rich countries
11th rank in endemic species of higher vertebrates
6th rank – origin of argriculture crops
India- Mega diversity nation

76. Biodiversity- national level
India is also one of the 12 mega-biodiversity countries in the world.
Out of a total of 25 biodiversity hot-spots in the world, India possesses two-
the north east region(The Himalyas region)
the western ghats

77. Contd… Medicinal values 2000 plants are cultivated.
Tulsi,Neem and Tumeric
Commercial values
Sandal wood
Ornamental plants
Indian Tobacco- high nicotrine content

78. Biodiversity- local level
Based on spatial disribution, there are four categories:
Types
Point richness
Alpha
Beta
Gamma
Definition
No of species in a single point in a given space
No of species in a small homogeneous area
Rate of change in species composition across different habitats
Rate of change in species composition across large land scape
Examples
For given particular area
Sea ,River
North pole
Earth

79. Biodiversity- Tamil Nadu
Dense forests- Salem
Birds sanctuary- Vedanthangal
Elephant sanctuary- Anaimalai
Tiger sanctuary- Mundanthurai

80. India – Mega diversity Nation
170 countries in the world- 12 nations have 70% of world’s planet biodiversity.
Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador ,the United States, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru and Domestic Republic.
India- 12th place.

81. Tropical deforestation alone is reducing the biodiversity by half a percent every year. Many of these species are more vulnerable to extinction when their natural home is destroyed.
About 50 to 80% of global biodiversity lies in these rainforests.
More than one-fourth of the world’s prescription drugs are extracted from plants growing in tropical forests.
Temperate forests have much less biodiversity.
Globally, we have roughly
1, 70,000 = flowering plants
30, = vertebrates
2, 50,000 = other groups of species

82. DIVERSITY AT NATIONAL LEVEL :
Indian Biodiversity:
Every country is characterized by its own biodiversity depending mainly on its climate.
India has a rich biological diversity of flora and fauna.
Overall six percent of the global species are found in India.
It is estimated that India ranks 10th among the plant rich countries of the world.
India ranks 11th in terms of number of endemic species of higher vertebrates.
India ranks 6th place among the centers of diversity and origin of agricultural crops.
The total number of living species identified in our country is 1,50,000.
Indian is also one of the 12 mega-biodiversity countries in the world.
Out of a total of 25 biodiversity hot-spots in the world, India possesses 2, one in the northeast region and second one in the western ghats.

83. India is one of the 12 mega-diversity nations of the world.
India as a mega-diversity nation
India occupies 2.4% of the total land area of the world, but India contributes 8.22% of the known global biodiversity.
India is one of the 12 mega-diversity nations of the world.
India is in the 10th position in the world and 4th in the Asia in terms of plant diversity.
India ranks 10th in the world in terms of number of mammalian species.
India ranks 11th in the world in terms of endemic species of higher vertebrates
In terms of number of species contributed to agriculture and animal husbandry, it ranks 7th in the world.

84. India has three biomes, namely the tropical humid forests, the tropical dry deciduous forests and the warm desert/semi-deserts.
India can be divided into ten biogeographic zones and 26 biotic provinces which represent the major ecosystems of the world.
Out of 25 hotspots in the world, India has two ’hotspots'. the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas.
Endemism: Species which are restricted only to a particular area are known as endemic.
About 62% of amphibians and 50% of lizards are endemic to India. Western ghats are the site of maximum endemism. India has 26 recognized endemic centers.
Biosphere reserves : which protect larger areas of natural habitat ,it includes National Parks, preserves, along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. The World has 482 biosphere reserves in 102 countries.

85. Hot spots of Bio-Diversity
The hotspots are the geographic areas which posses high endemic species.
There are 25 hot spots at global level. Out of 25, two are present in India, namely the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats.
Nearly 70% of the bird species in this hotspot are endemic. These are the areas of high diversity, endemism and are also threatened by human activities.

86. About 40% of terrestrial plants and 25% of vertebrate species are endemic and found in these hotspots.
It has been estimated that 50,000 endemic plants, which comprise 20% of global plant life, probably occur in only 18 hotspots in the world.
Countries which have a relatively large proportion of these biodiversity hotspots are referred to as mega-diversity nations.

87. Threats to Bio-Diversity
Any disturbance in an natural ecosystem tent to reduce its biodiversity.
Causes of threats :
a.Habitat loss :
The lose of population is caused by habitat loss. Habitat loss threatened a wide range of animals and plants.

88. Factors affecting habitat
1.Deforestation : Forest and grasslands have been cleared for conversion into agricultural lands or settlement areas or development project. So thousands of species loss their habitat. 2.Destruction of wetlands : The wetlands and mangroves are destroyed due to the draining, filling and pollution which cause huge boidiversity loss. 3.Habitat fragmentation : The habitat is divided into small and scattered patches.This is called as Habitat fragmentation .due to this wild animals and song birds are vanishing.

