Forest and Wildlife Resources — Questions & Answers

Sample questions from Forest and Wildlife Resources

1. Q1. Which of the following IUCN/Indian conservation categories includes flora and fauna that are extinct in India but survive elsewhere?

   • A.Endangered species
   • B.Vulnerable species
   • C.Extinct species
   • D.Species not extinct in India but elsewhere✓
   Solution

   Some species have gone extinct locally in India but continue to survive elsewhere globally, e.g. Asiatic cheetah in India (though considered extinct in India, populations persist in parts of Africa).

2. Q2. How did colonial forestry practices in India contribute to the ecological destruction of indigenous bio-diverse forests?

   • A.By promoting single commercially valuable species through monoculture plantation, which eliminated diverse native species.✓
   • B.By completely banning timber extraction and creating pristine closed canopies that caught wildfire.
   • C.By handing total administrative control of reserved forests over to indigenous tribal panchayats.
   • D.By replacing all railway tracks with stone embankments that caused waterlogging in forest tracts.
   Solution

   A is correct because the NCERT textbook explains that colonial 'enrichment plantation'—where a single commercially valuable species was extensively planted and other species eliminated—caused severe ecological damage (e.g., teak monoculture in South India damaged natural forests, and chir pine in Himalayas replaced Himalayan oak). Mistake B contradicts history, as colonial rulers felled forests voraciously for railway sleepers and timber. Mistake C is factually inverted, as colonial forest laws alienated tribes from forests. Mistake D fabricates a non-existent engineering mechanism.

3. Q3. What proportion of India's total recorded wild flora is estimated to be on the threatened list, according to the figures cited in the chapter?

   • A.At least 50 per cent
   • B.At least 33 per cent
   • C.At least 20 per cent
   • D.At least 10 per cent✓
   Solution

   D is correct because the NCERT text notes: 'At least 10 per cent of India’s recorded wild flora and 20 per cent of its mammals are on the threatened list.' Mistake A is an exaggerated figure. Mistake B is the targeted national forest cover mandated under the National Forest Policy (1952). Mistake C is the percentage for mammals on the threatened list, which students frequently confuse with the wild flora percentage.

4. Q4. What percentage of the world's total recorded species is harboured within India's rich biological diversity?

   • A.Nearly 8 per cent✓
   • B.Nearly 24 per cent
   • C.Nearly 33 per cent
   • D.Nearly 2 per cent
   Solution

   A is correct because the NCERT chapter explicitly states: 'India has nearly 8 per cent of the total number of species in the world (estimated to be 1.6 million).' Mistake B confuses the species share with the share of India's own area under forest, which the chapter's box on vanishing forests puts at 20.55 per cent. Mistake C confuses it with the National Forest Policy target of 33%. Mistake D confuses species richness percentage with India's geographical land area share (approx 2.4%).

5. Q5. Under the wildlife notifications of 1980 and 1986 amending the Wildlife Protection Act, which previously neglected groups of organisms were brought under the umbrella of legal conservation?

   • A.Hundreds of butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly✓
   • B.Six species of indigenous agricultural crop cultivars
   • C.Freshwater river dolphins and marine turtles
   • D.Soil microorganisms and mycorrhizal fungi
   Solution

   A is correct because the textbook explicitly specifies: 'In the notifications under Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species.' Mistake B confuses the 1980/1986 insect notifications with the 1991 plant notification which added six plant species. Mistake C names larger aquatic animals that were protected earlier or under specific projects. Mistake D introduces microbiological categories not covered under the Act's schedules.

Other Class 10 Social Science chapters