Biodiversity hot spots

2. Hot-spots of Biodiversity
𝗈 A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeography region with a
significant reservoir of biodiversity that is
threatenedwith destruction.
𝗈 An area is designated as a hotspot when it contains atleast0.5%
of plant species as endemic.
𝗈 There are 25 such hotspots of biodiversity on a
globallevel, out of which two are present in India.
𝗈 These are: Indo-Burma (earlier The Eastern Himalayas)
and The western Ghats & SriLanka..
𝗈 Thesehotspotscoveringlessthan2%oftheworld’s land
area are found to have about 50% of the terrestrial
biodiversity

3. India is known for its rich biodiversity and has 23.39% of the geographical area covered by forests and
trees.
Coined by Norman Myers, the term "Biodiversity hotspots" can be defined as the regions which are
known for their high species richness and endemism.
According to Conservation International, a region must fulfil the following two criteria to qualify as a
hotspot:
1. The region should have at least 1500 species of vascular plants i.e., it should have a high
degree of endemism.
2. It should contain 70% of its original habitat.
There are major four biodiversity hotspots in India.
1. The Himalayas
2. Indo-Burma Region
3. The Western Ghats
4. Sundaland

4. The Himalayas
• The Himalayas Considered as the highest in the world, the Himalayas
comprises of North-East India, Bhutan, Central and Eastern parts of
Nepal. This region holds a record of having 163 endangered species
which includes the Wild Asian Water Buffalo, One-horned Rhino and
as many as 10,000 plant species, of which 3160 are endemic. This
mountain range covers nearly 750,000 km2 .

5. The Indo Burman Region
• Indo - Burma Region The Indo-Burma Region is stretched over a
distance of 2,373,000 km². In the last 12 years, 6 large mammal
species have been discovered in this region: the Large-antlered
Muntjac, the Annamite Muntjac, the Grey-shanked Douc, the
Annamite Striped Rabbit, the Leaf Deer and the Saola. This hotspot is
also known for the endemic freshwater turtle species, most of which
are threatened with extinction, due to over-harvesting and extensive
habitat loss. There are also 1,300 different bird species, including the
threatened White-eared Night-heron, the Grey-crowned Crocias, and
the Orange-necked Partridge

6. The western ghats
• The Western Ghats The Western Ghats are present along the western
edge of peninsular India and covers most of the deciduous forests
and rain forests. This region consists of 6000 plant species of which
3000 are endemic. Originally, the vegetation in this region was spread
over 190,000 km2 but has been now reduced to 43,000 km2 . The
region is also known for 450 species of birds, 140 mammals, 260
reptiles and 175 amphibians.

7. Sundaland
• Sundaland The Sundaland hotspot lies in South-East Asia and covers
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. In the year
2013, the Sundalands was declared as a World Biosphere Reserve by
the United Nations. This region is famous for its rich terrestrial and
marine ecosystem. Sundaland is one of the biologically richest
hotspots in the world which comprises of 25,000 species of vascular
plants, of which 15,000 are found only in this region.

8. MEGABIODIVERSITY COUNTRIES OF THE
WORLD
• India is one of the twelve-mega biodiversity countries of the world
and one of the four in Asia. Mega biodiversity? :Countries that
contain as much as 7-8% per cent of the world's species. The twelve
Mega biodiversity countries that have been identified are : India,
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Madagascar, Zaire, Australia,
China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

9. India's rich biodiversity
• India's richness of biological diversity: *India lies at the confluence of
African, European and Indo-Malaysian and the biota therefore, includes
African, European , Eurasian and Mediterranean elements, which together
with Indian and endemic elements contributes to the richness of the
characteristic Indian biodiversity. *India, being a vast country, shows a
great diversity in climate, topography and geology and hence the country is
very rich in terms of biological diversity.
• The other important features that contribute to India’s rich biodiversity are
1 Physiography of India: Although nearly half of India lies outside tropics in
the middle latitudes, it is customary to speak of India as a tropical country,
since the region is shielded of by the Himalayas in the north from the rest
of Asia and has the same general type of tropical monsoon climate
throughout the land.

10. IUCN (International union for conservation of
nature and natural resources)
• To include information on threatened biological species, the IUCN has started
publication of Red Data books on animals and plants
• To highlight the legal status of rare species for the purpose of conservation, IUCN has
established the following five main conservation categories.
• (1)Extinct species- that are no longer known to exist in the wild. Searches of localities
where they were once found and of other possible sites have failed to detect the species.
• (2)Endangered species that have a high like hood of going extinct in the near future.
• (3)Vulnerable species that may become endangered in the near future because
populations of the species are decreasing in size throughout its range.
• (4)Rare species that have a small total numbers of individuals often due to limited
geographical ranges or low population destinies.
.
• Human activity is the major threat to biodiversity and the following the chief causes of
extinction of species caused by man to fulfil his needs.