ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

1st Year – 1st Semester

Important Questions & Answers
Short Questions :-

(1) Decomposers :- Decomposers are the saprophytic micro-organisms (chiefly bacteria,

antinomycetes, fungi) that decompose/decay the dead organic matter of plants and animals.
Decomposers are also referred as reducers, saprotrophs or micro-consumers. The decomposers secrete
enzymes that breakdown dead plants and animals into chemical nutrients like carbon and nitrogen
which are released to the soil, air and water. The different types of decomposers in the environment
are :
1) Bacteria :- They are the most numerous microscopic organisms in the environment. They are
unbiquitous in occurrence in the cold Antarctic region, in steamy geyser and in our stomach as well.
2) Fungi :- This type of decomposers organisms includes molds and yeast. Fungi breakdown the
cellulose in leaves and wood while molds are responsible for rotting of wood.
3) Actinomycetes :- These are fungi like bacteria that decompose tough plant tissues like bark, paper
and stems containing cellulose, chitin and lignin.
(2) Wild Life Protection Act :- The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 is a comprehensive legislation
enacted by the Government of India with the sole aim to control poaching and illegal trade of wildlife
(animals, birds and plants) as well as its derivatives and to generate environmental consciousness
among the people. The Act extends to all the states in the country with exception of Jammu and
Kashmir (which has its own Act). The Act comprises of six schedules which give varying degress of
protection to plants and species of India. The aim of the Act :
(a) Impose ban on hunting of wild animals and birds, especially the rare and endangered species (b)
Establish sanctuaries and national parks (c) Regulate the commercial exploitation of wildlife and its
derivatives (d) Counsel the Government regarding the wildlife affairs.
The main provision of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 is the Constitution of a Wild Life Advisory
Board, with the Prime Minister as the Chairperson of the Board. The Wild Life Advisory Board is
constituted in each State or Union Territory to advise the State Government. The Board consists of
following members (1) Minister Incharge of Forests (2) Two Members of State Legislature (3)
Secretary Incharge of Forests to State Government (4) The Forest Officer Incharge (5) Chief Wildlife
Warden (6) Other Officers and employees.
Under Section 7 of the Wildlife Act, the Board should convenue meetings atleast twice a year.
Functions of Advisory Board :- According to Section 8 of the Act, the Wildlife Advisory Board shall
advise the State Government regarding (a) Declaration of certain areas as a sanctuary, national park,
game reserves and closed areas for the purpose of protection (b) To lay down guidelines for granting

Page 1 of 10
licence and permits (c) To bring about amendments to any schedule (d) Other matters related to
protection of wildlife.
Declaration of Sanctuary :- According to Section 27, no one is allowed to enter or reside in the
sanctuary, without prior permission by the Chief Wildlife Warden or authorized officer. Declaration
of National Parks and Closed Areas. According to Section 37, the State Government can stop hunting
activities in the closed areas for specific period.
Prohibition of Hunting – According to Section 9 of Wildlife Protection Act hunting of wild animals
is prohibited.
Penalties for Violation of Act :- This Act incurs imprisonment of 3 years to 7 years and a fine of
Rs.10,000/- subsequent offence of this kind incurs imprisonment upto seven years and a fine of
Rs.25,000/-.
(3) Global Warming :- The term global warming refers to the increase on the average surface
temperature of our planet due to the effect of greenhouse gases such as carbon-di-oxide, fluorinated
gases etc.
Causes for Global Warming – (1) Natural Gas :- The natural causes of global warming include
release of methane gases from Arctic Tundra and Wetlands (2) Anthropogenic or Man-Made Causes
– This group includes burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, population explosion, urbanization,
population of the environment etc.
Nearly three-fourth of the sun’s radiation falling on the earth is absorbed by the earth’s surface. The
remaining part of the heat energy reflects back to the space as infrared radiation. Some of the solar
radiation are trapped near the earth’s surface through the heat-trapping properties of the greenhouse
gases. Since, the industrial revolution, anthropogenic activities have been pouring in huge amounts of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, mostly carbon-di-oxide through the burning of fossil fuels.
Impact of Global Warning – Some of the effects of global warming are :
(a) Rising Sea Levels :- The density of water decreases as temperature rises. Thus, increase in
temperature warms the ocean water which increases in volume. This contributes to sea level rise due
to thermal expansion
(b) Increase in frequency of severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes etc.
(c) Melting of ice at the earth’s poles near West Antarctic, Greenland and Arctic sea ice
(d) Scarcity of freshwater in some areas due to the disappearance of glaciers
(e) Collapse of functioning ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic, all over the world.
Global warming has already threatened the existence of many species. It is high time we adopt
necessary measures to reduce the effects of global warming on this planet as a whole.
(4) Renewable and Non-Renewable Sources of Energy :- A natural resource is defined as ‘Any
material obtained from nature which can be transformed to become more valuable and useful’. Nature
has innumerable materials which can be turned into useful products for benefit of human kind. All

