98-453: The environment of India comprises some of the world's most biodiverse ecozones. The Deccan Traps , Gangetic Plains and the Himalayas are the major geographical features. The country faces different forms of pollution as its major environmental issue and is more vulnerable to the effects of climate change being a developing nation . India has laws protecting the environment and is one of
196-484: A 10% increase in biodiversity, which was canceled out by a loss in low-income countries. This is despite the fact that high-income countries use five times the ecological resources of low-income countries, which was explained as a result of a process whereby wealthy nations are outsourcing resource depletion to poorer nations, which are suffering the greatest ecosystem losses. A 2017 study published in PLOS One found that
294-501: A country, endangered species are initially supported on a national level then internationally. Ecotourism may be utilized to support the economy and encourages tourists to continue to visit and support species and ecosystems they visit, while they enjoy the available amenities provided. International biodiversity impacts global livelihood, food systems, and health. Problematic pollution, over consumption, and climate change can devastate international biodiversity. Nature-based solutions are
392-499: A critical tool for a global resolution. Many species are in danger of becoming extinct and need world leaders to be proactive with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework . Terrestrial biodiversity is thought to be up to 25 times greater than ocean biodiversity. Forests harbour most of Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. The conservation of the world's biodiversity is thus utterly dependent on
490-455: A first-order positive feedback (more ancestors, more descendants) and/or a negative feedback arising from resource limitation. Hyperbolic model implies a second-order positive feedback. Differences in the strength of the second-order feedback due to different intensities of interspecific competition might explain the faster rediversification of ammonoids in comparison to bivalves after the end-Permian extinction . The hyperbolic pattern of
588-557: A land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 mi) and a coastline of 7,517 km (4,671 mi). The Indian plate and Eurasia collided between 40 and 60 million years ago according to four observations, one being that there is no mammalian fossil record in India from around 50 million years ago. On its way, the Indian plate passed over the Reunion hotspot which led to volcanic activity, thus forming
686-460: A limit would also cap the number of species. While records of life in the sea show a logistic pattern of growth, life on land (insects, plants and tetrapods) shows an exponential rise in diversity. As one author states, "Tetrapods have not yet invaded 64 percent of potentially habitable modes and it could be that without human influence the ecological and taxonomic diversity of tetrapods would continue to increase exponentially until most or all of
784-670: A mansion in the Vindhyas. In Dashakumaracharita , the King Rajahamsa of Magadha and his ministers create a new colony in the Vindhya forest, after being forced out of their kingdom following a war defeat. The Vindhyas are one of the only two mountain ranges mentioned in the national anthem of India , the other being the Himalayas. Several tributaries of the Ganga-Yamuna system originate from
882-493: A ministry of non-conventional energy resources, in the early 1980s. Its cumulative grid interactive or grid tied renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) has reached 203.18 GW in October 2024, which makes a significant change of 13.5% from the 178.98 GW recorded in October 2023. India's initiatives such as green energy corridor and PM Surya ghar muft bijlii yojna promote renewable adoption. The government allows 100% FDI in
980-515: A part of the Vindhyas. Today, the definition of the Vindhyas is primarily restricted to the Central Indian escarpments, hills and highlands located to the north of the Narmada River . Some of these are actually distinct hill systems. The western end of the Vindhya range is located in the state of Gujarat , near the state's border with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh , at the eastern side of
1078-405: A report saying that "biodiversity is being destroyed at a rate unprecedented in human history". The report claims that 68% of the population of the examined species were destroyed in the years 1970 – 2016. Of 70,000 monitored species, around 48% are experiencing population declines from human activity (in 2023), whereas only 3% have increasing populations. Rates of decline in biodiversity in
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#17330861394941176-586: A third of the Earth's land mass) and are home to approximately 80% of the world's biodiversity. About 1 billion hectares are covered by primary forests. Over 700 million hectares of the world's woods are officially protected. The biodiversity of forests varies considerably according to factors such as forest type, geography, climate and soils – in addition to human use. Most forest habitats in temperate regions support relatively few animal and plant species and species that tend to have large geographical distributions, while
1274-768: A village by the locals against loggers sent by a company, by threatening to hug the trees, similar protests got triggered, collectively known as the Chipko Movement . In the same year, the National Committee for Environmental Protection and Control was formed; in 1980, a department for Environment and finally five years later the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was formed. The environmentalist movement in India began with these incidents. Historian Ramachandra Guha calls Medha Patkar as "the most celebrated environmental activist in contemporary India". New age India
