India is one of the world's most ancient civilizations, with a history dating back thousands of years. The geography and ecology of India have played an important role in shaping its culture and history. From the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas in the north to the sea-encased southern peninsula, India is a veritable mosaic of landscapes and environments. With a variety of climatic conditions and thus a wealth of flora and fauna, it becomes a natural choice for those interested in experiencing other regional cultures. In this article, we will discuss Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Realms of India

• A biogeographic realm, also known as an ecozone, is the broadest biogeographic division of the Earth's land surface based on terrestrial organism distribution patterns.
• They are further subdivided into bioregions and ecoregions. Biogeographic realms are large spatial regions in which ecosystems have a broadly similar biological evolutionary history.
• Biogeographic realms are large geographic areas where ecosystems share a broadly similar biota.
• A realm is a continent or subcontinent-sized area with unifying geographical and fauna and flora features.
• The Indian region is divided into two realms:
  • The Himalayan region is represented by Palearctic Realm
  • The rest of the subcontinent is represented by Malayan Realm

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Realms - Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape

Biomes of India

• A biome is a large community of vegetation and wildlife that has adapted to a specific climate.
• It includes the interactions between animals, vegetation, and soil. The plants and animals in that area have adapted to their surroundings.
• There are five major types of biomes: aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra.
• However, some of the above biomes can be further subdivided into more specific categories, such as freshwater, marine, savanna, tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest, and taiga.
• India's five biomes are:
  • Tropical Humid Forests
  • Tropical Dry or Deciduous Forests (including Monsoon Forests)
  • Warm deserts and semi-deserts
  • Coniferous forests
  • Alpine meadows

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Biomes of India - Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape

Biogeographic Zones

• India's biogeographic classification is a division of the country based on biogeographic characteristics.
• India has a rich heritage of natural diversity. Among the top 17 megadiverse countries in the world, India ranks fourth in Asia and tenth globally.
• The study of the distribution of species (biology), organisms, and ecosystems in geographical space and over geological time is known as biogeography.
• Biogeographic zones were used to plan wildlife-protected areas in India.
• In India, there are ten distinct biogeographic zones. They are as follows:
  • Trans-Himalayas
  • Himalayas
  • Desert
  • Semi-arid
  • Western Ghats
  • Deccan Peninsula
  • Gangetic Plain
  • North-east India
  • Islands
  • Coasts

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Biogeographic Zones - Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape

Biogeographic Provinces

• Biogeographic Province is a biotic subdivision of biogeographic realms that are further subdivided into ecoregions that are classified based on their biomes or habitat types.
• The provinces are large areas of the Earth's surface where organisms have evolved in relative isolation over long periods of time, separated from one another by geographic features such as oceans, broad deserts, or high mountain ranges that act as migration barriers.
• A biogeographic province is an ecosystematic or biotic subdivision of realms.
• India is divided into 25 biogeographic zones.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Biogeographic provinces - Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape

Fauna

• Fauna refers to all of the animal life that exists in a given area or period. With significant regional variation in physiography, climate, and edaphic types, Indian forests provide a diverse range of habitat types that support a diverse range of wildlife in India.
• With only about 2.4% of the world's total land surface, India is known to have over 7.5% of the world's animal species, accounting for nearly 92,000 species so far known.
• The animal kingdom is made up of various animal life forms. As a result, fauna classification is far more complex than floral classification. As a result, for simplicity,
  • Birds - Avifauna
  • Fish - Pisci Fauna
  • Microorganisms (eg: bacteria and viruses) - Microfauna
  • Unknown and undiscovered animals - Cryptofauna
• In India, the kingdoms Animalia and Protista (previously classified as Animalia) contain 1,02,718 species, of which 99,173 are classified as Animalia.
• There are 6,350 vertebrates and the rest are invertebrates. This means that invertebrates account for nearly 94% of India's fauna.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Fauna - Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape

Flora

• In terms of plant diversity, India ranks tenth in the world and fourth in Asia. India is home to nearly 11% of the world's known floral diversity.
• India's flora is one of the richest in the world due to the country's diverse climate, topography, and habitat.
• Over 18,000 flowering plant species are estimated to exist in India, accounting for 6-7 percent of all plant species worldwide.
• India is home to over 50,000 plant species, including several endemics.
• More than 3000 Indian plant species have been officially documented as belonging to eight floristic regions: the Western Himalayas, the Eastern Himalayas, Assam, the Indus plain, the Ganges plain, the Deccan, Malabar, and the Andaman Islands.
• Many factors influence how flora is classified and differentiated. The best one is the location where they grow or are found. Some grow in deserts or in water, others in hills, and still others are endemic to a specific geographic location.
• Important floral groups found in India are:
  • Algae
  • Fungi
  • Bacteria
  • Lichens
  • Bryophytes
  • Pteridophytes
  • Gymnosperms
  • Angiosperms

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Flora - Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape

Wildlife of India

• Wildlife in India is made up of a variety of plants (flora) and animals (fauna) that coexist in a geographical area to form a chain of life.
• Nearly 7-8% of all plant and animal species are found in India. India has approximately 18500 taxa of flowering plants.
• The Indian Forest Act of 1927 aided in the protection and security of natural habitat.
• Many ecoregions, such as shola forests, have extremely high rates of endemism; 33% of Indian plant species are endemic.
• Forest cover flora and vegetation range from tropical rainforest in the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and Northeast India to coniferous forest in the Himalaya.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Wildlife of India

Conclusion

India is a large landmass surrounded by the sea on three sides, like a peninsula. It is divided into three major geographical areas: the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic plain, and the peninsula. It is rich in flora and fauna. Many different types of forest trees, floral plants, and shrubs grow in various topographical zones. The elephant, the last remaining lion outside of Africa, tigers, rhinoceros, leopards, and several smaller cat species are among India's animal wealth. The main reptile population consists of a diverse range of snakes, lizards, and crocodiles. The majority of this flora and fauna are protected under the Wild Life Protection Act.