Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon- July 21

Option 2 and 3 are matched incorrectly. So, b is the correct answer.

The correct pairing is as follows:

Statement 1 is correct – Erosion of mangroves in response to climate change and sea level rise poses a serious threat to the carbon sequestration potential and other ecosystem services of this mangrove forest in future.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Climate change and sea level rise (and not decrease) has contributed to the phenomenon of losing land, including mangrove forests in the Sundarbans.

More Details:

• There is less fresh water flow and sediment supply in the Indian part of the delta, so we have starvation of sediment and the rate of sea level rise is higher than sediment supply. Hence we are losing land, including mangrove forest.
• Sundarban is recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The geographical distribution of the new plant species reveals that most discoveries were made in the Western Ghats (17%), followed by the Eastern Himalayas (15%), the Western Himalayas (13%), the Eastern Ghats (12%) and the west coast (8%).

Statement 2 is correct. India is one of the 17 megadiversity countries and has about 6.42% of the global fauna.

Peaty Soil is the right answer.

More about Peaty Soil:

• Peat is a type of soil made up of waterlogged partially-decomposed plant material including sphagnum moss and other acid-loving plants, which has built up over something like 10,000 years in poorly-drained wetland habitats.
• Peaty soil is dark brown or black in color, soft, easily compressed due to its high water content, and rich in organic matter.
• Although peat soil tends to be heavily saturated with water, once drained, it turns into a good growing medium.
• Peat contains acidic water, but growers use it to regulate soil chemistry or pH levels as well as an agent of disease control for the soil.

Green Revolution in India had least impact on the increase in Pulse production.

Impact of Green Revolution on Cereal Production:

• The key achievement of the green revolution was boost in production of two major cereals viz. Wheat and rice. But it was also a major drawback.
• The revolution was mainly confined to High Yielding Varieties (HYV) cereals, mainly rice, wheat, maize and jowar.
• It did not cover other coarse cereals, millets and neither had it covered pulses.

Hums are found in the Karst regions.

About Karst regions:

• Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum.
• It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves.
• It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions.
• Karst is a terrain with a characteristic relief and drainage arising mainly due to higher solubility of rock in natural water than is found elsewhere.

What are Hums?

These are curved relicts of limestone rocks after erosion.

Only Statement 1 is incorrect – It is a Ramsar site which is located in the deltaic region of Brahmani and Baitarni rivers.

About Bhitarkanika mangroves:

• The Bhitarkanika Mangroves are a mangrove wetland in India’s Odisha(Orissa) state.
• The Bhitarkanika Mangroves cover an area of 650 km² in the river delta of the Brahmani and Baitarani rivers.