1372-610: A wide range of weather conditions across a vast geographic scale and varied topography, making generalisations difficult. Given the size of India with the Himalayas, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, there is a great variation in temperature and precipitation distribution in the subcontinent. Based on the Köppen system , where the mean monthly temperature, mean monthly rainfall and mean annual rainfall are considered, India hosts six major climatic subtypes, ranging from arid desert in
1470-1021: Is 'planned' diversity or 'associated' diversity. This is a functional classification that we impose and not an intrinsic feature of life or diversity. Planned diversity includes the crops which a farmer has encouraged, planted or raised (e.g. crops, covers, symbionts, and livestock, among others), which can be contrasted with the associated diversity that arrives among the crops, uninvited (e.g. herbivores, weed species and pathogens, among others). Associated biodiversity can be damaging or beneficial. The beneficial associated biodiversity include for instance wild pollinators such as wild bees and syrphid flies that pollinate crops and natural enemies and antagonists to pests and pathogens. Beneficial associated biodiversity occurs abundantly in crop fields and provide multiple ecosystem services such as pest control, nutrient cycling and pollination that support crop production. Vindhya Range The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal ) ( pronounced [ʋɪnd̪ʱjə] )
1568-668: Is 300–650 metres (980–2,130 ft), with the range rarely going over 700 metres (2,300 ft) during its 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) extent. The highest point of the Vindhyas is the Sad-bhawna Shikhar ("Goodwill Peak"), which lies 752 metres (2,467 ft) above the sea level. Also known as the Kalumar peak or Kalumbe peak, it lies near Singrampur in the Damoh district , in the area known as Bhanrer or Panna hills. Historical texts include Amarkantak (1,000 m+ or 3,300 ft+) in
1666-401: Is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges , hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India . Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the geological sense. The exact extent of the Vindhyas is loosely defined, and historically, the term covered a number of distinct hill systems in central India , including the one that is now known as
1764-405: Is a plateau that lies to the north of the central part of the range. The Rewa - Panna plateaus are also collectively known as the Vindhya plateau. Different sources vary on the average elevation of the Vindhyas, depending on their definition of the range. M. C. Chaturvedi mentions the average elevation as 300 metres (980 ft). Pradeep Sharma states that the "general elevation" of the Vindhyas
1862-461: Is also known as "Vindhyachala" or "Vindhyachal"; the suffix achala (Sanskrit) or achal (Hindi) refers to a mountain. In the Mahabharata , the range is also referred to as Vindhyapadaparvata . The Greek geographer Ptolemy called the range Vindius or Ouindion, describing it as the source of Namados ( Narmada ) and Nanagouna ( Tapti ) rivers. The "Daksinaparvata" ("Southern Mountain") mentioned in
1960-405: Is an increase in biodiversity from the poles to the tropics . Thus localities at lower latitudes have more species than localities at higher latitudes . This is often referred to as the latitudinal gradient in species diversity. Several ecological factors may contribute to the gradient, but the ultimate factor behind many of them is the greater mean temperature at the equator compared to that at
2058-760: Is concerned about the air and water quality, several civil society groups such as Environmentalist Foundation of India have forged a successful community based conservation model to revive lakes across the country. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change through its Department of Environment and the particular state forest departments plan and implement environmental policy in each state. Some national-level environmental organisations (governmental and non-governmental) include: There are at least 85 widely diversified environmental organisations involved with Environmental protection and environmental education in Tamil Nadu . Biodiversity Biodiversity
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#17330861394942156-513: Is derived from the Sanskrit word vaindh (to obstruct) and is in reference to a mythological story. The Vindhya range is also known as "Vindhyachala" or "Vindhyachal"; the suffix achala (Sanskrit) or achal ( Hindi ) refers to a mountain. The Vindhyas have a great significance in Indian mythology and history . Several ancient texts mention the Vindhyas as the southern boundary of the Āryāvarta ,
2254-491: Is estimated at 5.0 x 10 and weighs 50 billion tonnes . In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as four trillion tons of carbon . In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms living on Earth. The age of Earth is about 4.54 billion years. The earliest undisputed evidence of life dates at least from 3.7 billion years ago, during
2352-402: Is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction rates. and expected to still grow in the upcoming years. As of 2012, some studies suggest that 25% of all mammal species could be extinct in 20 years. In absolute terms, the planet has lost 58% of its biodiversity since 1970 according to a 2016 study by
