BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity, a contraction of "biological diversity, " generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth.
One of the most widely used definitions defines it in terms of the variability within species, between species, and between ecosystems.
It is a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems. This can refer to genetic variation, ecosystem variation, or species variation (number of species) within an area, biome, or planet
Biodiversity is an essential component of nature and it ensures the survival of human species by providing food, fuel, shelter, medicines and other resources to mankind.
The richness of biodiversity depends on the climatic conditions and area of the region. All species of plants taken together are known as flora and animals known as fauna.
Biodiversity is not evenly distributed; rather it varies greatly across the globe as well as within regions.
Among other factors, the diversity of all living things (biota) depends on temperature
Biodiversity provides critical support for drug discovery and the availability of medicinal resources. A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources: at least 50% of the pharmaceutical compounds on the US market are derived from plants, animals, and micro-organisms, while about 80% of the world population depends on medicines from nature (used in either modern or traditional medical practice) for primary healthcare
Biodiversity of India
The India is rich in biodiversity due to diversified climatic conditions that vary from the humid tropical Western Ghats and the hot desert of Rajasthan to diversified north east regions of the country, from the cold desert of Ladakh and the icy mountains of Himalaya to the warm coasts of Peninsular India, and the central fertile plains providing innumerous microhabitats.
It is second largest country in the world in respect of population and 7th largest country in the world in area & 2nd largest in Asia
Occupied 7th ranks in the world in contribution of agricultural plants, 10th largest mega diversity country in the world and 4th largest country in Asia.
It constitutes 2.4% land area in the world, containing 17.5% human population and 15% biodiversity. It has 18% Livestock population, 50% Tiger population, 60% Elephants population, 62% Amphibian species, 50% Lizards, 10% Bamboo, 50% Aquatic flowering plants and 7% Mangroves of the world occur in India
India harbors more than 47515 plant species including lower plants. Out of which 18043 (38.01%) are flowering plants which represent more than 7 % of the known flowering plants of the world. • Of these 5725 (33%) plants are endemic, confined to a restricted Indian boundary.
About 1800 (10%) species of flowering plants are threatened. There are 2560 tree species (15%) occur in India.
Out of 34 hotspots of the world, two hotspots viz. Western Ghats and Eastern Himalaya are found in India. • It has been the centre of origin of cultivated plants.
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