Factors Affecting Global Biodiversity Flashcards
What are the 3 factors that affect global biodiversity?
-Human Population Growth
-Increased Use of Monoculture in Agriculture
-Climate Change
Why does Human Population Growth affect Global Biodiversity?
As the human population grows hugely, in the last couple of centuries and is continuing to rise. This decreases global biodiversity.
What are the 4 factors why human population growth affects biodiversity?
-Habitat Loss
-Over-Exploitation
-Urbanisation
-Pollution
Why does habitat loss affect human population growth?
Human development is destroying habitats such as deforestation in the Amazon to make way for grazing and agriculture. Decreases habitat diversity.
Why does over-exploitation affect human population growth?
A greater demand for resources means a lot of resources are being used up faster than they can be replenished. Genetic diversity can be decreased as well as decreasing species diversity
Why does Urbanisation affect human population growth?
Sprawling cities and major road development can isolate species, meaning populations are unable to interbreed and genetic diversity is decreased.
Why does Pollution affect human population growth?
High amounts of pollutants can kill species or destroy habitat which decreases biodiversity
Why does and increased use of monoculture in agriculture affect biodiversity?
To feed an ever growing number of people, large areas of land are devoted to monoculture.
What is monoculture?
Growing of a single variety of crops
What is the first factor related to monoculture which affect global biodiversity?
Habitats are lost as land is cleared to make way for the large fields, reducing habitat diversity
What is the second factor related to monoculture which affect global biodiversity?
Local and naturally occurring plants and animals are seen as weeds and pets and so are destroyed with pesticides and herbicides, reducing species diversity
What is the third factor related to monoculture which affect global biodiversity?
Heritage varieties of crops are lost because they don’t make enough money and so are not planted any more which reduces species diversity
What is climate change?
Is the variation in the Earth’s climate such as things like changes in temperature and rainfall patterns.
How does climate change occur? And what is the climate change we are currently experiencing caused by?
Occurs naturally but the scientific consensus is that the climate change that we currently experiencing is caused by human increasing emissions of greenhouse gases
What does an increase in greenhouse gases cause?
They cause global warming which increases global average temperature which causes other types of climate change
