CONSERVATION

OF PLANTS AND
ANIMALS
 Natural resource
Anything in the environment which can be used is called natural
resource. These natural resource are used by time to time.
The human population has been increasing at a high rate, the natural
resources are also being used in greater quantities.
Utilisation and exploitation of resources at such a fast rate is
definitely causing their depletion because nature has only a limited
amount of them in reserve.
Thus, the wise use of earth resources by human beings is called
conservation of natural resources.
SILVICULTURE
It is a branch of science which deals with management & development of forest trees.

Importance of forest :
Forests are a valuable natural resource of following significances :
1. Forests are an important component of the environment to maintain ecological
balance.
2. Forests provide habitat to a large number of plants.
3. Forests also maintain CO2 & O2 concentration in the atmosphere.
4. They are also helpful in prevention of soil erosion and landslides.
5. Dead plants & plant parts are decomposed and form the humus which enrich the soil.
6. Forests are also helpful in the formation of fossil fuel.
7. They provide us some useful products such as gum, paper, timber, medicines etc.
Deforestation
The loss or continual degradation of forest habitat due to natural or
human intervention is called deforestation.

Causes of Deforestation
1. Intensive agriculture
2. Construction of dam
3. Overgrazing of animals and farmlands
4. Urbanization
5. Commercial logging (It means harvest of timber from forest with the
intention to sell the product.
 Effects of Deforestation
Effect on soil : Roots of trees help in binding the soil particles together.
When this protective cover of vegetation is destroyed, soil is left loose, and
hence, more soil is lost due to erosion by wind and moving water.
Loss of topsoil, which is rich in humus and nutrients, results in reduction in
fertility of soil.
Effect on wildlife :
Forests which are the natural habitat of many species of plants, animals, and
birds.
Cutting down trees will destroy the homes of these species, which in turn
may become endanger.
Effects on recycling of materials:
Plants intake CO2 and give out O2 during photosynthesis. This O2 is
necessary for human beings to survive.
An increase in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere causes green
house effect or global warming.
O2 level in atmosphere
become low due to
deforestation.
Trees draw ground water
up through their roots
and release water vapour
into the atmosphere by
transpiration. If a large
number of trees are cut
down, transpiration rate
will be greatly reduced.
This in turn will effect the
water cycle.
Carbon cycle
Water cycle
Climatic changes :
Increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere
may lead to an increase in the temperature of the earth as carbon dioxide
is a greenhouse gas, i.e. it allows the sun's infrared radiations to enter the
earth but stops them from going out of the atmosphere. Hence, it results
in an increase in temperature which makes the atmosphere drier.
This can lead to reduced rainfall. This could cause droughts.
Landslides and floods :
Vegetation helps to absorb the rainwater that falls on the earth.
Excessive falling of trees would mean that a greater proportion of the rain
may reach the ground, which could give rise to floods.
Loss of vegetation may lead to reduction in binding capacity of soil
particles during rainy season which in turn lead to landslides in
mountainous regions.
Desertification :
Deforestation is a major cause which leads to the change in soil properties.
Physical properties of the soil get affected by plantation and vegetation. Due to soil
erosion the top fertile layer of soil is removed.Gradually the fertile land gets converted
into deserts. It is called desertification.

Conservation of forest
Trees should be planted on large scale.
Planting of saplings is called afforestation.
When this is done on deforested lands, it is called as reforestation.
Establishment of forest reserves and botanical gardens.
Animals should not be allowed to graze on the same patch of land for a long period.
Minimizing over grazing by animals will prevent farmlands from turning barren.
Forest fires, whether due to natural or human-made causes, should be brought under
control as fast as possible.
Awareness programmes should be conducted by school children, organizations, and
also through print and television advertisements to promote the need to use our
forest resources judiciously.
Chipko movement
Forests are one of the main sources of livelihood in rural
India.
This is specially true for hilly and mountain areas.
The name of the movement comes from the hindi word
chipko which means ‘to embrace’ or ‘to hug’, as the villagers
hugged the trees to prevent them from falling by the
contractor.
The first movement against falling of trees was launched by
Amrita Devi of village of Khejari (Jodhpur) 363 releatives and
other sacrified their lives still clasping the trees.
Chipko movement took place in the village of Mandal in the
upper Alakananda valley of Uttar Pradesh in April 1973.
Sunderlal Bahuguna, a Gandhian activist and philosopher,
played an important role in success of this movement.
Bahuguna gave the Chipko slogan ‘Ecology is permanent
economy’.
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is derived from Greek word bias means life and diversity means forms.
The presence of different kinds of living organisms i.e., microorganisms, plants and
animals, their ecological habit and the habitat in which they occur is known as
biodivers ity.
The diversity can be in the form of size, structure, habits, behaviour and genetic
constitution in fact, if we compare the organisms present in two different habitats or
regions we may find a vast range of differences between them.Thus, biodiversity
differs from place to place. Therefore, biodiversity is the biological wealth of world .
Biodiversity comprises three types of diversities.
1. Genetic Diversity : The genetic variation is found amongst members of the same
population and geographically separated population of the same species.
2. Species Diversity : The diversity include the whole range of organisation found in the
total number of species.
3. Community Diversity : The range and variety of biological communities and
ecosystems in which the communities operates.
 Forests are ‘biodiversity hotspots’.