2450-427: Is local biodiversity, which directly impacts daily life, affecting the availability of fresh water, food choices, and fuel sources for humans. Regional biodiversity includes habitats and ecosystems that synergizes and either overlaps or differs on a regional scale. National biodiversity within a country determines the ability for a country to thrive according to its habitats and ecosystems on a national scale. Also, within
2548-458: Is no concrete definition for biodiversity, as its definition continues to be defined. Other definitions include (in chronological order): According to estimates by Mora et al. (2011), there are approximately 8.7 million terrestrial species and 2.2 million oceanic species. The authors note that these estimates are strongest for eukaryotic organisms and likely represent the lower bound of prokaryote diversity. Other estimates include: Since
2646-426: Is one of the main environmental issues in India. Being a developing nation, India is more vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry. Low per capita incomes and small public budgets also lead to low financial adaptive capacity. The nation is vulnerable to the immediate socio-economic effects of climate change. A 2002 study indicated that
2744-401: Is possible to build fractal hyper volumes, whose fractal dimension rises to three moving towards the equator . A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species that have experienced great habitat loss . The term hotspot was introduced in 1988 by Norman Myers . While hotspots are spread all over the world, the majority are forest areas and most are located in
2842-561: Is so full, that that district produces the most variety which is the most examined." Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution . The origin of life has not been established by science, however, some evidence suggests that life may already have been well-established only a few hundred million years after the formation of the Earth . Until approximately 2.5 billion years ago, all life consisted of microorganisms – archaea , bacteria , and single-celled protozoans and protists . Biodiversity grew fast during
2940-479: Is the variability of life on Earth . It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability , species diversity , ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth . It is greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator . Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than one-fifth of Earth's terrestrial area and contain about 50% of
3038-405: Is uncertainty as to how strongly the fossil record is biased by the greater availability and preservation of recent geologic sections. Some scientists believe that corrected for sampling artifacts, modern biodiversity may not be much different from biodiversity 300 million years ago, whereas others consider the fossil record reasonably reflective of the diversification of life. Estimates of
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3136-506: The Carboniferous , rainforest collapse may have led to a great loss of plant and animal life. The Permian–Triassic extinction event , 251 million years ago, was the worst; vertebrate recovery took 30 million years. Human activities have led to an ongoing biodiversity loss and an accompanying loss of genetic diversity . This process is often referred to as Holocene extinction , or sixth mass extinction . For example, it
3234-818: The Deccan Traps . Its collision with the Eurasian plate led to the rise of the Himalayas and the continuous tectonic activity still makes it an earthquake prone area. The Gangetic plains were formed by the deposition of silt by the Ganga and its tributaries into the area between the Himalayas and the Vindhya range . The rock formations can be divided into the Archaean, Proterozoic (Dharwar system), Cuddupah system, Vindhyan system, Gondwana system, The Deccan Traps, Tertiary system, Pleistocene period and recent formations. The climate comprises
3332-763: The Eoarchean era after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean eon. There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia . Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland .. More recently, in 2015, "remains of biotic life " were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia . According to one of
3430-572: The Indo-Aryans and that of the others. The most ancient Hindu texts consider it as the southern boundary of Aryavarta . The Mahabharata mentions that the Nishadas and other Mleccha tribes reside in the forests of the Vindhyas. Although the Indo-Aryan languages (such as Marathi and Konkani ) spread to the south of Vindhyas later, the Vindhyas continued to be seen as the traditional boundary between
3528-698: The Kathiawar peninsula. A series of hills connects the Vindhya extension to the Aravalli Range near Champaner . The Vindhya range rises in height east of Chhota Udaipur . The principal Vindhya range forms the southern escarpment of the Central Indian upland. It runs roughly parallel to the Naramada river in the east-west direction, forming the southern wall of the Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh. The eastern portion of
3626-496: The Kaushitaki Upanishad is also identified with the Vindhyas. The Vindhyas do not form a single range in the proper geological sense: the hills collectively known as the Vindhyas do not lie along an anticlinal or synclinal ridge. The Vindhya range is actually a group of discontinuous chain of mountain ridges , hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments . The term "Vindhyas" is defined by convention, and therefore,
3724-510: The Mount Meru , growing so high that it obstructed the sun. The sage Agastya then asked Vindhya to lower itself, in order to facilitate his passage across to the south. In reverence for Agastya, the Vindhya lowered its height and promised not to grow until Agastya returned to the north. Agastya settled in the south, and the Vindhya mountain, true to its word, never grew further. The Kishkindha Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana mentions that Maya built
