onservationonservation ofof lantslants...

CONSERVATION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALSCONSERVATION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS

We saw in Class VII thatPaheli and Boojho had visitedthe forest along with Prof.

Ahmad and Tibu. They were eager toshare their experiences with theirclassmates. Other children in the classwere also eager to share their experiencesas some of them had visited BharatpurSanctuary. Some others had heardabout Kaziranga National Park,Lockchao Wildlife Sanctuary, GreatNicobar Biosphere Reserve and TigerReserve, etc.

Some natural causes of deforestationare forest fires and severe droughts.

Activity 7.1

Add more causes of deforestation toyour list and classify them intonatural and man-made.

7.2 Consequences ofDeforestation

Paheli and Boojho recalled theconsequences of deforestation. Theyremembered that deforestation increasesthe temperature and pollution level onthe earth. It increases the level of carbondioxide in the atmosphere. Ground waterlevel also gets lowered. They know thatdeforestation disturbs the balance innature. They were told by Prof. Ahmadthat if cutting of trees continues, rainfalland the fertility of the soil will decrease.

7.1 Deforestation and ItsCauses

A great variety of plants and animalsexists on earth. They are essential forthe wellbeing and survival of mankind.Today, a major threat to survival of theseorganisms is deforestation. We knowthat deforestation means clearing offorests and using that land for otherpurposes. Trees in the forest are cut forsome of the purposes mentioned below:

� Procuring land for cultivation.� Building houses and factories.� Making furniture or using wood as

fuel.

How does deforestation reducerainfall on the one hand andlead to floods on the other?

Moreover, there will be increasedchances of natural calamities such asfloods and droughts.

Recall that plants need carbondioxide for photosynthesis. Fewer treeswould mean that less carbon dioxide willbe used up resulting in its increased

What is the purpose ofmaking national parks,wildlife sanctuaries and

biosphere reserves?

SCIENCE78

amount in the atmosphere. This will leadto global warming as carbon dioxidetraps the heat rays reflected by the earth.The increase in temperature on the earthdisturbs the water cycle and may reducerainfall. This could cause droughts.

Deforestation is a major cause whichleads to the change in soil properties.Physical properties of the soil get affectedby plantation and vegetation. Recallfrom Class VII how trees prevent soilerosion. Fewer trees result in more soilerosion. Removal of the top layer of thesoil exposes the lower, hard and rockylayers. This soil has less humus and isless fertile. Gradually the fertile landgets converted into deserts. It is calleddesertification.

Deforestation also leads to a decreasein the water holding capacity of the soil.The movement of water from the soilsurface into the ground (infiltration rate)is reduced. So, there are floods. Theother properties of the soil like nutrientcontent, texture, etc., also changebecause of deforestation.

We have studied in Class VII that weget many products from forests. List theseproducts. Will we face the shortage of theseproducts if we continue cutting trees?

Activity 7.2

Animal life is also affected bydeforestation. How? List the pointsand discuss them in your class.

7.3 Conservation of Forestand Wildlife

Having become aware of the effects ofdeforestation, Paheli and Boojho areworried. They go to Prof. Ahmad and askhim how forests and wildlife can be saved.

Prof. Ahmad organises a visit to abiosphere reserve for Paheli, Boojho andtheir classmates. He selects a placenamed Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve. Heknows that the plants and animals foundhere are similar to those of the upperHimalayan peaks and to those belongingto the lower western ghats. Prof. Ahmadbelieves that the biodiversity found hereis unique. He requests Madhavji, a forestemployee, to guide the children insidethe biosphere reserve. He explains thatpreserving areas of such biologicalimportance make them a part of ournational heritage.

Biosphere is that part of the earth inwhich living organisms exist or whichsupports life. Biological diversity orbiodiversity, refers to the variety oforganisms existing on the earth, theirinterrelationships and theirrelationship with the environment.

Madhavji explains to the childrenthat apart from our personal efforts andefforts of the society, governmentagencies also take care of the forests andanimals. The government lays downrules, methods and policies to protectand conserve them. Wildlife sanctuaries,national parks, biosphere reserves, etc.,are protected areas for conservation ofplants and animals present in that area.

To protect our flora and fauna andtheir habitats, protected areascalled sanctuaries, national parks andbiosphere reserves have beenearmarked. Plantation, cultivation,grazing, felling trees, hunting andpoaching are prohibited there.Sanctuary : Areas where animals areprotected from any disturbance tothem and their habitat.

CONSERVATION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS 79

Activity 7.3

Find out the number of nationalparks, wildlife sanctuaries andbiosphere reserves in your district,state and country. Record in Table7.1. Show these areas in an outlinemap of your state and India.

