Why would
deforestation lead to an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and
global warming?
Plants
use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and release oxygen maintaining the
atmospheric balance. Fewer trees mean that less carbon dioxide will get recycled
in this manner.
Carbon
dioxide traps heat rays reflected by the Earth which increases in temperature
on the Earth and leads to global warming.
How does
deforestation cause droughts and reduction in rainfall?
When
trees are cut down, the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
increases which causes global warming. Moreover, plants absorb water from the
soil and release it in the air through transpiration. It is this moisture in
the air which eventually turns into clouds and returns to Earth as rainfall.
Deforestation
and increase in temperature on the Earth disturb the water cycle, which leads
to a reduction in rainfall and droughts.
What is
desertification and how is it caused?
Desertification
is the process by which a fertile land turns into a desert. Deforestation is a
major cause of desertification as it exposes the top layer of soil to natural
forces like wind, water and sunlight. With no roots to hold the soil, it gets
eroded quickly and the lower, hard and rocky layers of the soil get exposed.
These layers have less humus and are less fertile. Gradually, fertile lands
turn into deserts.
How does
deforestation affect the quality of soil?
The
forests add humus to the top layer of the soil. Their roots hold the soil
together and allow the surface water to seep into the soil. Due to
desertification:
·
the
soil erosion takes place,
·
physical
properties of the soil change and it becomes less fertile (its nutrient content
and texture changes), and
·
the
water holding capacity of the soil decreases which may lead to floods.
Conservation
of Forest and Wildlife
What is
wildlife conservation?
Wildlife
Conservation is the practice of protecting endangered plant animal species and
their habitats in an effort to maintain the ecological balance.
How does
the government conserve our forests and wildlife?
The
government lays down rules, regulations and policies to protect our forests and
wildlife. Besides, it also earmarks rich flora and fauna habitats as protected
areas where the following activities are prohibited:
·
Cutting
down trees
·
Grazing
cattle
·
Hunting
·
Plantation
and cultivation
·
Poaching
(illegally killing or capturing wild animals)
Biosphere
Reserve
A Biosphere Reserve is an area which aims to
conserve the biodiversity of the area as well as its culture. It may contain
other protected areas within it. For Example,
Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve has a national park called the Satpura National Park and two wildlife sanctuaries
called the Bori Wildlife Sanctuary and the Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary.
Biosphere
Reserves in India
There
are 18 biosphere reserves in India, which are:
|
S. No. |
Name |
State |
|
10 |
Achanakmar-Amarkantak
Biosphere Reserve |
Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh |
|
14 |
Agasthyamalai Biosphere
Reserve |
Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
|
12 |
Cold Desert |
Himachal Pradesh |
|
16 |
Dibru-Saikhowa |
Assam |
|
8 |
Dihang-Dibang |
Arunachal Pradesh |
|
15 |
Great Nicobar |
Andaman and Nicobar
Islands |
|
11 |
Great Rann of Kutch |
Gujarat |
|
3 |
Gulf of Mannar |
Tamil Nadu |
|
13 |
Khangchendzonga |
Sikkim |
|
6 |
Manas |
Assam |
|
2 |
Nanda Devi Biosphere
Reserve |
Uttarakhand |
|
1 |
Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve |
Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and Karnataka |
|
4 |
Nokrek |
Meghalaya |
|
9 |
Pachmarhi Biosphere
Reserve |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
18 |
Panna |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
17 |
Seshachalam Hills |
Andhra Pradesh |
|
7 |
Simlipal |
Odisha |
|
5 |
Sundarbans |
West Bengal |
Flora and
Fauna
Flora: Plants found in a
particular area are referred to as the flora of the area.
For
Example, flora in the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve includes:
|
|
|
|
Sal |
Arjun |
|
|
|
|
Teak |
Silver Fern |
|
|
|
|
Mango |
Jamun |
Fauna: Animals found in a
particular area are referred to as the fauna of the area.
For
Example, fauna in the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve includes:
|
|
|
|
Blue-bull |
Wolf |
|
|
|
|
Leopard |
Barking Deer |
|
|
|
|
Cheetal |
Chinkara |
Endemic
Species
Species: A group of living organisms
that can interbreed with each other are called a Species. It means that only members of one species can
reproduce offspring that are fertile and can give birth to future generations.
Members of a species look like each other and share many characteristics.
Endangered
Species: Species
whose number diminish so much that they might face extinction (or vanish off
the face of the Earth) are known as Endangered Species.
There can be endangered animals as endangered plants.
Endemic
Species: Species
of plants and animals that are exclusively found in a particular area are
called Endemic to that zone, state or country. The
endemic species are not found anywhere else naturally.
For
Example:
Endemic
flora of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve includes sal and wild mango.
|
|
|
|
Sal |
Wild Mango |
Endemic
fauna of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve includes bison, Indian giant squirrel
and flying squirrel.
|
|
|
|
Bison |
Wild Mango |
|
|
|
|
Flying Squirrel |
|
Wildlife
Sanctuary
Wildlife
Sanctuaries are
reserved forests where wild animals are protected and provided with suitable
living conditions. Unlike a zoo, animals in wildlife sanctuaries live in their
natural habitat and are free to roam anywhere as they like.
People
living in Wildlife Sanctuaries can:
·
Graze
livestock, and
·
Collect
firewood or medicinal plants.
Activities
prohibited in wildlife sanctuaries include:
·
Killing
(poaching) animals
·
Capturing
animals
These
activities in wildlife sanctuaries are punishable by law.