Causes of extinction of wildlife

Destruction of habitats : This can be due to :
1. Environmental pollution.
2. Deforestation cause decrease in reproductive power and loss of habitat.
3. Soil erosion
4. Agricultural expansion
5. Overgrazing
6. Increasing urbanization
7. Forest fires due to human activities
8. Developmental works.
Threat categories
Extinct (EX) :
An organism or species is considered extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that its
last individual has died. For example, some extinct animal and bird species are dinosaur,
wooly mammoth, the pink-headed duck and Dodo. The most recent plant extinction is
that of St. Helena Olive (Nesiota elliptica). It was declared extinct in December 2003,
when the last surviving seedling died.
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
An organism or species is considered extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that its
last individual has died. For example, some extinct animal and bird species are dinosaur,
wooly mammoth, the pink-headed duck and Dodo. The most recent plant extinction is
that of St. Helena Olive (Nesiota elliptica). It was declared extinct in December 2003,
when the last surviving seedling died.
Threatened species
The living species which have been greatly reduced in their number.
There are three main categories of threatened species
1. Endangered species (E) :The species whose number have been reduced to critical
level and which are about to become extinct are called as endangered species.
Example of endangered species of animals in Satpura national park : Lions,
Elephants, Wild buffaloes and Barasingha.
Example of endangered species in India : Bentinckia nicobarica (plant), Ailurus
fulgens (Red panda). Indian elephant, crocodile, blue whale, musk deer, Indian bison,
white-winged duck, yellow-eyed penguin, the Mexican cactus and the Malaysian
slipper orchid.
2. Vulnerable species (v) :The species whose populations are abundant at present but
they may become endangered in future are called as vulnerable species. e.g. Golden
Langur, Leopard Cat, Black buck etc.
3. Rare Species (R) : The species which are very less in number and confined in a
specific area are called as rare species. e.g. Slow loris, Wild Yak, Gharial etc.
Red data book
The World Conservation Union (WCU) formely known as International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) compiles long direction called the
Red Data Book. It contains list of rare and / or endangered species along with relevant
information from all over the world.This list is termed as IUCN Red List.
The main objectives of the IUCN Red List are :
1. Developing awareness about the importance of thereatened biodiversity.
2. Identification and documentation of the endangered species.
3. Providing global index of the decline of biodiversity.
4. Defining conservation priorities at the local level.
5. Guiding conservation action.
The number of animals in this book is over 3000 while the number of plants is very high, over
20,000.This book contains a list of 497 mammals, 1037 birds, 343 fishes, 50 amphibians, 170
reptiles and 1355 invertebrates.India has maximum number of threatened species in this
book.The number of threatened plants is 474 while that of animal is over 100,e.g., Pitcher
plant, Podophyllum, snow orchid. The IUCN has recognised eight Red List categories of the
species.These categories provide an easy and widely understood method for highlighting the
species that are under higher risk of extinction.
 Conservation strategies
Conservation means 'to keep safe' whereas preservation means 'to maintain the
environment as it is'. Various practices which can help in conserving and protecting our
environment.
1. Protection of useful animals and plants.
2. Preservation of critical habitats of plants and animal species for their growth and
multiplication.
3. Management of air, water and land (life supporting systems).
4. Hunting should be regulated and restricted whenever needed.
5. Hunting of young animals, threatened species in restricted areas and in breeding season
should be restricted.
6. Over exploitation of useful products of wild life should be avoided.
7. The species and ecosystem should not be exploited beyond their productive capacity.
 In Situ Conservation Strategies :

These streategies deal with the conservation of living resources through their
maintenance with in their natural habitat. These include an extensive system of
protected areas such as national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere, reserve and forest
reserves.
(A) National Parks : These are the protected areas which are strictly reserved for the
betterment of the wildlife and in these areas all the activities like forestry, grazing or
cultivation are not permitted.
(B) Sanctuaries : It is a protected area which is reserved for the conservation of
animals only and human activities up to a certain extent are allowed in these areas.