Page 2 of 10
these resources are available since prehistoric times but lack of tools and technology has restricted it
use for centuries. All natural resources can be classified into 2 broad categories Renewable and Non-
Renewable Resources.
Renewable :- This are inexhaustible or indepletable resources which are present naturally and are in
continuous supply. Examples – food resources, water resources and wind energy.
Non-Renewable :- This are exhaustible or depletable resources that are present in limited quantity. It
cannot be replenished once it gets exhausted. Examples – Fossil fuels, mineral resources etc.
(5) Ozone Layer Depletion :- Ozone Layer depletion is simply the wearing out (reduction) of the
amount of ozone in the stratosphere. Unlike pollution, which has many types and causes, Ozone
depletion has been pinned down to one major human activity. Industries that manufacture things like
insulting foams, solvents, soaps, cooling things like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators and Take Away
Containers are something called Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These substances are heavier than air,
but overtime, (2-5 years) they are carried high into the stratosphere by wind action.
Depletion begins when CFCs get into the stratosphere. Ultra violet radiation from the sun breaks up
these CFCs. The breaking up action releases chlonreatoms. Chlonne atoms react with ozone, starting
a chemical cycle that destroys the good ozone in that area. One chlorine atom can break apart more
than 100,000 ozone molecules. There are other ozone deplecting substances (DDS) such as methyl
bromide used in pesticides, halons used in fire extinguishers, and methyl chloroform used in making
industrial solvents. Other chemicals that naturally destroy ozone are MOX, HOX, CLX which belong
to Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Chlorine families.
(6) Hot Spots :- Biodiversity Hotspot is a biogeography region characterized both by exceptional
levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss. The concept ‘Biodiversity Hotspot’ was
given in 1988 by British biologist Marman Myers. According to (Conservation International) CI, to
be called a hotspot a region has to fulfill two strict criteria including:
Endenism :- It should contain atleast 1500 species of vascular plants i.e., more than 0.5% of the
world’s total plants as endemics. Loss of Habitat – It should have lost at least greater than or equal
to 70% of its original habitat. Around the world, 36 areas qualify as hotspots. Overall, hotspots have
lost around 86% of their original habitat and additionally are considered to be significantly threatened
by extinctions included by climate change.
List of Biodiversity Hotspots :-
(1) North Central America – California Floristic Province, Madrean, Pine oak woodlands,
Mesoamerica. (2) The Caribbean (3) South America (4) Europe (5) Africa (6) Central Asia (7) South
Asia (8) East Asia (9) West Asia
Biodiversity Hotspots of India :- India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of
biodiversity. It lies within the Indomalaya Ecozone and it hosts 4 of the 36 biodiversity hotspots in the
world.

