Hi Everyone, this article will share Earth’s Farm House Questions & Answers.
In my previous post, I have shared the objective type questions and answers of Earth’s Farm House so, make sure to check that post as well.
Earth’s Farm House Questions & Answers
Question 1: Define the following terms:
(a) Habitat
Answer: Wildlife refers to all no-domesticated animals, insects, birds, marine life and many other micro-organisms which live in a natural environment. This natural environment is called their habitat.
(b) Biomes
Answer: Living organisms in a particular area are adapted to their natural environment. Such a large geographical expanse is known as a biome.
(c) Biosphere
Answer: Natural vegetation and wildlife are found in the narrow contact zone of lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere called biosphere.
(d) Ecosystem
Answer: All organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment through various systems such as food chain, trophic level and energy pyramid, etc. for their survival. The system of interaction in a given area is referred to as an ecosystem.
(e) National Parks
Answer: National parks are the areas where wild animals and natural vegetation are preserved together.
Question 2: Name two commercial uses of forests.
Answer:
i. Forests supply timber used for construction, furniture, ship building and many other industrial purposes.
ii. Forests give us valuable medicinal herbs and plants.
Question 3: What do you mean by wildlife?
Answer: Wildlife refers to all no-domesticated animals, insects, birds, marine life and many other micro-organisms which live in a natural environment.
Question 4: What are the results of degradation of forests?
Answer: The degradation of forests has led to barren hill slopes, increased surface runoff, soil erosion, reduced underground water table, decrease in rainfall, destruction of the habitat of wild animals and the extinction of many species of plants.
Question 5: What do you mean by natural vegetation?
Answer: All types of plant life that grow under natural conditions are known as natural vegetation.
Question 6: Explain the working of the biosphere.
Answer:
- All organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment through various systems such as food chain, trophic level and energy pyramid, etc. for their survival.
- The system of interaction in a given area is referred to as an ecosystem.
- Every ecosystem has different types of animals and vegetation, and is unique to a geographical area.
- Living organisms in that particular area are adapted to their natural environment. Such a large expanse is known as biome.
Earth’s Farm House Questions & Answers
Question 7: Explain the interrelationship of factors influencing the distribution of natural vegetation.
Answer: Distribution of natural vegetation depends upon various factors such as latitudinal extent, altitude, sunlight, temperature, soil type, type of precipitation, etc. Climate (rainfall and temperature) causes a particular type of natural vegetation to develop. Wildlife shows close relationship with climate and vegetation. For example grasslands will support small eaters such as deer and antelope and thick forests will support large animals such as elephants, giraffe, etc. Thus, different climatic regions of the world show variations in plant and animal life.
Question 8: What are the various steps taken for the conservation of wildlife?
Answer:
- Various laws such as Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 are made to protect various endangered animals such as tiger, lion and blackbuck, etc.
- Various projects such as Project Tiger and Project Elephant have been undertaken to protect these endangered species in their natural habitat.
- International conventions such as CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) have been established to protect various species.
- NGOs such as PETA (Prevention of Extreme Treatment to Animals), SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) have been active in this mission of conservation of wildlife.
- Various wildlife sanctuaries have been setup as a home to various endangered species.
- National parks where wild animals and natural vegetation are together preserved are also set up in the country.
Question 9: Explain the effects of the degradation of wildlife.
Answer:
- Extinction of species takes place and when the last of the species dies due to environment changes and human activities. There are many species that now do not exist on the Earth.
- Endangered species are those plants and wildlife that are so small in number that they face the risk of becoming extinct. 99% of the endangered species face the risk of extinction because of human activities.
- Threatened species are those plants, animals, birds and insects that are at the risk of becoming endangered in the near future. These are also referred to as red-list species.
- The local food chain is disturbed and the larger food web affected.
Earth’s Farm House Questions & Answers
Question 10: Write about the ecological uses of natural vegetation?
Answer:
- Tree produce oxygen which all living beings need for breathing. The Congo and the Amazon basin are called The lungs of the World as they release maximum amount of oxygen.
- Forests help in checking pollution as they keep down the level of greenhouse gases by releasing oxygen in the air.
- Trees prevent soil erosion and help conserve soil which is essential for growing crops.
- Trees help in checking floods.
- Forests acts as shelter belts.
- Forests help in maintaining various ecological cycles such as hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, etc.
Question 11: Different climatic regions of the world show variations in plant and animal life. Explain with an example.
Answer: Distribution of natural vegetation depends upon various factors such as latitudinal extent, altitude, sunlight, temperature, soil type, terrain type, type of precipitation, etc. Climate (rainfall and temperature) causes a particular type of natural vegetation to develop. Wild life shows close relationship with climate and vegetation. For example, grasslands will support small eaters such as deer and antelope and thick forests will support large animals such as elephants, giraffe, etc.
Question 12: Wildlife is an important resource to human beings. Give reasons.
Answer: The term wildlife has come to envelope all kinds undomesticated life from micro-organisms to vegetation and fungi as well. The scope of wildlife is vast and there is no possible way to discuss the importance of each contributor to the ecological system as a whole. The most important point is that without wildlife, human life would not exist. The clothes we wear come from cotton or other plant fibres. The food we eat come from plant and animals. The houses we build and live in are often constructed using wildlife resources like wood from trees, the paper we write and print comes from trees. The air we breathe would be toxic if it weren’t for plant photosynthesis of which oxygen is a by-product.
Question 13: Forests are being cut indiscriminately. Give reasons.
Answer: Forests are being cut indiscriminately because all forest trees are cut down to acquire land for the purpose of making, roads, buildings, etc. Trees are used to fulfil the demands of the population such for making furniture, medicines, paper, etc. It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of uncoated non-recycled printing of an office paper. It takes 12 trees to make 1 ton of 100% of non-recycled news print. It would take a little more than half a tree to make a carton of 100% non-recycled copies. One tree makes 16.67 reams of copy paper or 8333.3 sheets.
Question 14: The existence of wildlife has been threatened. Give reasons.
Answer: The existence of wildlife is threatened because there are few places left on the planet where the impact of people has not been felt. We have explored our footprint on nearly every corner of the globe. As our population increases their demands also increases, so we are leaving less room for wildlife. Wildlife is under threat from many different kinds of human activities from directly destroying habitat to spreading invasive species and most ecosystems are facing multiple threats where each new threat puts additional stress on already weakened ecosystem and wildlife.
Question 15: As environment minister of a country, what reasons you would give to highlight the importance of forest cover in your country?
Answer: As an environment minister I would say that the roots of the trees in a forest enable percolation of water and recharge underground water. Trees of the forests produce oxygen which all living beings need for breathing that is why the Congo and the Amazon basin are called ‘The lungs of the World’ as they release maximum amount of oxygen. Forests also help in checking pollution as they keep down the level of greenhouse gases by releasing the oxygen in the air. Trees of the forests prevent soil erosion and landslides in the hilly region thus, they help conserve soil which is essential for growing crops. Forests help in checking floods. Forests act as shelter belts. Forests moderate temperature through transpiration and enabling precipitation. Forests are natural home or habitat of animals. Each biome has its own particular species. Forests help in maintaining various ecological cycles such as hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, etc. For all these reasons forest covers are necessary for the ecological balance of the environment of any country.
So, these were Earth’s Farm House Questions & Answers.