HIGHLIGHTED NOTES OF ENVIRONMENT AND

BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR UPSC CAPF/CDS

CHAPTERS:

1. ECOSYSTEM
2. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
3, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
4. BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ITS
APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER 12

ECOSYSTEM

12.1 Ecosystem–Structure
and Function
An ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of
12.2. Productivity nature, where living organisms interact among themselves
and also with the surrounding physical environment.
12.3 Decomposition Ecosystem varies greatly in size from a small pond to a
large forest or a sea. Many ecologists regard the entire
12.4 Energy Flow biosphere as a global ecosystem, as a composite of all
local ecosystems on Earth. Since this system is too much
12.5 Ecological Pyramids
big and complex to be studied at one time, it is convenient
to divide it into two basic categories, namely the
terrestrial and the aquatic. Forest, grassland and desert
are some examples of terrestrial ecosystems; pond, lake,
wetland, river and estuary are some examples of aquatic
ecosystems. Crop fields and an aquarium may also be
considered as man-made ecosystems.
We will first look at the structure of the ecosystem, in
order to appreciate the input (productivity), transfer of
energy (food chain/web, nutrient cycling) and the output
(degradation and energy loss). We will also look at the
relationships – cycles, chains, webs – that are created as
a result of these energy flows within the system and their
inter- relationship.

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12.1 ECOSYSTEM – STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

In earlier classes, you have looked at the various components of the
environment- abiotic and biotic. You studied how the individual biotic
and abiotic factors affected each other and their surrounding. Let us look
at these components in a more integrated manner and see how the flow of
energy takes place within these components of the ecosystem.
Interaction of biotic and abiotic components result in a physical
structure that is characteristic for each type of ecosystem. Identification
and enumeration of plant and animal species of an ecosystem gives its
species composition. Vertical distribution of different species occupying
different levels is called stratification. For example, trees occupy top
vertical strata or layer of a forest, shrubs the second and herbs and grasses
occupy the bottom layers.
The components of the ecosystem are seen to function as a unit when
you consider the following aspects:
(i) Productivity;
(ii) Decomposition;
(iii) Energy flow; and
(iv) Nutrient cycling.
To understand the ethos of an aquatic ecosystem let us take a small
pond as an example. This is fairly a self-sustainable unit and rather simple
example that explain even the complex interactions that exist in an aquatic
ecosystem. A pond is a shallow water body in which all the above
mentioned four basic components of an ecosystem are well exhibited.
The abiotic component is the water with all the dissolved inorganic and
organic substances and the rich soil deposit at the bottom of the pond.
The solar input, the cycle of temperature, day-length and other climatic
conditions regulate the rate of function of the entire pond. The autotrophic
components include the phytoplankton, some algae and the floating,
submerged and marginal plants found at the edges. The consumers are
represented by the zooplankton, the free swimming and bottom dwelling
forms. The decomposers are the fungi, bacteria and flagellates especially
abundant in the bottom of the pond. This system performs all the functions
of any ecosystem and of the biosphere as a whole, i.e., conversion of
inorganic into organic material with the help of the radiant energy of the
sun by the autotrophs; consumption of the autotrophs by heterotrophs;
decomposition and mineralisation of the dead matter to release them back
for reuse by the autotrophs, these event are repeated over and over again.
206 There is unidirectional movement of energy towards the higher trophic
levels and its dissipation and loss as heat to the environment.

12.2 PRODUCTIVITY
A constant input of solar energy is the basic requirement for any ecosystem
to function and sustain. Primary production is defined as the amount of

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biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a time period by
plants during photosynthesis. It is expressed in terms of weight (g m–2) or
energy (kcal m–2). The rate of biomass production is called productivity.
It is expressed in terms of gm–2 yr –1 or (kcal m –2) yr –1 to compare the
productivity of different ecosystems. It can be divided into gross primary
productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP). Gross primary
productivity of an ecosystem is the rate of production of organic matter
during photosynthesis. A considerable amount of GPP is utilised by plants
in respiration. Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses (R),
is the net primary productivity (NPP).
GPP – R = NPP
Net primary productivity is the available biomass for the consumption
to heterotrophs (herbiviores and decomposers). Secondary productivity
is defined as the rate of formation of new organic matter by
consumers.
Primary productivity depends on the plant species inhabiting a
particular area. It also depends on a variety of environmental factors,
availability of nutrients and photosynthetic capacity of plants. Therefore,
it varies in different types of ecosystems. The annual net primary
productivity of the whole biosphere is approximately 170 billion tons
(dry weight) of organic matter. Of this, despite occupying about 70 per
cent of the surface, the productivity of the oceans are only 55 billion tons.
Rest of course, is on land. Discuss the main reason for the low
productivity of ocean with your teacher.

12.3 DECOMPOSITION
You may have heard of the earthworm being referred to as the farmer’s
‘friend’. This is so because they help in the breakdown of complex organic
matter as well as in loosening of the soil. Similarly, decomposers break
down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon
dioxide, water and nutrients and the process is called decomposition.
Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of
animals, including fecal matter, constitute detritus, which is the raw
material for decomposition. The important steps in the process of
decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification and
mineralisation.
Detritivores (e.g., earthworm) break down detritus into smaller particles.
This process is called fragmentation. By the process of leaching, water-
soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get precipitated 207
as unavailable salts. Bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into
simpler inorganic substances. This process is called as catabolism.
It is important to note that all the above steps in decomposition operate
simultaneously on the detritus (Figure 12.1). Humification and
mineralisation occur during decomposition in the soil. Humification leads

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Figure 12.1 Diagrammatic representation of decomposition cycle in a terrestrial ecosystem

to accumulation of a dark coloured amorphous substance called humus

that is highly resistant to microbial action and undergoes decomposition
at an extremely slow rate. Being colloidal in nature it serves as a reservoir
of nutrients. The humus is further degraded by some microbes and release
of inorganic nutrients occur by the process known as mineralisation.
Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process. The rate of
decomposition is controlled by chemical composition of detritus and
Important climatic factors. In a particular climatic condition, decomposition rate
is slower if detritus is rich in lignin and chitin, and quicker, if detritus is
208 rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars. Temperature
and soil moisture are the most important climatic factors that regulate
decomposition through their effects on the activities of soil microbes.
Warm and moist environment favour decomposition whereas low
temperature and anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition resulting in build
up of organic materials.

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12.4 ENERGY FLOW

Except for the deep sea hydro-thermal ecosystem, sun is the only source
of energy for all ecosystems on Earth. Of the incident solar radiation less
than 50 per cent of it is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). We
know that plants and photosynthetic bacteria (autotrophs), fix Sun’s
radiant energy to make food from simple inorganic materials. Plants
capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR and this small amount of energy
sustains the entire living world. So, it is very important to know how the
solar energy captured by plants flows through different organisms of an
ecosystem. All organisms are dependent for their food on producers, either
directly or indirectly. So you find unidirectional flow of energy from the
sun to producers and then to consumers. Is this in keeping with the first
law of thermodynamics?
Further, ecosystems are not exempt from the Second Law of
thermodynamics. They need a constant supply of energy to synthesise
the molecules they require, to counteract the universal tendency toward
increasing disorderliness.
The green plant in the ecosystem are called producers. In a terrestrial
ecosystem, major producers are herbaceous and woody plants. Likewise,
producers in an aquatic ecosystem are various species like phytoplankton,
algae and higher plants.
You have read about the food chains and webs that exist in nature.
Starting from the plants (or producers) food chains or rather webs are
formed such that an animal feeds on a plant or on another animal and in
turn is food for another. The chain or web is formed because of this
interdependency. No energy that is trapped into an organism remains in
it for ever. The energy trapped by the producer, hence, is either passed on
to a consumer or the organism dies. Death of organism is the beginning
of the detritus food chain/web.
All animals depend on plants (directly or indirectly) for their food needs.
They are hence called consumers and also heterotrophs. If they feed on
the producers, the plants, they are called primary consumers, and if the
animals eat other animals which in turn eat the plants (or their produce)
they are called secondary consumers. Likewise, you could have tertiary
consumers too. Obviously the primary consumers will be herbivores.
Some common herbivores are insects, birds and mammals in terrestrial
ecosystem and molluscs in aquatic ecosystem.
The consumers that feed on these herbivores are carnivores, or more
correctly primary carnivores (though secondary consumers). Those 209
animals that depend on the primary carnivores for food are labelled
secondary carnivores. A simple grazing food chain (GFC) is depicted
below:

Grass Goat Man

(Producer) (Primary Consumer) (Secondary consumer)

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The detritus food chain (DFC) begins with dead organic matter. It is
made up of decomposers which are heterotrophic organisms, mainly
fungi and bacteria. They meet their energy and nutrient requirements by
degrading dead organic matter or detritus. These are also known as
saprotrophs (sapro: to decompose). Decomposers secrete digestive
enzymes that breakdown dead and waste materials into simple, inorganic
materials, which are subsequently absorbed by them.
In an aquatic ecosystem, GFC is the major conduit for energy flow.
As against this, in a terrestrial ecosystem, a much larger fraction of energy
flows through the detritus food chain than through the GFC. Detritus
food chain may be connected with the grazing food chain at some levels:
some of the organisms of DFC are prey to the GFC animals, and in a natural
ecosystem, some animals like cockroaches, crows, etc., are omnivores.
These natural interconnection of food chains make it a food web. How
would you classify human beings!
Organisms occupy a place in the natural surroundings or in a
community according to their feeding relationship with other organisms.
Based on the source of their nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific
place in the food chain that is known as their trophic level. Producers
belong to the first trophic level, herbivores (primary consumer) to the
second and carnivores (secondary consumer) to the third (Figure 12.2).

210

Figure 12.2 Diagrammatic representation of trophic levels in an ecosystem

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The important point to note is that the amount of energy decreases at

successive trophic levels. When any organism dies it is converted to
detritus or dead biomass that serves as an energy source for decomposers.
Organisms at each trophic level depend on those at the lower trophic level
for their energy demands.
Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular
time called as the standing crop. The standing crop is measured as the
mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a unit area. The
biomass of a species is expressed in terms of fresh or dry weight.
Measurement of biomass in terms of dry weight is more accurate. Why?
The number of trophic levels in the grazing food chain is restricted as
the transfer of energy follows 10 per cent law – only 10 per cent of the
energy is transferred to each trophic level from the lower trophic level. In
nature, it is possible to have so many levels – producer, herbivore, primary
carnivore, secondary carnivore in the grazing food chain (Figure 12.3) .
Do you think there is any such limitation in a detritus food chain?

Figure 12.3 Energy flow through different trophic levels

211
12.5 ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
You must be familiar with the shape of a pyramid. The base of a pyramid
is broad and it narrows towards the apex. One gets a similar shape,
whether you express the food or energy relationship between organisms

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at different trophic levels. This, relationship is expressed in terms of

number, biomass or energy. The base of each pyramid represents the
producers or the first trophic level while the apex represents tertiary or
top level consumer. The three types of ecological pyramids that are usually
studied are (a) pyramid of number; (b) pyramid of biomass and (c) pyramid
of energy. For detail (see Figure 12.4 a, b, c and d).