Page 3 of 10
(1) The Eastern Himalayas
(2) The Western Ghats
(3) The Indo-Burma Region
(4) The Sundaland (Includes Nicobar group of Islands)
Out of the above four biodiversity hotspots, the Easter Himalayans and the Western Ghats completely
lies in India. The third Indo Burma region lies partially within the Indian North East and the fourth
the Sundalands includes Nicobar group of islands and is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore etc.
Essay Questions and Answers :
(1) Define Environmental Studies, discuss its scope and importance.
(2) Environmental studies is the science concerned with the interaction between man and environment.
It comprises of different subjects like ecology, geography, geology, meteorology, politics, sociology,
climatology, pedology, microbiology etc. The study of environment or ecosystem is called as
Environmental Studies.
Scope :- A time has come when the earth’s natural resources are threatened as never before. The
impact of human activities is causing global change and hence an understanding of the various
environmental process and ecological system is very important for a sustainable future of the planet
earth. We need to improve our relationship with nature in order to reach an ecologically sustainable
development. We need to think globally and act locally to make this planet a better place for habitation.
The common future of people involves many important challenges that comprises of three inter-related
forces : (a) Increased interest in sustainable use of planet (b) Protection of the ecosystem (c) Emphasis
on refraining deleterious effects to maintain the robust health of the ecosystem. Now, we know that
the scope of environmental studies includes relationship of humans to nature, ecosystem, earth
resources, population, environmental economics, politics, health, biodiversity, issues of pollution,
waste treatment, wild life, study of atmosphere are some of the many more things.
Importance :- The study of the environment deals with the study of various biotic and abiotic factors
that influence the ecosystems and the inter-relationship between man and his surroundings. The study
of environmental science or ecology and conservation is of utmost importance at a time when the
earth’s natural resources are threatened as never before. Secondly, the impact of human activities is
causing global change – global warming, acid rain, deforestation etc. Thirdly, there is a growing public
concern over issues such as increasing pollution, loss of biodiversity and damage to coral reefs and
tropical forests. All these factors have made environmental science an important area of science.
(2) Write briefly about biodiversity?
Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the sum of all the different species of plants, animals, fungi and
microbial organisms that live on earth, including the genetic information that these organisms contain.
Biodiversity is usually explored at three levels – genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem
diversity. These three levels work together to create the complexity of life on earh. Recently new

Page 4 of 10
aspects – ‘Molecular diversity’ and ‘functional diversity’ have also been added. Molecular biodiversity
is the richness of the molecules found in life, without which evolution cannot occur, either in the origin
of a new species, its species, its survival and development, or its eventual extinction. The way species
behave, obtain food and use the natural resources of an ecosystem is known as functional diversity.
(1) Genetic Diversity :- Genes are the basic units of all life on earth. They are responsible for both the
similarities and the differences between organisms. The variety of genes within a species is genetic
diversity. It is the total genetic information contained in the genes of all the species. It also refers to
the variation in genetic information between species as well as variatiens between individuals of the
same species.
(2) Species Diversity :- Species are the basic units of biological classification. Species diversity is the
variety of species within a habitat or a region. It is measured in relation to a given area from a small
field to the entire planet. It can be assessed in terms of the number of species or the range of different
types of species an area contains. Environments that can support large number of species, such as
tropical areas, tend to have greater species richness. Species diversity is crucial for ecosystem health.
(3) Ecological Diversity :- Ecological or ecosystem diversity is the variety of ecosystems in an area.
It is the variation in the ecosystems found in a region or the variations in ecosystem over the whole
planet. This relates to the variety of habitats, biotic communities and ecological process in the
biosphere. It is difficult to measure ecological diversity because every ecosystem on earth merges into
surrounding ecosystems. Diversity in the ecosystem is significant to human existence for a variety of
reasons. For example – The availability of oxygen, regulate water cycle, increase plant varieties for
consumption etc. Threats to Biodiversity factors – (1) Population explosion (2) Habitat destruction
(3) Habitat fragmentation (4) Invasion of exotic species (5) Over exploitation and poaching (6)
Pollution (7) Global climate change (8) Control of pests (9) Natural calamities and (10) other factors.
(3) Write an account on Water Conservation ? Water Harvesting / Water Shed Management.
Water Conservation refers to the ways and means of preserving the precious water resourves, without
wasting it, to meet the demands of human needs. Water Conservation includes all the policies,
strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the
hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand. The goals of Water Conservation
efforts include –
(1) Ensuring availability of water for future generations where the withdrawal of fresh water from an
ecosystem does not exceed its natural replacement rate. (2) Energy conservation as water pumping,
delivery and waste water treatment facilities consume a significant amount of energy. In some regions
of the world over 15% of total electricity consumption is devoted to water management. (3) Habitat
conservation where minimizing human water use helps to preserve fresh water habitats for local
wildlife and migrating water foul, but also water quality.