Fig. 7.1 : Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve

7.4 Biosphere Reserve

Children along with Prof. Ahmad andMadhavji enter the biosphere reservearea. Madhavji explains that biospherereserves are the areas meant forconservation of biodiversity. As you areaware that biodiversity is the variety ofplants, animals and microorganismsgenerally found in an area. Thebiosphere reserves help to maintain thebiodiversity and culture of that area. Abiosphere reserve may also containother protected areas in it. ThePachmarhi Biosphere Reserve consistsof one national park named Satpura andtwo wildlife sanctuaries named Bori andPachmarhi (Fig. 7.1).

Table 7.1 : Protected areas for conservation.

Protected Areas — National Park Wildlife Sanctuary Biosphere Reserve

In my district

In my state

In my country

PACHMARHI SANCTUARY

TO PIPARIYATAWA

RESERVIOR

CHURNA

BORI SANCTUARYDHAIN BORI

SATPURA NATIONAL PARK

NEEMGHAN PANARPANI GATE

PACHMARHI

↑N

National Park : Areas reserved forwild life where they can freely usethe habitats and natural resources.Biosphere Reserve : Large areas ofprotected land for conservation of wildlife, plant and animal resources andtraditional life of the tribals living inthe area.

SCIENCE80

(d) (e) (f)

Fig. 7.2 : (a) Wild dog (b) Cheetal (c) Wolf (d) Leopard (e) Fern (f) Jamun

Activity 7.4

List the factors disturbing thebiodiversity of your area. Some ofthese factors and human activitiesmay disturb the biodiversityunknowingly. List these humanactivities. How can these be checked?Discuss in your class and write abrief report in your notebook.

7.5 Flora and Fauna

As the children walk around thebiosphere reserve they appreciate thegreen wealth of the forest. They are veryhappy to see tall teak trees and animalsinside the forest. Suddenly, Paheli finds

a rabbit and wants to catch it. Shestarts running after it. Prof. Ahmadstops her. He explains that animals arecomfortable and happy in their ownhabitat. We should not disturb them.Madhavji explains that some animalsand plants typically belong to aparticular area. The plants and animalsfound in a particular area are termedflora and fauna of that area.

Sal, teak, mango, jamun, silver ferns,arjun, etc are the flora and chinkara,blue-bull, barking deer, cheetal,leopard, wild dog, wolf, etc. areexamples of the fauna of thePachmarhi Biosphere Reserve(Fig. 7.2).

(a) (b) (c)


I have heard that some of theendemic species may vanish.

Is it true?

Activity 7.5

Try to identify the flora and faunaof your area and list them.

7.6 Endemic SpeciesSoon the group quietly enters the deepforest. Children are surprised to see avery big squirrel. This squirrel has a bigfluffy tail. They are very curious to knowabout it. Madhavji tells them that thisis known as the giant squirrel and isendemic to this area.

Endemic species are those speciesof plants and animals which are foundexclusively in a particular area. They arenot naturally found anywhere else. Aparticular type of animal or plant maybe endemic to a zone, a state or a country.

Madhavji shows sal and wild mango(Fig. 7.3 (a)] as two examples of the

Fig. 7.3 : (a) Wild Mango

Fig. 7.3 : (b) Giant squirrel

endemic flora of the PachmarhiBiosphere Reserve. Bison, Indian giantsquirrel [Fig. 7.3 (b)] and flying squirrelare endemic fauna of this area. Prof.Ahmad explains that the destruction oftheir habitat, increasing population andintroduction of new species may affectthe natural habitat of endemic speciesand endanger their existence.

Species is a group of populationswhich are capable of interbreeding.This means that the members of aspecies can reproduce fertile offspringonly with the members of their ownspecies and not with members ofother species. Members of a specieshave common characteristics.

Activity 7.6

Find out the endemic plants andanimals of the region where you live.

SCIENCE82

7.7 Wildlife Sanctuary

Soon Paheli sees a board with ‘PachmarhiWildlife Sanctuary’ written on it.

Prof. Ahmad explains that, likereserve forests, wildlife sanctuariesprovide protection and suitable livingconditions to wild animals. Madhavjifurther explains that sanctuaries areplaces where killing (poaching) orcapturing of animals is strictlyprohibited.

instead of their natural habitat? Inyour opinion, will the animals becomfortable in a zoo or in theirnatural habitat?

7.8 National Park

On the roadside there was anotherboard on which was written ‘SatpuraNational Park’.

Children are now eager to go there.Madhavji tells them that these reservesare large and diverse enough to protectwhole sets of ecosystems. Theypreserve flora, fauna, landscape andhistoric objects of an area. SatpuraNational Park is the first Reserve Forestof India. The finest Indian teak isfound in this forest.

It is a pity that even protected forestsare not safe because people living in theneighbourhood encroach upon themand destroy them.

