NCERT Class 12 Biology Biodiversity and Conservation

Read and download NCERT Class 12 Biology Biodiversity and Conservation in NCERT book for Class 12 Biology. You can download latest NCERT eBooks chapter wise in PDF format free from Studiestoday.com. This Biology textbook for Class 12 is designed by NCERT and is very useful for students. Please also refer to the NCERT solutions for Class 12 Biology to understand the answers of the exercise questions given at the end of this chapter

NCERT Book for Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation

Class 12 Biology students should refer to the following NCERT Book Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation in Class 12. This NCERT Book for Class 12 Biology will be very useful for exams and help you to score good marks

Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation NCERT Book Class 12

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION 

Introduction

If an alien from a distant galaxy were to visit our planet Earth, the first thing that would amaze and baffle him would most probably be the enormous diversity of life that he would encounter. Even for humans, the rich variety of living organisms with which they share this planet never ceases to astonish and fascinate us. The common man would find it hard to believe that there are more than 20,000 species of ants, 3,00,000 species of beetles, 28,000 species of fishes and nearly 20,000 species of orchids.

 Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have been trying to understand the significance of such diversity by asking important questions– Why are there so many species? Did such great diversity exist throughout earth’s history? How did this diversification come about? How and why is this diversity important to the biosphere? Would itfunction any differently if the diversity was much less? How do humans benefit from the diversity of life?

15.1 BIODIVERSITY

In our biosphere immense diversity (or heterogeneity) exists not only at the species level but at all levels of biological organisation ranging from macromolecules within cells to biomes. Biodiversity is the term popularised by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson to describe the combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation.

The most important of them are–

(i) Genetic diversity : A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. The genetic variation shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in different Himalayan ranges might be in terms of the potency and concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) that the plant produces. India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango.

(ii) Species diversity: The diversity at the species level. For example,the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.

(iii) Ecological diversity: At the ecosystem level, India, for instance, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country like Norway.

It has taken millions of years of evolution, to accumulate this rich diversity in nature, but we could lose all that wealth in less than two centuries if the present rates of species losses continue. Biodiversity and its conservation are now vital environmental issues of international concern as more and more people around the world begin to realise the critical importance of biodiversity for our survival and well- being on this planet.

15.1.1 How Many Species are there on Earth and How Many in India?

Since there are published records of all the species discovered and named, we know how many species in all have been recorded so far, but it is not easy to answer the question of how many species there are on earth. According to the IUCN (2004), the total number of plant and animal species described so far is slightly more than 1.5 million, but we have no clear idea of how many species are yet to be discovered and described.

Estimates vary widely and many of them are only educated guesses. For many taxonomic groups, species inventories are more complete in temperate than in tropical countries. Considering that an overwhelmingly large proportion of the species waiting to be discovered are in the tropics, biologists make a statistical comparison of the temperate-tropical species richness of an exhaustively studied group of insects and extrapolate this ratio to other groups of animals and plants to come up with a gross estimate of the total number of species on earth.


EXERCISES

1. Name the three important components of biodiversity.

2. How do ecologists estimate the total number of species present in the world?

3. Give three hypotheses for explaining why tropics show greatest levels of species richness.

4. What is the significance of the slope of regression in a species – area relationship?

5. What are the major causes of species losses in a geographical region?

6. How is biodiversity important for ecosystem functioning?

7. What are sacred groves? What is their role in conservation?

8. Among the ecosystem services are control of floods and soil erosion. How is this achieved by the biotic components of the ecosystem?

9. The species diversity of plants (22 per cent) is much less than that of animals (72 per cent). What could be the explanations to how animals achieved greater diversification?

10. Can you think of a situation where we deliberately want to make a species extinct? How would you justify it?


Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 12 Biology Biodiversity and Conservation

Chapter 01 Reproduction in Organisms
NCERT Class 12 Biology Reproduction in Organisms
Chapter 02 Sexual Reproduction In Flowering Plants
NCERT Class 12 Biology Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants
Chapter 03 Human Reproduction
NCERT Class 12 Biology Human Reproduction
Chapter 04 Reproductive Health
NCERT Class 12 Biology Reproductive Health
Chapter 05 Principles of Inheritance and Variation
NCERT Class 12 Biology Principles of Inheritance
Chapter 06 Molecular Basis of Inheritance
NCERT Class 12 Biology Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Chapter 08 Human Health and Diseases
NCERT Class 12 Biology Human Health and Disease
Chapter 09 Strategies for Enhancement In Food Production
NCERT Class 12 Biology Strategies For Enhancement in Food Reproduction
Chapter 10 Microbes In Human Welfare
NCERT Class 12 Biology Microbes In Human Welfare
Chapter 11 Biotechnology Principles and Processes
NCERT Class 12 Biology Biotechnology Principles and Processes
Chapter 12 Biotechnology and Its Application
NCERT Class 12 Biology Biotechnology and Its Applications
Chapter 13 Organisms and Populations
NCERT Class 12 Biology Organisms and Populations
Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation
NCERT Class 12 Biology Biodiversity and Conservation
Chapter 16 Environmental Issues
NCERT Class 12 Biology Environmental Issues

NCERT Book Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation

The above NCERT Books for Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation have been published by NCERT for latest academic session. The textbook by NCERT for Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation Biology Class 12 is being used by various schools and almost all education boards in India. Teachers have always recommended students to refer to Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation NCERT etextbooks as the exams for Class 12 Biology are always asked as per the syllabus defined in these ebooks. These Class 12 Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation book for Biology also includes collection of question. Along with Biology Class 12 NCERT Book in Pdf for Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation we have provided all NCERT Books in English Medium for Class 12 which will be really helpful for students who have opted for english language as a medium. Class 12 students will need their books in English so we have provided them here for all subjects in Class 12.

Where can I download latest NCERT Book for Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation

You can download the NCERT Book for Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation for latest session from StudiesToday.com

Can I download the NCERT Books of Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation in Pdf

Yes, you can click on the link above and download chapter wise NCERT Books in PDFs for Class 12 for Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation

Are the Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation NCERT Book available for the latest session

Yes, the NCERT Book issued for Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation have been made available here for latest academic session

How can I download the Class 12 Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation NCERT Book

You can easily access the link above and download the Class 12 NCERT Books Biology Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation for each chapter