Write critical notes on the following: 1. Hot spots of biodiversity.
The concept of ‘Hotspots’ was developed by Norman Myers (1988) to designate specific areas for in situ conservation. The hotspots are the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on earth. The criteria for determining hotspots are: (a) Number of endemic species. (b) Degree of threat which is measured in terms of habitat loss. There are 25 hotspots in the world out of which two are in India. They are the Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas. Hotspot of Eastern Himalayas is active centers of evolution and rich in diversity of flowering angiosperms. The Western Ghats have semi-evergreen forests. The Western Ghats include two main centers of biodiversity: Aqastyamatai hills Silent valley.