Children are reminded of their visitto the zoo. They recall that zoos are alsoplaces where animals receive protection.

What is the differencebetween a zoo and awildlife sanctuary?

Some of the threatened wild animalslike black buck, white eyed buck,elephant, golden cat, pink headedduck, gharial, marsh crocodile,python, rhinoceros, etc. are protectedand preserved in our wild lifesanctuaries. Indian sanctuaries haveunique landscapes—broad levelforests, mountain forests and bushlands in deltas of big rivers.

Activity 7.7

Visit a nearby zoo. Observe theconditions provided to the animals.Were they suitable for the animals?Can animals live in artificial setting

Rock shelters are also found insidethe Satpura National Park. These arethe prehistoric evidences of humanlife in these jungles. They give us anidea of the life of the primitive people.Rock paintings are found in theseshelters. A total of 55 rock sheltershave been identified in PachmarhiBiosphere Reserve.Figures of animals and men fighting,hunting, dancing, and playingmusical instruments are depicted inthese paintings. Many tribals stilllive in the area.

As children move ahead, they see aboard with ‘Satpura Tiger Reserve’written on it. Madhavji explains thatProject Tiger was launched by thegovernment to protect the tigers in thecountry. The objective of this projectwas to ensure the survival andmaintenance of the tiger population inthe country.


Fig. 7.4 : Tiger Fig. 7.5 : Wild buffalo Fig. 7.6 : Barasingha

Are tigers still found inthis forest? I hope that I

can see a tiger!

Are only big animalsfacing the extinction?

Tiger (Fig. 7.4) is one of the manyspecies which are slowly disappearingfrom our forests. But, the Satpura TigerReserve is unique in the sense that asignificant increase in the populationof tigers has been seen here. Once upona time, animals like lions, elephants,wild buffaloes (Fig. 7.5) and barasingha(Fig. 7.6) were also found in the SatpuraNational Park. Animals whose numbersare diminishing to a level that they mightface extinction are known as theendangered animals. Boojho isreminded of the dinosaurs whichbecame extinct a long time ago. Survivalof some animals has become difficultbecause of disturbances in their naturalhabitat.

Madhavji tells Paheli that smallanimals are much more in danger ofbecoming extinct than the biggeranimals. At times, we kill snakes,frogs, lizards, bats and owls ruthlesslywithout realising their importance inthe ecosystem. By killing them we areharming ourselves. They might besmall in size but their role in theecosystem cannot be ignored. Theyform part of food chains and foodwebs, about which you learnt inClass VII.

An ecosystem is made of all theplants, animals and microorganisms inan area along with non-livingcomponents such as climate, soil,river deltas, etc.

I wonder if there isany record of the

endangered species!

7.9 Red Data Book

Prof. Ahmad explains about Red DataBook to the children. He tells them thatRed Data Book is the source bookwhich keeps a record of all theendangered animals and plants. There

SCIENCE84

are different Red Data Books for plants,animals and other species. (For furtherdetails about Red Data Book, you canlog on to www.wil.gov.in/envis/primates/page102htm/new/nwdc/plants.htm)

7.10 Migration

The excursion party then enters deeperinto the forest under the guidance ofMadhavji. They sit near the TawaReservoir to relax for some time. Paheliobserves some of the birds near theriver. Madhavji tells the children thatthese are the migratory birds. Thesebirds have flown here from other partsof the world.

Migratory birds fly to far away areasevery year during a particular timebecause of climatic changes. They flyfor laying eggs as the weather in theirnatural habitat becomes very cold andinhospitable. Birds who cover longdistances to reach another land areknown as the migratory birds as Pahelilearnt in Class VII.

What would happen if wehad no wood? Is there

any alternativeavailable for wood?

I know that paper is oneof the important products

we get from forests.I wonder whether

there are any alternativesavailable for paper!

Is there any permanentsolution to the problem

of deforestation?

7.11 Recycling of Paper

Prof. Ahmad draws the attention ofthe children to another cause ofdeforestation. He tells them that ittakes 17 full grown trees to make onetonne of paper. Therefore, we shouldsave paper. Prof. Ahmad also tells thatpaper can be recycled five to seventimes for use. If each student saves atleast one sheet of paper in a day, wecan save many trees in a year. Weshould save, reuse used paper andrecycle it. By this we not only savetrees but also save energy and waterneeded for manufacturing paper.Moreover, the amount of harmfulchemicals used in paper making willalso be reduced.

7.12 Reforestation

Prof. Ahmad suggests that the answerto deforestation is reforestation.Reforestation is restocking of thedestroyed forests by planting new trees.The planted trees should generally beof the same species which were foundin that forest. We should plant at leastas many trees as we cut. Reforestationcan take place naturally also. If thedeforested area is left undisturbed, it re-establishes itself. In natural reforestationthere is no role of human beings. We


have already made a tremendousdamage to our forests. If we have toretain our green wealth for generations,plantation of more trees is the onlyoption.

