How Nature Works in Harmony — Practice

Question 1

List the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem.

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: ABIOTIC (non-living): sunlight, temperature, water, air, soil, minerals. BIOTIC (living): producers (plants), consumers (animals), decomposers (bacteria, fungi).

Question 2

Write a food chain found in an Indian pond.

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: Phytoplankton → Zooplankton → Small fish → Big fish → Heron. (Or: Algae → Tadpole → Frog → Snake → Eagle.)

Question 3

Why are decomposers essential for ecosystem health?

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Role of decomposers.
  Decomposers (bacteria, fungi, earthworms) break down dead plants, dead animals, and waste matter.

Step 2 — Recycling nutrients.
  They release nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, minerals) back to the soil and air.

Step 3 — Without decomposers.
  • Dead bodies would accumulate forever
  • Nutrients trapped in dead matter, not available to new plants
  • Soil becomes infertile
  • Plants cannot grow
  • Animals starve
  • Ecosystem collapses

Step 4 — Cycle of life and death.
  Decomposers connect death back to life. They are the 'recyclers' of nature. India's farmers traditionally use composting (organic decomposition) to enrich soil.

Step 5 — Threats to decomposers.
  Pesticides, industrial pollution can kill soil microbes — damaging this critical role.

✦ Answer: Decomposers are essential because they BREAK DOWN dead matter and RECYCLE nutrients back to soil. Without them, dead organisms would pile up, nutrients would be trapped, soil would become infertile, and the ecosystem would collapse. Decomposers connect death back to life — essential for the continuity of all life.

Question 4

Discuss India's biodiversity, its threats, and conservation efforts.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — India's biodiversity.
  India is one of 17 'mega-biodiverse' countries:
  • 7% of world's species in just 2.4% of land area
  • 50,000+ plant species (including 17,000+ flowering plants)
  • 100,000+ animal species (including ~1,300 bird, ~400 mammal species)
  • Endemic species (found only in India): 30%+ of plants, 75%+ of amphibians

Step 2 — Hotspots in India.
  • WESTERN GHATS: UNESCO World Heritage; 7,000+ flowering plants, 500+ fish
  • EASTERN HIMALAYAS: Sikkim, Arunachal — home to red panda, Himalayan tahr
  • NORTHEAST INDIA: rich rainforests
  • SUNDARBANS: largest mangrove forest; Bengal tiger habitat

Step 3 — Major threats.
  • HABITAT LOSS: deforestation for agriculture, cities, roads. India loses ~16,000 sq km forest in last decade.
  • POLLUTION: water (Ganga, Yamuna), air (Delhi), pesticides in soil
  • CLIMATE CHANGE: monsoon disruption, sea-level rise, glacier melt
  • POACHING: tigers, elephants, pangolins illegally hunted
  • INVASIVE SPECIES: Lantana, Parthenium choke native plants
  • OVERFISHING: depleting marine fish stocks

Step 4 — Endangered species.
  Critically endangered: Great Indian Bustard, Pygmy Hog, Gharial, Olive Ridley
  Endangered: Bengal Tiger, Asian Elephant, Snow Leopard, Lion-tailed Macaque
  Vulnerable: Asian Lion, Sambar Deer, Indian Cobra

Step 5 — Conservation efforts.
  • PROJECT TIGER (1973): saved tigers from extinction; 53 tiger reserves now
  • WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT (1972): legal framework
  • NATIONAL PARKS: 106+ (Jim Corbett, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Periyar, Kaziranga)
  • WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES: 567+
  • BIOSPHERE RESERVES: 18 (Nilgiri, Nokrek, Sundarbans)
  • CITES participation: prevents illegal wildlife trade
  • PROJECT ELEPHANT (1992)
  • SAVE THE GHARIAL initiative
  • Recovery programmes for individual species

Step 6 — Community involvement.
  • CHIPKO MOVEMENT (1973): tree-hugging to prevent felling — women-led in Uttarakhand
  • SACRED GROVES: traditional forest patches protected by religious beliefs
  • ECO-TOURISM in forests benefits locals
  • Citizen science apps (iNaturalist, eBird) for tracking species

Step 7 — Recent successes.
  • Tiger population: from ~1,400 (2008) to 3,167 (2022 census)
  • Lion population in Gir: from ~177 (1968) to 674 (2020)
  • Gharial recovery in Chambal, National Chambal Sanctuary
  • Solar energy expansion reducing fossil-fuel-related habitat loss

Step 8 — Future challenges.
  • Balance development and conservation
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Plastic pollution (especially marine)
  • Need stronger enforcement against poaching

✦ Answer: India is one of 17 mega-biodiverse countries with 7% of world's species in 2.4% land. Main hotspots: Western Ghats, Eastern Himalayas, Northeast, Sundarbans. Major threats: habitat loss, pollution, climate change, poaching, invasive species. Conservation: Project Tiger (saved tigers from extinction), 106+ national parks, Wildlife Protection Act 1972, sacred groves, Chipko movement. Recent successes include tiger population doubling. Future requires balancing development with conservation.

Practice — How Nature Works in Harmony

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