Environmental Studies PYQs

Key Points

Gir National Park:-

• Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India.
• It is located 43 km (27 mi) north-east of Somnath, 65 km (40 mi) south-east of Junagadh and 60 km (37 mi) south-west of Amreli.
• It was established in 1965, with a total area of 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi), of which 258 km2(100 sq mi) is fully protected as a national park and 1,153 km2 (445 sq mi) as a wildlife sanctuary.
• It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

Gir National Park is known for its Asiatic Lions.

Important Points

Facts about Gir National Park

• It is located in the Gujarat state of India.
• It was established in 1965 with a total area of 1,412 km2 of which 258 km2 is fully protected as a national park and 1,153 km2 as a wildlife sanctuary.
• As per the 14^th Asiatic Lion Census 2015, the population of Asiatic Lions was 523.
• Nawab of Junagadh established the sanctuary considering the drastic decline in Lions’ population due to hunting.
• It is the only area in Asia where Asiatic lions occur and is considered one of the most important protected areas in Asia because of its biodiversity.
• The seven major perennial rivers in the Gir region are -
• Hiran, Shetrunji, Datardi, Shinoda, Machhundri, Godavari and Raval.

Additional Information

The following National parks are most famous in India:

Key Points

Green Muffler scheme:

• Green Muffler is a technique of reducing noise pollution by planting 4-6 rows of plants around the populated areas or noisy places like along roadsides, industrial areas, societies near highways, etc.
• These dense trees reduce noise pollution as they filter out the noise and obstruct it from reaching the citizens.
• It is also a device for decreasing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine
• Under this scheme, Ashoka and Neem plants are planted near the house or resident localities to reduce noise pollution.

Important Points

Trees are known as noise buffers:

• They control noise pollution. Even urban noises are muffled by trees just like stone walls.
• An advantage of using plants as noise blockers is that they absorb sounds best in the high frequencies that people find annoying.
• Evergreen shrubs that too with broader leaves provide year-round noise protection so, they are best to plant. Trees absorb sound waves with their branches and foliage.
• According to USDA National Agroforestry Center, a properly designed buffer of trees and shrubs can reduce noise by about 10 decibels or about 5 0% as perceived by the human ear.

Thus, “Green Muffler” is related to noise pollution.

Explanation:

The correct answer is the Mediterranean Sea.

Key Points

Strait of Gibraltar:

• It separates Europe and Africa.
• It connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.
• It is an important gap, averaging 1200 feet in depth in the arc formed by the Atlas Mountains of North Africa and the high plateau of Spain.
• The Winds in the strait tend to be either easterly or westerly.
• Shallow cold-air masses invading the western Mediterranean from the north, often stream through as a low level.
• The high-speed easterly wind is known locally as a Levanter.
• The strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa.

The correct answer is September 16.

Key Points

• The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is observed on September 16.
• The theme for 2020 World Ozone Day is “Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection”.
• In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 16 September the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
• Commemorating the date of the signing in 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• This 2020 year, celebrate 35 years of the Vienna Convention and 35 years of global ozone layer protection.

Important Points

• The ozone layer is a natural layer of gas in the upper atmosphere that protects humans and other living things from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
• The ozone layer is typically thicker over the poles than over the equator.
• The ozone layer exists in the stratosphere, a layer 10 to 50 km above the Earth’s surface.
• The reasons for ozone depletion are a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, mainly refrigerators, air conditioners (hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)), and fire extinguishers.
• Ozone depletion is greatest at the South Pole (Antarctica).

Additional Information

• World First Aid Day is observed on 14 September to raise awareness among the public about how first aid can save lives in case of crises.
• Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14 September.

Concept:

Food chain: A food chain shows the feeding relationship between different organisms in a particular environment and/or habitat. A food chain shows how energy is passed from the sun to producers, from producers to consumers, and from consumers to decomposes such as fungi. They also show how animals depend on other organisms for food.

• The food chain is distributed between Autotrophs, Hetrotrops, and Decomposers i.e Producers, consumers and decomposers.
• Autotrophs produce their own food like plants, trees and some algae.
• Heterotrophs are consumers i.e. animals, man, insects etc.
• Decomposers are bacteria, fungi etc.

