what is a biodiversity hotspot? Why is India considered as a mega biodiversity hotspot?about 150 words

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Biodiversity Hotspots are biogeographic regions that have the richest and the most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on earth. These regions have been identified as some of the world’s most important ecosystems that are home to a high number of endemic species that also provide crucial ecosystem services for the benefit of humans. due to the extreme habitat loss in these regions as a result of the anthropogenic activities, the combined area of all the global hotspots currently covers only 2.4% (about 3.4 million sq. km) of the earth’s land area and accounts for about 35% of the world’s ecosystem services. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation

Importance of Biodiversity hotspots :

1. They provide an ecoregion for the preservation and conservation of many endemic species.
2. They help in developing a healthy ecosystem.

India is called as a Mega biodiversity hotspot and the reason are :-

1. There are over 40,000 species of plants and over 90,000 species of animals living across a diverse geographical landscape, comprising of sea-coast, mountain, desert, forest, grassland, and marshland ecosystems, thus India is called as a mega biodiversity hotspot.
2. The term 'mega' represent 'large'. Thus, megadiversity means a large number of species are present in the ecosystem. As India is rich in the diversity of animals and plants, India is called a mega diversity centre.
3. It hosts four biodiversity hotspots: the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Indo-Burma region and Sundaland (including the Nicobar Islands). These hotspots have numerous endemic species.
4. India is called a mega diversity center because of the large number and the variety of organisms are found in this country. the region is also heavily influenced by summer monsoons that cause major seasonal changes in vegetation and habitat.

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