Biodiversity in India

India is of great importance in terms of biodiversity in South Asia. India is surrounded by the Himalayas in the north, the Indian Ocean in the south, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. Due to the variation in climate and land size of different regions in India, biodiversity in India is very high. Due to the difference in size and ecosystem, this site is rich in area. India is one of the different regions of the world. India is also included in a total of 17 vastly diverse regions of the world. India is one of the most hotspot areas in terms of hotspot areas in the world.
India is among the top 10 countries in the world and 4 in Asia in terms of biodiversity. India is a very rich region in terms of species of organisms, as far as scientific knowledge and classification have been done in India. According to a report released in the year 2000 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, there were 81000 species of districts in India. At present, according to the IUCN, which 91000 species of animals are now found in India. In terms of species, India is the leader in the number of mammals, birds, reptiles. In terms of local species, India has an abundance of insects, sea worms, fresh aquatic sponges, centipedes. India has an abundance of endemic species of large vertebrate animals. India has a leading position in terms of the world’s largest mammal species.

Biodiversity in India is more visible in wild trees and fauna. India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of agricultural land. Apart from various crops and plantation agriculture, domestic useful trees are planted here, apart from this about 47500 species of plants are found in India. India is very rich in the number of species of flowering plants.

India is home to about 6% of the world’s total flowering plants, with the remaining 7% being plant species. The total area of ​​India is 32.87 lakh square kilometers, out of which only forests are found on 24.01%. India has a range of tropical evergreen forests to temperate and coniferous forests, apart from thorny shrubs and trees in areas with low rainfall.
Indian natural vegetation has undergone drastic changes due to many reasons. Due to the need for more areas for agriculture and fodder for livestock, the forest area is decreasing due to the development of industries and cities. Forest is a renewable resource, it enhances the quality of the environment and the local climate controls soil erosion and streams of rivers. Forests are the basis of industries and contribute to enriching biodiversity by providing livelihood to many communities.

Different Biodiversity Zones of India

India is a country with huge biodiversity. Due to the greater variation in the environmental conditions of its different regions, more diversity is seen in the fauna and flora. Sometimes the biodiversity is very high, sometimes it is very low, sometimes there are a large number of local species of animals and sometimes the species have very high characteristics and affinity. Following are the major regions of India in terms of biodiversity:

1. Major Hotspot Areas of India
2. Marine Biodiversity Zone
3. Bio-geographical region of India

Major Hotspot Areas of India

Some of the biodiversity areas of the world where species diversity is found are called hotspot areas. There are 35 hotspot areas in the world, which accounts for 2.3% of the world’s total area and 60% of the world’s species are found in these areas. These are biodiversity rich areas. The term police staff hotspot was first used by Norman Myers in 1988. In the list of these diverse areas of the world, there are four regions of India which are biodiversity rich areas-

A. Indo Burma region
B. Himalayan region
C. Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
D. Sunderland Region (Nicobar Islands)

As a biodiversity hotspot, India occupies an important place in the global biodiversity. The hotspot areas under the political landscape of India include 64.95% of the Western Ghats hotspot area, Indo Burma 5.13%, Himalayan region 44.37% and Sunderland hotspot area 1.28%. However, protected areas comprise less than 17% of these hotspot areas, well short of the Aichi target set under the Biodiversity Convention 2010.

Climate change and increasing constraints by humans are major factors in forest destruction and extinction of species. According to analysis of global human population data, the highest human population density is found in hotspot areas located in the tropics. While the highest human population density among all global hotspot areas is in the Western Ghats of India at 300 persons per km.

The local rate of global warming in the Himalayan region is higher than the global rate. This Himalayan hotspot can cause species extinction on many of the local flora in the region. Because the polarity of species and polarities is not possible due to the constraints of site shapes. Most of the vegetation cover of the Indo Burma Hotspot region represents high-level forest fragmentation.

The Kakashi part of the Andaman and Nicobar forest area has been destroyed due to recent disasters like the Indian Ocean tsunami. The vegetation of these hotspot areas is being severely affected due to fire, drought etc. in forests encroached by invasive species.
Marine Biodiversity Area | Biodiversity in India
The coastline of India is 7516.6 km wide. Marine Biodiversity Areas include various mangrove estuary coral reefs where the abundance of fauna species is found due to the favorable conditions of environmental biodiversity. Many species of coral are found here in the world. Marine biodiversity is abundant in mollusks, crests, polychaetes and coral species. Many species of mangroves and sea grass are also found here.
Bio-geographical region of India. Biodiversity in India
The biogeographic region consists of regions characterized by the characteristics and distribution of animal and plant species in other regions of the world. Variations in species and their ecosystems are due to variations in the gradient of latitudes, changes in geographic area, variation in habitat environment, etc. There is a great deal of variation in species and their habitats, as well as in climates that are variable relative to climate.

