Question

Who coined the term biodiversity? Why is India called a mega diversity centre?

Answer 1

Hint: Biodiversity refers to the range of variability of living organisms present on this planet earth and other species which have driven to extinction many years ago. The term Biodiversity is additionally mentioned as Biological diversity which principally indicates the entire number of various living species, living within a specific region including the microbes, plants, animals, and ecosystems like coral reefs, forests, rainforests, deserts, etc.

Complete answer:
The term biodiversity was coined by Walter G. Rosen within the year 1986.

India as mega diversity centre:
India is legendary for its rich flora and fauna. India features a diverse climate, topology, and habitat is understood to possess the richest flora within the world with over 18000 species of flowering plants.
i) India houses over 500 species of mammals, quite 200 species of birds, and 30,000 different species of insects.
ii) Our country has 101 National Parks, 333 Wildlife Sanctuaries, and 35 Zoological Gardens which comprise a good sort of fauna.
iii) India features a diverse climate, topology, and habitat is understood to possess the richest flora within the world with over 18000 species of flowering plants.
iv) These plant species constitute 6-7% of the world’s plant species.
v) There are 8 main floristic regions in India- the Western and therefore the Eastern Himalayas, Indus and vi) Ganges, Assam, the Deccan, Malabar, and therefore the Andaman Islands which is home to 3000 Indian plant species.

Note: Mega means large so mega diversity means a large number and wide range of species present in an ecosystem. As India is very rich in the diversity of plants and animals, so it is called a mega diversity centre.