Page 5 of 10
Rain Water Harvesting – It is a technique of collection and storage of rain water into natural
reservoirs or tanks, or the infiltration of surface water a main goal of watershed management is to
implant the sustainable management of natural resources to improve the quality of living for the
population by the following objectives :
1) Improvement and restoration of soil quality.
2) Supply and securing of clean and sufficient drinking water for the population.
3) Improvement of infrastructure for storage, transport and agricultural marketing.
4) To manage the watershed for beneficial developmental activities like domestic water supply,
irrigation, hydropower generation etc.
5) To minimize the risk of floods, droughts and landslides. Watershed Management Practices – In the
fifth year plan, watershed management approach was included with a number of programs for it and a
national policy was developed. In watershed management the aspects of development are considered
with regard to availability of the resources.
(4) Write an account on ecosystem diversity? Components of Ecosystem?
An ecosystem is compressed of two components – a biotic and kiotic. An ecosystem structure is
composed of different kinds of organisms categorically arranged based on nutritional requirements and
their surrounding physical environment.
1) The Abiotic (Non-Living) Components :- It includes the inorganic elements such as C, N, P, K. H
etc, organic compounds like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids etc and the climatic factors i.e.,
preceipitation, light, temperature, humidity and other physical factors (2) The biotic (living)
component :- The biotic factors consists of all forms of living beings on the earth microscopic
organism, flora and fauna based on their nutrition in subsurface aquifers. Rain is the purest form of
water which is the source of fresh water and fills up rivers, streams and lakes and replenishes. The
ground water table and is also source of agriculture and forming. If not properly managed rain water
enters into seas and oceans. Hence rain water harvesting is an easily employable technique to tap and
save this precious resource.
Methods – (1) Surface Runoff Harvesting :- In urban area rain water flows away as surface runoff.
This runoff could be caught and used for recharging aquifers by adopting appropriate methods.
(2) Roof Tap Rain Water Harvesting :- It is a system of catching rainwater where it falls. In roof
tap harvesting, the roof becomes the catchment, and the rain water is collected from the roof of the
house.
(3) Storage of Direct Use :- In this method rainwater collected from the roof of the building is diverted
to storage tank. The storage tank has to be designed according to the water requirements, rainfall and
catchment availability.
Watershed Management :- Anthropogenic activities is leading to many man made disasters such as
cloud burst at Kedarnath 2013, Chennai floods 2015 etc., are few examples. Watershed Management

Page 6 of 10
is a term used to describe the process of implementing land use practices and water management
practice to protect and improve the quality of the water and other natural resources within a watershed
by managing the use of those land and water resources in a comprehensive manner.
They are divided into Autotrophs and Hetemotrophs. The heterotrophs are further divided into
consumers and decomposers or detrivares or microconsumers.
Autotrophs are organisms which can manufacture food on their own by fixing solar energy and using
inorganic elements as their raw material, hence are called producers/converters.
Heterotrophs depend on the autorrophs for their nutritional requirements. Consumers include
herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Decomprosers/reducers or micro consumers are those
organisms who derive energy by breaking down the complex organic compounds into simple inorganic
elements.
Food Chains :- It is defined as ‘transfer of food energy from plants through a series of organisms with
repeated eating and being eaten’. In any ecosystem, producers and different types of consumers are
arranged in a linear sequence with respect of their trophic levels. Food chain involves the transfer of
energy from one trophic level to the next. In nature two types of food chains function – grazing food
chain and detritus food chain.
(1) Grazing food chain is a food chain which starts with autotrophs or producers followed by grazing
herbivores is called grazing food chain. These food chains are dependent on solar energy.
(2) Detritus food chain : It starts with detrivores and proceeds to predators. It is a sub-component of
an ecosystem.
Functions of Ecosystem – (1) Single Channel Energy Flow – The flow of energy in a single food
chain, either grazing or detritus is termed as single chain model.
(2) Energy Flow in the Ecosystem :- The flow of energy is unidirectional and is governed by two
basic laws of Thermodynamics. The first law states that energy may be transformed from one state to
another, but can neither be created nor destroyed. The second law states that the every transformation
of energy is accompanied by some dispersion or laws of energy in the form of heat.
(5) What are the causes and effects of water pollution and suggest remedial measures?
Water pollution refers to the contamination of water by various pollutants like domestic sewage,
oxygen depleting wastes, infectious agents, pesticides spilling into water bodies, radioactive materials,
suspended matter from soil erosion andsuch other substances. About three-fourths of the earth’s
surface is covered by water. The oceans and the seas contain about 97% of the total water available on
earth and the remaining 3% in fresh water. What is used by man for recreation and aesthetics, aquatic
life, public water supply, agriculture and industry.
Causes :-
(1) Dumping of industrial effluents into water bodies.

