Hot-spots of Biodiversity

𝗈 A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeography region with

a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is
threatened with destruction.
𝗈 An area is designated as a hotspot when it contains atleast 0.5%
of plant species as endemic.
𝗈 There are 25 such hotspots of biodiversity on a
global level, out of which two are present in India.
𝗈 These are: Indo-Burma (earlier The Eastern Himalayas)
and The western Ghats & SriLanka..
𝗈 These hotspots covering less than2% of the world’s land
area are found to have about 50% of the terrestrial
biodiversity
India is known for its rich biodiversity and has 23.39% of the geographical area covered by forests and
trees.
Coined by Norman Myers, the term "Biodiversity hotspots" can be defined as the regions which are
known for their high species richness and endemism.
According to Conservation International, a region must fulfil the following two criteria to qualify as a
hotspot:
1. The region should have at least 1500 species of vascular plants i.e., it should have a high
degree of endemism.
2. It should contain 70% of its original habitat.
There are major four biodiversity hotspots in India.
1. The Himalayas
2. Indo-Burma Region
3. The Western Ghats
4. Sundaland
The Himalayas
• The Himalayas Considered as the highest in the world, the Himalayas
comprises of North-East India, Bhutan, Central and Eastern parts of
Nepal. This region holds a record of having 163 endangered species
which includes the Wild Asian Water Buffalo, One-horned Rhino and
as many as 10,000 plant species, of which 3160 are endemic. This
mountain range covers nearly 750,000 km2 .
The Indo Burman Region
• Indo - Burma Region The Indo-Burma Region is stretched over a
distance of 2,373,000 km². In the last 12 years, 6 large mammal
species have been discovered in this region: the Large-antlered
Muntjac, the Annamite Muntjac, the Grey-shanked Douc, the
Annamite Striped Rabbit, the Leaf Deer and the Saola. This hotspot is
also known for the endemic freshwater turtle species, most of which
are threatened with extinction, due to over-harvesting and extensive
habitat loss. There are also 1,300 different bird species, including the
threatened White-eared Night-heron, the Grey-crowned Crocias, and
the Orange-necked Partridge
The western ghats
• The Western Ghats The Western Ghats are present along the western
edge of peninsular India and covers most of the deciduous forests and
rain forests. This region consists of 6000 plant species of which 3000
are endemic. Originally, the vegetation in this region was spread over
190,000 km2 but has been now reduced to 43,000 km2 . The region is
also known for 450 species of birds, 140 mammals, 260 reptiles and
175 amphibians.
Sundaland
• Sundaland The Sundaland hotspot lies in South-East Asia and covers
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. In the year 2013,
the Sundalands was declared as a World Biosphere Reserve by the
United Nations. This region is famous for its rich terrestrial and
marine ecosystem. Sundaland is one of the biologically richest
hotspots in the world which comprises of 25,000 species of vascular
plants, of which 15,000 are found only in this region.
MEGABIODIVERSITY COUNTRIES OF
THE WORLD
• India is one of the twelve-mega biodiversity countries of the world
and one of the four in Asia. Mega biodiversity? :Countries that contain
as much as 7-8% per cent of the world's species. The twelve Mega
biodiversity countries that have been identified are : India, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Madagascar, Zaire, Australia, China,
Indonesia and Malaysia.
India's rich biodiversity
• India's richness of biological diversity: *India lies at the confluence of African,
European and Indo-Malaysian and the biota therefore, includes African,
European , Eurasian and Mediterranean elements, which together with Indian
and endemic elements contributes to the richness of the characteristic Indian
biodiversity. *India, being a vast country, shows a great diversity in climate,
topography and geology and hence the country is very rich in terms of
biological diversity.
• The other important features that contribute to India’s rich biodiversity are 1
Physiography of India: Although nearly half of India lies outside tropics in the
middle latitudes, it is customary to speak of India as a tropical country, since the
region is shielded of by the Himalayas in the north from the rest of Asia and has
the same general type of tropical monsoon climate throughout the land.
IUCN (International union for
conservation of nature and natural
resources)
• To include information on threatened biological species, the IUCN has started publication of Red Data
books on animals and plants
• To highlight the legal status of rare species for the purpose of conservation, IUCN has established the
following five main conservation categories.
• (1)Extinct species- that are no longer known to exist in the wild. Searches of localities where they were
once found and of other possible sites have failed to detect the species.
• (2)Endangered species that have a high like hood of going extinct in the near future.
• (3)Vulnerable species that may become endangered in the near future because populations of the
species are decreasing in size throughout its range.
• (4)Rare species that have a small total numbers of individuals often due to limited geographical ranges or
low population destinies.
.
• Human activity is the major threat to biodiversity and the following the chief causes of extinction of
species caused by man to fulfil his needs.