RAS question
How many endemic vascular plant species does the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve harbour out of its total 732 vascular plant species?
Correct answer: (C) 30.
The Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve harbours 30 endemic vascular plant species out of its total 732 vascular plant species.
Explanation
UNESCO's article on the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve gives the biodiversity figure directly: the reserve harbours 732 species of vascular plants, including 30 endemics and 157 near-endemics of the Indian Himalayas. That makes option C the correct answer. This is a precision fact, not an estimate: the total plant diversity number, 732, is paired with a smaller subset that is endemic, meaning those 30 species are the ones confined to that biological context rather than simply part of the wider vascular-plant count. The other options either understate or overstate that endemic subset, so they conflict with the official UNESCO statement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 15 is wrong because UNESCO identifies 30 endemic vascular plant species, so 15 would count only half of the endemic figure.
- (B) 22 is wrong because the UNESCO figure is 30 endemics, not a lower intermediate count within the 732 vascular plant species.
- (D) 45 is wrong because it overstates the endemic vascular plant count; UNESCO reports 30 endemics out of 732 vascular plant species.
Concept
This tests protected-area biodiversity data under Environment and Ecology, especially UNESCO biosphere reserves and endemic species. It recurs in RAS because such questions often check whether candidates can retain exact conservation facts from official designations.