Environment — Prelims MCQs

'Gadgil Committee Report' and 'Kasturirangan Committee Report', sometimes seen in the news, are related to:

Under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, who shall be the authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both?

According to India's National Policy on Biofuels, which of the following can be used as raw materials for the production of biofuels?

1. Cassava
2. Damaged wheat grains
3. Groundnut seeds
4. Horse gram
5. Rotten potatoes
6. Sugar beet

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

What is the use of biochar in farming?

1. Biochar can be used as a part of the growing medium in vertical farming.
2. When biochar is a part of the growing medium, it promotes the growth of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms.
3. When biochar is a part of the growing medium, it enables the growing medium to retain water for longer time.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Consider the following statements:

1. The definition of 'Critical Wildlife Habitat' is incorporated in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
2. For the first time in India, Baigas have been given Habitat Rights.
3. Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officially decides and declares Habitat Rights for Primitive and Vulnerable Tribal Groups in any part of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. As per law, the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority exists at both National and State levels.
2. People's participation is mandatory in the compensatory afforestation programmes carried out under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. As per a recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboos grown on forest areas.
2. As per the Forest Rights Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce.
3. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

In the context of which one of the following are the terms 'pyrolysis and plasma gasification' mentioned?

With reference to the physical conditions that limit where organisms can live, consider the following statements:

1. Of the solar radiation that reaches the earth, less than half is photosynthetically active radiation, that is, the part of sunlight that plants can actually use for photosynthesis.
2. There are natural habitats on earth, such as thermal springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where average temperatures are above 100 degrees Celsius and organisms still live.
3. Properties of soil such as grain size and the way particles clump together decide how much water the soil can hold, and along with pH, mineral composition and topography they largely decide the vegetation of an area.
4. Many herbs and shrubs growing on a forest floor are adapted to photosynthesise well under very low light, because they are constantly overshadowed by tall canopy trees.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

A farmer releases ladybird beetles into a cotton field instead of spraying a chemical. Which one of the following best describes what biological control of crop pests actually sets out to achieve?

An ocean is divided into zones by depth of light, by position over the shelf, and by whether one means the water or the floor. Which one of the following statements about these zones is correct?

Consider the following pairs of coral formations and their descriptions:

1. Fringing reef — a reef that grows outward directly from the shore, with little or no lagoon separating it from the land
2. Barrier reef — a reef that runs roughly parallel to the coast but is separated from it by a wide and comparatively deep lagoon
3. Atoll — a broadly ring-shaped reef enclosing a lagoon, typically found in the open sea around a volcanic island that has subsided
4. Lakshadweep — coral formations of the fringing type, built along a continental shoreline

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

With reference to adaptations of animals to physical stress, consider the following statements:

1. Allen's Rule holds that mammals living in colder climates generally have shorter ears and shorter limbs, which reduces the loss of body heat.
2. The kangaroo rat of the North American deserts meets almost all of its water requirement by drinking dew that condenses on plants at night.
3. Marine mammals such as seals carry a thick layer of fat, called blubber, below the skin, which acts as an insulator.
4. When a person from the plains stays for some days at a high altitude, the body adjusts mainly by reducing the number of red blood cells, because thinner blood moves more easily where oxygen is scarce.

How many of the statements given above are correct?