Prof. Ahmad told them that in Indiawe have the Forest (Conservation) Act.This act is aimed at preservation andconservation of natural forests and

meeting the basic needs of the peopleliving in or near the forests.

After some rest Madhavji askschildren to start moving back becauseit is not advisable to stay back in thejungle after sunset. On getting back,Prof. Ahmad and the children thankMadhavji for guiding them through thisexciting experience.

SCIENCE86

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

� Wildlife sanctuary, national park and

biosphere reserve are names given to the

areas meant for conservation and preservation

of forest and wild animals.

� Biodiversity refers to the variety of living

organisms in a specific area.

� Plants and animals of a particular area are

known as the flora and fauna of that area.

� Endemic species are found only in a particular

area.

� Endangered species are those which are facing

the danger of extinction.

� Red Data Book contains a record of the

endangered species.

� Migration is the phenomenon of movement of

a species from its own habitat to some other

habitat for a particular time period every year

for a specific purpose like breeding.

� We should save, reuse and recycle paper to

save trees, energy and water.

� Reforestation is the restocking of destroyed

forests by planting new trees.

Exercises

1. Fill in the blanks:

(a) A place where animals are protected in their natural habitat iscalled .

(b) Species found only in a particular area is known as .

(c) Migratory birds fly to far away places because of changes.

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

KEYWORDS

BIODIVERSITY

BIOSPHERE RESERVE

DEFORESTATION

DESERTIFICATION

ECOSYSTEM

ENDANGERED

SPECIES

ENDEMIC SPECIES

EXTINCT

FAUNA

FLORA

MIGRATORY BIRDS

NATIONAL PARK

RED DATA BOOK

REFORESTATION

SANCTUARY


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

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.

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?

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.

7. How can you contribute to the maintenance of green wealth of your locality?

Make a list of actions to be taken by you.

8. Explain how deforestation leads to reduced rainfall.

9. Find out the information about the national parks in your state. Identify

and show their location on the outline map of India.

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

paper.

E X

E R

C I

S E

S

SCIENCE88

E X

E R

C I

S E

S

11. Complete the word puzzle:Down1. Species on the verge of extinction.2. A book carrying information about endangered species.5. Consequence of deforestation.Across1. Species which have vanished.3. Species found only in a particular habitat.4. Variety of plants, animals and microorganisms found in an area.

Extended Learning - Activities and Projects

1. Plant at least five different plants in your locality during thisacademic year and ensure their maintenance till they grow.

2. Promise yourself that this year you will gift at least 5 plants to yourfriends and relatives on their achievements, or on occasions likebirthdays. Ask your friends to take proper care of these gifted plantsand encourage them to gift five plants to their friends on suchoccasions. At the end of the year count the plants that have beengifted through this chain.


Did You Know?

1. India has more than half of the world’s wild tigers, 65% of the Asianelephants, 85% of the great one-horned rhinoceros and 100% of theAsian lions.

2. India is sixth on a list of 12 mega-biodiversity countries in the world. Itcontains two of the 13 biodiversity hot spots of the world – North-EastIndia and the Western Ghats. These areas are very rich in biodiversity.

3. One of the most important factors that threatens wildlife today is habitatdestruction due to encroachment.

4. India contains 172 species of animals considered globally threatenedor 2.9% of the worlds total number of threatened species. This includes53 species of mammals, 69 of birds, 23 of reptiles and 3 species ofamphibians. India contains globally important population of some ofAsia’s rarest animals such as the Bengal fox, Marbled cat, Asiatic lion,Indian elephant, Asiatic wild ass, Indian rhinoceros, gaur, Wild asiaticwater buffalo, etc.

For knowing more, you may contact:

� Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of IndiaEnvironment, Forest and Wildlife DepartmentParyavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Block – B,Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003,Website : http:/envfor.nic.in

� Project Tiger : www.kidsfortigers.org/raisingtigers/projecttiger.php� Biodiversity Hotspots : www.biodiversityhotspots.org

3. Is it justifiable to prevent tribals from staying in the core area of theforest? Discuss the matter in your class and note down the points forand against the motion in your notebook.

4. Study the biodiversity of a park nearby. Prepare a detailed report withphotographs and sketches of flora and fauna.

5. Make a list of the new information you have gathered from this chapter.Which information did you like the most and why?

6. Make a list of various uses of papers. Observe currency notes carefully.Do you find any difference between a currency paper and paper of yournotebook? Find out where currency paper is made.

7. Karnataka Government had launched ‘Project Elephant’ to save Asianelephants in the state. Find out about this and other such campaignslaunched to protect threatened species.

onservationonservation ofof lantslants...

Documents