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- February 15, 2025
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Environmental Science Notes for UPSC and State Exams
✅ Topics and Sub-topics: 300+
✅ Prelims Relevance: ✰✰✰✰✰
✅ Mains Relevance: ✰✰✰✰✰
✅ Average student rating: ✰✰✰✰✰
✅ Difficulty Level: Moderate
✅ Usefulness: ✰✰✰✰✰
Introduction
Climatic and topographic factors
🐢 Different Climatic factors: Light, Temperature, Precipitation, and Humidity factor.
🐢 Different Topographic factors of the environment: Relief, altitude, mountains, valleys, etc.
🐢 Atmosphere: Structure, composition and working.
🐢 Atmospheric cycles: Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Water, and Phosphorus cycles.
Soil science in Ecology: Understanding Edaphic Influences
🐢 What is soil? Soil formation and factors of soil formation.
🐢 Soil profile and soil classification.
🐢 Climate and soil formation (Pedogenic regimes), soil complex: components and properties.
Water Availability and Ecological Adaptations
🐢 Water in Nature and the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Spectrum.
🐢 Ecological Adaptations in Plants: Hydrophytes, Mesophytes, Xerophytes, and Halophytes.
🐢 Animal Adaptations: Avoiding Predators and Detecting or Confusing Prey.
Organism Interactions: Biotic Factors
🐢 Types of interactions: Positive and negative interactions among organisms.
Population in ecology: Expansion and control
🐢 Population ecology: characteristics and basic concepts.
🐢 Population growth and control.
Ecological community: characteristics, classification and succession
🐢 Ecological community: characteristics, structure, classification, concepts.
🐢 Ecological succession: causes and trends, types, processes, climax concept in ecological succession.
Ecosystem: structure and functions
🐢 Ecosystem: types, structure and functions.
🐢 Ecological, geochemical, and atmospheric cycles in ecosystem.
🐢 Pond, ocean, marine, forest, desert, cropland, grassland ecosystems.
🐢 Productivity of different ecosystems: Primary and secondary production.
Biodiversity and Habitat
🐢Freshwater, terrestrial, desert, marine, and estuarine ecology.
Environmental crisis and sustainable development
🐢What are environmental challenges and what environmental challenges is India and other developing countries facing.
🐢 Sustainable Development: Principles, Concept and strategies. Sustainable Development goals.
🐢 Sustainable Development in India and International efforts on sustainable development.
Air pollution : Air Pollution in India
🐢Air Pollution: Definition, causes, environmental pollutants, sources of air pollution and pollutants.
🐢 Harmful effects of Air Pollution.
🐢 Carbon Compounds, Sulphur Compounds, Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Acid Rain, Ozone(O3), Halogenated Carbons(CFC, HCFC, HFC), Fluorides, Hydrocarbons.
🐢 Aerosols: Black cloud of pollutants over the Indian Ocean, toxicants.
🐢 Air Quality Assessment In India and National Air Quality Monitoring Programme(NAMP) and pollutants measured under NAMP. Air Quality Index(AQI)
🐢 General and specific methods of prevention and control of Air Pollution.
Water pollution: India's Water Quality
🐢Water pollution: Causes, sources and major pollutants.
🐢Water Quality management and Water Quality Assessment in India.
🐢 Water Quality of Major rivers such as Ganges, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Indus, Krishna etc.
🐢 Methods of control and abatement of water pollution.
Land Pollution
🐢Land Pollution: Causes, types, sources, pollutants, and methods of prevention.
Radiation and chemical pollution
🐢Radiation and chemical pollutants, causes, effects and prevention of chemical and radiation pollution.
Global Warming and Climate Change
🐢Global warming and climate change: Definitions, effects and projected effects, greenhouse effects.
🐢 El-Nino, La-Nina and Southern Oscillation. Ozone layer and Ozone hole, Ozone layer depletion to Ozone business.
Biogeographic regions and vegetation of India
🐢Soils, climate, climatic regions, and biogeographic zones of India.
🐢 Forest vegetation, desert vegetation, grassland vegetation, and chief vegetation types of India.
Biodiversity and Wildlife conservation
🐢Biodiversity: Meaning, measurement, conservation of biodiversity, and threats to biodiversity.
🐢 IUCN Red List Categories and endemism. Biosphere reserves and mangroves.
🐢 Biodiversity of India: Conservation, Protected areas, national parks and sanctuaries, endangered wildlife projects.
🐢 Biological Diversity Act 2002, National Biodiversity Authority, Farmer`s rights and IPR, International efforts for conservation of biodiversity.
Environmental monitoring and impact assessment
🐢Environmental Monitoring: Biological monitoring Programme, bioindicators and environmental monitoring.
🐢Remote sensing and geographic information system, Environmental Impact Assessment, and environmental management.
Environmental Laws
🐢Why Environmental Laws? Difficulties in making and implementing environment laws.
🐢Indian Environmental Laws and National Environment Policy.
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