(C) Biosphere reservers : It is a specified area in which multiple use of the land is
permitted by dividing it in particular zones specified for particular activity.
In India, the biosphere reserves were created firstly in 1986 to protect and propagate
our natural resources.
It consists of core, buffer and transition zones.
In the core zone no human activity is permitted.
In the buffer zone limited human activity is allowed whereas in the transition zone (or
Manipulation zone) a large number of human activities would go on.
Some important biosphere reserves are Sundar bans, Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Great Nicobar,
Nokrek, Agasthyamali.

Regions of biosephere reserve

Biosphere Reserves of India :
1. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) First to be established
in 1986.
2. Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (Uttaranchal)
3. . Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (Meghalya)
4. Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (Andaman and Nicobar)
5. Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve (West Bengal)
6. Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (Kerala)
7. Manas Biosphere Reserve (Assam)
8. Similipal Biosphere Reserve (Kerala)
9. The Panchmarhi Biosphere reserve consists of one national park named satpura and
2 wild life sanctuaries named Bori and Panchmarhi.
(D) Sacred forest : These are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally
protected, and which usually have significant religious connotation for the protecting
community.
Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches. These sacred
groves are sometimes associated with temples, monasteries, shrines or with burial
grounds.
Examples include Scrub forests in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan maintained by Bishnois;
Hariyali near Ganchar in Chamoli District of Uttrakhand (Among the largest sacred
groves of India); Rain forests in the western Ghats of Kerala.
(E) Forest Reserves :
These are the restricted forest areas which are protected from human exploitation.
In these areas deforestation is restricted and afforestation is done for replenishment of
lost forest.
Examples include: Ankua Reserved Forest, Langur Reserved Forest, Bankati Reserved
Forest etc.
(ii) Ex Situ Conservation Strategies : Ex situ conservation implies the conservation
outside the natural habitats.These include zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks and
gene banks.
(A) Gene Bank : Gene bank are a type of biorepository which preserve genetic material.
For plant- store seed (seed bank)
For animal- store egg or sperm cell
(B) Tissue Culture : - It is a process or technique of making body tissue grow in a culture
medium outside the organism.
(C) Botanical gardens : These can be called as the zoos of plants where rare and
threatened species of plants are reared and conserved. Examples include: Royal
Botanical Garden, Kew near London; Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic
Garden, Howrah near Kolkata.
(D) Zoological Parks : In these areas animals are kept in cages for public exhibition. \
Zoos are the breeding centres also where breeding programmes are conducted to
increase the numbers of animals of endangered species.
 Organisation for conservation of Forests
International Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources (IUCN) :
It was established in 1948.
It’s headquarter is at Morges (Switzerland).
It’s main objective is the modification of the natural environment by human beings.
World Wild Life Fund (WWF) :
It was established in 1961 at Gland, Switzerland.
WWF has membership of national organizations of 23 countries.
Indian Board for Wild life (IBWL) :
It was established in 1952.
It’s headquarter is at Delhi
It’s main objectives are to sponsor the setting of national parks & to promote public
interest in wild life.
BNHS :
Bombay Natural History Society
UNEP :
United Nations Environment Programme
MAB : Man And Bioshpere Programme
Wild Life of India : Important species among wild life of India are :
The great one-horned Rhinoceros
The Indian Tiger.
The Lion
Indian Panther
Leopard Cat
The Sloth Bear
The Nilgiri Langur
The Lion tailed monkey
The Hanuman Monkey
The Wild boar
The Chital / Spotted Deer
The Musk Deer
The Sambhar
Indian Bishon
Four Horned Antelope
Indian Gazella
The Indian giant Squirrel
Paper recycling
Paper is made of cellulose fibre, the main source of cellulose is wood pulp, pulp is the
soft, spongy part of a tree, to obtain wood pulp, we need to harvest trees.
Paper is one of the few consumer products that are fairly easy and inexpensive to
recycle.
The process of recycling involves collecting waste material, sorting, and processing
recyclable into raw materials that could be used to make new products.
First, contaminants like plastics are removed from paper as they make recycling difficult.
The paper is then sorted into different types as each type of paper creates different
kinds of recycled paper.
The sorted paper is passed through a pulper, which contains warm water and chemicals.
It breaks the paper into tiny strands of cellulose called fibres and slowly into pulp.
The pulp is then filtered through a number of sieves to remove impurities such as
coatings, additives, fillers, and other contaminants.
The pulp may also be cleaned by spinning it around in cone-shaped cylinders that helps
in throwing off the heavy contaminants outside the cylinder and the lighter ones collect
at the centre.
Sometimes the pulp undergoes de-inking in a floatation chamber to remove printing ink
from the paper.
The de-inked pulp is then bleached to make white paper.
The pulp is now ready to be made into paper is either used as such or mixed with a wood
fibre called virgin fibre to give it strength and smoothness. Water is drained out of the
pulp by passing it through a wire screen. The fibres begin to form a sheet which passes
through press rollers to squeeze out more water. The paper obtained is wound into a roll
and removed from the machine.
Migration
It is a relatively long distance movement on the seasonal basis found in various groups
like Mammals, Fishes, Reptiles and Birds.
For example migratory birds fly to far away areas every year during a particular time
because of climatic changes. They fly for laying eggs as the weather in their natural
habitat becomes very cold and inhospitable. Birds which cover long distances to reach
another land are known as migratory birds