Figure 12.4 (a) Pyramid of numbers in a grassland ecosystem. Only three top-carnivores are
supported in an ecosystem based on production of nearly 6 millions plants

Figure 12.4 (b) Pyramid of biomass shows a sharp decrease in biomass at higher trophic levels

212

Figure 12.4 (c) Inverted pyramid of biomass-small standing crop of phytoplankton supports large
standing crop of zooplankton

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Figure 12.4 (d) An ideal pyramid of energy. Observe that primary producers convert only 1% of
the energy in the sunlight available to them into NPP

Any calculations of energy content, biomass or numbers, has to include

all organisms at that trophic level. No generalisations we make will be
true if we take only a few individuals at any trophic level into account.
Also a given organism may occupy more than one trophic level
simultaneously. One must remember that the trophic level represents a
functional level, not a species as such. A given species may occupy more
than one trophic level in the same ecosystem at the same time; for example,
a sparrow is a primary consumer when it eats seeds, fruits, peas, and a
secondary consumer when it eats insects and worms. Can you work out
how many trophic levels human beings function at in a food chain?
In most ecosystems, all the pyramids, of number, of energy and
biomass are upright, i.e., producers are more in number and biomass
than the herbivores, and herbivores are more in number and biomass
than the carnivores. Also energy at a lower trophic level is always more
than at a higher level.
There are exceptions to this generalisation: If you were to count the
number of insects feeding on a big tree what kind of pyramid would you
get? Now add an estimate of the number of small birds depending on the
insects, as also the number of larger birds eating the smaller. Draw the
shape you would get.
The pyramid of biomass in sea is generally inverted because the
biomass of fishes far exceeds that of phytoplankton. Isn’t that a paradox?
How would you explain this?
213
Pyramid of energy is always upright, can never be inverted, because
when energy flows from a particular trophic level to the next trophic level,
some energy is always lost as heat at each step. Each bar in the energy
pyramid indicates the amount of energy present at each trophic level in a
given time or annually per unit area.

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However, there are certain limitations of ecological pyramids such as

it does not take into account the same species belonging to two or more
trophic levels. It assumes a simple food chain, something that almost
never exists in nature; it does not accommodate a food web. Moreover,
saprophytes are not given any place in ecological pyramids even though
they play a vital role in the ecosystem.

SUMMARY
An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of nature and it
comprises abiotic and biotic components. Abiotic components are
inorganic materials- air, water and soil, whereas biotic components
are producers, consumers and decomposers. Each ecosystem has
characteristic physical structure resulting from interaction amongst
abiotic and biotic components. Species composition and stratification
are the two main structural features of an ecosystem. Based on source
of nutrition every organism occupies a place in an ecosystem.
Productivity, decomposition, energy flow, and nutrient cycling are
the four important components of an ecosystem. Primary productivity
is the rate of capture of solar energy or biomass production of the
producers. It is divided into two types: gross primary productivity (GPP)
and net primary productivity (NPP). Rate of capture of solar energy or
total production of organic matter is called as GPP. NPP is the remaining
biomass or the energy left after utilisation of producers. Secondary
productivity is the rate of assimilation of food energy by the consumers.
In decomposition, complex organic compounds of detritus are converted
to carbon dioxide, water and inorganic nutrients by the decomposers.
Decomposition involves three processes, namely fragmentation of
detritus, leaching and catabolism.
Energy flow is unidirectional. First, plants capture solar energy
and then, food is transferred from the producers to decomposers.
Organisms of different trophic levels in nature are connected to each
other for food or energy relationship forming a food chain. The storage
and movement of nutrient elements through the various components
of the ecosystem is called nutrient cycling; nutrients are repeatedly
used through this process. Nutrient cycling is of two types—gaseous
and sedimentary. Atmosphere or hydrosphere is the reservoir for the
gaseous type of cycle (carbon), whereas Earth’s crust is the reservoir
for sedimentary type (phosphorus). Products of ecosystem processes
are named as ecosystem services, e.g., purification of air and water by
forests.

214 EXERCISES
1. Fill in the blanks.
(a) Plants are called as_________because they fix carbon dioxide.
(b) In an ecosystem dominated by trees, the pyramid (of numbers)
is_________type.

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(c) In aquatic ecosystems, the limiting factor for the productivity

is_________.
(d) Common detritivores in our ecosystem are_________.
(e) The major reservoir of carbon on earth is_________.
2. Which one of the following has the largest population in a food chain?
(a) Producers
(b) Primary consumers
(c) Secondary consumers
(d) Decomposers
3. The second trophic level in a lake is
(a) Phytoplankton
(b) Zooplankton
(c) Benthos
(d) Fishes
4. Secondary producers are
(a) Herbivores
(b) Producers
(c) Carnivores
(d) None of the above
5. What is the percentage of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in
the incident solar radiation?
(a) 100%
(b) 50 %
(c) 1-5%
(d) 2-10%
6. Distinguish between
(a) Grazing food chain and detritus food chain
(b) Production and decomposition
(c) Upright and inverted pyramid
(d) Food chain and Food web
(e) Litter and detritus
(f) Primary and secondary productivity
7. Describe the components of an ecosystem.
8. Define ecological pyramids and describe with examples, pyramids of
number and biomass.
9. What is primary productivity? Give brief description of factors that affect
primary productivity.
10. Define decomposition and describe the processes and products of 215
decomposition.
11. Give an account of energy flow in an ecosystem.

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CHAPTER 13

BIODIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION

13.1 Biodiversity

13.2 Biodiversity Conservation 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 it
function any differently if the diversity was much less?
How do humans benefit from the diversity of life?

13.1 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

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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.

13.1.1 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 International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (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
217
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. Some extreme estimates
range from 20 to 50 million, but a more conservative and scientifically
sound estimate made by Robert May places the global species diversity
at about 7 million.

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Let us look at some interesting aspects about earth’s biodiversity based

on the currently available species inventories. More than 70 per cent of
all the species recorded are animals, while plants (including algae, fungi,
bryophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) comprise no more than 22
per cent of the total. Among animals, insects are the most species-rich
taxonomic group, making up more than 70 per cent of the total. That
means, out of every 10 animals on this planet, 7 are insects. Again, how
do we explain this enormous diversification of insects? The number of
fungi species in the world is more than the combined total of the species
of fishes, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. In Figure 13.1, biodiversity
is depicted showing species number of major taxa.

Figure 13.1 Representing global biodiversity: proportionate number of

species of major taxa of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates

It should be noted that these estimates do not give any figures for
218
prokaryotes. Biologists are not sure about how many prokaryotic species
there might be. The problem is that conventional taxonomic methods are
not suitable for identifying microbial species and many species are simply
not culturable under laboratory conditions. If we accept biochemical or
molecular criteria for delineating species for this group, then their diversity
alone might run into millions.

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Although India has only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area, its share
of the global species diversity is an impressive 8.1 per cent. That is what
makes our country one of the 12 mega diversity countries of the world.
Nearly 45,000 species of plants and twice as many of animals have been
recorded from India. How many living species are actually there waiting
to be discovered and named? If we accept May’s global estimates, only
22 per cent of the total species have been recorded so far. Applying this
proportion to India’s diversity figures, we estimate that there are probably
more than 1,00,000 plant species and more than 3,00,000 animal species
yet to be discovered and described. Would we ever be able to complete
the inventory of the biological wealth of our country? Consider the immense
trained manpower (taxonomists) and the time required to complete the
job. The situation appears more hopeless when we realise that a large
fraction of these species faces the threat of becoming extinct even before
we discover them. Nature’s biological library is burning even before we
catalogued the titles of all the books stocked there.

13.1.2 Patterns of Biodiversity

(i) Latitudinal gradients : The diversity of plants and animals is
not uniform throughout the world but shows a rather uneven
distribution. For many group of animals or plants, there are
interesting patterns in diversity, the most well- known being the
latitudinal gradient in diversity. In general, species diversity
decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles.
With very few exceptions, tropics (latitudinal range of 23.5° N to
23.5° S) harbour more species than temperate or polar areas.
Colombia located near the equator has nearly 1,400 species of birds
while New York at 41° N has 105 species and Greenland at 71° N
only 56 species. India, with much of its land area in the tropical
latitudes, has more than 1,200 species of birds. A forest in a tropical
region like Equador has up to 10 times as many species of vascular
plants as a forest of equal area in a temperate region like the Midwest
of the USA. The largely tropical Amazonian rain forest in South
America has the greatest biodiversity on earth- it is home to more
than 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 of fishes, 1,300 of birds, 427
of mammals, 427 of amphibians, 378 of reptiles and of more than
1,25,000 invertebrates. Scientists estimate that in these rain forests
there might be at least two million insect species waiting to be
discovered and named.
What is so special about tropics that might account for their greater
219
biological diversity? Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have
proposed various hypotheses; some important ones are (a) Speciation
is generally a function of time, unlike temperate regions subjected
to frequent glaciations in the past, tropical latitudes have remained
relatively undisturbed for millions of years and thus, had a long

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evolutionary time for species diversification, (b) Tropical environments,

unlike temperate ones, are less seasonal, relatively more constant
and predictable. Such constant environments promote niche
specialisation and lead to a greater species diversity and (c) There
is more solar energy available in the tropics, which contributes to
higher productivity; this in turn might contribute indirectly to greater
diversity.
(ii) Species-Area relationships : During his pioneering and extensive
explorations in the wilderness of South American jungles, the great
German naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt
observed that within a region species
richness increased with increasing
explored area, but only up to a limit. In
fact, the relation between species richness
and area for a wide variety of taxa
(angiosperm plants, birds, bats,
freshwater fishes) turns out to be a
rectangular hyperbola (Figure13.2). On
a logarithmic scale, the relationship is a
straight line described by the equation
log S = log C + Z log A
where
S= Species richness A= Area
Z = slope of the line (regression
coefficient)
C = Y-intercept
Ecologists have discovered that the
Figure 13.2 Showing species area relationship.
value of Z lies in the range of 0.1 to 0.2,
Note that on log scale the relationship
becomes linear regardless of the taxonomic group or the
region (whether it is the plants in Britain,
birds in California or molluscs in New York state, the slopes of the regression
line are amazingly similar). But, if you analyse the species-area
relationships among very large areas like the entire continents, you will
find that the slope of the line to be much steeper (Z values in the range
of 0.6 to 1.2). For example, for frugivorous (fruit-eating) birds and
mammals in the tropical forests of different continents, the slope is found
to be 1.15. What do steeper slopes mean in this context?

