This document provides an overview of biodiversity in India. It notes that India ranks among the top ten most biodiverse countries in the world, with four global biodiversity hotspots: the Eastern Himalayas, Indo-Burma region, Western Ghats, and Sundalands. India is home to over 47,000 plant and 91,000 animal species. The country can be divided into 10 biogeographic zones with varied ecosystems. The two main biodiversity hotspots are the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats, which contain many endemic plant and animal species.

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BIODIVERSITY PROFILE OF INDIA
by
Prof. A. Balasubramanian
Centre for Advanced Studies in Earth Science
University of Mysore,India

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INTRODUCTION
The term Biodiversity refers to a variety and
variability of all life present on earth.
Biodiversity helps human populations in
several ways. A wide range of ecological,
economic, social, cultural, educational,
scientific and aesthetic services are obtained
through these living resources. Every country
in the world has its own profile of biodiversity.
India ranks among the top ten species-rich
nations in the world.
India has four global biodiversity hot spots.

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They are the
Eastern Himalaya,
Indo-Burma region,
the Western Ghats, and
the Sundalands.

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The varied edaphic, climatic and topographic
conditions and years of geological stability
have resulted in a wide range of ecosystems
and habitats.
These habitats include numerous forests,
grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and coastal and
marine ecosystem.
India has a geographic area of 329 mha. It is
the seventh largest country in the world. India
is one of the 17 Mega Biodiversity Nation in
the world.

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With this 2.4% of the world’s land area, India
accounts for about 7-8% of recorded species of
the world.
From about 70 per cent of the total
geographical area surveyed by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests in India, 45,500
plant species (including fungi and lower
plants) and 91,000 animal species,
representing about seven percent of the
world's flora and 6.5 per cent of the world's
fauna, respectively, have been described.

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The Pride of India lies in its nearly 6,500 native
plants which are still used in the indigenous
healthcare systems.
It is a country with rich biodiversity.
Today, India has
59,353 insect species,
2,546 fish species,
240 amphibian species,
460 reptile species,
1,232 bird species and
397 mammal species, of which 18.4 per cent
are endemic and 10.8 per cent are threatened.

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India is the home to at least 18,664 species of
vascular plants, of which 26.8 per cent are
endemic.
With only 2.4 per cent of the total land area of
the world, the known biological diversity of
India contributes to about 8 per cent to the
known global biological diversity.
It has been estimated that at least 10 per cent
of the country's recorded wild flora, and ten
percent of its wild fauna, are on the threatened
list.

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It is also heartening to note that many of them
are on the verge of extinction.
India has two very good biodiversity hot spots.
They are the :
1. The Eastern Himalayas and
2. The Western Ghats.
India is a country with very typical geology,
terrain conditions, topography, land use,
geographic and climatic factors.

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Based on these factors, the country can be
divided into ten recognizable biogeographic
zones (Rodgers et al., 2000).
1. Trans-Himalayan Region
2. Himalayan Zone
3. Indian Desert Zone
4. Semi-arid Region
5. Western Ghats
6. Deccan Plateau
7. Gangetic Planis
8. Coastal Regions
9. North-East Region
10. Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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These zones encompass a variety of
ecosystems - mountains, plateaus, rivers,
forests, deserts, wetlands, lakes, mangroves,
coral reefs, coasts and islands.
1. Trans-Himalayan Region covers about 5.6
per cent of the total geographical area. It
includes the high altitude, cold and arid
mountain areas of Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir,
North Sikkim, Lahaul and Spiti areas of
Himachal Pradesh.

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The Biogeographic Provinces are:
1A: Himalaya - Ladakh Mountains (3.3 %)
1B: Himalaya -Tibetan Plateau (2.2%)
1C: Trans - Himalaya Sikkim ( <0.1 %).
This zone has sparse alpine steppe vegetation
that harbours several endemic species. It is a
favourable habitat for the biggest populations
of wild sheep and goat in the world. The other
rare fauna includes Snow Leopard (Uncia
uncia) and the migratory Blacknecked Crane
(Grus nigricollis).

