Biodiversity of India
• India is recognized as rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge.
• The geographical area under forest and tree cover – India has 23.39% of its.
Land area – With just 2.4%.
Recorded species – Nearly 7%.
Human population – Almost 18%.
India ranks 7th in mammals
9th in birds
5th in reptiles
India Represents richness:
- Realms – 2
- Biomes – 5
- Bio-geographic Zones – 10
- Bio-geographic provinces – 25
Realms
Biogeographic realms are large spatial regions within which ecosystems share a broadly similar biota.
• A realm is a continent or sub-continent sized area with unifying features of geography and fauna & flora.
• The Indian region is composed of two realms.
They are:
1) the Himalayan region represented by Palearctic Realm and
2) the rest of the sub-continent represented by Malayan Realm
In the world, Eight terrestrial biogeographic realms are typically recognized. They are
1) Nearctic Realm
2) Palaearctic Realm
3) Africotropical Realm
4) Indomalayan Realm
5) Ocenaia Realm
6) Australian Realm
7) Antarctic Realm
8) Neotropical Realm
Biomes of India
- The term biome means the main groups of plants and animals living in areas of certain climate patterns.
- It includes the way in which animals, vegetation, and soil interact together. The plants and animals of that area have adapted to that environment.
The five biomes of India are:
1) Tropical Humid Forests
2) Tropical Dry or Deciduous Forests (including Monsoon Forests)
3) Warm deserts and semi-deserts
4) Coniferous forests
5) Alpine meadows.
Bio-geographic Zones
- Biogeography deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals.
- Biogeographic zones were used as a basis for planning wildlife protected areas in India.
- There are 10 biogeographic zones which are distinguished clearly in India. They are as follows:
1) Trans-Himalayas
2) Himalayas
3) Desert
4) Semi-arid
5) Western Ghats
6) Deccan Peninsula
7) Gangetic plain
8) North-east India
9) Islands
10) Coasts
Bio-geographic provinces
- Bio-geographic Province is a biotic subdivision of realms.
- India is divided into 25 bio-geographic zones.
| Biogeographic Zones | Biogeographic Provinces |
|---|---|
| 1) Trans Himalaya | 1) 1A: Himalaya – Ladakh Mountains 2) 1B: Himalaya – Tibetan Plateau 3) 1C: Trans – Himalaya Sikkim |
| 2) The Himalaya | 4) 2A: Himalaya – North West Himalaya 5) 2B: Himalaya – West Himalaya 6) 2C: Himalaya – Central Himalaya 7) 2D: Himalaya – East Himalaya |
| 3) The Indian Desert | 8) 3A: Desert – Thar 9) 3B: Desert – Kutch |
| 4) The Semi-Arid | 10) 4A: Semi-Arid – Punjab Plains 11) 4B: Semi-Arid – Gujarat Rajputana |
| 5) The Western Ghats | 12) 5A: Western Ghats – Malabar Plains 13) 5B: Western Ghats – Western Ghats Mountains |
| 6) The Deccan Peninsula | 14)6A: Deccan Peninsular – Central Highlands 15)6B: Deccan Peninsular – Chotta Nagpur 16) 6C: Deccan Peninsular – Eastern Highlands 17) 6D: Deccan Peninsular – Central Plateau 18) 6E: Deccan Peninsular – Deccan South |
| 7) The Gangetic Plains | 19) 7A: Gangetic Plain – Upper Gangetic Plains 20) 7B: Gangetic Plain – Lower Gangetic Plains |
| 8) The Coasts | 21) 8A: Coasts – West Coast 22) 8B: Coasts – East Coast 23) 8C: Coasts – Lakshadweep |
| 9) Northeast India | 24) 9A: North-East – Brahmaputra Valley 25) 9B: North-East – North East Hills |
| 10) Islands | 26) 10A: Islands – Andaman 27) 10B: Islands – Nicobars |