220 13.1.3 The importance of Species Diversity to the Ecosystem

Does the number of species in a community really matter to the functioning
of the ecosystem?This is a question for which ecologists have not been
able to give a definitive answer. For many decades, ecologists believed
that communities with more species, generally, tend to be more stable
than those with less species. What exactly is stability for a biological

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community? A stable community should not show too much variation

in productivity from year to year; it must be either resistant or resilient to
occasional disturbances (natural or man-made), and it must also be
resistant to invasions by alien species. We don’t know how these attributes
are linked to species richness in a community, but David Tilman’s
long-term ecosystem experiments using outdoor plots provide some
tentative answers. Tilman found that plots with more species showed
less year-to-year variation in total biomass. He also showed that in his
experiments, increased diversity contributed to higher productivity.
Although, we may not understand completely how species richness
contributes to the well-being of an ecosystem, we know enough to realise
that rich biodiversity is not only essential for ecosystem health but
imperative for the very survival of the human race on this planet. At a
time when we are losing species at an alarming pace, one might ask–
Does it really matter to us if a few species become extinct? Would Western
Ghats ecosystems be less functional if one of its tree frog species is lost
forever? How is our quality of life affected if, say, instead of 20,000 we
have only 15,000 species of ants on earth?
There are no direct answers to such näive questions but we can develop
a proper perspective through an analogy (the ‘rivet popper hypothesis’)
used by Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich. In an airplane (ecosystem) all
parts are joined together using thousands of rivets (species). If every
passenger travelling in it starts popping a rivet to take home (causing a
species to become extinct), it may not affect flight safety (proper functioning
of the ecosystem) initially, but as more and more rivets are removed, the
plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time. Furthermore,
which rivet is removed may also be critical. Loss of rivets on the wings
(key species that drive major ecosystem functions) is obviously a more
serious threat to flight safety than loss of a few rivets on the seats or
windows inside the plane.

13.1.4 Loss of Biodiversity

While it is doubtful if any new species are being added (through speciation)
into the earth’s treasury of species, there is no doubt about their continuing
losses. The biological wealth of our planet has been declining rapidly
and the accusing finger is clearly pointing to human activities. The
colonisation of tropical Pacific Islands by humans is said to have led to
the extinction of more than 2,000 species of native birds. The IUCN Red
List (2004) documents the extinction of 784 species (including 338 221
vertebrates, 359 invertebrates and 87 plants) in the last 500 years. Some
examples of recent extinctions include the dodo (Mauritius), quagga
(Africa), thylacine (Australia), Steller’s Sea Cow (Russia) and three
subspecies (Bali, Javan, Caspian) of tiger. The last twenty years alone
have witnessed the disappearance of 27 species. Careful analysis of records

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shows that extinctions across taxa are not random; some groups like
amphibians appear to be more vulnerable to extinction. Adding to the
grim scenario of extinctions is the fact that more than 15,500 species
world-wide are facing the threat of extinction. Presently, 12 per cent of
all bird species, 23 per cent of all mammal species, 32 per cent of all
amphibian species and 31per cent of all gymnosperm species in the world
face the threat of extinction.
From a study of the history of life on earth through fossil records, we
learn that large-scale loss of species like the one we are currently
witnessing have also happened earlier, even before humans appeared on
the scene. During the long period (> 3 billion years) since the origin and
diversification of life on earth there were five episodes of mass extinction
of species. How is the ‘Sixth Extinction’ presently in progress different
from the previous episodes? The difference is in the rates; the current
species extinction rates are estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times faster
than in the pre-human times and our activities are responsible for the
faster rates. Ecologists warn that if the present trends continue,
nearly half of all the species on earth might be wiped out within the next
100 years.
In general, loss of biodiversity in a region may lead to (a) decline in
plant production, (b) lowered resistance to environmental perturbations
such as drought and (c) increased variability in certain ecosystem processes
such as plant productivity, water use, and pest and disease cycles.
Causes of biodiversity losses: The accelerated rates of species
extinctions that the world is facing now are largely due to human
activities. There are four major causes (‘ The Evil Quartet ’ is the sobriquet
used to describe them).
(i) Habitat loss and fragmentation: This is the most important
cause driving animals and plants to extinction. The most dramatic
examples of habitat loss come from tropical rain forests. Once
covering more than 14 per cent of the earth’s land surface, these
rain forests now cover no more than 6 per cent. They are being
destroyed fast. By the time you finish reading this chapter, 1000
more hectares of rain forest would have been lost. The Amazon
rain forest (it is so huge that it is called the ‘lungs of the planet’)
harbouring probably millions of species is being cut and cleared
for cultivating soya beans or for conversion to grasslands for raising
beef cattle. Besides total loss, the degradation of many habitats by
222 pollution also threatens the survival of many species. When large
habitats are broken up into small fragments due to various human
activities, mammals and birds requiring large territories and certain
animals with migratory habits are badly affected, leading to
population declines.
(ii) Over-exploitation: Humans have always depended on nature for
food and shelter, but when ‘need’ turns to ‘greed’, it leads to

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over -exploitation of natural resources. Many species extinctions

in the last 500 years (Steller’s sea cow, passenger pigeon) were due
to overexploitation by humans. Presently many marine fish
populations around the world are over harvested, endangering the
continued existence of some commercially important species.
(iii) Alien species invasions: When alien species are introduced
unintentionally or deliberately for whatever purpose, some of them
turn invasive, and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species.
The Nile perch introduced into Lake Victoria in east Africa led
eventually to the extinction of an ecologically unique assemblage of
more than 200 species of cichlid fish in the lake. You must be
familiar with the environmental damage caused and threat posed
to our native species by invasive weed species like carrot grass
(Parthenium), Lantana and water hyacinth (Eicchornia). The recent
illegal introduction of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus for
aquaculture purposes is posing a threat to the indigenous catfishes
in our rivers.
(iv) Co-extinctions: When a species becomes extinct, the plant and
animal species associated with it in an obligatory way also become
extinct. When a host fish species becomes extinct, its unique
assemblage of parasites also meets the same fate. Another example
is the case of a coevolved plant-pollinator mutualism where
extinction of one invariably leads to the extinction of the other.

13.2 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

13.2.1 Why Should We Conserve Biodiversity?
There are many reasons, some obvious and others not so obvious, but all
equally important. They can be grouped into three categories: narrowly
utilitarian, broadly utilitarian, and ethical.
The narrowly utilitarian arguments for conserving biodiversity are
obvious; humans derive countless direct economic benefits from nature-
food (cereals, pulses, fruits), firewood, fibre, construction material,
industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes ) and
products of medicinal importance. More than 25 per cent of the drugs
currently sold in the market worldwide are derived from plants and 25,000
species of plants contribute to the traditional medicines used by native
peoples around the world. Nobody knows how many more medicinally
useful plants there are in tropical rain forests waiting to be explored.
223
With increasing resources put into ‘bioprospecting’ (exploring molecular,
genetic and species-level diversity for products of economic importance),
nations endowed with rich biodiversity can expect to reap enormous
benefits.
The broadly utilitarian argument says that biodiversity plays a
major role in many ecosystem services that nature provides. The fast-

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dwindling Amazon forest is estimated to produce, through

photosynthesis, 20 per cent of the total oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.
Can we put an economic value on this service by nature? You can get
some idea by finding out how much your neighborhood hospital spends
on a cylinder of oxygen. Pollination (without which plants cannot give
us fruits or seeds) is another service, ecosystems provide through
pollinators layer – bees, bumblebees, birds and bats. What will be the
costs of accomplishing pollination without help from natural
pollinators? There are other intangible benefits – that we derive from
nature–the aesthetic pleasures of walking through thick woods, watching
spring flowers in full bloom or waking up to a bulbul’s song in the
morning. Can we put a price tag on such things?
The ethical argument for conserving biodiversity relates to what we
owe to millions of plant, animal and microbe species with whom we share
this planet. Philosophically or spiritually, we need to realise that every
species has an intrinsic value, even if it may not be of current or any
economic value to us. We have a moral duty to care for their well-being
and pass on our biological legacy in good order to future generations.

13.2.2 How do we conserve Biodiversity?

When we conserve and protect the whole ecosystem, its biodiversity at all
levels is protected - we save the entire forest to save the tiger. This approach
is called in situ (on site) conservation. However, when there are situations
where an animal or plant is endangered or threatened (organisms facing
a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future) and needs
urgent measures to save it from extinction, ex situ (off site) conservation
is the desirable approach.
In situ conservation– Faced with the conflict between development and
conservation, many nations find it unrealistic and economically not feasible
to conserve all their biological wealth. Invariably, the number of species
waiting to be saved from extinction far exceeds the conservation resources
available. On a global basis, this problem has been addressed by eminent
conservationists. They identified for maximum protection certain
‘biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness
and high degree of endemism (that is, species confined to that region
and not found anywhere else). Initially 25 biodiversity hotspots were
identified but subsequently nine more have been added to the list,
bringing the total number of biodiversity hotspots in the world to 34.
224 These hotspots are also regions of accelerated habitat loss. Three of
these hotspots – Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and
Himalaya – cover our country’s exceptionally high biodiversity regions.
Although all the biodiversity hotspots put together cover less than
2 per cent of the earth’s land area, the number of species they collectively

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harbour is extremely high and strict protection of these hotspots could

reduce the ongoing mass extinctions by almost 30 per cent.
In India, ecologically unique and biodiversity-rich regions are legally
protected as biosphere reserves, national parks and sanctuaries. India
now has 14 biosphere reserves, 90 national parks and 448 wildlife
sanctuaries. India has also a history of religious and cultural traditions
that emphasised protection of nature. In many cultures, tracts of forest
were set aside, and all the trees and wildlife within were venerated and
given total protection. Such sacred groves are found in Khasi and Jaintia
Hills in Meghalaya, Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan, Western Ghat regions of
Karnataka and Maharashtra and the Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar areas
of Madhya Pradesh. In Meghalaya, the sacred groves are the last refuges
for a large number of rare and threatened plants.
Ex situ Conservation– In this approach, threatened animals and plants
are taken out from their natural habitat and placed in special setting
where they can be protected and given special care. Zoological parks,
botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks serve this purpose. There are
many animals that have become extinct in the wild but continue to be
maintained in zoological parks. In recent years ex situ conservation has
advanced beyond keeping threatened species in enclosures. Now gametes
of threatened species can be preserved in viable and fertile condition for
long periods using cryopreservation techniques, eggs can be fertilised in
vitro, and plants can be propagated using tissue culture methods. Seeds
of different genetic strains of commercially important plants can be kept
for long periods in seed banks.
Biodiversity knows no political boundaries and its conservation is
therefore a collective responsibility of all nations. The historic Convention
on Biological Diversity (‘The Earth Summit’) held in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, called upon all nations to take appropriate measures for
conservation of biodiversity and sustainable utilisation of its benefits. In
a follow-up, the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002
in Johannesburg, South Africa, 190 countries pledged their commitment
to achieve by 2010, a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity
loss at global, regional and local levels.

