Lesson: Conservation of Plants and Animals
Exercise:

Question: 1

Fill in the blanks:
(a) A place where animals are protected in their natural habitat is called a _____.
(b) Species found only in a particular area are known as ______.
(c) Migratory birds fly to faraway places because of _____ changes.

Solution:

(a)   A place where animals are protected in their natural habitat is called a sanctuary.
(b) Species found only in a particular area are known as endemic.
(c) Migratory birds fly to faraway places because of climatic changes.

Question: 2

Differentiate between the following.

(a)   Wildlife sanctuary and biosphere reserve 

(b) Zoo and wildlife sanctuary

(c) Endangered and extinct species

(d) Flora and fauna

Solution:

(a) Wildlife sanctuary and biosphere reserve 

Wildlife sanctuary

Biosphere reserve

It is a protected area for the conservation of wild animals and birds. Hunting is strictly prohibited there.

It is a large protected area where various uses of land are permitted for preserving biodiversity.

It is formed for the protecting wild animals and providing a suitable living condition to them.

It helps in conserving various life forms, such as plants, animals, and micro-organisms.

(b) Zoo and wildlife sanctuary

Zoo

Wildlife sanctuary

Zoo is a small confinement to provide artificial environment to the animals kept inside.

Wildlife sanctuaries are large protected areas where wild animals live in their natural habitats.

It provides protection to the animals but the primary objective is public viewing of these animals.

These provide protection, as well as a suitable living condition, to wild animals.

(c) Endangered and extinct species

Endangered species

Extinct species

Endangered species are the species that are on the verge of becoming extinct, and requires protection and conservation.

Extinct species are the species that no longer exist on the earth.

Examples: Indian rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, etc.

Examples: Passenger pigeon, Dodo, etc.

(d) Flora and fauna

Flora

Fauna

It refers to all variety of plants living in a particular area.

It refers to all variety of animals living in a particular area.

Examples: Silver ferns, sal, teak, mango, arjun, jamun, etc. are the flora.

Examples: Cheetal, chinkara, leopard, wild dog, wolf, blue-bull, barking deer etc. are the fauna.

 

Question: 3

Discuss the effects of deforestation on the following.

(a) Wild animals

(b) Environment

(c) Villages (Rural areas)

(d) Cities (Urban areas)

(e) Earth

(f) The next generation

Solution:

a)      Wild animals: The natural habitat of animals gets destroyed due to deforestation. In the absence of natural habitat, these animals will be left with no place to live and breed. If deforestation continues, many animals will be at the verge of extinction.

b)      Environment: Forests maintain the ecological balance of our world and helps in continuation of water cycle. Deforestation will lead to disturbance in ecological balance in the environment and the water cycle.

c)      Villages (Rural Areas): Villagers depend on forests for their daily requirements of fuel. In the absence of forests, the villagers will not only struggle for their fuel needs. Also, forest prevents soil erosion and flood. Deforestation will lead to flash floods and soil erosion which will impact the agriculture. As villages are mainly dependent on agriculture of livelihood, deforestation will lead to poverty and starvation in villages.

d)      Cities (Urban Areas): Deforestation will lead to increase in natural calamities such as droughts and flash floods. Also, it will increase the migration of people from villages to city in search of livelihood.

e)      Earth: The earth has various ecosystems which together make the biosphere. Deforestation converts the fertile land of the earth into desert. This leads to temperature rise, global warming and changes in the climate pattern of the earth. It also disturbs the balance in the biosphere.

f)       The next generation: Many varieties of flora and fauna will become extinct due to deforestation. So, the next generation will not be able to see them. They will not have a clean environment. Many coastal regions will sink if the sea level rises due to global warming. Hence, life would become very difficult for the next generation.

Question: 4

What will happen if:
(a) we go on cutting trees.
(b) the habitat of an animal is disturbed.
(c) the top layer of soil is exposed.

Solution:

(a)   If we go on cutting trees, then there will be an adverse impact on the living beings of the earth. In the absence of trees, the earth will lose its top fertile layer and get converted into a desert. The living beings, those who are dependent on the trees for food, clothing and shelter, will struggle for getting the basic needs fulfilled. We may witness ecological imbalance, such as floods as well as droughts, death of animals, and finally an extremely difficult environment, for the survival of living beings.