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The cold dry desert of this zone represents an
extremely fragile ecosystem.
2. Himalayan Zone, in the far North is another
biogeographic zone. It covers about 6.4 per
cent of the total geographical area in India. It
includes some of the highest peaks in the
world. This zone makes India as one of the
richest areas in terms of habitats and species.
The steep slopes, unconsolidated soils and
intense rainfall render the zone extremely
fragile.

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The Biogeographic Provinces are:
2A: Himalaya - North West Himalaya (2.1%)
2B: Himalaya - West Himalaya (1.6%)
2C: Himalaya - Central Himalaya (0.2%)
2D: Himalaya - East Himalaya (2.5%)
The Alpine and sub-alpine forests, grassy
meadows and moist mixed deciduous forests
provide diverse habitat for endangered species
of bovids such as
Bharal (Pseudois nayaur),
Ibex (Capra ibex),

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Markhor (Capra falconeri),
Tahr (Hemitragus jemlabicus), and
Takin (Budoreas taxicolor).
Other rare and endangered species restricted
to this zone include
Hangul (Cervus eldi eldi) and
Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus) .
3. The Indian Desert Zone is another important
biodiversity zone.

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It covers about 6.6 per cent of the total
geographical area. It includes the Thar and the
Kutch deserts.
The Biogeographic Provinces are:
3A: Desert – Thar (5.4%)
3B: Desert – Katchchh (1.1%).
It has large expanses of grassland that supports
several endangered species of mammals such
as Wolf (Canis lupus),
Caracal (Felis caracal),
Desert Cat (Felis libyca) and
birds of conservation interest viz.,

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Houbara Bustard (Chamydotis undulate) and
the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps).
4. The Semi-arid biodiversity Region in india
covers about 16.6 per cent of the total
geographical area. It is a transition zone
between the desert and the dense forests of
Western Ghats.
Peninsular India has two large regions, which
are climatically semi-arid. This semi-arid
region also has several artificial and natural
lakes and marshy lands.

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The Biogeographic Provinces are:
4A: Semi - Arid - Punjab Plains (3.7%)
4B: Semi - Arid - Gujarat Rajputana (12.9%).
The dominant grass and palatable shrub layer
in this zone supports the highest wildlife
biomass.
The cervid species of Sambar (Cervus unicolor)
and Chital (Axis axis) are restricted to the
better wooded hills and moister valley areas
respectively.

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The Lion (Leo persica) which is one of the
endangered carnivore species is restricted to a
small area in Gujarat. The Caracal (Felis
caracal), Jackal (Canis aureus) and Wolf (Canis
lupus) are some of the endangered species that
are characteristic of this region.
5. The Western Ghats in India is a major
biodiversity zone. It covers about 4.0 per cent
of the total geographical area. It is one of the
major tropical evergreen forest regions in
India.

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The zone stretches from the hills to the South
of the Tapti River in the North to Kanyakumari
in the South. In the West, this zone is bound by
the coast.
The Biogeographic Provinces are:
5A: Western Ghats - Malabar Plains( 2.0%)
5B: Western Ghats -Western Ghats Mountains
(2.0%).
This zone represents one of the biodiversity
'hot spots' with some 15,000 species of higher
plants, of which 4,000 (27 per cent) are
endemic to the region.

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The Western Ghats harbour viable populations
of most of the vertebrate species found in
peninsular India, besides an endemic faunal
element of its own.
Significant species endemic to this region
include Nilgiri Langur (Presbytis jobni),
Lion Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus),
Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura),
Malabar Civet (Viverricula megaspila),
Nilgiri Tahr (Hemitragus bylocrius) and
Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocycerous griseus).