3822-696: The Phanerozoic (the last 540 million years), especially during the so-called Cambrian explosion —a period during which nearly every phylum of multicellular organisms first appeared. However, recent studies suggest that this diversification had started earlier, at least in the Ediacaran , and that it continued in the Ordovician . Over the next 400 million years or so, invertebrate diversity showed little overall trend and vertebrate diversity shows an overall exponential trend. This dramatic rise in diversity
3920-542: The Satpura Range . Today, the term principally refers to the escarpment and its hilly extensions that runs north of and roughly parallel to the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh . Depending on the definition, the range extends up to Gujarat in the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the north, and Chhattisgarh in the east. The average elevation of the Vindhyas is also dependent on different sources. The word Vindhya
4018-456: The Stone Age , species loss has accelerated above the average basal rate, driven by human activity. Estimates of species losses are at a rate 100–10,000 times as fast as is typical in the fossil record. Loss of biodiversity results in the loss of natural capital that supplies ecosystem goods and services . Species today are being wiped out at a rate 100 to 1,000 times higher than baseline, and
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4116-675: The Western Ghats , the Himalayas and the Indo-Burma region. These hotspots have numerous endemic species. In 2021, around 7,13,789km of land in the country was under forests and 92 percent of that belonged to the government. Only 22.7 percent was forested compared to the recommended 33 percent by the National Forest Policy Resolution (1952). Majority of it are broad-leaved deciduous trees which comprise one-sixth sal and one-tenth teak . Coniferous types are found in
4214-504: The tropics . Brazil 's Atlantic Forest is considered one such hotspot, containing roughly 20,000 plant species, 1,350 vertebrates and millions of insects, about half of which occur nowhere else. The island of Madagascar and India are also particularly notable. Colombia is characterized by high biodiversity, with the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide and it has the largest number of endemics (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) of any country. About 10% of
4312-417: The world population growth arises from a second-order positive feedback between the population size and the rate of technological growth. The hyperbolic character of biodiversity growth can be similarly accounted for by a feedback between diversity and community structure complexity. The similarity between the curves of biodiversity and human population probably comes from the fact that both are derived from
4410-590: The IUCN's critically endangered . Numerous scientists and the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services assert that human population growth and overconsumption are the primary factors in this decline. However, other scientists have criticized this finding and say that loss of habitat caused by "the growth of commodities for export" is the main driver. Some studies have however pointed out that habitat destruction for
4508-768: The Malabar and the Andamans. India lies on the Indian Plate , the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate , whose continental crust forms the Indian subcontinent . The country is situated north of the equator between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world , with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 mi) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 mi) from east to west. It has
4606-785: The USA. The central government has pledged to reduce the emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product by 20-25%, relative to 2005 levels, by 2020. India has also made major pledges to expand its renewable energy supply, enhance energy efficiency, build mass transit and other measures to reduce its emissions. There is evidence that many of these climate actions could generate substantial benefits in addition to reducing India's carbon footprint. Many low-carbon measures are economically attractive, including more efficient air conditioners, parking demand management, gasification and vehicle performance standards. Others offer social benefits: for example, Indian cities might see substantial improvements in air quality if
4704-475: The Vindhya range as the residence of fierce form of Shakti (goddess Kali or Durga ), who has lived there since slaying the demons. She is described as Vindhyavasini ("Vindhya dweller"), and a temple dedicated to her is located in the Vindhyachal town of Uttar Pradesh . The Mahabharata mentions the Vindhyas as the "eternal abode" of Kali. According to one legend, the Vindhya mountain once competed with
4802-624: The Vindhyas comprises multiple chains, as the range divides into branches east of Malwa. A southern chain of Vindhyas runs between the upper reaches of the Son and Narmada rivers to meet the Satpura Range in the Maikal Hills near Amarkantak . A northern chain of the Vindhyas continues eastwards as Bhander Plateau and Kaimur Range , which runs north of the Son River . This extended range runs through what
4900-469: The Vindhyas once obstructed the path of the sun, resulting in this name. The Ramayana states that the great mountain Vindhya that was growing incessantly and obstructing the path of the Sun stopped growing any more in obedience to Agastya's words. According to another theory, the name "Vindhya" means "hunter" in Sanskrit , and may refer to the tribal hunter-gatherers inhabiting the region. The Vindhya range