Explanation:

• Primary producers are at first tropic level - They produce food on their own with the help of photosynthesis. Ex- plants,trees.
• Primary Consumers are the herbivores animals, whose nutrition is directly based on plant products. Ex- Cow, deer, grasshoppers, small insects etc. i.e. herbivorous
• Secondary consumers are carnivorous animals Like- small birds, wolfs etc.
• Tertiary Consumers are also carnivorous but they feed on secondary consumers.

Additional InformationTwo types of food chains are found in nature-

1. Grazing Food Chain -

• The consumers start with the food chain, utilising the plant as their food, which constitutes the grazing food chain.

2. Detritus Food Chain - 

• It starts from dead organic matter of decaying animals and plant bodies consumed by the microorganisms and then to detritus feeding organisms called detritivores or decomposers and to other predators.

Concept:

• Elements are never lost from the ecosystems, are recycled time and again indefinitely.
• The movement of elements through the various components of an ecosystem is called cycling.
• The cycling of these elements is represented by various cycles, each showing the cycling of a particular element.
• A cycle is a series of change which comes back to the starting point and which can be repeated.

Explanation:

Bio-geo chemical cycles:

• Nutrient cycling in the ecosystem is called a biogeochemical cycle (bio: living organism, geo: rocks, air, water).
• A biogeochemical cycle is a pathway by which a chemical substance moves through the biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere components of Earth.
• Thus, the flow of elements in each cycle from non-living to living and back to non-living is called bio-geo-chemical cycles.
• The various biogeochemical cycles essential for life are the water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle, sulphur cycle and so on.

The cycling of elements in an ecosystem is called the biogeochemical cycle.

Geological cycles:

• It is also known as the rock cycle.
• The rock cycle describes transitions through geologic time among the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.
• Each rock type is altered when it is forced out of its equilibrium conditions.
• The rock cycle explains how the three rock types are related to each other, and how processes change from one type to another over time.

Geochemical cycles:

• A geochemical cycle is a pathway that chemical elements take into the surface and crust of the Earth.
• The term "geochemical" tells us that geological and chemical factors are all included.
• The migration of heated and compressed chemical elements and compounds.
• It includes elements such as silicon, aluminium, and general alkali metals.

Bio-geo chemical cycle vs Geochemical cycle:

• Some may use the terms biogeochemical cycle and geochemical cycle interchangeably.
• A biogeochemical cycle refers to the chemical interactions in the ecosystem.
• Such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.
• Whereas a geochemical cycle refers to the chemical interactions that exist in crustal and subcrustal reservoirs such as the deep earth and lithosphere.
• Changes through the biogeochemical cycle are apparent over the short term.
• Changes through the geochemical cycle take over the long term.
• These changes are of great magnitude, including the evolution of continents and oceans.

The Correct option is Hydrogen.

Key Points

• Pollution word literally means damage caused by the presence of harmful substances.
• The presence of harmful gases in the air causes air pollution. This causes health issues for human beings and other species around.
• The presence of non - biodegradable wastes pollutes the soil.
• The presence of sewage pollutants pollutes the water.
• All these factors affect the life balance of not only mankind but other species too.
• These factors result in a contaminated environment and cause disturbance of environmental cycles.

Explanation:

• The fuels like Diesel, petrol and coal burn to produce smoke along with heat or light.
• Apart from producing smoke, coal also decomposes to give ash when burnt for energy.
• Smoke and ash result in air and land/water/soil pollution respectively.
• On the other hand, hydrogen when used for energy neither produces smoke nor ash.
• Hydrogen: Energy generated with the use of hydrogen or/and hydrogen-containing compounds has minimum pollution and produces maximum energy on burning.

Thus, causes minimum environmental pollution of the other three.

Additional Information

Waste and its Types

• Waste includes the various types of garbages or disposable substance which are no longer in use for any particular individual.
• Waste includes
• biodegradable wastes like food remain waste paper which can be decomposed microorganisms.
• non - biodegradable wastes like polythene cannot be decomposed and cause damage to the environment.
• Waste is also classified into solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes
• Solid waste includes usual home garbage
• Liquid waste includes certain pollutants that are drained in rivers through sewage
• Gaseous waste includes pollutants released from industries, vehicles, etc.

