Conservation of Plants & Animals Summary Class 8 NCERT Summary

Deforestation

• Deforestation is the process of clearing of forests in order to use the land for industrial, agricultural, and other purposes.

Causes of Deforestation

• Natural causes
• Forest fire
• Severe droughts
• Man-made causes
• Using land for agricultural purposes
• Rapid urbanization
• Procurement of wood for fuel and furniture

Consequences of Deforestation

• Increase in the level of carbon dioxide in atmosphere, which leads to global warming
• Lowering of ground water levels
• Increase in pollution level and temperature
• Decrease in fertility of soil and amount of rainfall
• Increase in frequency of droughts and floods
• Desertification- conversion of fertile lands into deserts.

Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is the species richness of the biosphere. It is defined as the number and variety of life forms such as plants, animals and microorganisms in an area.
• It supports all the essential living resources such as wild life, fisheries and forests.
• Forests help in maintaining the delicate balance of nature.
• Animals living in forests are called wild animals.
• The plants found in a particular area are known as flora of that area.
• The animals found in a particular area constitute fauna of that area.
• Those species of plants and animals, which are found only in a particular area, are called endemic species.
• Species is a group of organisms in population which are capable of interbreeding.
• The animals, whose numbers are diminishing to a level that they might face extinction, are called endangered animals.
  For example: tiger, lion, and elephants
• Project tiger was launched by the government of India to protect endangered tigers in their natural habitat.
• The flora and fauna of a particular habitat can be protected through special protected areas.

Protected areas

A protected area is a clearly defined geographical space which is recognised and managed by government to achieve the long term conservation of nature, culture and preserve ecosystem.

Wildlife sanctuary

• It is the place where wild animals are protected from hunting and are provided with suitable living conditions.
  For example: Madhumalai wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, Chilika bird sanctuary in Orissa, etc.

National parks

• These are the areas reserved for wildlife. They are maintained and preserved by the government for the public to visit.
  For example: Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, etc.
• Satpura National Park is the first reserve forest of India.

Biosphere Reserves

• It is a large protected land for conservation of wild life, plant and animals resources, and the traditional life of the tribal groups living in the area.
  For example: Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve and Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in India.

Red Data Book

• It is the source book maintained by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources).
•  It keeps a track record of various endangered species of plants and animals.

Migration

• It is the movement of birds and animals from their original habitat to other places at a particular time.
• Migratory birds fly to distant areas every year during a particular time because of climatic changes their original habitat becomes very cold and inhospitable lack of food availability
• Numerous migratory birds including ducks, geese, flamingos, and cranes fly to India every year.

Recycling of paper

• One ton of paper is made from about seventeen fully-grown trees.
• Papers should be recycled and reused to conserve forest.
• Each paper can be recycled three to seven times.
• Recycling of paper saves trees, energy and water.
• It prevents the release of harmful chemicals emitted during paper manufacturing in nature.

Reforestation

• Restoring of destroyed forests by planting new trees is called reforestation.
• It helps in checking environmental degradation.