Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

Notes:
Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India.

Notes:
Ecotype is the basic unit of Biosystematics. It is adapted to a particular environment but capable of producing fully fertile hybrids with other ecotypes. The term Ecotype proposed by Turesson refers to “an ecological unit to cover the product arising as a result of genotypical response of an ecospecies to a particular habitat.”

Notes:
Cellulose for industrial use is mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton. Cellulose is the major constituent of paper, paperboard, and card stock. It is also the main ingredient of textiles made from cotton, linen, and other plant fibres. It can be turned into rayon, an important fiber that has been used for textiles since the beginning of the 20th century.

Notes:
The Basel Protocol on Liability and Compensation was adopted at the Fifth Conference of Parties (COP 5) on10 December 1999. The objective of the Protocol is to provide for a comprehensive regime for liability as well as adequate and prompt compensation for damage resulting from the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes, including incidents occurring because of illegal traffic in those wastes.

Notes:
Biodegradable waste is a type of waste which can be broken down, in a reasonable amount of time, into its base compounds by micro-organisms and other living things, regardless of what those compounds may be. Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and certain other animal products are organic in nature and thus can be degraded and be used as substrates for keratinase production.

Notes:
An air pollutant is a substance in the air that can have adverse effects on humans and the ecosystem. Because of its role as a greenhouse gas Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been described as “the leading pollutant” and “the worst climate pollution”. Other examples include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhaust, or the Sulphur dioxide released from factories.

Notes:
DDT (Dichloro-diphenyl trichloro ethane) is a persistent organic pollutant that is readily adsorbed into soils and sediments, which can act both as sinks and as long-term sources of exposure affecting organisms. It pollutes the ground water system which contaminates the entire food chain by severely affecting humans dependent on these.

Notes:
Photosynthesis in plants converts radiant energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose (sugar) using electrons and protons from water. Plants take in water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight and turn them into glucose and oxygen. Water (6H2O) + Carbon Dioxide (6CO2) + Sunlight (Radiant Energy) = Glucose (C6H12O6) + Oxygen (6O2).

Notes:
The most abundant organic compound in the terrestrial environment is cellulose. A type of carbohydrate, cellulose contains chains of glucose rings. Providing strength and rigidity, cellulose forms the cell walls of plants. Cellulose is the primary constituent of wood, making this organic compound the most abundant one on the surface of the Earth.

Notes:
Sultanpur National Park is located at Sultanpur, Haryana in Gurgaon District, Haryana. As a bird sanctuary it was the finding of Peter Jackson, famous ornothologist, and Honorary Secretary of the Delhi Birdwatching Society, who wrote to Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, founder of the Society, in 1970 about the need to declare the Sultanpur jheel near Delhi, a bird sanctuary, and she asked him to take her there.