Air Pollution:

• The presence of an excess of poisonous gas in the air causes air pollution.
• Poisonous gases are released by vehicles and industries which pollute the air.

Water Pollution

• The presence of pollutants in water is termed water pollution which creates a major impact on the aquatic ecosystem.
• Water pollution is caused by liquid sewage waste released in rivers.

Soil Pollution

• The presence of unwanted chemicals in soil pollutes the soil.
• Such chemicals are induced in soil by chemicals obtained from domestic or industrial garbage.
• Soil pollution causes loss of fertility of the soil and impacts agricultural productivity.

Concept:

• Animal or plant species that are likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular country are called Endangered species.
• Endangered species are species that are at high risk to get extincted.
• This tag is given by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• These tags are used to identify species which are needed to be protected.

Explanation:

About Giant Panda:

• Giant Panda is also called Panda Bear is found in dense bamboo forests of south-central China.
• They have distinct black patches around their eyes, over the years, and across their round body.
• These mostly eat bamboo shoots and leaves but also occasionally consume grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion.
• As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.
• As of December 2014, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 different countries.
• Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.
• In March 2015, conservation news site Mongabay stated that the wild giant panda population had increased by 16.8%.
• In 2016, the IUCN reclassified the species from "endangered" to "vulnerable", affirming decade-long efforts to save the panda.

Thus, an endangered animal Giant Panda is found in China.

Some of the tags of IUCN are:

The correct answer is Methyl Isocyanate.

Key Points

• The "Bhopal Gas Tragedy" took place on 2^nd and 3^rd December of 1984.
• The Tragedy took place in Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal.
• The gas present in this tragedy was "Methyl Isocyanate".
• The molecular formula of Methyl Isocyanate is CH3NCO.
• It was one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
• Methyl isocyanate is a colorless, poisonous, and flammable liquid that is soluble in water and it can lead to coughing, chest pain, asthma, shortness of breath, and skin damage.

Additional Information

• Effects of the gas leakage:
• Bhopal gas tragedy, the single biggest air pollution tragedy which, according to official sources have claimed 2500 lives, whereas non-governmental sources put the figure much higher.
• According to the figure released by the government, around 17,000 people have been rendered permanently disabled and another 30,000 partially handicapped. Those who have suffered mini disability number about 1,50,000.
• The Bhopal gas tragedy polluted drinking water, soils, tanks, and pond water and adversely affected fetuses, newly born babies, pregnant women, young and old people alike. It killed thousands of animals and innumerable microorganisms.

Concept:

• The earth can be divided into two hemispheres, the upper (northern hemisphere) and the lower (southern hemisphere).
• They are just names for specific places on the Earth so that it is easy for us to give directions and find our way around.
• These hemispheres are relative if not defined clearly.
• An equator is used to divide the earth into two hemispheres.
• Japan, India and America (United States) lie on one side of the equator most commonly referred to as the northern hemisphere.
• Whereas Australia lies on the other side of the equator most commonly referred to as the southern hemisphere.

Explanation:

• Winter Solstice occurs when the Sun is directly above the Southern Hemisphere. It occurs on December 22.
• During this period, it is summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the northern hemisphere and vice-versa.
• Christmas is celebrated on the 25^th of December.
• December is the month of winters in the northern hemisphere and summers in the southern hemisphere.
• Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere, it is Summer there during December.

Thus, Christmas, which is celebrated on the 25^th of December, falls in the summer season for Australia.

Seasons and in different hemispheres:

• The seasons result from the Earth's axis of rotation being tilted with respect to its orbital plane by an angle of approximately 23.4 degrees.
• Regardless of the time of year, the northern and southern hemispheres always experience opposite seasons.
• This is because, during summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the Sun than the other.
• This exposure alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit.
• For approximately half of the year (from around March 20 to around September 22), the Northern Hemisphere tips toward the Sun.
• The maximum amount occurring on about June 21.
• For the other half of the year, the same happens, but in the Southern Hemisphere.
• With the maximum around December 21.
• The two instants when the Sun is directly overhead at the Equator are the equinoxes.
• Hence day and night are equally divided between the two hemispheres.
• Around the March equinox, the Northern Hemisphere will be experiencing spring as the hours of daylight increase.
• And the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing autumn as daylight hours shorten.