4998-516: The Vindhyas, but today, it is considered a part of the Maikal Range , which is considered as an extension of the Satpuras. The Vindhyas are regarded as the traditional geographical boundary between northern and southern India, and have a distinguished status in both mythology and geography of India . In the ancient Indian texts, the Vindhyas are seen as the demarcating line between the territories of
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#17330861394945096-527: The Vindhyas. These include Chambal , Betwa , Dhasan , Sunar , Ken , Tamsa , Kali Sindh and Parbati . The northern slopes of the Vindhyas are drained by these rivers. Narmada and Son rivers drain the southern slopes of the Vindhyas. Both these rivers rise in the Maikal hills , which are now defined as an extension of the Satpuras, although several older texts use the term Vindhyas to cover them (see Historical definitions above). The "Vindhyan Supergroup"
5194-566: The World Wildlife Fund. The Living Planet Report 2014 claims that "the number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago". Of that number, 39% accounts for the terrestrial wildlife gone, 39% for the marine wildlife gone and 76% for the freshwater wildlife gone. Biodiversity took the biggest hit in Latin America , plummeting 83 percent. High-income countries showed
5292-461: The available eco-space is filled." It also appears that the diversity continues to increase over time, especially after mass extinctions. On the other hand, changes through the Phanerozoic correlate much better with the hyperbolic model (widely used in population biology , demography and macrosociology , as well as fossil biodiversity) than with exponential and logistic models. The latter models imply that changes in diversity are guided by
5390-537: The biomass of insect life in Germany had declined by three-quarters in the last 25 years. Dave Goulson of Sussex University stated that their study suggested that humans "appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. If we lose the insects then everything is going to collapse." In 2020 the World Wildlife Foundation published
5488-550: The countries that signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and each particular state forest departments plan and implement environmental policies throughout the country. India has some of the world's most biodiverse ecozones—desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers and an island archipelago. It hosts three biodiversity hotspots :
5586-529: The country were to promote renewable energy technologies instead of fossil fuels and walking/cycling/public transport instead of private vehicles. In 2009, around 4.8 percent of the total area of the country were designated as protected areas. That comprised 100 national parks, 514 sanctuaries, 41 conservation reserves and four community reserves. In the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 48 says "the state shall endeavour to protect and improve
5684-534: The current sixth mass extinction match or exceed rates of loss in the five previous mass extinction events in the fossil record . Biodiversity loss is in fact "one of the most critical manifestations of the Anthropocene " (since around the 1950s); the continued decline of biodiversity constitutes "an unprecedented threat" to the continued existence of human civilization. The reduction is caused primarily by human impacts , particularly habitat destruction . Since
5782-505: The end of the Maastrichtian , just before that extinction event. However, many other taxa were affected by this crisis, which affected even marine taxa, such as ammonites , which also became extinct around that time. The biodiversity of the past is called Paleobiodiversity. The fossil record suggests that the last few million years featured the greatest biodiversity in history . However, not all scientists support this view, since there
5880-481: The end of the last ice age partly resulted from overhunting. Biologists most often define biodiversity as the "totality of genes , species and ecosystems of a region". An advantage of this definition is that it presents a unified view of the traditional types of biological variety previously identified: Biodiversity is most commonly used to replace the more clearly-defined and long-established terms, species diversity and species richness . However, there
5978-473: The environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country"; Article 51-A states that "it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures." India is one of the parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty. Prior to the CBD, India had different laws to govern
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#17330861394946076-461: The environment. The Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972 protected the biodiversity. In addition to this act, the government passed the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act 1992 for control of biodiversity. Renewable energy in India comes under the purview of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy . India was the first country in the world to set up
6174-451: The estimated global value of ecosystem services (not captured in traditional markets) at an average of $ 33 trillion annually. With regards to provisioning services, greater species diversity has the following benefits: With regards to regulating services, greater species diversity has the following benefits: Greater species diversity Agricultural diversity can be divided into two categories: intraspecific diversity , which includes
