Conservation of Plants and Animals Test - 23

The largest African elephant weighed 13.5 tons (27,000 pounds). The world record holder weighed this much and stood 13ft/4m tall at the shoulder. Asian and the Indian species are much smaller than the African elephants. The African elephant is the king among the giants on land. No other land animal comes close to the size of these creatures. It would take 165 full-grown men to make up the same weight as the world's record African elephant. The noise of an elephant digesting its food can be heard up to 600ft/183m away. Elephants actually have control over their digestive processes because they are able to stop the sounds of digestion when they sense danger. Rhinoceros, crocodile and whale are smaller than an elephant. 

Destroying a forest has many negative effects on the environment. Seventy percent of earth's terrestrial animals and plants live in forests. The most adverse impact is the loss of habitat for millions of species leading to disturbance in the food chain that is an important component of the ecosystem. Thus the correct answer is option A.

• Desertification is defined as a process of land degradation because of climatic variations and human activities. 
• Overgrazing is the major cause of desertification worldwide. 
• Other factors are urbanization, over-drafting of groundwater, and deforestation. 
• Deforestation results in more soil erosion. Removal of the top layer of the soil exposes the lower, hard, and rocky layers. This soil has less humus and is less fertile.
• Gradually the fertile land gets converted into deserts. It is called desertification.

• Satpura national park is the first reserve forest of India. The finest teak, rock shelters, and paintings are found in Satpura national park. 
• Rock shelters provide prehistoric evidence of human life in the jungles.
• Various rock paintings depicting the figures of animals and men fighting, hunting, dancing, and playing musical instruments are found in Satpura national park. 

Therefore, the correct answer is option D.

Correct option is (A)

Explanation for the correct option.

1.    Intentional clearing of a forest land or a patch to further use it for agriculture, urban means or timber cultivation deforestation

2.   Deforestation is the excessive cutting of trees to clear the land area and using that land for other purposes. Which can cause floods or may lead to infertility of the land. 

Different species require different temperature and climatic conditions to survive and reproduce. They can survive only in those particular areas which have favourable conditions for them. Such species are known as endemic species of that particular area or zone.

Satpura National is the first reserve forest of India. Redwood National park is in California and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is in Costa Rica.

Reserve forests are the protected forest areas where all activities like hunting and grazing are banned by law. National parks are large and diverse reserves. They preserve flora, fauna, landscape and historic objects of an area. Wildlife sanctuaries are areas where animals are protected from any disturbance to them and their habitat.

Deforestation means cutting down forests.