Page 7 of 10
(2) Fertilizers and pesticides when applied on crops runoff into rivers and streams, thereby causing
water pollution.
(3) Release of municipal wastes into water bodies.
(4) The effluents released from chlorine plants into water bodies, leads to toxicity of the aquatic
vegetation.
(5) Domestic sewage is drained into water bodies.
(6) Spillage of oil rigs, pipe lines from oil offshore exploration and tankers pollute the sea water.
(7) Some chemicals in potable water, chemicals in drinking water may be introduced due to
anthropogenic activities or they may be occurring naturally. Some of the chemicals in water are
fluoride, arsenic, lead, petrochemicals, pesticides and salts.
Effects :-
Polluted water is not suitable for consumption by the animals including us. We are being deprived of
fresh, clean water which is so essential for a healthy living. Polluted water cause serious health
problems including waterborne diseases. However, diseases can be prevented by taking measures at
various levels.
Diseases Causative Agent
Typhoid, Cholera Bacterial Infections
Bacillary dysentery, Hepatitis Viral Infections

Control Measures :- (1) Safe disposal of human excreta (2) Paints, hazardous wastes and motor oils
should not be discarded down the drain, as they migrate to the water source contaminating it (3) Plastic
bags should not be dumped into water bodies (4) Water supplied to cities for drinking should be
disinfected properly (5) Avoid excess use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as it leads to water
pollution (6) Recycling of waste materials help to minimize water pollution (7) Installation of sewage
treatment plants help to minimize water pollution. The pollution control system designed and
developed at NASA’s Marstall space flight centre combines both water and air pollution into one
system. This can be implemented in developing countries to control water pollution.
(6) What are the causes and effects of air pollution.
Pollution may be defined as an undesirable or unfavourable change in the environment around us as a
result of human activities directly or indirectly.
Causes :- (1) Increase in the level of atmospheric carbon-di-oxide. The different gases in the
atmosphere are nitrogen (78%) oxygen (21%) argon (0.9%) carbondioxide (0.03%) and traces of
helium, neon, krypton, xenon, hydrogen and ozone. (2) Use of harmful chemicals like pesticides,
insecticides, herbicides etc., in agriculture. (3) The industrial effluents are discharged into the
environment. (4) The discharge of radioactive substances into the rivers and seas (5) The smoke arising
from the kitchen chimneys, factories, automobiles, airplanes and railway engines pollute the
atmosphere with soot and gases like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

