Question

Sacred groves are especially useful in
(a)Preventing soil erosion
(b)Year-round flow of water in rivers
(c)Conserving rare and threatened species
(d)Generating environmental awareness

Answer 1

It is the places in the forests which are protected by the community as they hold religious and cultural value since ancient times. They are protecting nature and natural resources along with the biodiversity found there. It also protects several valuable plant species of food, medicinal, and other valuable plants and animals.

Complete answer:
Sacred Groves are the ideal community for biodiversity protection. Different plants and creatures that are threatened in the forest are very much moderated inside these patches. These zones additionally give living space, water, and near-sites for many species of wildlife and feathered creatures. General medicinal plants and ayurvedic that are not to be present in the forest are often concentrated in sacred groves. Religious beliefs and taboos are valuable apparatuses for conserving the sacred groves. Rare, endangered, threatened and endemic species are more in sacred groves. Sacred groves additionally give imperative biological system administrations to nearby individuals. Sacred groves are full of rich biodiversity and harbor numerous rare types of plants and animals. Sacred groves are significant components in Biodiversity Conservation. There is vast diversity among India's sacred groves, at some point groves overlap with bigger forest areas. In these patches, individuals don't cut wood for domestic use. Sacred groves play a very important role in biodiversity protection.

Additional Information: Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of different sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious implication for the protecting community. Sacred groves did not enjoy protection by the federal legislation in India. Some NGOs work with local villagers to protect such groves.
Indian sacred groves have a pre-Vedic origin. Most of them are associated with indigenous/tribal communities who mostly believe in the divinity of nature and natural resources, therefore distinctly different from icon oriented mainstream religions. However, it is not always the religious/cultural issue but some underlying practical experiences may play a major role in the establishment of the tradition.

So, the correct answer is ‘Conserving rare and threatened species’.

Note: Sacred groves in the hills of Garhwal and Kumaon are mentioned in old Hindu scriptures like the Puranas. Indian sacred groves represent a diverse spectrum of ecosystems. Groves are present amidst the barren landscape or grassland ( for e.g. in Meghalaya), hill slope (Nagoni in Himalaya), amidst the agricultural landscape (like in West Bengal, Karnataka), coastal plain (e.g. Edayilekkadu in Kerala), and Rajasthan desert. With the rapid ongoing changes in society and land use patterns, nowhere except groves one can expect regional ecosystem characteristics which can be served as models or replicas for researchers and educators.