Types of Migration
(i) Seasonal Migration :
The animals leave their original homes in particular season and return back. This occurs for
food, breeding, favourable climatic conditions and variation in day time, e.g. Siberian
cranes, salmons and sea lions. Salmon fishes are marine animals but they migrate to fresh
water for laying eggs. But fresh water eels move from fresh water to saline water to lay their
eggs. Arctic tern show biggest migration of about 71,000 kilometers from Arctic circles to
Antarctica. Humpback whale show migration of about 22,000 kilometers from polar to
equator.
(ii) Permanent Migration :
Due to unfavourable climatic factors or scarcity of water, shelter and food, animals
permanently migrate to other parts where conditions are favourable, e.g some species of
butterfly.
Important dates
21st March - World Forest Day
5th June - World Environment Day
First week of October -Wildlife Week
3rd December - World Conservation Day.
29th December - Biological Diversity Day.
Deforestation leads to
(a) an increase in the temperature of the earth
(b) imbalance of O2 and CO2
(c) increase in rainfall
(d) both (a) and (b)

Which of the following gases is needed by plants for

photosynthesis?
(a) Oxygen
(b) Nitrogen
(c) Carbon dioxide
(d) Sulphur
An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide results in
(a) winter season
(b) global warming
(c) rainfall
(d) all of these

The removal of top layer of soil leads to

(a) desertification
(b) rainfall
(c) snowfall
(d) deforestation
Name the sphere that supports life, and where living organisms
exist.
(a) Atmosphere
(b) Lithosphere
(c) Biosphere
(d) None of these

Name a biosphere reserve where the plants and animals are

similar to those of the upper Himalayan ranges and lower
western ghats.
(a) Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve
(b) Kaziranga Biosphere Reserve
(c) Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve
(d) Dudhwa National Park
Which of the following activities are prohibited in national
parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves?
(a) Poaching
(b) Hunting
(c) Felling trees
(d) All of these

Name the areas where animals are protected from any

disturbance to them and their habitat.
(a) Sanctuary
(b) Biodiversity
(c) Palaces
(d) Beach
Name the areas reserved for wildlife where they can freely use
the habitats and national resources.
(a) National parks
(b) Sanctuary
(c) Oceans
(d) Homes

Large areas of protected land for conservation of wildlife, plant

and animal resources and traditional life of the tribals living in
the area are referred to as
(a) biosphere reserves
(b) sanctuaries
(c) national parks
(d) all of these
The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve consists one national park
named
(a) bori
(b) satpura
(c) anand
(d) dudhwa

The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve consists two wildlife

sanctuaries named
(a) Bori and Pachmarhi
(b) Pachmarhi and Satpura
(c) Satpura and Bori
(d) none of these
The plants found in a particular area are termed as
(a) flora
(b) fauna
(c) species
(d) all of the above

Those species of plants and animals that are found exclusively in

a particular area are termed as
(a) endemic species
(b) exclusive species
(c) particular species
(d) significant species
The killing of animals illegally is referred to as
(a) assassinating
(b) poaching
(c) killing
(d) hunting