6272-672: The exact definition of the Vindhya range has varied at different times in history. Earlier, the term "Vindhyas" was used in a wider sense and included a number of hill ranges between the Indo-Gangetic plain and the Deccan Plateau . According to the various definitions mentioned in the older texts, the Vindhyas extend up to the Godavari in the south and the Ganges in the north. In certain Puranas ,
6370-428: The expansion of agriculture and the overexploitation of wildlife are the more significant drivers of contemporary biodiversity loss, not climate change . Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, rather it varies greatly across the globe as well as within regions and seasons. Among other factors, the diversity of all living things ( biota ) depends on temperature , precipitation , altitude , soils , geography and
6468-491: The genetic variation within a single species, like the potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) that is composed of many different forms and types (e.g. in the U.S. they might compare russet potatoes with new potatoes or purple potatoes, all different, but all part of the same species, S. tuberosum ). The other category of agricultural diversity is called interspecific diversity and refers to the number and types of different species. Agricultural diversity can also be divided by whether it
6566-414: The higher density of people means that basic infrastructure options might not be adequate. Additionally, many Indian megacities are in floodplains and deltas, and will therefore be very exposed to climate hazards such as sea level rise, storm surges and cyclones. Although India still has low average incomes per person, the country is now the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions after China and
6664-493: The hills in Central India. In one passage, Valmiki 's Ramayana describes Vindhya as being situated to the south of Kishkindha (Ramayana IV-46. 17), which is identified with a part of the present-day Karnataka . It further implies that the sea was located just to the south of the Vindhyas, and Lanka was located across this sea. Many scholars have attempted to explain this anomaly in different ways. According to one theory,
6762-582: The interactions between other species. The study of the spatial distribution of organisms , species and ecosystems , is the science of biogeography . Diversity consistently measures higher in the tropics and in other localized regions such as the Cape Floristic Region and lower in polar regions generally. Rain forests that have had wet climates for a long time, such as Yasuní National Park in Ecuador , have particularly high biodiversity. There
6860-732: The interference of the hyperbolic trend with cyclical and stochastic dynamics. Most biologists agree however that the period since human emergence is part of a new mass extinction, named the Holocene extinction event , caused primarily by the impact humans are having on the environment. It has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient to eliminate most species on the planet Earth within 100 years. New species are regularly discovered (on average between 5–10,000 new species each year, most of them insects ) and many, though discovered, are not yet classified (estimates are that nearly 90% of all arthropods are not yet classified). Most of
6958-530: The key factors for this decline. Aided by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Indian conservationists were instrumental in getting the government to ban hunting and set aside national parks. Project Tiger further served as a model for protecting endangered species like the Indian elephant and rhinoceros . Around that year, after a protest in
7056-869: The montane forests of Africa, South America and Southeast Asia and lowland forests of Australia, coastal Brazil, the Caribbean islands, Central America and insular Southeast Asia have many species with small geographical distributions. Areas with dense human populations and intense agricultural land use, such as Europe , parts of Bangladesh, China, India and North America, are less intact in terms of their biodiversity. Northern Africa, southern Australia, coastal Brazil, Madagascar and South Africa, are also identified as areas with striking losses in biodiversity intactness. European forests in EU and non-EU nations comprise more than 30% of Europe's land mass (around 227 million hectares), representing an almost 10% growth since 1990. Generally, there
7154-487: The north and the south of India. Vindhyas appear prominently in the Indian mythological tales. Although the Vindhyas are not very high, historically, they were considered highly inaccessible and dangerous due to dense vegetation and the hostile tribes residing there. In the older Sanskrit texts, such as the Ramayana , they are described as the unknown territory infested with cannibals and demons . The later texts describe
7252-573: The northern high altitude regions and comprise pines , junipers and deodars . There are 350 species of mammals, 375 reptiles, 130 amphibians, 20,000 insects, 19000 fish and 1200 species of birds in India. The Asiatic lion , Bengal tiger and leopard are the main predators; the country has the most species of cats than any other. Elephants, the Indian Rhinoceros and eight species of deer are also found. There are over 17000 species of flowering plants in India, which account for six percent of
7350-468: The planet's species went extinct prior to the evolution of humans. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86% have not yet been described. However, a May 2016 scientific report estimates that 1 trillion species are currently on Earth, with only one-thousandth of one percent described. The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth
7448-546: The poles. Even though terrestrial biodiversity declines from the equator to the poles, some studies claim that this characteristic is unverified in aquatic ecosystems , especially in marine ecosystems . The latitudinal distribution of parasites does not appear to follow this rule. Also, in terrestrial ecosystems the soil bacterial diversity has been shown to be highest in temperate climatic zones, and has been attributed to carbon inputs and habitat connectivity. In 2016, an alternative hypothesis ("the fractal biodiversity")
7546-412: The present global macroscopic species diversity vary from 2 million to 100 million, with a best estimate of somewhere near 9 million, the vast majority arthropods . Diversity appears to increase continually in the absence of natural selection. The existence of a global carrying capacity , limiting the amount of life that can live at once, is debated, as is the question of whether such
7644-729: The rate of extinction has increased, many extant species may become extinct before they are described. Not surprisingly, in the animalia the most studied groups are birds and mammals , whereas fishes and arthropods are the least studied animals groups. During the last century, decreases in biodiversity have been increasingly observed. It was estimated in 2007 that up to 30% of all species will be extinct by 2050. Of these, about one eighth of known plant species are threatened with extinction . Estimates reach as high as 140,000 species per year (based on Species-area theory ). This figure indicates unsustainable ecological practices, because few species emerge each year. The rate of species loss
7742-577: The rate of extinctions is increasing. This process destroys the resilience and adaptability of life on Earth. In 2006, many species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened ; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction —a total of 16,119. As of late 2022 9251 species were considered part of
7840-913: The researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth...then it could be common in the universe ." There have been many claims about biodiversity's effect on the ecosystem services , especially provisioning and regulating services . Some of those claims have been validated, some are incorrect and some lack enough evidence to draw definitive conclusions. Ecosystem services have been grouped in three types: Experiments with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to support human needs; for example insect pollination cannot be mimicked, though there have been attempts to create artificial pollinators using unmanned aerial vehicles . The economic activity of pollination alone represented between $ 2.1–14.6 billion in 2003. Other sources have reported somewhat conflicting results and in 1997 Robert Costanza and his colleagues reported
7938-473: The sector and collaborates internationally (such as partnership with Australia) to boost investments. Regardless of challenges like funding gap and skill shortages, India targets 500GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. In 1973, the government launched Project Tiger , a conservation program aimed at protecting the national animal, the tiger. Its population reached as low as 2000 in 1970. Human population growth, cultivation of forest land and mainly hunting were
8036-507: The seven Kula Parvatas ("clan mountains") of Bharatavarsha , that is, India. The exact identification of these three ranges is difficult due to contrasting descriptions in the various texts. For example, the Kurma , Matsya and Brahmanda Puranas mention Vindhya as the source of Tapti ; while Vishnu and Brahma Puranas mention the Rksa as its source. Some texts use the term Vindhyas to describe all
8134-684: The species of the Earth can be found in Colombia, including over 1,900 species of bird, more than in Europe and North America combined, Colombia has 10% of the world's mammals species, 14% of the amphibian species and 18% of the bird species of the world. Madagascar dry deciduous forests and lowland rainforests possess a high ratio of endemism . Since the island separated from mainland Africa 66 million years ago, many species and ecosystems have evolved independently. Indonesia 's 17,000 islands cover 735,355 square miles (1,904,560 km ) and contain 10% of
8232-526: The temperature over the country increased at around 0.57° per 100 years. Inadequate infrastructure also means that people are more exposed, and less resilient, to climate change. For example, as of 2015, only 124 million Indians were connected to a sewer and 297 million to a septic tank. The remainder depend on pit latrines or open defecation, which creates major risks of waterborne disease during floods - which will become more frequent and severe with climate change. These risks are more severe in urban areas, where
8330-641: The term "Vindhyas" covered a number of mountains to the south of the Indo-Aryan territories at the time Ramayana was written. Others, such as Frederick Eden Pargiter , believe that there was another mountain in South India, with the same name. Madhav Vinayak Kibe placed the location of Lanka in Central India . The Barabar Cave inscription of the Maukhari ruler Anantavarman mentions the Nagarjuni hill of Bihar as
8428-815: The term Vindhya specifically covers the mountain range located between the Narmada and the Tapti rivers; that is, the one which is now known as the Satpura Range . The Varaha Purana uses the name "Vindhya-pada" ("foot of the Vindhyas") for the Satpura range. Several ancient Indian texts and inscriptions (e.g. the Nasik Prasasti of Gautamiputra Satakarni ) mention three mountain ranges in Central India: Vindhya (or "Vindhya proper"), Rksa (also Rksavat or Riksha) and Pariyatra (or Paripatra). The three ranges are included in
