Ecology & Environment Test 3

Answer – c

• National Institute of WindEnergy (NIWE), formerly known as Centre for Wind Energy Technology, has developed the WindAtlas of India. NIWE also collects data from Solar Radiation Resource Assessment stations to assessand quantify solar radiation availability and develop Solar Atlas of the country.
• National Institute ofSolar Energy has assessed the State wise solar potential by taking 3 per cent of the wasteland area tobe covered by Solar PV modules.
• The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru has developed BiomassAtlas of India
• Alternate Hydro Energy Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee hasassessed small hydro potential in the country

Source – Chapter 11, India Year Book

Answer – c

• Aquifers are natural rock formations which can store and economically yield water. Many of India’s aquifers are composed of clay, silt and gravel carried down from the Himalayas by streams or uranium-rich granitic rocks. When overpumping of these aquifers’ groundwater occurs and their water levels decline, it induces conditions that enhance uranium enrichment in the shallow groundwater that remains.

• In XII Plan, Central Ground Water Boardtook up the National Project on Aquifer Management (NAQUIM) to facilitate identification,delineation, characterization and effective management of aquifers to ensure sustainability of ground
  water resource.
• Central Ground Water Board was constituted as Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) under subSection (3) of Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 in 1997 for regulation and controlof ground water management and development in the country. As part of streamlining the regulatoryfunction of CGWA, district magistrates / deputy commissioners of revenue districts were appointedas authorized officers for grant of permission for extraction of ground water for drinking/domesticuses in notified areas.

Source – Chapter 27, India Year Book

Improvised from http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/uranium-content-in-groundwater-water-pollution-5212187/

Answer – d

• An alien species is a species that is established outside of its natural past or present distribution, whose introduction and/or spread threaten biological diversity. According to IUCN, around 5% to 20% of alien species become invasive and is second most serious threat to the biodiversity after global warming
• They are found in all taxonomic groups such as animals, plants, fungi etc. and can affect all types of ecosystems

Answer – b

• It is Nairobi Convention which looks after marine pollution in Western Indian Ocean under UNEP’s Global Partnership on Marine Litter
• Honolulu strategy seeks to eliminate marine debris.

Source – General – Most of the source in Environment will be from diverse sources as neither UPSC is restricting itself nor NCERT is exhaustive enough. Source will be mentioned only when it is worth direct read.

Answer – c

• India is 5th largest producer of e-waste.
• The main sources of electronic waste in India are the government, public and private (industrial) sectors, which account for almost 71% of total waste generation.
• About 90.5% of the e-waste in India is being handled by the informal sector.

Solution: b)

Sathyamangalam forest range is a significant wildlife corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve between the Western Ghats and the rest of the Eastern Ghats and a genetic link between the four other protected areas which it adjoins, including the Billigiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai National Park and Bandipur National Park.

Solution: c)

Chilika Lake is the largest saltwater lake of Asia. It is spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India.

Loktak Lake, Nainital Lake and Kolleru Lake are the freshwater lakes in India.

Solution: a)

Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary is a Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura.

Solution: d)

Solution: b)

Shyok and Soan are the tributaries of Indus River.

Solution: c)

• The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) — the green ranking is the biennial index prepared by Yale and Columbia Universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Solution: a)

• This was in news in 2017. Parali I island, one of the uninhabited islands that is a part of Lakshadweep has vanished due to coastal erosion and another four such territories in the sea are shrinking fast, claims a new study.

Solution: c)

• TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, is the leading nongovernmental organization working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
• TRAFFIC’s mission is to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature
• TRAFFIC’s 2020 goal is:
  • Help reduce the pressure of illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade on biodiversity, and
  • Enhance the benefits to wildlife conservation and human well-being that derive from trade at sustainable levels.

Solution: b)

• Bioremediation is the use of living microorganisms to degrade the environmental contaminants into less toxic forms.
• Bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and activity.
• Statement 3:  This will be a standard practice in the industry in coming years. For e.g.  Alcanivorax, a bacteria with oil-eating abilities, can be used to create species that are much more capable of cleaning oil spills.
• Bio-remediation is a slow process, so. Heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are NOT readily absorbed or captured by microorganisms.

Solution: d)

• Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)is the amount of light available for photosynthesis, which is light in the 400 to 700 nanometer wavelength range. PAR changes seasonally and varies depending on the latitude and time of day.
• Levels are greatest during the summer at mid-day.
• Air pollution also affects PAR by filtering out the amount of sunlight that can reach plants.
• Photosynthetically Active Radiation is needed for photosynthesis and plant growth. Higher PAR promotes plant growth.

Solution: a)

• In-situ conservation, the conservation of species in their natural habitats. It includes National parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and sacred groves (Khasi and Jaintia hills in Meghalaya).
• Ex-situ conservation is the preservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats. It includes Gene banks, Captive breeding of animals and artificial propagation of plants, zoos, aquaria, and botanic gardens.

Solution: b)

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play a central role in the formation of the ozone hole in the Antarctic and Arctic. PSCs provide surfaces upon which heterogeneous chemical reactions take place. These reactions lead to the production of free radicals of chlorine in the stratosphere which directly destroy ozone molecules.

Solution: b)

Mulching is a protective covering, as of bark chips, straw, or plastic sheeting, placed on the ground around plants to suppress weed growth, retain soil moisture, or prevent freezing of roots.

Advantages: ·  Mulching improves nutrient and water retention in the soil. ·  Encourages favourable soil microbial activity and worms. ·  Suppresses weed growth. ·  Mulching reduces evaporation. ·  Mulch also helps to retain moisture, prevent soil erosion, control weeds and it adds nutrients to the soil.

Solution: c)

Statement 1: Biological weathering is contribution to or removal of minerals and ions from the weathering environment and physical changes due to growth or movement of organisms.

Burrowing and wedging by organisms like earthworms, termites, rodents etc., help in exposing the new surfaces to chemical attack and assists in the penetration of moisture and air.

Decaying plant and animal matter help in the production of humic, carbonic and other acids which enhance decay and solubility of some elements. Plant roots exert a tremendous pressure on the earth materials mechanically breaking them apart

Statement 2: Weathering processes are responsible for breaking down the rocks into smaller

fragments and preparing the way for formation of not only soils, but also erosion and mass movements.

Erosion cannot be significant if the rocks are not weathered. That means, weathering aids mass

wasting, erosion and reduction of relief and changes in landforms are a consequence of erosion.

Solution: c)

• The term heavymetal refers to any metallic chemical element that has a relatively high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Examples of heavy metals include mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), thallium (Tl), and lead (Pb).
• Heavy metals are natural components of the Earth’s crust. They cannot be degraded or destroyed.
• Chromium is used in metal alloys and pigments for paints, cement, paper, rubber, and other materials.
  Cadmium is present in several products, including fertilisers, detergents and refined petroleum products.