SUMMARY
Since life originated on earth nearly 3.8 billion years ago, there had
been enormous diversification of life forms on earth. Biodiversity refers
to the sum total of diversity that exists at all levels of biological 225
organisation. Of particular importance is the diversity at genetic, species
and ecosystem levels and conservation efforts are aimed at protecting
diversity at all these levels.
More than 1.5 million species have been recorded in the world, but
there might still be nearly 6 million species on earth waiting to be

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discovered and named. Of the named species, > 70 per cent are animals,
of which 70 per cent are insects. The group Fungi has more species
than all the vertebrate species combined. India, with about 45,000
species of plants and twice as many species of animals, is one of the 12
mega diversity countries of the world.
Species diversity on earth is not uniformly distributed but shows
interesting patterns. It is generally highest in the tropics and decreases
towards the poles. Important explanations for the species richness of
the tropics are: Tropics had more evolutionary time; they provide a
relatively constant environment and, they receive more solar energy
which contributes to greater productivity. Species richness is also
function of the area of a region; the species-area relationship is generally
a rectangular hyperbolic function.
It is believed that communities with high diversity tend to be less
variable, more productive and more resistant to biological invasions.
Earth’s fossil history reveals incidence of mass extinctions in the past,
but the present rates of extinction, largely attributed to human activities,
are 100 to 1000 times higher. Nearly 700 species have become extinct
in recent times and more than 15,500 species (of which > 650 are from
India) currently face the threat of extinction. The causes of high
extinction rates at present include habitat (particularly forests) loss
and fragmentation, over -exploitation, biological invasions and
co- extinctions.
Earth’s rich biodiversity is vital for the very survival of mankind.
The reasons for conserving biodiversity are narrowly utilitarian, broadly
utilitarian and ethical. Besides the direct benefits (food, fibre, firewood,
pharmaceuticals, etc.), there are many indirect benefits we receive
through ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control, climate
moderation and flood control. We also have a moral responsibility to
take good care of earth’s biodiversity and pass it on in good order to our
next generation.
Biodiversity conservation may be in situ as well as ex situ. In in situ
conservation, the endangered species are protected in their natural
habitat so that the entire ecosystem is protected. Recently, 34
‘biodiversity hotspots’ in the world have been proposed for intensive
conservation ef forts. Of these, three (Wester n Ghats-Sri Lanka,
Himalaya and Indo-Burma) cover India’s rich biodiversity regions. Our
country’s in situ conservation efforts are reflected in its 14 biosphere
reserves, 90 national parks, > 450 wildlife sanctuaries and many sacred
groves. Ex situ conservation methods include protective maintenance
of threatened species in zoological parks and botanical gardens, in vitro
fertilisation, tissue culture propagation and cryopreservation of
gametes.

226
EXERCISES
1. Name the three important components of biodiversity.
2. How do ecologists estimate the total number of species present in the
world?

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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?

227

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 NOTES

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CHAPTER 16

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

16.1 Air Pollution and Its

Control
Human population size has grown enormously over the
16.2 Water Pollution and Its last hundred years. This means increase in demand for
Control food, water, home, electricity, roads, automobiles and
numerous other commodities. These demands are exerting
16.3 Solid Wastes
tremendous pressure on our natural resources, and are
16.4 Agro-chemicals and also contributing to pollution of air, water and soil. The
their Effects need of the hour is to check the degradation and depletion
16.5 Radioactive Wastes of our precious natural resources and pollution without
halting the process of development.
16.6 Greenhouse Effect and Pollution is any undesirable change in physical,
Global Warming chemical or biological characteristics of air, land, water or
16.7 Ozone Depletion in the soil. Agents that bring about such an undesirable change
Stratosphere are called as pollutants. In order to control environmental
pollution, the Government of India has passed the
16.8 Degradation by Improper
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to protect
Resource Utilisation and
and improve the quality of our environment (air, water
Maintenance
and soil).
16.9 Deforestation
16.1 AIR POLLUTION AND ITS C ONTROL
We are dependent on air for our respiratory needs. Air
pollutants cause injury to all living organisms. They
reduce growth and yield of crops and cause premature
death of plants. Air pollutants also deleteriously affect the
respiratory system of humans and of animals. Harmful

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effects depend on the concentration of pollutants, duration of exposure

and the organism.
Smokestacks of thermal power plants, smelters and other industries
release particulate and gaseous air pollutants together with harmless
gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, etc. These pollutants must be separated/
filtered out before releasing the harmless gases into the atmosphere.

Figure 16.1 Electrostatic precipitator

There are several ways of removing particulate matter; the most widely
used of which is the electrostatic precipitator (Figure 16.1), which can
remove over 99 per cent particulate matter present in the exhaust from a
thermal power plant. It has electrode wires that are maintained at several
thousand volts, which produce a corona that releases electrons. These
electrons attach to dust particles giving them a net negative charge. The
collecting plates are grounded and attract the charged dust particles.
The velocity of air between the plates must be low enough to allow the
dust to fall. A scrubber (Figure 16.1) can remove gases like sulphur
dioxide. In a scrubber, the exhaust is passed through a spray of water or
lime. Recently we have realised the dangers of particulate matter that are 271
very very small and are not removed by these precipitators. According to
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), particulate size 2.5 micrometers
or less in diameter (PM 2.5) are responsible for causing the greatest harm
to human health. These fine particulates can be inhaled deep into the
lungs and can cause breathing and respiratory symptoms, irritation,
inflammations and damage to the lungs and premature deaths.

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Automobiles are a major cause for atmospheric pollution atleast in

the metro cities. As the number of vehicles increase on the streets, this
problem is now shifting to the other cities too. Proper maintenance of
automobiles along with use of lead-free petrol or diesel can reduce the
pollutants they emit. Catalytic converters, having expensive metals namely
platinum-palladium and rhodium as the catalysts, are fitted into
automobiles for reducing emission of poisonous gases. As the exhaust
passes through the catalytic converter, unburnt hydrocarbons are
converted into carbon dioxide and water, and carbon monoxide and nitric
oxide are changed to carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas, respectively. Motor
vehicles equipped with catalytic converter should use unleaded petrol
because lead in the petrol inactivates the catalyst.
In India, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act came
into force in 1981, but was amended in 1987 to include noise as an air
pollutant. Noise is undesired high level of sound. We have got used to
associating loud sounds with pleasure and entertainment not realising
that noise causes psychological and physiological disorders in humans.
The bigger the city, the bigger the function, the greater the noise!! A
brief exposure to extremely high sound level, 150 dB or more generated
by take off of a jet plane or rocket, may damage ear drums thus
permanently impairing hearing ability. Even chronic exposure to a
relatively lower noise level of cities may permanently damage hearing
abilities of humans. Noise also causes sleeplessness, increased heart
beat, altered breathing pattern, thus considerably stressing humans.
Considering the many dangerous effects of noise pollution can you
identify the unnecessary sources of noise pollution around you which
can be reduced immediately without any financial loss to anybody?
Reduction of noise in our industries can be affected by use of sound-
absorbent materials or by muffling noise. Stringent following of laws laid
down in relation to noise like delimitation of horn-free zones around
hospitals and schools, permissible sound-levels of crackers and of loud-
speakers, timings after which loudspeakers cannot be played, etc., need
to be enforced to protect ourselves from noise pollution.

16.1.1 Controlling Vehicular Air Pollution: A Case

Study of Delhi
With its very large population of vehicular traffic, Delhi leads the coun-
try in its levels of air-pollution – it has more cars than the states of
Gujarat and West Bengal put together. In the 1990s, Delhi ranked
fourth among the 41 most polluted cities of the world. Air pollution
problems in Delhi became so serious that a public interest litigation
272 (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court of India. After being censured very
strongly by the Supreme Court, under its directives, the government
was asked to take, within a specified time period, appropriate meas-
ures, including switching over the entire fleet of public transport, i.e.,
buses, from diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG). All the buses of
Delhi were converted to run on CNG by the end of 2002. You may ask
the question as to why CNG is better than diesel. The answer is that

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CNG burns most efficiently, unlike petrol or diesel, in the automobiles

and very little of it is left unburnt. Moreover, CNG is cheaper than petrol
or diesel, cannot be siphoned off by thieves and adulterated like petrol
or diesel. The main problem with switching over to CNG is the difficulty
of laying down pipelines to deliver CNG through distribution points/
pumps and ensuring uninterrupted supply. Simultaneously parallel
steps taken in Delhi for reducing vehicular pollution include phasing
out of old vehicles, use of unleaded petrol, use of low-sulphur petrol
and diesel, use of catalytic converters in vehicles, application of stringent
pollution-level norms for vehicles, etc.
The Government of India through a new auto fuel policy has laid
out a roadmap to cut down vehicular pollution in Indian cities. More
stringent norms for fuels means steadily reducing the sulphur and
aromatic content in petrol and diesel fuels. Euro III norms, for example,
stipulate that sulphur be controlled at 350 parts-per-million (ppm) in
diesel and 150 ppm in petrol. Aromatic hydrocarbons are to be contained
at 42 per cent of the concerned fuel. The goal, according to the roadmap,
is to reduce sulphur to 50 ppm in petrol and diesel and bring down the
level to 35 per cent. Corresponding to the fuel, vehicle engines will also
need to be upgraded.
Mass Emission Standards (Bharat Stage II which is equivalent to
Euro-II norms) are no more applicable in any of the cities of India.
Details of the latest Mass Emission Standards in India are provided
below (Table 16.1)

Table 16.1: Table Showing the Mass Emission Standards in India

Type of Vehicles Norms Cities of Implementation

4 Wheelers Bharat Stage IV Throughout the country

since April 2017
3 Wheelers Bharat Stage IV Throughout the country
since 1st April 2017
2 Wheelers Bharat Stage IV Throughout the country
since April 2017

Thanks to the efforts made, the air quality of Delhi has significantly
improved. According to an estimate, a substantial fall in CO2 and SO2
level has been found in Delhi between 1997 and 2005.

16.2 WATER POLLUTION AND ITS C ONTROL

Human beings have been abusing the water-bodies around the world by
273
disposing into them all kinds of waste. We tend to believe that water can
wash away everything not taking cognizance of the fact that the water
bodies are our lifeline as well as that of all other living organisms. Can
you list what all we tend to try and wash away through our rivers and
drains? Due to such activities of human kind, the ponds, lakes, stream,

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rivers, estuaries and oceans are becoming polluted in several parts of the
world. Realising the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the water
bodies, the Government of India has passed the Water (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to safeguard our water resources.

