Environment and Ecology

Option 1 is correctly matched. The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland located in southwestern Brazil and some part in neighboring Paraguay and Bolivia.
Option 2 is correctly matched. Los Llanos is vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an eco-region of the flooded grasslands and savannas biome.
Option 3 is incorrectly matched. The Sudd wetland in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile’s Baḥr al-Jabal section, represents one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a major UN-sponsored effort to analyze the impact of human actions on ecosystems and human well-being, defined Ecosystem Services as “the benefits people derive from ecosystems” and identified four major categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.

Provisioning services are: The products obtained from ecosystems, including, for example, genetic resources, food and fiber, and fresh water.

Regulating services are: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including, for example, the regulation of climate, water, and some human diseases.

Cultural services are: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experience, including, e.g., knowledge systems, social relations, and aesthetic values.

Supporting services are: Ecosystem services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services. Some examples include biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and provisioning of habitat.
# Ecosystem services provided by New Delhi’s National Zoological Park are estimated to have generated Rs 422.76 crore in 2019-20 as per the study by the Energy and Resources Institute commissioned by Central Zoo Authority.

The Living Planet Report, WWF’s flagship publication released every two
years, is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
Through multiple indicators including the Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by the
Zoological Society of London (ZSL), it shows an average 68% fall in almost 21,000 wildlife
populations between 1970 and 2016.
The 2020 report finds that the highest biodiversity loss due to land use change globally has
been found in Europe and Central Asia at 57.9 per cent, then in North America at 52.5 per
cent, Latin America and Caribbean at 51.2 per cent, Africa at 45.9 per cent and then Asia
at 43 per cent.
India has lost nearly one-third of its natural wetlands to urbanization, agricultural
expansion and pollution over the last four decades and WWF India’s report on Water
Stewardship for Industries revealed that 14 out of 20 river basins in India are already water
stressed and will be moving to extreme water scarcity by 2050.

The 2020 Ecological Threat Register (ETR) is the inaugural edition which
covers 157 independent states and territories. It has been released by the Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP).
The ETR measures ecological threats that countries are currently facing and provides
projections to 2050. The Ecological Threat Register analyses risk from population growth,
water stress, food insecurity, droughts, floods, cyclones, rising temperatures and sea levels.
Report highlights:
-Over the next 30 years, 141 countries are exposed to at least one ecological threat by 2050.
-Country with the largest number of people at risk of mass displacements in Pakistan,
followed by Ethiopia and Iran. In these countries, even small ecological threats and
natural disasters could result in mass population displacement, affecting regional and
global security.
-Today, 2.6 billion people experience high or extreme water stress – by 2040, this will
increase to 5.4 billion people.
-So far, India received the largest amount of climate-related aid in 2018, amounting to the
US $6.5 billion dollars.

Statement 1 is correct. The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world’s most
recognized voluntary eco-labels awarded to beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating
tourism operators.
In order to qualify for this prestigious award, a series of stringent environmental,
educational, safety-related and access-related criteria must be met and maintained.
It has 33 stringent criteria in four major heads–environmental education and
information, bathing water quality, environment management and conservation and safety
and services in the beaches.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Blue Flag programme is operated under the auspices of the
Foundation for Environmental Education and is headquartered in Copenhagen,
Denmark.
# Eight beaches of the country have been awarded the coveted ‘Blue Flag’
international eco-label: Shivrajpur in Gujarat, Ghoghla in Daman and Diu, Kasarkod and
Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden in Odisha
and Radhanagar in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Savanna Climate.
Statement 1 is correct: Savanna Climate is a type of climate has alternate wet and dry
seasons similar to monsoon climate but has considerably less annual rainfall. Also, there
is no distinct rainy season like in monsoon climate.
Statement 2 is correct: It is confined within the tropics and is best developed in Sudan,
hence its name the Sudan Climate.

Under the Ramsar Criteria, wetlands should be selected for the Ramsar List
on account of their international significance in terms of the biodiversity and uniqueness
of their ecology, botany, zoology, limnology or hydrology. In addition, the Criteria
indicate that in the first instance, wetlands of international importance to water-birds at
any season should be included on the Ramsar List.

Mangrove swamps are coastal wetlands found in tropical and subtropical
regions. They are characterized by halophytic (salt loving) trees, shrubs and other plants
growing in brackish to saline tidal waters. These wetlands are often found in estuaries,
where fresh water meets salt water and are infamous for their impenetrable maze of woody
vegetation.
Important characteristics of Mangroves:
•They are basically evergreen land plants growing on sheltered shores, typically on
tidal flats, deltas, estuaries, bays, creeks and the barrier islands.
•They exhibits viviparity mode of reproduction, it means seeds germinate in the
tree itself.
•They require high solar radiation and have the ability to absorb fresh water from
saline/brackish water.