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The Travancore Tortoise (Indotestudo
forstem) and
Cane turtle (Heosemys silvatica) are two
endangered taxa restricted to a small area in
central Western Ghats.
6. The Deccan Plateau is another major
biodiversity zone in India. It covers about 42
per cent of the total geographical area. It is a
semi-arid region that falls in the rain shadow
area of the Western Ghats.

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This bio-geographic zone of peninsular India is
by far the most extensive zone. These include
India's finest forests, particularly in the States
of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa.
Majority of the forests are deciduous in nature
with regions of greater biological diversity in
the hill ranges.
The Biogeographic Provinces are:
6A: Deccan Peninsular - Central Highlands
(7.3%)
6B: Deccan Peninsular - Chotta Nagpur (5.4%)

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6C: Deccan Peninsular - Eastern Highlands
(6.3%)
6D: Deccan Peninsular - Central Plateau
(12.5%)
6E: Deccan Peninsular - Deccan South (10.4%).
It consists of deciduous forests, thorn forests
and degraded scrubland, all of which support
diverse wildlife species.
Species such as
Chital (Axis axis),
Sambar(Cervus unicolor),
Nilgai (Boselapbus tragocamelus) and

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Chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis) are
abundant in this zone.
Some other species like
Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and
Gaur (Antilope cervicapra) are more frequent
in, or are restricted to moister areas. They are
still found in fairly large numbers.
Species with small populations include the
Elephant (Elephasmaximus) in Bihar-Orissa
and Karnataka-Tamil Nadu belts,

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Wild Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in a small area
at the junction of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra and the hard ground Swamp Deer
(Cervus duvauceli), now restricted to a single
locality in Madhya Pradesh.
7. The next important biodiversity zone is the
Gangetic Plain. It covers about 10.8 per cent of
the total geographical area in India. It is a flat
alluvial region lying to the North and South of
the Ganga River and its major tributaries and
in the foothills of the Himalayas.

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The Biogeographic Provinces are:
7A: Gangetic Plain - Upper Gangetic Plains
(6.3%)
7B: Gangetic Plain - Lower Gangetic Plains
(4.5%).
The Gangetic plain is topographically
homogenous for hundreds of kilometers. The
characterisic fauna of this region include
Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis),
Elephant (Elephas maximus),
Buffalo Bubalus bubalis),

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Swamp Deer (Cervus duvauceli),
Hog-Deer (Axis porcinus) and
Hispid Hare (Carprolagus bispidus).
8. India has an extensive coastal belts. These
constitute about 2.5 per cent of the total
geographical area. This belt includes very vast
sandy beaches, mangroves, mud flats, coral
reefs and marine angiosperm pastures. The
coastal regions are also considered as the
wealth and health zones of India.

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The Biogeographic Provinces are:
8A: Coasts - West Coast (0.6%)
8B: Coasts - East Coast (1.9%)
8C: Coasts – Lakshdweep(<0.1%).
The coastline from Gujarat to Sunderbans is
estimated to be 5,423 km long. A total of 25
islets constitute the Lakshadweep, which are of
coral origin. They have a typical reef lagoon
system, rich in biodiversity.

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9. The North-East Region is another
biodiversity zone. It covers about 5.2 per cent
of the total geographical area, in India. It
represents the transition zone between the
Indian, Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese bio-
geographical regions as well as being a meeting
point of the Himalayan mountains and
peninsular India.
The Biogeographic Provinces are:
9A: North - East - Brahamputra Valley (2.0%)
9B: North - East – North East Hills (3.2%).

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The North-East is thus the biogeographical
'gateway' for much of India's fauna and flora. It
is a major biodiversity hotspot. A diverse set of
habitats coupled with long term geological
stability has allowed the development of
significant levels of endemism in all animal and
plant groups.
10. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are very
unique biodiversity zones.

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They constituting about 0.3 per cent of the
total geographical area. They are one of the
three tropical moist evergreen forests zones in
India.
The islands house an array of flora and fauna
which are not found elsewhere.
The Biogeographic Provinces are:
10A: Islands – Andamans (0.2%)
10B: Islands – Nicobars (0.1%).