8526-419: The terrestrial diversity is found in tropical forests and in general, the land has more species than the ocean; some 8.7 million species may exist on Earth, of which some 2.1 million live in the ocean. It is estimated that 5 to 50 billion species have existed on the planet. Assuming that there may be a maximum of about 50 million species currently alive, it stands to reason that greater than 99% of
8624-524: The territory of the ancient Indo-Aryan peoples . Although today Indo-Aryan languages are spoken south of the Vindhyas, the range continues to be considered as the traditional boundary between north and south India . The former Vindhya Pradesh was named after the Vindhya Range. According to the author of a commentary on Amarakosha , the word Vindhya derives from the Sanskrit word vaindh (to obstruct). A mythological story (see below ) states that
8722-450: The total plant species in the world. India comprises seven percent of world's flora. Wide range of climatic conditions in India gave rise to rich variety of flora. India covers more than 45,000 species of flora, out of which several are endemic to the region. India is divided into eight main floristic regions: North-Western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Indus plain, Ganga plain, the Deccan,
8820-773: The way in which we interact with and use the world's forests. A new method used in 2011, put the total number of species on Earth at 8.7 million, of which 2.1 million were estimated to live in the ocean. However, this estimate seems to under-represent the diversity of microorganisms. Forests provide habitats for 80 percent of amphibian species , 75 percent of bird species and 68 percent of mammal species. About 60 percent of all vascular plants are found in tropical forests. Mangroves provide breeding grounds and nurseries for numerous species of fish and shellfish and help trap sediments that might otherwise adversely affect seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are habitats for many more marine species. Forests span around 4 billion acres (nearly
8918-420: The west, alpine tundra and glaciers in the north, and humid tropical regions supporting rainforests in the southwest and the island territories. Many regions have starkly different microclimates . The Indian Meteorological Department divides the seasons into four: Winter (mid-December to mid-March), Summer (mid-March to May), Rainy (June to September), and Retreating Monsoon (October to mid-December). Pollution
9016-630: The world's flowering plants , 12% of mammals and 17% of reptiles , amphibians and birds —along with nearly 240 million people. Many regions of high biodiversity and/or endemism arise from specialized habitats which require unusual adaptations, for example, alpine environments in high mountains , or Northern European peat bogs . Accurately measuring differences in biodiversity can be difficult. Selection bias amongst researchers may contribute to biased empirical research for modern estimates of biodiversity. In 1768, Rev. Gilbert White succinctly observed of his Selborne, Hampshire "all nature
9114-647: The world's species. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity for both marine and terrestrial taxa. Since life began on Earth , six major mass extinctions and several minor events have led to large and sudden drops in biodiversity. The Phanerozoic aeon (the last 540 million years) marked a rapid growth in biodiversity via the Cambrian explosion . In this period, the majority of multicellular phyla first appeared. The next 400 million years included repeated, massive biodiversity losses. Those events have been classified as mass extinction events. In
9212-501: Was estimated in 2007 that up to 30% of all species will be extinct by 2050. Destroying habitats for farming is a key reason why biodiversity is decreasing today. Climate change also plays a role. This can be seen for example in the effects of climate change on biomes . This anthropogenic extinction may have started toward the end of the Pleistocene , as some studies suggest that the megafaunal extinction event that took place around
9310-478: Was marked by periodic, massive losses of diversity classified as mass extinction events. A significant loss occurred in anamniotic limbed vertebrates when rainforests collapsed in the Carboniferous , but amniotes seem to have been little affected by this event; their diversification slowed down later, around the Asselian / Sakmarian boundary, in the early Cisuralian (Early Permian ), about 293 Ma ago. The worst
9408-565: Was once Vindhya Pradesh , reaching up to the Kaimur district of Bihar. The branch of the Vindhya range spanning across Bundelkhand is known as the Panna range. Another northern extension (known as the Vindhyachal hills) runs up to Uttar Pradesh , stopping before the shores of Ganga at multiple places, including Vindhyachal and Chunar ( Mirzapur District ), near Varanasi . The Vindhyan tableland
9506-401: Was proposed to explain the biodiversity latitudinal gradient. In this study, the species pool size and the fractal nature of ecosystems were combined to clarify some general patterns of this gradient. This hypothesis considers temperature , moisture , and net primary production (NPP) as the main variables of an ecosystem niche and as the axis of the ecological hypervolume . In this way, it
9604-559: Was the Permian-Triassic extinction event , 251 million years ago. Vertebrates took 30 million years to recover from this event. The most recent major mass extinction event, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event , occurred 66 million years ago. This period has attracted more attention than others because it resulted in the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs , which were represented by many lineages at
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