(b)   The habitat of an animal provides it with necessities, such as food, shelter, and protection. If the habitat of an animal is disturbed, it will be forced to go to other places, in search of food and shelter. In the new place, the animal might face competition from other animals for food and shelter. Some of these animals may not survive the competition and struggle for existence and may get extinct.

(c)   If the top layer of the soil is exposed, then it will gradually expose the hard, rocky lower layers of the soil.  This layer of the soil is less fertile as it contains less humus. The land will thus become barren or infertile.

Question: 5

Answer in brief.

(a) Why should we conserve biodiversity?

(b) Protected forests are also not completely safe for wild animals. Why?

(c) Some tribals depend on the jungle. How?

(d) What are the causes and consequences of deforestation?

(e) What is Red Data Book?

(f) What do you understand by the term migration?

Solution:

a)      Any damage to biodiversity will threaten all living organisms and the whole support system. This will also be a threat to the human existence. So, we should conserve biodiversity.

b)      Protected forests are not completely safe for wild animals. People living near the forest use the resources of the forest for their livelihood. These people also kill wild animals for lucrative amount of money.

c)      The tribal people depend on forests for their food, clothes, shelter, wood and other daily requirements.

d)      The main cause of deforestation is growing urbanization and industrialization.

Apart from man-made causes, there are some natural causes of deforestation. This includes forest fires, landslides, earthquakes, floods, etc. Consequences of deforestation are as follows:

·         Flash flood

·         Depletion of groundwater

·         Soil erosion

·         Reduced rainfall

·         Change in climate

e)      Red Data Book is a source book. It is the book that maintains list of all endangered animals and plant species in the world.

f)       Migration is the term given to the movement of an organism or a group of organisms, especially birds, from its natural habitat to a different geographical area, at a particular season every year.

Question: 6

In order to meet the ever-increasing demand in factories and for shelter, trees are being continually cut. Is it justified to cut trees for such projects? Discuss and prepare a brief report.

Solution:

The continuous cutting of trees is not justified for any project. Trees are the habitat for several organisms, including wild animals. They provide us with good quality air in the form of oxygen, absorb the harmful CO2 gas from the atmosphere, and are a source of energy for other living beings. They prevent excessive heating of the atmosphere, soil erosion, and natural calamities, such as floods and droughts. They increase the fertility of the soil and maintain the ecological balance. The cutting of trees will lead to soil erosion, droughts, floods, landslides and many more such natural calamities.

Question: 7

How can you contribute to the maintenance of green wealth of your locality? Make a list of actions to be taken by you.

Solution:

We can contribute to the maintenance of green wealth of our locality by taking following actions:

·         Growing and watering more plants in our locality

·         Nourishing the existing plants properly

·         Creating awareness among the people in our locality about the importance of growing trees.

Question: 8

Explain how deforestation leads to reduced rainfall.

Solution:

Plants play an important role in the water cycle. They absorb water from the soil and release it to the atmosphere, in the form of water vapour, to form clouds.

Deforestation leads to cutting down of trees. If there is marked decrease in the number of trees, then lesser water will be absorbed from the soil. Therefore, formation of clouds becomes difficult. This situation will lead to reduced rainfall.

Question: 9

Why should paper be saved? Prepare a list of ways by which you can save paper.

Solution:

Paper is produced from wood pulp. It takes around 17 fully grown trees to make one tonne of paper. Trees are important to maintain a balance in nature.

Therefore, we should save paper in order to save trees.

Ways to save paper:

·         Reduce the use of paper as much as possible.

·         Reuse a paper as much as possible.

·         Recycle of paper

·         Avoid taking printouts.

·         Use electronic medium for communication instead of letters.

Question: 10

Complete the world puzzle.
Down
1. Species on the verge of extinction.
2. A book carrying information about endangered species.
5. Consequence of deforestation.
Across
1. Species which have vanished.
3. Species found only in a particular habitat.
4. Variety of plants, animals and microorganisms found in an area.

Solution:

Down
1. ENDANGERED
2. RED DATA BOOK
5. DESERTS
Across
1. EXTINCT
3. ENDEMIC
4. BIODIVERSITY