Concept:

Pollution of the Ganga:

• The Ganga runs its course of over 2500 km from Gangotri in the Himalayas to Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal.
• It is being turned into a drain by more than a hundred towns and cities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal that pour their garbage and excreta into it.
• Largely untreated sewage is dumped into the Ganges every day. In addition to this other human activities like bathing, washing of clothes and immersion of ashes or unburnt corpses, industrial wastes makes the river immensely polluted.
• The Ganga’s pollution load and the toxicity kills fish in large sections of the river.

Explanation:

Ganga Action Plan:

• It was a multicore project launched in the year 1985 by Shri Rajeev Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India.
• The main objective of this plan aims at reducing the pollution on the Ganga River.
• The plan was to improve the water quality by Interception, Diversion and treatment of domestic sewage and present toxic and industrial chemical wastes from identified grossly polluting units entering into the river.
• Hence, the Ganga action plan introduces to improve the quality of the Ganga River by diversion of industrial chemical waste and treatment of domestic sewage.
• The main objective of this Plan was to improve the water quality and make Ganga pollution free by Interception, Diversion, and treatment of domestic sewage and present toxic and industrial chemical wastes from identified grossly polluting units entering into the river.

Main objectives:

• Control of non-point pollution from agricultural runoff, human defecation, cattle wallowing, and throwing of unburnt and half-burnt bodies into the river.
• Research and Development to conserve the biotic, diversity of the river to augment its productivity.
• The new technology of sewage treatment like Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and sewage treatment through afforestation has been successfully developed.
• Rehabilitation of soft-shelled turtles for pollution abatement of the river has been demonstrated and found useful.
• Resource recovery options like the production of methane for energy generation and the use of aquaculture for revenue generation have been demonstrated.
• To act as a trendsetter for taking up similar action plans in other grossly polluted stretches in other rivers.

Explanation:

• Neem leaf has various properties such as antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, and immune upregulation.
• It is used in the pharmaceutical industry.
• Neem oil can be used as a pesticide to control the proliferation of some species of insects and mites.
• Hence most common bio insecticide is neem.
• Bio-pesticides are biological pesticides that are based on microorganisms or natural products.
• These include the naturally occurring substances like plants, plant products, bacteria and other microbes, fungi, etc. which work as pesticides by controlling or killings pests.
• Neem oil is one such plant product that is used as a biopesticide.

Additional Information

Calotropis:

• People use the bark and root bark for medicine.
• Despite serious safety concerns, calotropis is used for digestive disorders including diarrhea, constipation and stomach ulcers; for painful conditions including toothache, cramps, and joint pain; and for parasitic infections including elephantiasis and worms.

Concept-

• The celestial source of energy is Sun.
• Plants produce food through photosynthesis, a process that is only possible when sunlight is available as a source of energy.
• Except for the deep sea hydro-thermal ecosystem, the sun (sunlight) is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on earth.

Explanation-

• The continuous input of energy, mostly from sunlight, sustains the process of life.
• Sunlight allows plants, algae, and cyanobacteria to use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds such as carbohydrates.
• This process is the vital source of organic material in the biosphere.
• Thus, Sun plays a critical role in the ecosystem.

Additional Information

• An ecosystem is the basic ecological unit in which living organisms interact among themselves and with their surrounding physical environment.
• Except for the deep sea hydro-thermal ecosystem, the sun (sunlight) is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on earth.
• Out of the total incident solar radiation, only 50% of it is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
• Plants capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR and this small amount of energy sustains the entire living world. So, there is the unidirectional flow of energy from the sun to producers and then to consumers.
• The energy is transferred in an ecosystem in the form of food which is degraded and lose a major part of food energy as heat during metabolic activities, this can be explained by Lindeman’s 10 per cent law which says only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level.

Natural vegetation is generally classified into three broad categories as follows: Forest, Grassland and Shrubs

Key Points

Desert vegetation:

• Thorny bushes: These are found in dry desert-like regions.
• Tropical deserts are located on the western margins of the continents.
• The vegetation cover is scarce here because of scanty rain and scorching heat.
• Most desert plants are drought- or salt-tolerant.
• Some store water in their leaves, roots, and stems.
• Other desert plants have long tap roots that penetrate the water table, anchor the soil and control erosion.
• The vegetation in deserts is sparred and it mostly includes bushes, acacia, cacti (cactus) and date trees.

