Biodiversity and agriculture Flashcards
Why is woodland clearance done?
To increase the area of farmland
Why is woodland clearance done?
To increase the area of farmland
What are the effects of woodland clearance?
Reduces the number of trees and sometimes the number of tree species
Destroys habitats
Organisms may lose food sources
Species may be forced to immigrate
Why is hedgerow removal done?
To increase the area of farmland
What is hedgerow removal?
Turning lots of small fields into fewer larger fields
How does the removal of hedgerows affect biodiversity?
Reduces the number of trees and sometimes the number of tree species
Destroys habitats
Organisms may lose food sources
Species may be forced to immigrate
What are pesticides?
Chemicals that kill organisms that feed on crops
How do pesticides reduce biodiversity?
They directly kill the pests
Any species that feed on pests will lose a food source so their numbers could decrease too
What are herbicides?
Chemicals which kill unwanted plants
What are the effects of the herbicides?
Reduces plant biodiversity
Reduce the number of organisms which feed on the weeds
What is monoculture?
When farmers have fields containing only one type of plant
What are the effects of monoculture?
A single type of plant reduces biodiversity directly and will support fewer organisms as a habitat and as a food source which further reduces biodiversity
Why do we need agriculture?
To produce food and fibres for clothing
Medicines
Fuels
What is a conservation scheme?
An attempt to maintain balance between agriculture and biodiversity
What are some examples of conservation schemes?
- Legal protection to endangered species
- Creating protected areas
- Giving awards to farmers for things like leaving hedgerows
What is biodiversity?
The variety of living organisms in an area
What is a habitat?
The place where an organism lives
What is a community?
All of the populations of different species in a habitat
What is local biodiversity?
The variety of different species living in a small habitat thats local to you
What is global biodiversity?
Consider the variety of species on earth
What is species richness?
A measure of the number of different species in a community
How is species richness measured?
Taking random samples of a community and counting the number of different species
What is the equation for index of diversity?
N(N-1)
d = ——————–
Σn(n-1)
In the equation for the index of diversity, what does everything stand for?
D = index of diversity N = Total number of organisms of all species n = total number of organisms of one species Σ = sum of
