B6.1 - Monitoring And Maintaining The Environment Flashcards
what is biodiversity
the variety of living organisms present in an area
what is deforestation
the permanent removal of large areas of forest
whatis conservation
protecting a natural environment to ensure that habitats are not lost
whare are indicator species
organisms that can be used to measure environmental quality
what activities have a negative impact on ecosystems
fishing, farming, hunting and building
what do humans need to do in order to survive
humans need to obtain and produce resources
what things impact negatively on ecosystems
deforestation, hunting and pesticides
what 3 things have a positive impact on ecosystems
captive breeding programmes, creating nature reserves and sustainable fishing and passing laws to protect animals
what does ecotourism aim to do
ecotourism aims to reduce the impact on environments by not interfering with wildlife, leaving a low carbon footprint and supporting the local community. it is an example of sustainable development
the greater the biodiversity, the greater the…?
the greater the biodiversity, the greater the stability of an ecosystem and the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries
what does biodiversity do
biodiversity boosts the economy, e.g. a greater variety of plants means a greater variety of crops
why are political issues a challenge of maintaining diversity
because conservation strategies are often politically sensitive and there may be difficulty in gaining agreements between local, national and global partners
why are economic issues a challenge of maintaining diversity
because conservation is often expensive, for example, trying to monitor conservation schemes
what have rising levels of greenhouse gases led to
rising levels of greenhouse gases have led to a rise in global temperatures, which melts polar ice caps and causes sea levels to rise
what change have rising temperatures led to
rising temperature cause changes to distributions of organisms