Wildlife
Sanctuaries in India
Indian
wildlife sanctuaries have unique landscapes which include broad-level forests,
mountain forests, and bushlands in deltas of big rivers. They protect several
threatened wildlife species such as golden cat, pink-headed duck, black buck,
white-eyed buck, gharial, marsh crocodile, elephant, rhinoceros, python etc.
Unfortunately,
people encroach upon the land of these protected forest areas and destroy them.
There are
543 wildlife sanctuaries in India, which include as many as 50 tiger reserves which focus on the conservation
of the tiger. The tiger reserves work under Project Tiger. Jim Corbett was the first tiger reserve of India. It is situated
in Uttarakhand and is also the oldest national park in India.
Project
Tiger is
a government initiative to protect tigers. Its objective was to ensure the
survival and maintenance of the population of tigers in India.
Similarly,
some of these wildlife sanctuaries are called bird sanctuaries as they focus on
protecting birds. Keoladeo National Park, for
example, was a bird sanctuary before it attained the National Park status.
Some
national parks focus on conserving a particular species, For Example, Jawai leopard sanctuary which is in Rajasthan.
National
Park
National
Parks are
large forest reserves that attempt to preserve the entire ecosystems within the
area including the landscape, flora, fauna, and historic objects of the area.
Satpura
National Park is the first Reserve Forest of India. Within this forest,
you can find the finest Indian teak as well as rock shelters which are evidence
of the prehistoric human life in the area.
There
are a total of 55 rock shelters in Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve which also
feature rock paintings depicting figures of men fighting with animals, hunting
scenes, dancing, and playing musical instruments. Many tribal are still living
in the area.
National
Parks in India
There are
104 national parks in India. Top 10 of these national parks include:
·
Jim
Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand
·
Kaziranga
National Park, Assam
·
Gir
Forest National Park, Gujarat
·
Sundarban
National Park, West Bengal
·
Satpura
National Park, Madhya Pradesh
·
Eravikulam
National Park, Kerala
·
Pench
National Park, Madhya Pradesh
·
Sariska
National Park, Rajasthan
·
Kanha
National Park, Madhya Pradesh
·
Ranthambore
National Park, Rajasthan
Why do
animals become extinct?
Disturbances
in the natural habitat of animals make it difficult for them to survive and
hence, become extinct. For Example,
dinosaurs became extinct thousands of years ago.
Why do we
need to conserve animals?
Animals,
such as lizards, snakes, owls, and bats, play a particular role in an ecosystem
and help in maintaining its balance. They form part of food chains and food
webs. We need to conserve different life forms to make sure that the natural
balance does not get disturbed.
What do we
mean by an ecosystem?
An
ecosystem refers to the living organisms and non-living components of a place,
including plants, animals, microorganisms, climate, soil, river deltas etc.
Red Data
Book
International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) maintains a record of all the
endangered animals and plants in the world and calls it Red Data Book. India also maintains its own Red Data
Book which keeps a record of endangered plants and animals found in India.
The Golden
Toad now makes the Extinct as well as the Extinct in the Wild lists of the IUCN
Red List.
There
is a Red Data List too, which is also known as IUCN Red List of Threatened Species or IUCN Red List which classified all known plant and
animal species into nine groups:
·
Extinct: No known individual of the species is
alive.
·
Extinct in the Wild: No known individual of the
species in the wilderness. They exist only in captivity.
·
Critically Endangered: Species that are at
extremely high risk of being extinct in the wilderness.
·
Endangered: Species that are at high risk of being
extinct in the wilderness.
·
Vulnerable: Species that are at high risk of being
endangered in the wilderness.
·
Near Threatened: Species that are likely to become
endangered in the near future.
·
Least Concern: Species which are found in abundance and is
not at risk.
·
Data Deficient: Species about which we do not have enough
data to assess its extinction risk.
·
Not Evaluated: Species which has not yet been evaluated on
the criteria adopted by the IUCN.
Species
that fall in the Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable categories
are also referred to as Threatened Species.
Migration
Migration is the movement of birds,
animals or humans over long distances to live in a new location permanently or
temporarily.
Migratory
birds are
birds that fly to far away areas every year to avoid harsh and inhospitable weather
conditions in their natural habitat. They cover long distances to reach another
land and lay their eggs.
Recycling
of Paper
Why should
we recycle paper?
We
need to cut 17 full-grown trees to make one tonne of paper. We can easily reuse
and recycle paper for five to seven trees. Reducing our consumption of paper
can save trees and also save water and energy used to manufacture paper.
Besides,
it can also help in reducing the use of harmful chemicals that are used to make
paper.
Reforestation
Reforestation is the opposite of
deforestation. Here, we plant new trees to restock forests that have been
destroyed.
In India,
we have the Forest (Conservation) Act which aims to preserve and conserve
natural forests and meet the basic needs of the people living in or near them.
Reforestation
can happen naturally or can be done artificially. If a deforested area is left
undisturbed for some time, the forests grow again. However, we cut more trees
than the ones that grow on their own and hence, we should plant trees to
promote reforestation.
Ideally,
we should plant as many trees as had been cut down and the new trees should be
of the same species as the earlier ones.
Padma
Shri Jadav 'Molai' Payeng, the Forest Man of India is an environmental activist
and forestry worker. He is from Jorhat, India and single-handedly planted and
nurtured a forest encompassing an area of 1,360 hectares across several decades
along the sandbar of the River Brahmaputra. He was awarded Padma Shri - the
fourth highest civilian award in India - in 2015 for the feat. The forest he
planted is called 'Molai forest' after him.
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