16.2.1 Domestic Sewage and Industrial Effluents

As we work with water in our homes in the cities and towns, we wash
everything into drains. Have you
ever wondered where the sewage
that comes out of our houses go?
What happens in villages? Is the
sewage treated before being
transported to the nearest river
and mixed with it? A mere 0.1
per cent impurities make
domestic sewage unfit for human
use (Figure 16.2). You have read
about sewage treatment
plants in Chapter 10. Solids are
Figure 16.2 Composition of waste water relatively easy to remove, what
is most difficult to remove are

274

Figure 16.3 Effect of sewage discharge on some important characteristics of a river

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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

dissolved salts such as nitrates, phosphates, and other nutrients, and

toxic metal ions and organic compounds. Domestic sewage primarily
contains biodegradable organic matter, which readily decomposes –
thanks to bacteria and other micro-organisms, which can multiply using
these organic substances as substrates and hence utilise some of the
components of sewage. It is possible to estimate the amount of
biodegradable organic matter in sewage water by measuring Biochemical
Oxygen Demand (BOD). Can you explain how? In the chapter on micro-
organisms you have read about the relation between BOD, micro-
organisms and the amount of biodegradable matter.
Figure 16.3 shows some of the changes that one may notice following
discharge of sewage into a river. Micro-organisms involved in
biodegradation of organic matter in the receiving water body consume a
lot of oxygen, and as a result there is a sharp decline in dissolved oxygen
downstream from the point of sewage discharge. This causes mortality of
fish and other aquatic creatures.
Presence of large amounts of nutrients in waters also causes excessive
growth of planktonic (free-floating) algae, called an algal bloom
(Figure 16.4) which imparts a distinct colour to the water bodies. Algal
blooms cause deterioration of the water quality and fish mortality. Some
bloom-forming algae are extremely toxic to human beings and animals.
You may have seen the beautiful mauve-colored flowers found on
very appealingly-shaped floating plants in water bodies. These plants
which were introduced into India for their lovely flowers have caused havoc
by their excessive growth by causing blocks in our waterways. They grow
faster than our ability to remove them. These are plants of water hyacinth
(Eichhornia crassipes), the world’s most problematic aquatic weed, also

275

Figure 16.4 Pictorial view of an algal bloom

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 BIOLOGY

called ‘ Terror of Bengal ’. They grow abundantly in

eutrophic water bodies, and lead to an imbalance in the
ecosystem dynamics of the water body.
Sewage from our homes as well as from hospitals are
likely to contain many undesirable pathogenic micro-
organisms, and its disposal into a water without proper
treatment may cause outbreak of serious diseases, such
as, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice, cholera, etc.
Unlike domestic sewage, waste water from industries
like petroleum, paper manufacturing, metal extraction and
processing, chemical manufacturing, etc., often contain
toxic substances, notably, heavy metals (defined as
elements with density > 5 g/cm3 such as mercury,
cadmium, copper, lead, etc.) and a variety of organic
compounds.
A few toxic substances, often present in industrial
waste waters, can undergo biological magnification
(Biomagnification) in the aquatic food chain.
Biomagnification refers to increase in concentration of
the toxicant at successive trophic levels. This happens
because a toxic substance accumulated by an organism
cannot be metabolised or excreted, and is thus passed on
to the next higher trophic level. This phenomenon is well-
known for mercury and DDT. Figure 16.5 shows
biomagnification of DDT in an aquatic food chain. In this
manner, the concentration of DDT is increased at
successive trophic levels; say if it starts at 0.003 ppb
(ppb = parts per billion) in water, it can ultimately reach
25 ppm (ppm = parts per million) in fish-eating birds,
through biomagnification. High concentrations of DDT
Figure 16.5 Biomagnification of disturb calcium metabolism in birds, which causes
DDT in an aquatic thinning of eggshell and their premature breaking,
food chain eventually causing decline in bird populations.
Eutrophication is the natural aging of a lake by
nutrient enrichment of its water. In a young lake the water is cold and
clear, supporting little life. With time, streams draining into the lake
introduce nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which encourage
the growth of aquatic organisms. As the lake’s fertility increases, plant
276 and animal life burgeons, and organic remains begin to be deposited on
the lake bottom. Over the centuries, as silt and organic debris pile up, the
lake grows shallower and warmer, with warm-water organisms
supplanting those that thrive in a cold environment. Marsh plants take
root in the shallows and begin to fill in the original lake basin. Eventually,
the lake gives way to large masses of floating plants (bog), finally converting
into land. Depending on climate, size of the lake and other factors, the

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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

natural aging of a lake may span thousands of years. However, pollutants

from man’s activities like effluents from the industries and homes can
radically accelerate the aging process. This phenomenon has been called
Cultural or Accelerated Eutrophication. During the past century, lakes
in many parts of the earth have been severely eutrophied by sewage and
agricultural and industrial wastes. The prime contaminants are nitrates
and phosphates, which act as plant nutrients. They overstimulate the
growth of algae, causing unsightly scum and unpleasant odours, and
robbing the water of dissolved oxygen vital to other aquatic life. At the
same time, other pollutants flowing into a lake may poison whole
populations of fish, whose decomposing remains further deplete the
water’s dissolved oxygen content. In such fashion, a lake can literally
choke to death.
Heated (thermal) wastewaters flowing out of electricity-generating units,
e.g., thermal power plants, constitute another important category of
pollutants. Thermal wastewater eliminates or reduces the number of
organisms sensitive to high temperature, and may enhance the growth of
plants and fish in extremely cold areas but, only after causing damage to
the indigenous flora and fauna.

16.2.2 A Case Study of Integrated Waste Water Treatment

Wastewater including sewage can be treated in an integrated manner, by
utilising a mix of artificial and natural processes. An example of such an
initiative is the town of Arcata, situated along the northern coast of
California. Collaborating with biologists from the Humboldt
State University, the townspeople created an integrated waste water
treatment process within a natural system. The cleaning occurs in two
stages – (a) the conventional sedimentation, filtering and chlorine
treatments are given. After this stage, lots of dangerous pollutants like
dissolved heavy metals still remain. To combat this, an innovative
approach was taken and (b) the biologists developed a series of six
connected marshes over 60 hectares of marshland. Appropriate plants,
algae, fungi and bacteria were seeded into this area, which neutralise,
absorb and assimilate the pollutants. Hence, as the water flows through
the marshes, it gets purified naturally.
The marshes also constitute a sanctuary, with a high level of
biodiversity in the form of fishes, animals and birds that now reside there.
A citizens group called Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) are responsible
for the upkeep and safeguarding of this wonderful project. . 277
All this time, we have assumed that removal of wastes requires water,
i.e., the creation of sewage. But what if water is not necessary to dispose
off human waste, like excreta? Can you imagine the amount of water that
one can save if one didn’t have to flush the toilet? Well, this is already a
reality. Ecological sanitation is a sustainable system for handling human

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excreta, using dry composting toilets. This is a practical, hygienic, efficient

and cost-effective solution to human waste disposal. The key point to
note here is that with this composting method, human excreta can be
recycled into a resource (as natural fertiliser), which reduces the need for
chemical fertilisers. There are working ‘EcoSan’ toilets in many areas of
Kerala and Sri Lanka.

16.3 SOLID WASTES

Solid wastes refer to everything that goes out in trash. Municipal solid
wastes are wastes from homes, offices, stores, schools, hospitals, etc.,
that are collected and disposed by the municipality. The municipal solid
wastes generally comprise paper, food wastes, plastics, glass, metals,
rubber, leather, textile, etc. Burning reduces the volume of the wastes,
although it is generally not burnt to completion and open dumps often
serve as the breeding ground for rats and flies. Sanitary landfills were
adopted as the substitute for open-burning dumps. In a sanitary landfill,
wastes are dumped in a depression or trench after compaction, and
covered with dirt everyday. If you live in a town or city, do you know
where the nearest landfill site is? Landfills are also not really much of a
solution since the amount of garbage generation specially in the metros
has increased so much that these sites are getting filled too. Also there
is danger of seepage of chemicals, etc., from these landfills polluting the
underground water resources.
A solution to all this can only be in human beings becoming more
sensitive to these environment issues. All waste that we generate can
be categorised into three types – (a) bio-degradable, (b) recyclable and
(c) the non-biodegradable. It is important that all garbage generated is
sorted. What can be reused or recycled should be separated out; our
kabadiwallahs and rag-pickers do a great job of separation of materials
for recycling. The biodegradable materials can be put into deep pits in
the ground and be left for natural breakdown. That leaves only the non-
biodegradable to be disposed off . The need to reduce our garbage
generation should be a prime goal, instead, we are increasing the use of
non-biodegradable products. Just pick any readymade packet of any
‘good quality’ eatable, say a biscuit packet, and study the packaging –
do you see the number of protective layers used? Note that atleast one
layer is of plastic. We have started packaging even our daily use products
like milk and water in polybags!! In cities, fruits and vegetables can be
278 bought packed in beautiful polysterene and plastic packaging – we pay
so much and what do we do? Contribute heavily to environmental
pollution. State Governments across the country are trying to push for
reduction in use of plastics and use of eco-friendly packaging. We can do
our bit by carrying cloth or other natural fibre carry-bags when we go
shopping and by refusing polythene bags.

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Hospitals generate hazardous wastes that contain disinfectants and

other harmful chemicals, and also pathogenic micro-organisms. Such
wastes also require careful treatment and disposal. The use of incinerators
is crucial to disposal of hospital waste.
Irreparable computers and other electronic goods are known as
electronic wastes (e-wastes). E-wastes are burried in landfills or
incinerated. Over half of the e-wastes generated in the developed world
are exported to developing countries, mainly to China, India and Pakistan,
where metals like copper, iron, silicon, nickel and gold are recovered
during recycling process. Unlike developed countries, which have
specifically built facilities for recycling of e-wastes, recycling in developing
countries often involves manual participation thus exposing workers to
toxic substances present in e-wastes. Recycling is the only solution for
the treatment of e-waste, provided it is carried out in an environment-
friendly manner.

16.3.1 Case Study of Remedy for Plastic Waste

A plastic sack manufacturer in Bangalore has managed to find the ideal
solution to the ever-increasing problem of accumulating plastic waste.
Ahmed Khan, aged 57 years old, has been producing plastic sacks for
20 years. About 8 years ago, he realised that plastic waste was a real
problem. Polyblend, a fine powder of recycled modified plastic, was
developed then by his company. This mixture is mixed with the bitumen
that is used to lay roads. In collaboration with R.V.College of Engineering
and the Bangalore City Corporation, Ahmed Khan proved that blends of
Polyblend and bitumen, when used to lay roads, enhanced the bitumen’s
water repellant properties, and helped to increase road life by a factor of
three. The raw material for creating Polyblend is any plastic film waste.
So, against the price of Rs. 0.40 per kg that rag pickers had been getting
for plastic waste, Khan now offers Rs.6. Using Khan’s technique, by the
year 2002, more than 40 kms of road in Bangalore has already been
laid. At this rate, Khan will soon be running short of plastic waste in
Bangalore, to produce Polyblend. Thanks to innovations like Polyblend,
we might still avoid being smothered by plastic waste.

16.4 AGRO-CHEMICALS AND THEIR EFFECTS

In the wake of green revolution, use of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides
has increased manifold for enhancing crop production. Pesticides,
279
herbicides, fungicides, etc., are being increasingly used. These incidentally,
are also toxic to non-target organisms,that are important components of
the soil ecosystem. Do you think these can be biomagnified in the terrestrial
ecosystems? We know what the addition of increasing amounts of
chemical fertilisers can do to aquatic ecosystems vis-à-vis eutrophication.
The current problems in agriculture are, therefore, extremely grave.

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16.4.1 Case Study of Organic Farming

Integrated organic farming is a cyclical, zero-waste procedure, where waste
products from one process are cycled in as nutrients for other processes.
This allows the maximum utilisation of resource and increases the
efficiency of production. Ramesh Chandra Dagar, a farmer in Sonipat,
Haryana, is doing just this. He includes bee-keeping, dairy management,
water harvesting, composting and agriculture in a chain of processes,
which support each other and allow an extremely economical and
sustainable venture. There is no need to use chemical fertilisers for crops,
as cattle excreta (dung) are used as manure. Crop waste is used to create
compost, which can be used as a natural fertiliser or can be used to
generate natural gas for satisfying the energy needs of the farm.
Enthusiastic about spreading information and help on the practice of
integrated organic farming, Dagar has created the Haryana Kisan Welfare
Club, with a current membership of 5000 farmers.

