Question : Chilika Lake now(Jan – Feb, 2022) has __ of India’s seagrass area.
Fill in the blank with appropriate option —
a. 33%
b. 35%
c. 31%
d. 30%
Ans. a.
Related facts —
- CDA’s annual survey results released recently.
- Here CDA stands for — Chilika Development Authority .
- It is the regulating authority of Chilika — the largest brackish water lake in South Asia
- Key points —
- During the monitoring of Chilika Lake, five species of seagrass were reported.
- Sea-grass species — Holodule uninervis, Holodule pinifolia, Halophila ovalis, Halophila ovata, and Halophila beccarii
- The seagrass vegetation was found over an area of 172 sq km(an increase from 169 sq km of last year).
- These ecosystems have brought cheer against the declining trend throughout the world and now Chilika has 33% of India’s seagrass area.
- This acts as a carbon sink and facilitates in climate resilience of the Chilika eco-system.
- Seagrasses play a vital role in water purification through blue carbon sequestration and keep the carbon buried in their sediments.
- Sea-grasses are one of the bio-indicators of the good health of an ecosystem and their luxuriant growth indicates that water clarity, salinity regime, and nutrient conditions are in their optimal range.
- Lake has been maintaining around 150 steady population endangered Irrawaddy dolphins.
- Irrawaddy dolphin is the flagship species inhabiting Chilika Lake.
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