A significant feature of the Indian Flora is the Confluence of floras from the surrounding countries like Malaysia, China, Tibet, Japan and Europe and even from distant country like America, Africa and Australia. India is also very rich in its crop biodiversity, it has repositories of over 50,000 varieties of rice and 5000 varieties of sorghum and 1000 varieties of mango.
Value of Indian biodiversity
India occupies a unique position among global biodiversity as a mega biodiversity Nation. A large number of species are native to India.it is stated among the top ten or fifteen nations of the world for its great diversity of plant life, especially flowering plants, a source of new drugs being discovered during the recent past. About 5000 species of flowering plants belonging to 141 genera and 47 families had birth in India. We are equally rich in insects, amphibia, reptiles, bird and mammalian species of great economic potential. Many of these are endemic to India, found nowhere else in the world. India is a source of traditional crop varieties ranking first among the 12 regions of diversity of crop plants and 7th so far in the contribution of agricultural species. India is the origin place of about 175 species of crop plants and about 350 species of wild relatives of cultivated crops.
Out of the total number of flowering plant species known in India, there are more than 4000 species used in medicines, about 3,000 for food, nearly 700 as a traditional religious and social purpose, about 500 yield fibre, 400 as fodder, 300 yield gum and about hundred species are used to extract essential oils and scents. India has been primary centre for domestication of rice, sugarcane, banana, mango, cucumber, citrus, cucurbits, beans, jute, black pepper, Ginger, turmeric, yam, taro, bamboo and jackfruit and secondary centre for domestication of potato, tomato, maize, seasame and soybean.
India is rich in Marine biodiversity among the coastal line of 7500 kilometre with exclusive economic zone of 202 million square kilometres, supporting the most productive ecosystem such as mangroves, coral reefs, estuaries, lagoons and backwaters. there are about 45 species of mangrove plants over 342 species of coral reefs belonging to 76 genera have been reported and about 50% of global reef building corals are found in India.
Endemic species of both plants and animals are mostly found in North-East, Western ghats and Andaman and nicobar islands.in Western ghats and north east Himalayas about 1500 and 2000 species of plants and animals respectively are endemic. About 33% of Indian endemic species belongs to flowering plants.
Among animals, 135 genera have been reported as endemic, of which 85 (63%) are found in North East India. Birds, representing about 14% of global avian fauna show relatively high endemism. Among reptiles, 50% lizards are endemic, whereas 62% of amphibians are endemic, mostly in Western ghats. Marine sediment worms, sponges and mayflies show high endemism.
Indian society has realised the value of its biodiversity since ancient times, conservation it as sacred groves, sacred seeds and sacred species. Biodiversity rich ecosystems are natural resources of our agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries. Indian biodiversity is a source of several life saving drugs and normal chemicals. About 90% of all Indian medicines are obtained from plants. Many of the medicinal plants are being robbed by the pharmaceutical companies from the third world countries, including India.The major pharmaceutical companies of some developed countries such as American national Cancer institute, bristol-Meyers, Glaxo, Merck, Sharp Dohne Research Lab, Monasasto/Searle, Shaman pharmaceuticals and Smithkline Beecham are now actively involved in procuring information about traditional knowledge of such natural medicines. The flora and fauna including bacteria, algae, fungi, gymnosperms, flowering plants, protozoa, corals, sponge, animals are being screened by such companies/ institutions for natural products to develop drugs.
It is interesting to note that many plant diversity rich countries have a low per capita income, and the financially rich countries have poor plant diversity.
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