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The North-South elongated groups of 348
Andaman Islands have a close biogeographical
affinity with Myanmar.
The Nicobar Islands, lying only 90 kms away
from Sumatra have much stronger Indonesian
and South-East Asian elements. T
These islands are centres of high endemism.
They contain some of India's finest evergreen
forests. They support a wide diversity of corals.

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In India, Wetlands occur in various
geographical regions such as the cold arid
zones of Ladakh, warm arid zones of Rajasthan,
tropical monsoonic Central India, North
Eastern region, South peninsular region and
the coastal wetlands.
India has two identified biodiversity hot spots.
These are the Eastern Himalayas and the
Western Ghats.
Eastern Himalaya is another biodiversity hot
spot.

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Phyto-geographically, the Eastern Himalaya
forms a distinct floral region and comprises of
Nepal, Bhutan, states of East and North-East
India, and a contiguous sector of Yunnan
province in South-Western China.
In the whole of Eastern Himalaya, there are an
estimated 9,000 plant species, out of which
3,500 (i.e. 39 per cent) are endemic.
In the Indian portion, there occurs some 5,800
plant species, roughly 2,000 (i.e. 36 per cent) of
which are endemic.

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At least 55 flowering plants endemic to this
area are recognized as rare, for example, the
Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes khasiana).
The area has long been recognised as a rich
centre of primitive flowering plants and is
popularly known as the 'Çradle of Speciation'.
Species of several families of monocotyledons,
Orchidaceae,
Zingiberaceae and
Arecaceae are found in the area.

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Gymnorperms and Pteridophytes (ferns) are
also well represented in this zone.
The Eastern Himalaya is also rich in wild
relatives of plants of economic significance.
These include rice, banana, citrus, ginger, chilli,
jute and sugarcane.
It is also regarded as the centre of origin and
diversification of five palms of commercial
importance, namely coconut,
arecanut, palmyra palm, sugar palm and the
wild date palm.

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Tea (Thea sinensis) has been cultivated in this
region for the last 4,000 years.
Many wild and allied species of tea, the leaves
of which are used as a substitute for tea, are
found in the North East, in their natural
habitats.
The Taxol plant (Taxus wallichiana) is sparsely
distributed in the region. It is listed under the
red data category due to its overexploitation
for extraction of a drug effectively used against
cancer.

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As regards faunal diversity, 63 per cent of the
genera of land mammals in India are found in
this region. During the last four decades, two
new mammals have been discovered from the
region. They are the
Golden Langur from Assam-Bhutan region, and
Namdapha Flying Squirrel from Arunachal
Pradesh, indicating the species richness of the
region.

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The region is also a rich centre of avian
diversity. It contains more than 60 per cent of
the bird species found in India. This region
also hosts two endemic genera of lizards, and
35 endemic reptilian species, including two
turtles.
Of the 240 Indian amphibian species, in India,
at least 68 species are known to occur in the
North East, 20 of which are endemic.

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From Namdapha National Park itself, a new
genus of mammal, a new subspecies of a bird,
six new amphibians species, four new species
of fish, at least 15 new species of beetles and
six new species of flies have been discovered.
The Western Ghats is another major
biodiversity zone in Inida.
The Western Ghats region is considered to be
one of the most important bio-geographic
zones of India, as it is one of the richest centres
of endemism.

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Due to varied topography and microclimatic
regimes, some areas within the region are
considered to be active zones of speciation.
The region has 490 arborescent taxa, of which
as many as 308 are endemic.
About 1,500 endemic species of
dicotyledonous plants are reported from the
Western Ghats. 245 species of orchids
belonging to 75 genera are found here, of
which 112 species in ten genera are endemic to
the region.

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As regards the fauna, as many as 315 species of
vertebrates belonging to 22 genera are
endemic, including 12 species of mammals, 13
species of birds, 89 species of reptiles, 87
species of amphibians and 104 species of fish.
The extent of endemism is high amongst
amphibian and reptile species.
There occur 117 species of amphibians in the
region, of which 89 species (76 per cent) are
endemic. Of the 165 species of reptiles found in
Western Ghats, 88 species are endemic.