Additional Information

Tundra vegetation:

• Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens.
• Scattered trees grow in some tundra regions.

Alpine vegetation:

• In the higher latitudes (50° – 70°) of the Northern hemisphere, the spectacular Coniferous forests are found
• . Chir, pine, cedar is the important variety of trees in these forests.

Rainforest:

• It is also known as a tropical evergreen forest.
• Hardwood trees like rosewood, ebony, mahogany are common here.

Mahogany, sandalwood and fir are tropical plants.

The correct answer is Saturn.

Concept:

• Satellite: Anything that goes around a planet is called a satellite. Ex - Moon, sputnik -1 etc.
• Natural Satellite: A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other body larger than itself and which is not man-made. Ex- Earth has a moon as a natural satellite.

Explanation:

Key Points

This is the chart of the planet with their natural satellite number-

• Moon
• It is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System.
• Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System.
• Earth has only one moon.​
• Saturn​
• It is the second-largest planet in the Solar System.
• It contains 7 rings which are formed up of very small particles.
• Its largest satellite is Titan.
• It has the least density in the entire Solar System.
• Its revolution period is 29.5 years.

Additional Information 

• Jupiter
• It is the largest planet in our Solar System.
• There are 79 natural satellites in Jupiter.
• The spacecraft which visited Jupiter is Juno.
• It is the third brightest natural object in the night sky after Moon and Venus.​
• Uranus
• It is known as Green Planet.
• It is the third-largest in the Solar System.
• It is the coldest planet in the Solar System.
• It has a ring system like Saturn.
• Mercury
• It is the smallest and the closest planet to the Sun.
• Two spacecraft have visited Mercury: Mariner 10 and Messenger.
• It has not any natural Satellite.

The correct answer is Jatropha.

Key Points

Biodiesel:

• Biodiesel is an alternative fuel similar to conventional or ‘fossil’ diesel.
• Biodiesel is a vegetable oil or animal fat-based diesel fuel. It is used in diesel engines in place of conventional diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel can be produced from straight vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow, and waste cooking oil.

Explanation:

• The process used to convert these oils to Biodiesel is called transesterification.
• Jatropha is a Flowering plant. Its stems are used for basket making and Oil from Jatropha is converted into biodiesel.
• While Malaysia uses Palm Oil, the US uses Soyabean and European nations use sunflower seeds for the production of biodiesel, the Indian government preferred to use the Jatropha plant for the production of biodiesel.

Additional Information

• In December 2009, the Union government launched the National Biodiesel Mission (NBM) identifying Jatropha as the most suitable tree-borne oilseed for biodiesel production to help achieve a proposed biodiesel blend of 20 percent with conventional diesel by 2017.

The environment protection act was passed by the parliament of India in 1986.

• Under Article 253 of the constitution.
• It came into force on 19 November 1986.
• The purpose of this act was to implement the decisions of the UN conference on the Human Environment.

Key Points

• Environment Protection Act, 1986 Act of the Parliament of India.
• In the wake of the Bhopal gas Tragedy or Bhopal Disaster, the [Government of India] enacted the Environment Protection Act of 1986 under Article 253 of the Constitution.
• Passed in March 1986, it came into force on 19 November 1986.
• It has 26 sections and 4 chapters.
• The Environmental (Protection) Act was enacted in 1986 was never amended.

Additional Information

• The purpose of the Act is to implement the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
• They relate to the protection and improvement of the human environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property.
• The Act is an “umbrella” legislation designed to provide a framework for central government coordination of the activities of various central and state authorities established under previous laws, such as the Water Act and the Air Act.

Other important acts by the Indian government for Environmental protection:

• Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
• Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.
• Biological diversity Act 2002.
• Recycled Plastics, Plastics manufacturing and usage Rules, 1999
• Construction and Demolition waste Management Rules, 2016.

Concept:

Greenhouse Effect:

• Solar energy trapped by the earth atmosphere and radiate slowly so as to cover our earth with a warm blanket.
• This is the natural process of the greenhouse effect on earth to maintain its temperature and makes the earth perfect for life.

Greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gases are methane, water vapour, nitrous oxide, CFCs and ozone. 

Values of radiation absorbed by the greenhouse gases are as follow:

Explanation:

Global Warming

• An increase in the average temperature of the earth surface due to the greenhouse effect is called global warming
• It also refers to the increase in the average temperature of the air and sea at the earth's surface.
• When the quantity of carbon dioxide is increased in the atmosphere, it will cause more greenhouse effects which ultimately leads to global warming.
• Hence the correct option is Increase in carbon dioxide.

Mistake Points

Global warming and the Greenhouse effect both are different things.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• Biomes are very large ecological areas on the earth’s surface.
• They have fauna and flora (animals and plants) adapting and sharing common characteristics with the surrounding environment.
• Plants or animals in a biome have special adaptations that make it possible for them to exist in that area.
• A biome is not an ecosystem, although in a way it can look like a massive ecosystem.
• You may find many units of ecosystems within one biome.

Temperate deciduous forest biome:

• Temperate Deciduous Forests are a variety of temperate forests dominated by trees that lose their leaves each year.
• They are found in areas with warm moist summers and cool winters.
• Temperate deciduous forests get between 75 cm and 150 cm of precipitation a year.
• Temperate Deciduous Forests are home to trees such as oak, birch, aspen, elm, and maple.

**Tropical evergreen rainforest biome:**​

• It has trees that are multilayered.
• Tropical Evergreen Forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees.
• Found in areas receiving more than 200 cm of rainfall and having a temperature of 15-30 degrees Celsius.
• They are generally found in the equatorial and tropical regions from 23 ½ degrees north to 23 ½ degrees south.
• It includes trees such as coniferous and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, and rainforest trees in tropical zones.

Temperate grassland biome:

• Temperate grasslands are characterized as having grasses as the dominant vegetation.
• Trees and large shrubs are absent.
• Temperatures vary more from summer to winter, and the amount of rainfall is less.
• Temperate grasslands have hot summers and cold winters.
• Rainfall is moderate.
• The various species of grasses include purple needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, and galleta.
• Precipitation in temperate grasslands usually occurs in the late spring and early summer.
• The annual average is about 50.8 to 88.9 cm.
• Summer temperatures can be well over 38° C, while winter temperatures can be as low as -40° C.

Savanna biome:

• Savanna is grassland with scattered individual trees.
• Savannas cover almost half the surface of Africa and large areas of Australia, South America, and India.
• Savannas are always found in warm or hot climates where the annual rainfall is from about 50.8 to 127 cm per year.
• It is crucial that the rainfall is concentrated in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought when fires can occur.
• If the rain were well distributed throughout the year, many such areas would become tropical forests.

Important Points

In terms of biodiversity, in descending order:

1. The tropical evergreen rainforest biome
2. The temperate deciduous forest biome
3. Savanna biome
4. Temperate grassland biome

Thus, the largest biodiversity is the Tropical evergreen rainforest biome.

The question asks for the largest biodiversity, not the largest cover or surface area.

The correct answer is Black soil.

• Black soil is also known as Regur soil.

​

Key Points

• It is formed by weathering of lava of igneous rock and then cooling of this lava after volcanic eruption happens.
• The texture and composition of this soil are formed due to this lava.
• The soil that is present in Deccan Plateau is black basalt soil that is rich in iron, hummus and contains a good quantity of lime, magnesia, and Alumina.
• Basalt is a type of igneous rock.
• It is formed due to the rapid freezing of the basaltic lava on the surface.
• This is the most suitable for cotton cultivation.

Additional Information

• Alluvial soils:-
• The alluvium is said to be the soil that has been drained by flowing water and deposited elsewhere.
• It is brittle or loose.
• Its particles do not bind together to form a 'solid' shell.
• It is best for agriculture.
• Laterite soils:-
• Laterite soil is formed in parts where dry and wet weather occurs repeatedly.
• It is formed by the breakage of laterite rocks.
• This soil is found on flat highlands.
• It is very useful for tea, coffee cultivation due to its acidic nature.
• Red soils:-
• It is found in red and chocolate colors.
• This soil is very porous and it is very useful for the Millet crop.
• Dark red soil is suitable for cotton, wheat, pulses, coarse grains, etc.