Area

Variety of flora and fauna species are found due to the variation in the climate of the vegetation zones of India. From the point of view of biodiversity, there are 10 bio-geographical regions of India, which differ in climate, landforms, soil etc.

Trans Himalayan Region

This region is extremely cold and dry. Here only alpine species are found in the flora. Stones and icebergs are found in most of the area. Animals include wild sheep and goats, snow leopards, marble-coloured cats, marmots and black-necked swans.

Himalayan region

The density of vegetation is high in the eastern Himalayas due to high rainfall and proximity to the equator, while the density of vegetation is low in the western Himalayas. Many cases of vegetation have developed in the Himalayan region due to the decrease in temperature with the increase in altitude. With the increase in altitude, the Himalayan range has tropical forests from it to tundra vegetation. From the point of view of biodiversity, differences are found in the trunk of all these plants.
Due to favorable climatic conditions in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas, there is an increase in the number of species of fauna and flora. Large trees and mammals are found here. Snow leopards, brown bears are found in the main animals here. Due to HIM and landslides and environmental pollution, the major species here are endangered and going extinct.
Indian desert | Biodiversity in India
Apart from many endemic species of reptiles and birds, the region has the largest number of insect species. The blackbuck, one of the major species of the Indian desert, is an impressive species of mammal, which is now endangered. Nilgai, wild donkey is the special animal here. Chinkara, desert fox, desert cat, great Indian bustard, flamingo etc. are endemic to the Kutch desert.

semi arid region

This area has been a famous area for Asiatic lions. The region’s endemic species are the Song region lions. A lot of stone dwelling areas are found here. It is an area surrounded by grass and euphorbia bushes. Tropical dermal forests are found in natural vegetation. Wet forests and mangrove forests are also found in this region. where many flora are endemic.

Western Ghats

It is a highly biodiverse region of India and is listed as a hotspot. The region ranges from evergreen forests to dry deciduous forests. And many species of temperate vegetation are found in mountainous areas. The major fauna of this area are Tiger, Nilgiris, Langur, Lion, Malabari, Brown Hornbill. The species of amphibians found on the Western Ghats are found in many endemic species. The flying squirrel, the lion-tailed macaque is a unique and endemic species here.

Deccan Peninsular Region

The Deccan Peninsular region is bounded by the Satpuras in the north, the Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east. This area is surrounded by rivers. The major rivers here are Tapti, Narmada, Mahanadi and Godavari. The Narmada and the Tapti flow west and fall into the Arabian Sea. The Mahanadi, the Godavari flows east and drains into the Bay of Bengal. There is an abundance of fertile black and red soils. Tropical Forests Tropical dry forests are found in the region extending from north central to southern plateau region. The animals found here are tigers, bears, wild boar, gaur, sambar, chital and wild buffalo elephants and deer in a wide area.

Gangetic plains

The Gangetic plain is one of the most fertile regions of India. It is classified into four parts on the basis of soil fertility, where there is abundance of crop species in fauna, flora and fauna. These are 4 parts – Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar. This area is very important from the point of view of fertility and agricultural production. The Gangetic plain extends from Rajasthan to the agricultural region in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Mangrove forests are found in its south eastern region. The major animals found here are elephants, blackbucks, Indian rhinoceros, freshwater crocodiles and turtles and a variety of fishes.

coastal area

The coastal region spread over a wide area of ​​India is highly diverse. Natural vegetation is abundant in mangrove forest areas. Among the animal species are dolphins and crocodiles, dugongs, avifauna. Turtles living in clear water and many species of fish living in sea water are found here. The Sundarbans along the Bay of Bengal along the eastern coast have the highest number of Royal Bengal tigers.

North East Region

Biodiversity is found in abundance in the North Eastern region of India. The region is very rich in terms of tropical flora. Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous monsoon forests, grasslands and swamps are found here. Bamboo, jackfruit, tuna chestnut are abundant here.

Indian island territory

This region of the Indian subcontinent is a group of 572 islands. This region extends to the north of the Andaman Islands and to the south of the Nicobar Islands. This area is divided by a 10 degree channel. Of these 572 islands, 36 are habitable. This area is of great importance from the point of view of biodiversity. Some special species of the world are found here like dolphin, jackfruit, coconut, mollusks etc. Coral reefs are spread over 11000 sq km in Andaman Islands and 2700 sq km in Nicobar Islands. Here there is an abundance of trees of tall squares and many such trees are found which are used as medicine. For example, the Behra tree, which is often used in medicine, is found in the region. Medicines are made from its bark.