16.5 RADIOACTIVE WASTES

Initially, nuclear energy was hailed as a non-polluting way for generating
electricity. Later on, it was realised that the use of nuclear energy has two
very serious inherent problems. The first is accidental leakage, as occurred
in the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl incidents and the second is safe
disposal of radioactive wastes.
Radiation, that is given off by nuclear waste is extremely damaging to
organisms, because it causes mutations at a very high rate. At high doses,
nuclear radiation is lethal but at lower doses, it creates various disorders,
the most frequent of all being cancer. Therefore, nuclear waste is an
extremely potent pollutant and has to be dealt with utmost caution.
It has been recommended that storage of nuclear waste, after
sufficient pre-treatment, should be done in suitably shielded
containers buried within the rocks, about 500 m deep below the
earth’s surface. However, this method of disposal is meeting stiff
opposition from the public. Why do you think this method of
disposal is not agreeable to many people?

16.6 GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND GLOBAL WARMING

The term ‘Greenhouse effect’ has been derived from a phenomenon that
occurs in a greenhouse. Have you ever seen a greenhouse? It looks like a
280 small glass house and is used for growing plants especially during winter.
In a greenhouse the glass panel lets the light in, but does not allow heat
to escape. Therefore, the greenhouse warms up, very much like inside a
car that has been parked in the sun for a few hours.
The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is
responsible for heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere. You would be

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Figure 16.6 Sunlight energy at the outermost atmosphere

surprised to know that without greenhouse effect the average temperature

at surface of Earth would have been a chilly –18oC rather than the present
average of 15oC. In order to understand the
greenhouse effect, it is necessary to know the
fate of the energy of sunlight that reaches the
outermost atmosphere (Figure16.6). Clouds
and gases reflect about one-fourth of the
incoming solar radiation, and absorb some of
it but almost half of incoming solar radiation
falls on Earth’s surface heating it, while a small
proportion is reflected back. Earth’s surface
re-emits heat in the form of infrared radiation
but part of this does not escape into space as
atmospheric gases (e.g., carbon dioxide,
methane, etc.) absorb a major fraction of it. The
molecules of these gases radiate heat energy, Figure 16.7 Relative contribution of various
greenhouse gases to total global
and a major part of which again comes to
warming
Earth’s surface, thus heating it up once again.
This cycle is repeated many a times. The
281
above-mentioned gases – carbon dioxide and methane – are commonly
known as greenhouse gases (Figure 16.7) because they are responsible
for the greenhouse effect.
Increase in the level of greenhouse gases has led to considerable heating
of Earth leading to global warming. During the past century, the
temperature of Earth has increased by 0.6 oC, most of it during the last

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three decades. Scientists believe that this rise in temperature is leading

to deleterious changes in the environment and resulting in odd climatic
changes (e.g. El Nino effect) , thus leading to increased melting of polar
ice caps as well as of other places like the Himalayan snow caps. Over
many years, this will result in a rise in sea level that can submerge many
coastal areas. The total spectrum of changes that global warming can
bring about is a subject that is still under active research.
How can we control global warming? The measures include cutting
down use of fossil fuel, improving efficiency of energy usage, reducing
deforestation, planting trees and slowing down the growth of human
population. International initiatives are also being taken to reduce the
emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

16.7 OZONE DEPLETION IN THE STRATO-

SPHERE

You have earlier studied in the Chemistry

textbook of Class XI about ‘bad’ ozone, formed
in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) that harms
plants and animals. There is ‘good’ ozone also;
this ozone is found in the upper part of the
atmosphere called the stratosphere, and it acts
as a shield absorbing ultraviolet radiation from
the sun. UV rays are highly injurious to living
organisms since DNA and proteins of living
organisms preferentially absorb UV rays, and its
high energy breaks the chemical bonds within
these molecules. The thickness of the ozone in a
Figure 16.8 Ozone hole is the area above column of air from the ground to the top of the
Antarctica, shown in purple atmosphere is measured in terms of Dobson
colour, where the ozone layer
units (DU).
is the thinnest. Ozone
thickness is given in Dobson Ozone gas is continuously formed by the
unit (see carefully the scale action of UV rays on molecular oxygen, and also
shown in colour violet to red). degraded into molecular oxygen in the
The ozone hole over Antarctica
stratosphere. There should be a balance between
develops each year between
late August and early production and degradation of ozone in the
October. Courtesy: NASA stratosphere. Of late, the balance has been
disrupted due to enhancement of ozone
282 degradation by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
CFCs find wide use as refrigerants. CFCs discharged in the lower part of
atmosphere move upward and reach stratosphere. In stratosphere, UV
rays act on them releasing Cl atoms. Cl degrades ozone releasing
molecular oxygen, with these atoms acting merely as catalysts; Cl atoms
are not consumed in the reaction. Hence, whatever CFCs are added to
the stratosphere, they have permanent and continuing effects on Ozone

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levels. Although ozone depletion is occurring widely in the stratosphere,

the depletion is particularly marked over the Antarctic region. This has
resulted in formation of a large area of thinned ozone layer, commonly
called as the ozone hole (Figure 16.8).
UV radiation of wavelengths shorter than UV-B, are almost completely
absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, given that the ozone layer is intact. But,
UV-B damages DNA and mutation may occur. It causes aging of skin,
damage to skin cells and various types of skin cancers. In human eye,
cornea absorbs UV-B radiation, and a high dose of UV-B causes
inflammation of cornea, called snow-blindness, cataract, etc. Such
exposure may permanently damage the cornea.
Recognising the deleterious affects of ozone depletion, an international
treaty, known as the Montreal Protocol, was signed at Montreal (Canada)
in 1987 (effective in 1989) to control the emission of ozone depleting
substances. Subsequently many more efforts have been made and
protocols have laid down definite roadmaps, separately for developed and
developing countries, for reducing the emission of CFCs and other ozone
depleting chemicals.

16.8 DEGRADATION BY IMPROPER RESOURCE UTILISATION

AND MAINTENANCE

The degradation of natural resources can occur, not just by the action of
pollutants but also by improper resource utilisation practices.
Soil erosion and desertification: The development of the fertile top-soil
takes centuries. But, it can be removed very easily due to human activities
like over-cultivation, unrestricted grazing, deforestation and poor
irrigation practices, resulting in arid patches of land. When large barren
patches extend and meet over time, a desert is created. Internationally, it
has been recognised that desertification is a major problem nowadays,
particularly due to increased urbanisation.
Waterlogging and soil salinity: Irrigation without proper drainage of
water leads to waterlogging in the soil. Besides affecting the crops,
waterlogging draws salt to the surface of the soil. The salt then is deposited
as a thin crust on the land surface or starts collecting at the roots of the
plants. This increased salt content is inimical to the growth of crops and
is extremely damaging to agriculture. Waterlogging and soil salinity are
some of the problems that have come in the wake of the Green Revolution.
283
16.9 DEFORESTATION
Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested ones.
According to an estimate, almost 40 per cent forests have been lost in the
tropics, compared to only 1 per cent in the temperate region. The present
scenario of deforestation is particularly grim in India. At the beginning of

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the twentieth century, forests covered about 30 per cent of the land of
India. By the end of the century, it shrunk to 21.54 per cent, whereas the
National Forest Policy (1988) of India has recommended 33 per cent forest
cover for the plains and 67 per cent for the hills.
How does deforestation occur? A number of human activities
contribute to it. One of the major reasons is the conversion of forest to
agricultural land so as to feed the growing human population. Trees are
axed for timber, firewood, cattle ranching and for several other purposes.
Slash and burn agriculture, commonly called as Jhum cultivation in
the north-eastern states of India, has also contributed to deforestation.
In slash and burn agriculture, the farmers cut down the trees of the forest
and burn the plant remains. The ash is used as a fertiliser and the land is
then used for farming or cattle grazing. After cultivation, the area is left
for several years so as to allow its recovery. The farmers then move on to
other areas and repeat this process. In earlier days, when Jhum cultivation
was in prevalence, enough time-gap was given so that the land recovered
from the effect of cultivation. With increasing population, and repeated
cultivation, this recovery phase is done away with, resulting in
deforestation.
What are the consequences of deforestation? One of the major effects
is enhanced carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere because
trees that could hold a lot of carbon in their biomass are lost with
deforestation. Deforestation also causes loss of biodiversity due to habitat
destruction, disturbs hydrologic cycle, causes soil erosion, and may lead
to desertification in extreme cases.
Reforestation is the process of restoring a forest that once existed
but was removed at some point of time in the past. Reforestation may
occur naturally in a deforested area. However, we can speed it up by
planting trees with due consideration to biodiversity that earlier existed
in that area.
16.9.1 Case Study of People’s Participation in
Conservation of Forests
People’s participation has a long history in India. In 1731, the king of
Jodhpur in Rajasthan asked one of his ministers to arrange wood for
constructing a new palace. The minister and workers went to a forest
near a village, inhabited by Bishnois, to cut down trees. The Bishnoi
community is known for its peaceful co-existence with nature. The effort
to cut down trees by the kings was thwarted by the Bishnois. A Bishnoi
284 woman Amrita Devi showed exemplary courage by hugging a tree and
daring king’s men to cut her first before cutting the tree. The tree mattered
much more to her than her own life. Sadly, the king’s men did not heed to
her pleas, and cut down the tree along with Amrita Devi. Her three
daughters and hundreds of other Bishnois followed her, and thus lost
their lives saving trees. Nowhere in history do we find a commitment of

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this magnitude when human beings sacrificed their lives for the cause of
the environment. The Government of India has recently instituted the
Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award for individuals or
communities from rural areas that have shown extraordinary courage
and dedication in protecting wildlife.
You may have heard of the Chipko Movement of Garhwal Himalayas.
In 1974, local women showed enormous bravery in protecting trees from
the axe of contractors by hugging them. People all over the world have
acclaimed the Chipko movement.
Realising the significance of participation by local communities,
the Government of India in 1980s has introduced the concept of
Joint Forest Management (JFM) so as to work closely with the local
communities for protecting and managing forests. In return for their
services to the forest, the communities get benefit of various forest products
(e.g., fruits, gum, rubber, medicine, etc.), and thus the forest can be
conserved in a sustainable manner.