Cold water coral reefs.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Unlike tropical corals, cold-water corals don’t have symbiotic
algae living in their polyps so they don’t need sunlight to survive. They feed solely by
capturing food particles from the surrounding water. Their polyps tend to be much bigger
than tropical corals.
Statement 2 is correct: Cold-water coral reefs are commonly found where current flow is
accelerated. They are found on the continental shelf, and also in deep-sea areas with
topographic highs, such as seamounts, mounds, ridges, and pinnacles.

Sunderban Wetland.
•On January 30, 2019 the Indian Sundarban was accorded the status of ‘Wetland of
International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention.
•The Sundarbans comprises hundreds of islands and a network of rivers, tributaries
and creeks in the delta of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra at the mouth of the Bay
of Bengal in India and Bangladesh.
•Located on the southwestern part of the delta, the Indian Sundarban constitutes
over 60% of the country’s total mangrove forest area.
•It is the 27th Ramsar Site in India, and with an area of 4,23,000 hectares is
now the largest protected wetland in the country.
•The Indian Sundarban, also a UNESCO world heritage site, and it is home to
the Royal Bengal Tiger.

MARKAL computes energy balances at all levels of an energy system:
primary resources, secondary fuels, final energy, and energy services.
•The model aims to supply energy services at minimum global cost by
simultaneously making equipment investment and operating decisions and primary
energy supply decisions, by region.
•For example, in MARKAL, if there is an increase in residential lighting energy service
(perhaps due to a decline in the cost of residential lighting), either existing
generation equipment must be used more intensively or new equipment must be
installed.
•The choice of generation equipment (type and fuel) incorporates analysis of both the
characteristics of alternative generation technologies and the economics of primary
energy supply.
•MARKAL is thus a vertically integrated model of the entire energy system.

The top five Species richness states are Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands has highest per capita dependence on forests for
Bamboo.

The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri
Prakash Javadekar today released the biennial “India State of Forest Report (ISFR)”, in New
Delhi.
•The report is published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) which has been
mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country including wall-towall
forest cover mapping in a biennial cycle.
•Starting 1987, ISFR 2019 is the 16th report in the series.
•Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed
by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
•In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five
States are Mizoram (85.41%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%), Meghalaya
(76.33%), Manipur (75.46%) and Nagaland (75.31%).

The mid-latitude desert is considered an arid climate in which the total annual precipitation is less than half the annual potential evapotranspiration.
• Precipitation is sparse as the interior location is distant from a source of moisture. Or, the lack of rainfall is due to its leeward, rain shadow location.
• Despite the inhospitality, the desert has always been populated by different group of inhabitations such as Bedouins of Arab, Bushmen of Kalahari, Bindibu of Australia etc.

The climate is known for warm to hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. Winter temperatures are usually between 30 and 65 degrees. Summer months all average above 50 degrees. The warmest month averages about 72 degrees.
• The cause of this climate is directly related to large bodies of water such as the Mediterranean Sea and ocean currents.
• During the summer, cold currents keep the climate mild and dry. Ocean currents shift as the seasons change.
• During the winter the water that was warmed up all summer moves in and keeps the land warm and often brings rain.
• Plants in Mediterranean climate must be able to survive long dry summers. Evergreens such as Pine and Cypress trees are mixed with deciduous trees such as some Oaks.
• Fruit trees and vines such as grapes, figs, olives, and citrus fruits grow well here. Other plants include what are called “scrub”, which include small shrubs, grasses, and herbs.

For over 30 years, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge has welcomed the greatest minds from around the world to Australia to push the limits of technological innovation and travel the outback in a vehicle powered only by the energy of the sun.

• Traversing 3,000km from Darwin to Adelaide, teams comprise of tertiary and secondary students from over 30 countries.

 These students and their support team have achieved greatness by engineering and building a vehicle with their own hands and powering it across some of the world’s most challenging landscape.

 In 2017, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge celebrated its 30th Anniversary. The 2021 competition marks the 16th journey from the Top End to Adelaide.

 Based on the original notion that a 1000W car would complete the journey in 50 hours, solar cars are allowed a nominal 5kW hours of stored energy, which is 10% of that theoretical figure.

 All other energy must come from the sun or be recovered from the kinetic energy of the vehicle. These are arguably the most efficient electric vehicles.

Saprotrophs feed by a process known as absorptive nutrition, in which the nutritional substrate (e.g., dead organism or other nonliving organic matter) is directly digested by a variety of enzymes that are excreted by the saprotroph.

The enzymes convert the detritus into simpler molecules, which are then absorbed by the cells to feed the organism.

Tropical thorn forests occur in the areas which receive rainfall less than 50 cm.

 These consist of a variety of grasses and shrubs. It includes semi-arid areas of south west Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

 In these forests, plants remain leafless for most part of the year and give an expression of scrub vegetation.

 Important species found are babool, ber, and wild date palm, khair, neem, khejri, palas, etc. Tussocky grass grows upto a height of 2 m as the under growth.