Deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries and alpine meadows in India represent:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Ecological diversity
Option (1) Ecological diversity — Correct. Deserts, rain forests and the others are ecosystems, so a list of them shows diversity at the ecosystem level.
Option (2) Genetic diversity — Incorrect. Genetic diversity is variation within one species, such as the more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice in India, or the variation in the potency of reserpine in Rauwolfia vomitoria.
Option (3) Species diversity — Incorrect. Species diversity is the number and variety of species in an area. The Western Ghats, for example, have more amphibian species than the Eastern Ghats.
Option (4) Species diversity and ecological diversity — Incorrect. The list names kinds of ecosystems, not species, so only ecological diversity fits.
NCERT Extract:
Biodiversity – “… Biodiversity is the term popularised by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson to describe the combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation. The most important of them are–
(i) Genetic diversity: A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. …
(ii) Species diversity: The diversity at the species level, for example, the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.
(iii) Ecological diversity : At the ecosystem level, India, for instance, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country like Norway.”