89. Contd...
4.Raw material :
for the production of hybrid seeds the wild plants are used as raw materials.
5.Production of drugs :
many pharmaceutical companies collect wild plant for the production of drugs.
6.Illegal trade:
Illegal trade on wild life also reduces the biodiversity .
7. Development activities :
construction of massive dams in the forest area and discharge of industrial effluents which kills the birds and other aquatic organism.

90. b. Poaching of wildlife : Poaching means killing of animals or commercial hunting. It leads to loss of animal biodiversity. 1.Subsidence poaching: killing animals to provide enough food for their survival . 2.Commercial poaching : hunting and killing animals to sell their products .

91. Man-wildlife conflicts
when wildlife starts causing immense damage.
Eg.,
1.In orissa, 199 humans were killed in the last 5 years by elephants.
2. In mysore several elephants were killed because of massive damage done by the elephants to the sugarcane crops.

92. Endangered Species of India
IUCN-INTERNATIONAL UNION OF CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES, the species classified into various types,
1.Extinct species :
A species is said to be extinct, when it is no longer found in the world.
2. Endandered species :
When its number has been reduced to a critical level.Unless it is protected and conserved,it is in immediate dancer of extinction.

93. 3.Vulnerable species : A species is said to be vulnerable, when its population is facing continuous decline due to habitat destruction. 4. Rare species: A species is said to be rare, when it is localised within restricted area or they are scattered over a more extensive area. Such species are not endangered or vulnerable.

94. Endangered Species of India
When its number has been reduced to a critical level.Unless it is protected and conserved,it is in immediate dancer of extinction.
Eg., Reptiles – pyhton,tortoise.
Birds : peacock
Mammals : tiger,lion,golden cat,desert cat
Primates : golden monkey, cabbed monkey.
Plants : sandal wood tree.

95. RED DATA BOOK :Red data book contains the list of endangered species of plants and animals.
Endemic Species of India
The species which are found only in a particular region are known as endemic species.
Eg:Owl, brown parrot

96. Conservation of Bio-Diversity
The act or process of conserving.
The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources such as forests, soil, and water.
Conservation of our natural resources has the following three specific objectives:
(i) to maintain essential ecological processes and life-supporting systems .
(ii) to preserve the diversity of species or the range of genetic material found in the organisms on the planet .
(iii) to ensure sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems which support millions of rural communities as well as the major industries all over the world.

97. There are two approaches of biodiversity conservation: (a) In situ conservation (within habitat): This is achieved by protection of wild flora and fauna in nature itself, e.g. Biosphere Reserves, National Parks, Sanctuaries, Reserve Forests etc. (b) Ex situ conservation (outside habitats) This is done by establishment of gene banks, seed banks, zoo, botanical gardens, culture collections etc.

98. In situ conservation:
In-situ conservation involves protection of fauna and flora within its habitat,where the species normally occurs is called In-situ conservation.
1.Biospere reserves: nilgiri – kerala,TN
2. national park:gir national park-gujarat
3. wildlife sanctuaries:ghana bird sanctuary
4. gene sanctuary:one gene sanctuary for citrus(lemon family).

99. Exsitu conservation : In-situ conservation involves protection of fauna and flora outside the natural habitat. Methods of exsitu conservation: 1.National Bureau of plant Genetic Resources: (NBPGR):Its located in new delhi. Cryo preservation technique: Perseveration of seeds of crops by using liquid nitrogen at temp -196o c. Variety of rice,tomato,onion,carrot,chilli preserved in liq.nitrogen

100. (NBAGR):It is located at haryana.
ii) National bureau of animal genetic resources :
(NBAGR):It is located at haryana.
It preserves the semen of bovine animals.
iii)National facility of plant tissue culture repository:(NFPTCR)
It develops the facility for conservation of varieties of crop plants and trees by tissue culture.

101. FIELD STUDY OF ECOSYSTEMS:
(i) Pond ecosystem in melmaruvathur town, Tamil Nadu
(ii) Grassland ecosystem in tindivanam village, Tamil Nadu

102. Pond ecosystem
A nearby Pond ecosystem in melmaruvathur town, Tamil Nadu is visited and the following observations are noted
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
1.Producers: phytoplankton
2.Consumers:
Primary consumers : zooplankton
Secondary consumers : small fish
Tertiary consumers : big fish
3.Decomposers: Bacteria,fungi

103. Abiotic components Physical Components
Climate factors such as water, air, sunlight
2) Chemical Components:
Organic Substances: Proteins, lipids, carbohydrates
Inorganic Substances: N2 ,H2 ,CO2 ,O2

104. Plants → Insects→ Frogs→ Fishes
Biotic components
1.Producers: Phytoplankton
2.Consumers:
Primary consumers : Zooplankton(Dragon Fly Larvae, Crustaceans, Molluscs)
Secondary consumers : Small Fishes,Water Beetles, Frogs
Tertiary consumers : Big Fishes, Kingfisher and other water birds.
3.Decomposers: Bacteria,fungi,actinomycetes
Food chain:
Phytoplankton Zooplankton Secondary consumers Tertiary consumers
Plants → Insects→ Frogs→ Fishes