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Many of the endemic and other species are
listed as threatened. Nearly 235 species of
endemic flowering plants are considered
endangered. Rare fauna of the region include -
Lion Tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Nilgiri
Tahr, Flying Squirrel, and Malabar Gray
Hornbill.
Taking all these into consideration, the three
different kinds of priority setting concepts
across the globe: the megadiversity country,
threatened biodiversity hotspots, and
major tropical wilderness areas.

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India is one of the recognized megadiverse
countries of the world.
Comparative account of India’s position on
species diversity shows that it is well placed in
several groups as shown below:

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The Comparative position of species
biodiversity in India is as follows:
Group Estimated
number of
species
Rank amongst
Megadiverse
countries
Higher plants 18664 IX
Mammals 390 VII
Birds 458 IX
Reptiles 521 V
Amphibian 231 IX
Fishes 5749 I

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In terms of species richness, India ranks
seventh in mammals, ninth in birds and fifth in
reptiles. In terms of endemism of vertebrate
groups, India’s position is tenth in birds with
69 species, fifth in reptiles with 156 species
and seventh in amphibians with 110 species.
India’s share of crops is 44% as compared to
the world average of 11%. India also has
23.39% of its geographical area under forest
and tree cover.

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Of the 34 globally identified biodiversity
hotspots, India harbours four hotspots,
i.e., Himalaya,
Indo-Burma,
Western Ghats and Sri Lanka and
Sundaland.
The main attributes of these hotspots are
given below:
S. No. Attributes Hotspots
Himalaya Indo-Burma W. Ghats
&Sri Lanka
Sundaland
1. Hotspot original
extent (km2)
741,706 2,373,057 189,611 1501,063
2. Hotspot
vegetation
185,427 118,653 43,611 10,0571

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remaining (km2)
3. Endemic plant
species
3,160 7000 3,049 15,000
4. Endemic
threatened birds
8 18 10 43
5. Endemic
threatened
mammals
4 25 14 60
6.. Endemic
threatened
amphibians
4 35 87 59
7. Extinct species* 0 1 20 4
8. Human population
density
(people/km2)
123 134 261 153
9. Area protected
(km2)
112,578 235,758 26,130 179,723
10. Area protected
(km2) in categories
I-IV**
77,739 132,283 21,259 77,408

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The mountainous region covers an area close
to 100 mha, arid and semi-arid zones are
spread over 30 mha and the coastline is about
8000 km long.
India represents: (i) Two ‘Realms’- the
Himalayan region represented by Palearctic
Realm and the rest of the sub-continent
represented by Malayan Realm; (ii) Five
Biomes e.g.

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Tropical Humid Forests; Tropical Dry
Deciduous Forests (including Monsoon
Forests); Warm Deserts and Semi-deserts;
Coniferous Forests; Alpine Meadows; and (iii)
Ten biogeographic zones and Twenty-seven
biogeographic provinces.
Inventories of faunal diversity in India are
being progressively updated and analyzed with
several new discoveries. So far, nearly 91,212
of faunal species (7.43% of the world’s faunal
species) have been recorded in the country.

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Endemic rich Indian fauna is manifested most
prominently in Amphibia (61.2%) and Reptilia
(47%). Likewise, Indian fish fauna includes two
endemic families and 127 monotypic genera.
As per the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (2008),
India has 413 globally threatened faunal
species, which is approximately 4.9% of the
world’s total number of threatened faunal
species.

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Continuous surveys and explorations have
added new discoveries – 41 plant species in
2007 by Botanical Survey of India (BSI) alone.
The unique features of the plant diversity,
among others, include 60 monotypic families
and over 6000 endemic species. Recent
estimates indicate the presence of over 256
globally threatened plant species in India.