Page 8 of 10
Effects :-
S.No. Pollutants Sources Effects
Burning of fossil fuels emit
It causes health problems like
carbon monoxide. Incomplete
Carbon monoxide a dizziness, tiredness in human
burning of coal, wood,
1 colorless, odorless serious health problems arise in
gasoline furnaces and heaters
toxic gas patients with heart
at home too emit carbon
complications
monoxide
It causes harm to the respiratory
It is formed from vehicular
Nitrogen oxide. A system in humans. The acid rain
exhaust and power plants. It
2 reddish brown gas formed due to nitrogen dioxide
reacts with the atmosphere to
with a strong smell. in the atmosphere harms the
form ozone and acid rain.
plants and animals.
Lead – A bluish gray
It is automobile exhaust where Renal malfunction, aremia and
3 metal that is heavy
unleaded gasoline is used. damage to the brain tissue.
and soft.
Toxic Air. This
Many of the toxic air They are carcinogen (Cancer
category includes the
pollutants arise from chemical causing). The other effects are
4 arsenic, asbestos,
plants or burning of fossil the respiratory ailments, skin
nickel, mercury and
fuels. and eye irritation.
molybdenum.

(7) Write briefly about Disaster Management?

Disaster Management deals with various types of disasters and measures of avoiding risks. It is a
continuous process wherein individuals, groups, communities, the Government and some Non-
Government Organizations (NGOs) manage the disasters to lessen the impact of catastrophe. The
Indian Subcontinent is bestowed with unique geo-climate conditions with a propensity to some of the
natural disasters like floods, drought, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis etc. These disasters cause
immeasurable loss to life and property. The goal of disaster management should be to reduce hazards,
prevent disasters and prepare for emergency situations. Space technology has the capability to provide
vital information for management of disasters. The earth observation satellites like multipurpose
geostationary satellites provide observations about weather conditions including cyclone monitoring
and the likelihood of genesis of tropical storms.
The National Disaster Risk Management Programme has been constituted by the Ministry of Home
Affairs to provide assistance to the various states in implementing disaster management plans at the
state, district, block/taluka and village levels. Earthquakes are considered to be one of the most
devastating natural hazards. A group of experts in earthquake engineering and administrators form the
national core groups for earthquake risk mitigation to suggest and guide the states on various aspects
of earthquake mitigation. In conclusion, it can be said that when a disaster strikes, a quick rescue and
relief mission is of vital importance. Disaster mitigation can be attained by adopting adequate
preparedness measures, thereby minimizing loss of life and property.
(8) Discuss the role of I.T. in environmental and human health?

Page 9 of 10
India is endowed with rich natural resources while facing the problems of poverty, illiteracy,
population, growth, environmental degradation etc. It is creating new possibilities to tackle these
problems. Information Technology has tremendous potential in the field like business, economics,
politics or culture. Development of Internet facilities, World Wide Web, Geological Information
System (GIS) and information through satellites, has generated a wealth of up-to date information on
various aspects of environment and health. Applications of I.T. in global environment one of the
important fields of I.T. for environmental studies is geometric. Geometrics is a science and technology
for collecting, analyzing, interpreting, distributing and using geographic information. Geometrics
involves the following : (a) Surveying and mapping (b) Remote sensing (c) Geographic Information
System (GIS) (d) Global Positioning System (GPS). One of the important applications of I.T. in the
study of global environment is the Satellite Remote Sensing Technology. Satellite remote sensing
technology helps in the evolution of its data and interpretations after potentially valuable information
to assisting human dimension. The major techniques for deriving information from satellite images are
: (1) Image Interpretation (2) Digital Image classification (3) Data transformation (4) Indian Remote
Sensing satellite (5) French SPDT.
Role of I.T. in Human Health :- Technology plays a key role in human health. It has changed the
human life style completely. Many health organizations are turning to package solution of I.T. to
streamlining service oriented work in an effective manner. The health service technology mainly
involves three systems. They are (a) Finance and accounting (b) Pathology (c) Patient Administration
Clinical Systems.
Application of I.T. in Heal Services :
(1) With the help of I.T. Packages, the data regarding birth and death rates, immunization and
sanitation programme are maintained more accurately.
(2) It helps the doctor to monitor the health of the people effectively – tools like CT Scans,
Ultrasound Sonography uses I.T. for diagnosis.
(3) With Central Control System the hospital can run effectively. Most of the ICUs are now using
computers to monitor the progress and condition of the patient undergoing treatments.
(4) Drugs and its replacement can be administered effectively.
***********

Page 10 of 10