SUMMARY
Major issues relating to environmental pollution and depletion of
valuable natural resources vary in dimension from local, regional to
global levels. Air pollution primarily results from burning of fossil fuel,
e.g., coal and petroleum, in industries and in automobiles. They are
harmful to humans, animals and plants, and therefore must be removed
to keep our air clean. Domestic sewage, the most common source of
pollution of water bodies, reduces dissolved oxygen but increases
biochemical oxygen demand of receiving water. Domestic sewage is rich
in nutrients, especially, nitrogen and phosphorus, which cause
eutrophication and nuisance creating algal blooms. Industrial waste
waters are often rich in toxic chemicals, especially heavy metals and
organic compounds. Industrial waste waters harm living organisms.
Municipal solid wastes also create problems and must be disposed off
in landfills. Disposal of hazardous wastes like defunct ships, radioactive
wastes and e-wastes requires additional efforts. Soil pollution primarily
results from agricultural chemicals (e.g., pesticides) and leachates from
solid wastes deposited over it.
Two major environmental issues of global nature are increasing
greenhouse effect, which is warming Earth, and depletion of ozone in
the stratosphere. Enhanced greenhouse effect is mainly due to
increased emission of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs., 285
and also due to deforestation. It may drastically change rainfall pattern,
global temperature, besides deleteriously affecting living organisms.
Ozone in the stratosphere, which protects us from harmful effects of
ultraviolet radiation, is depleting fast due to emission of CFCs thus
increasing the risks of skin cancer, mutation and other disorders.

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EXERCISES
1. What are the various constituents of domestic sewage? Discuss the
effects of sewage discharge on a river.
2. List all the wastes that you generate, at home, school or during your
trips to other places. Could you very easily reduce the generation of
these wastes? Which would be difficult or rather impossible to reduce?
3. Discuss the causes and effects of global warming. What measures need
to be taken to control global warming?
4. Match the items given in column A and B:
Column A Column B
(a) Catalytic converter (i) Particulate matter
(b) Electrostatic precipitator (ii) Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides
(c) Earmuffs (iii) High noise level
(d) Landfills (iv) Solid wastes
5. Write critical notes on the following:
(a) Eutrophication
(b) Biological magnification
(c) Groundwater depletion and ways for its replenishment
6. Why does ozone hole form over Antarctica? How will enhanced ultraviolet
radiation affect us?
7. Discuss the role of women and communities in protection and
conservation of forests.
8. What measures, as an individual, would you take to reduce
environmental pollution?
9. Discuss briefly the following:
(a) Radioactive wastes
(b) Defunct ships and e-wastes
(c) Municipal solid wastes
10. What initiatives were taken for reducing vehicular air pollution in Delhi?
Has air quality improved in Delhi?
11. Discuss briefly the following :
(a) Greenhouse gases
(b) Catalytic converter
(c) Ultraviolet B

286

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CHAPTER 10

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ITS

APPLICATIONS

10.1 Biotechnological
Applications in
Agriculture Biotechnology, as you would have learnt from the
previous chapter, essentially deals with industrial scale
10.2 Biotechnological production of biopharmaceuticals and biologicals using
Applications in genetically modified microbes, fungi, plants and animals.
Medicine The applications of biotechnology include therapeutics,
10.3 Transgenic Animals diagnostics, genetically modified crops for agriculture,
processed food, bioremediation, waste treatment, and
10.4 Ethical Issues
energy production. Three critical research areas of
biotechnology are:
(i) Providing the best catalyst in the form of improved
organism usually a microbe or pure enzyme.
(ii) Creating optimal conditions through engineering for
a catalyst to act, and
(iii) Downstream processing technologies to purify the
protein/organic compound.
Let us now learn how human beings have used
biotechnology to improve the quality of human life,
especially in the field of food production and health.

10.1 B IOTECHNOLOGICAL A PPLICATIONS IN

AGRICULTURE
Let us take a look at the three options that can be thought
for increasing food production
(i) agro-chemical based agriculture;

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(ii) organic agriculture; and

(iii) genetically engineered crop-based agriculture.
The Green Revolution succeeded in tripling the food supply but yet
it was not enough to feed the growing human population. Increased yields
have partly been due to the use of improved crop varieties, but mainly
due to the use of better management practices and use of agrochemicals
(fertilisers and pesticides). However, for farmers in the developing world,
agrochemicals are often too expensive, and further increases in yield with
existing varieties are not possible using conventional breeding.
As traditional breeding techniques failed to keep pace with demand and
to provide sufficiently fast and efficient systems for crop improvement,
another technology called tissue culture got developed. What does
tissue culture mean? It was learnt by scientists, during 1950s, that
whole plants could be regenerated from explants, i.e., any part of a
plant taken out and grown in a test tube, under sterile conditions in
special nutrient media. This capacity to generate a whole plant from
any cell/explant is called totipotency. You will learn how to accomplish
this in higher classes. It is important to stress here that the nutrient
medium must provide a carbon source such as sucrose and also
inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids and growth regulators like auxins,
cytokinins etc. By application of these methods it is possible to achieve
propagation of a large number of plants in very short durations. This
method of producing thousands of plants through tissue culture is
called micro-propagation. Each of these plants will be genetically
identical to the original plant from which they were grown, i.e., they are
somaclones. Many important food plants like tomato, banana, apple,
etc., have been produced on commercial scale using this method. Try to
visit a tissue culture laboratory with your teacher to better understand
and appreciate the process.
Another important application of the method is the recovery of
healthy plants from diseased plants. Even if the plant is infected with a
virus, the meristem (apical and axillary) is free of virus. Hence, one
can remove the meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain virus-free plants.
Scientists have succeeded in culturing meristems of banana, sugarcane,
potato, etc.
178 Scientists have even isolated single cells from plants and after
digesting their cell walls have been able to isolate naked protoplasts
(surrounded by plasma membranes). Isolated protoplasts from two
different varieties of plants – each having a desirable character – can be
fused to get hybrid protoplasts, which can be further grown to form a
new plant. These hybrids are called somatic hybrids while the process

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BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS

is called somatic hybridisation. Imagine a situation when a protoplast

of tomato is fused with that of potato, and then they are grown – to form
new hybrid plants combining tomato and potato characteristics. Well,
this has been achieved – resulting in formation of pomato; unfortunately
this plant did not have all the desired combination of characteristics for
its commercial utilisation.
Is there any alternative path that our understanding of genetics can
show so that farmers may obtain maximum yield from their fields? Is
there a way to minimise the use of fertilisers and chemicals so that their
harmful effects on the environment are reduced? Use of genetically
modified crops is a possible solution.
Plants, bacteria, fungi and animals whose genes have been altered by
manipulation are called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). GM
plants have been useful in many ways. Genetic modification has:
(i)made crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses (cold, drought, salt, heat).
(ii)reduced reliance on chemical pesticides (pest-resistant crops).
(iii)helped to reduce post harvest losses.
(iv) increased efficiency of mineral usage by plants (this prevents early
exhaustion of fertility of soil).
(v) enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g., golden rice, i.e., Vitamin ‘A’
enriched rice.
In addition to these uses, GM has been used to create tailor-made
plants to supply alternative resources to industries, in the form of starches,
fuels and pharmaceuticals.
Some of the applications of biotechnology in agriculture that you will
study in detail are the production of pest resistant plants, which could
decrease the amount of pesticide used. Bt toxin is produced by a
bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt for short). Bt toxin gene has
been cloned from the bacteria and been expressed in plants to provide
resistance to insects without the need for insecticides; in effect created a
bio-pesticide. Examples are Bt cotton, Bt corn, rice, tomato, potato and
soyabean etc.
Bt Cotton: Some strains of Bacillus thuringiensis produce proteins that
kill certain insects such as lepidopterans (tobacco budworm, armyworm),
coleopterans (beetles) and dipterans (flies, mosquitoes). B. thuringiensis
forms protein crystals during a particular phase of their growth. These
crystals contain a toxic insecticidal protein. Why does this toxin not kill
the Bacillus? Actually, the Bt toxin protein exist as inactive protoxins but 179
once an insect ingest the inactive toxin, it is converted into an active form
of toxin due to the alkaline pH of the gut which solubilise the crystals.
The activated toxin binds to the surface of midgut epithelial cells and
create pores that cause cell swelling and lysis and eventually cause death
of the insect.

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Specific Bt toxin genes were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis and

incorporated into the several crop plants such as cotton (Figure 10.1).
The choice of genes depends upon the crop and the targeted pest, as
most Bt toxins are insect-group specific. The toxin is coded by a gene
cryIAc named cry. There are a number of them, for example, the proteins
encoded by the genes cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms,
that of cryIAb controls corn borer.

(a)

(b)

Figure 10.1 Cotton boll: (a) destroyed by bollworms; (b) a fully mature
cotton boll

Pest Resistant Plants: Several nematodes parasitise a wide variety of

plants and animals including human beings. A nematode Meloidegyne
incognitia infects the roots of tobacco plants and causes a great reduction
in yield. A novel strategy was adopted to prevent this infestation which
was based on the process of RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi takes place
in all eukaryotic organisms as a method of cellular defense. This method
involves silencing of a specific mRNA due to a complementary dsRNA
molecule that binds to and prevents translation of the mRNA (silencing).
The source of this complementary RNA could be from an infection by
viruses having RNA genomes or mobile genetic elements (transposons)
that replicate via an RNA intermediate.
Using Agrobacterium vectors, nematode-specific genes were
introduced into the host plant (Figure 10.2). The introduction of DNA
180 was such that it produced both sense and anti-sense RNA in the host
cells. These two RNA’s being complementary to each other formed a double
stranded (dsRNA) that initiated RNAi and thus, silenced the specific mRNA
of the nematode. The consequence was that the parasite could not survive
in a transgenic host expressing specific interfering RNA. The transgenic
plant therefore got itself protected from the parasite (Figure 10.2).

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BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS

(a) (b)

Figure 10.2 Host plant-generated dsRNA triggers protection against nematode infestation:
(a) Roots of a typical control plants; (b) transgenic plant roots 5 days after deliberate
infection of nematode but protected through novel mechanism.

10.2 BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE

The recombinant DNA technological processes have made immense impact
in the area of healthcare by enabling mass production of safe and more
effective therapeutic drugs. Further, the recombinant therapeutics do not
induce unwanted immunological responses as is common in case of
similar products isolated from non-human sources. At present, about
30 recombinant therapeutics have been approved for human-use the
world over. In India, 12 of these are presently being marketed.

10.2.1 Genetically Engineered Insulin

Management of adult-onset diabetes is possible by taking insulin at
regular time intervals. What would a diabetic patient do if enough human-
insulin was not available? If you discuss this, you would soon realise
that one would have to isolate and use insulin from other animals. Would
the insulin isolated from other animals be just as effective as that
secreted by the human body itself and would it not elicit an immune
response in the human body? Now, imagine if bacterium were available
that could make human insulin. Suddenly the whole process becomes
so simple. You can easily grow a large quantity of the bacteria and make
as much insulin as you need.
Think about whether insulin can be orally administered to diabetic
people or not. Why?
181
Insulin used for diabetes was earlier extracted from pancreas of
slaughtered cattle and pigs. Insulin from an animal source, though caused
some patients to develop allergy or other types of reactions to the foreign
protein. Insulin consists of two short polypeptide chains: chain A
and chain B, that are linked together by disulphide bridges (Figure 10.3).

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In mammals, including humans, insulin is synthesised

as a pro-hormone (like a pro-enzyme, the pro-hormone
also needs to be processed before it becomes a fully mature
and functional hormone) which contains an extra stretch
called the C peptide. This C peptide is not present in the
mature insulin and is removed during maturation into
insulin.The main challenge for production of insulin using
rDNA techniques was getting insulin assembled into a
mature form. In 1983, Eli Lilly an American company
prepared two DNA sequences corresponding to A and B,
chains of human insulin and introduced them in plasmids
of E. coli to produce insulin chains. Chains A and B were
Figure 10.3 Maturation of
pro-insulin into insulin produced separately, extracted and combined by creating
(simplified) disulfide bonds to form human insulin.

10.2.2 Gene Therapy

If a person is born with a hereditary disease, can a corrective therapy
be taken for such a disease? Gene therapy is an attempt to do this.
Gene therapy is a collection of methods that allows correction of a
gene defect that has been diagnosed in a child/embryo. Here genes
are inserted into a person’s cells and tissues to treat a disease.
Correction of a genetic defect involves delivery of a normal gene into
the individual or embryo to take over the function of and compensate
for the non-functional gene.
The first clinical gene therapy was given in 1990 to a 4-year old girl
with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. This enzyme is crucial for
the immune system to function. The disorder is caused due to the deletion
of the gene for adenosine deaminase. In some children ADA deficiency
can be cured by bone marrow transplantation; in others it can be treated
by enzyme replacement therapy, in which functional ADA is given to the
patient by injection. But the problem with both of these approaches that
they are not completely curative. As a first step towards gene therapy,
lymphocytes from the blood of the patient are grown in a culture outside
the body. A functional ADA cDNA (using a retroviral vector) is then
introduced into these lymphocytes, which are subsequently returned to
the patient. However, as these cells are not immortal, the patient requires
periodic infusion of such genetically engineered lymphocytes. However, if
the gene isolate from marrow cells producing ADA is introduced into cells
182 at early embryonic stages, it could be a permanent cure.

10.2.3 Molecular Diagnosis

You know that for effective treatment of a disease, early diagnosis and
understanding its pathophysiology is very important. Using conventional
methods of diagnosis (serum and urine analysis, etc.) early detection is

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not possible. Recombinant DNA technology, Polymerase Chain Reaction

(PCR) and Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA) are some of
the techniques that serve the purpose of early diagnosis.
Presence of a pathogen (bacteria, viruses, etc.) is normally suspected
only when the pathogen has produced a disease symptom. By this time
the concentration of pathogen is already very high in the body. However,
very low concentration of a bacteria or virus (at a time when the symptoms
of the disease are not yet visible) can be detected by amplification of their
nucleic acid by PCR. Can you explain how PCR can detect very low
amounts of DNA? PCR is now routinely used to detect HIV in suspected
AIDS patients. It is being used to detect mutations in genes in suspected
cancer patients too. It is a powerful techqnique to identify many other
genetic disorders.
A single stranded DNA or RNA, tagged with a radioactive molecule
(probe) is allowed to hybridise to its complementary DNA in a clone of
cells followed by detection using autoradiography. The clone having the
mutated gene will hence not appear on the photographic film, because
the probe will not have complementarity with the mutated gene.
ELISA is based on the principle of antigen-antibody interaction.
Infection by pathogen can be detected by the presence of antigens
(proteins, glycoproteins, etc.) or by detecting the antibodies synthesised
against the pathogen.

10.3 TRANSGENIC ANIMALS

Animals that have had their DNA manipulated to possess and express an
extra (foreign) gene are known as transgenic animals. Transgenic rats,
rabbits, pigs, sheep, cows and fish have been produced, although over
95 per cent of all existing transgenic animals are mice. Why are these
animals being produced? How can man benefit from such modifications?
Let us try and explore some of the common reasons:
(i) Normal physiology and development: Transgenic animals can
be specifically designed to allow the study of how genes are
regulated, and how they affect the normal functions of the body
and its development, e.g., study of complex factors involved in growth
such as insulin-like growth factor. By introducing genes from other
species that alter the formation of this factor and studying the
biological effects that result, information is obtained about the
biological role of the factor in the body.
(ii) Study of disease: Many transgenic animals are designed to increase 183
our understanding of how genes contribute to the development of
disease. These are specially made to serve as models for human
diseases so that investigation of new treatments for diseases is made
possible. Today transgenic models exist for many human diseases
such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s.

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(iii) Biological products: Medicines required to treat certain human

diseases can contain biological products, but such products are
often expensive to make. Transgenic animals that produce useful
biological products can be created by the introduction of the portion
of DNA (or genes) which codes for a particular product such as
human protein (α-1-antitrypsin) used to treat emphysema. Similar
attempts are being made for treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU)
and cystic fibrosis. In 1997, the first transgenic cow, Rosie, produced
human protein-enriched milk (2.4 grams per litre). The milk
contained the human alpha-lactalbumin and was nutritionally a
more balanced product for human babies than natural cow-milk.
(iv) Vaccine safety: Transgenic mice are being developed for use in
testing the safety of vaccines before they are used on humans.
Transgenic mice are being used to test the safety of the polio vaccine.
If successful and found to be reliable, they could replace the use of
monkeys to test the safety of batches of the vaccine.
(v) Chemical safety testing: This is known as toxicity/safety testing.
The procedure is the same as that used for testing toxicity of drugs.
Transgenic animals are made that carry genes which make them more
sensitive to toxic substances than non-transgenic animals. They are
then exposed to the toxic substances and the effects studied. Toxicity
testing in such animals will allow us to obtain results in less time.

10.4 ETHICAL ISSUES

The manipulation of living organisms by the human race cannot go on
any further, without regulation. Some ethical standards are required to
evaluate the morality of all human activities that might help or harm living
organisms.
Going beyond the morality of such issues, the biological significance
of such things is also important. Genetic modification of organisms can
have unpredicatable results when such organisms are introduced into
the ecosystem.
Therefore, the Indian Government has set up organisations such as
GEAC (Genetic Engineering Approval Committee), which will make
decisions regarding the validity of GM research and the safety of
introducing GM-organisms for public services.
The modification/usage of living organisms for public services (as food
and medicine sources, for example) has also created problems with patents
184
granted for the same.
There is growing public anger that certain companies are being
granted patents for products and technologies that make use of the
genetic materials, plants and other biological resources that have long
been identified, developed and used by farmers and indigenous people
of a specific region/country.

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Rice is an important food grain, the presence of which goes back

thousands of years in Asia’s agricultural history. There are an estimated
200,000 varieties of rice in India alone. The diversity of rice in India is
one of the richest in the world. Basmati rice is distinct for its unique
aroma and flavour and 27 documented varieties of Basmati are grown
in India. There is reference to Basmati in ancient texts, folklore and
poetry, as it has been grown for centuries. In 1997, an American
company got patent rights on Basmati rice through the US Patent and
Trademark Office. This allowed the company to sell a ‘new’ variety of
Basmati, in the US and abroad. This ‘new’ variety of Basmati had
actually been derived from Indian farmer’s varieties. Indian Basmati
was crossed with semi-dwarf varieties and claimed as an invention or
a novelty. The patent extends to functional equivalents, implying that
other people selling Basmati rice could be restricted by the patent.
Several attempts have also been made to patent uses, products and
processes based on Indian traditional herbal medicines, e.g., turmeric
neem. If we are not vigilant and we do not immediately counter these
patent applications, other countries/individuals may encash on our
rich legacy and we may not be able to do anything about it.
Biopiracy is the term used to refer to the use of bio-resources by
multinational companies and other organisations without proper
authorisation from the countries and people concerned without
compensatory payment.
Most of the industrialised nations are rich financially but poor in
biodiversity and traditional knowledge. In contrast the developing and
the underdeveloped world is rich in biodiversity and traditional
knowledge related to bio-resources. Traditional knowledge related to
bio-resources can be exploited to develop modern applications and
can also be used to save time, effort and expenditure during their
commercialisation.
There has been growing realisation of the injustice, inadequate
compensation and benefit sharing between developed and developing
countries. Therefore, some nations are developing laws to prevent such
unauthorised exploitation of their bio-resources and traditional
knowledge.
The Indian Parliament has recently cleared the second amendment
of the Indian Patents Bill, that takes such issues into consideration,
including patent terms emergency provisions and research and
development initiative. 185

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SUMMARY
Biotechnology has given to humans several useful products by using
microbes, plant, animals and their metabolic machinery. Techniques
of tissue culture and somatic hybridisation offer vast potential for
manipulation of plants in vitro to produce new varieties. Recombinant
DNA technology has made it possible to engineer microbes, plants
and animals such that they have novel capabilities. Genetically
Modified Organisms have been created by using methods other than
natural methods to transfer one or more genes from one organism to
another, generally using techniques such as recombinant DNA
technology.
GM plants have been useful in increasing crop yields, reduce post-
harvest losses and make crops more tolerant of stresses. There are
several GM crop plants with improved nutritional value of foods and
reduced the reliance on chemical pesticides (pest-resistant crops).
Recombinant DNA technological processes have made immense
impact in the area of healthcare by enabling mass production of safe
and more effective therapeutics. Since the recombinant therapeutics
are identical to human proteins, they do not induce unwanted
immunological responses and are free from risk of infection as was
observed in case of similar products isolated from non-human sources.
Human insulin is made in bacteria yet its structure is absolutely
identical to that of the natural molecule.
Transgenic animals are also used to understand how genes
contribute to the development of a disease by serving as models for
human diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis
and Alzheimer’s.
Gene therapy is the insertion of genes into an individual’s cells
and tissues to treat diseases especially hereditary diseases. It does
so by replacing a defective mutant allele with a functional one or
gene targeting which involves gene amplification. Viruses that attack
their hosts and introduce their genetic material into the host cell as
part of their replication cycle are used as vectors to transfer healthy
genes or more recently portions of genes.
The current interest in the manipulation of microbes, plants, and
animals has raised serious ethical questions.

EXERCISES
1. Which part of the plant is best suited for making virus-free plants and
why?
186 2. What is the major advantage of producing plants by micropropagation?
3. Find out what the various components of the medium used for
propagation of an explant in vitro are?
4. Crystals of Bt toxin produced by some bacteria do not kill the bacteria
themselves because –
(a) bacteria are resistant to the toxin

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(b) toxin is immature;

(c) toxin is inactive;
(d) bacteria encloses toxin in a special sac.
5. What are transgenic bacteria? Illustrate using any one example.
6. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of production
of genetically modified crops.
7. What are Cry proteins? Name an organism that produce it. How has
man exploited this protein to his benefit?
8. What is gene therapy? Illustrate using the example of adenosine
deaminase (ADA) deficiency.
9. Digrammatically represent the experimental steps in cloning and
expressing an human gene (say the gene for growth hormone) into a
bacterium like E. coli ?
10. Can you suggest a method to remove oil (hydrocarbon) from seeds based
on your understanding of rDNA technology and chemistry of oil?
11. Find out from internet what is golden rice.
12. Does our blood have proteases and nucleases?
13. Consult internet and find out how to make orally active protein
pharmaceutical. What is the major problem to be encountered?

187

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