Importance of biodiversity

Question 1

3 huge things that maining biodiversity is important for…

Answer 1

1) Ecological reasons
2) Economic reasons
3) Aesthetic reasons

Question 2

2 ecological reasons to maintain biodiversity

Answer 2

1) To protect species including keystone species
organisms in an ecosystem are interdependent

• Disruption of food chain - EG if a certain thing in the food chain dies, could affect both predator and prey
• Disruption of nutrient cycles: eg worm will improve the quality of the soil by recycling nutrients. If wom numbers decline, soil quality will be affected, which will affect the growth of plants and the amount of food available to animals

2) To maintain Genetic resources:
- EG genetic resources could be plant crops used for medicine, microorganisms in industrial processes, animal breeds.

• Genetic resources provide us with everyday products such as:

1) food and drink
2) Clothing
3) Drugs- eg morphine is made from poppies
4) Fules
5) Other industrial materials- EG wood, paper, dyes, adhesives and pesticides.

Question 3

An economic reason why maintaining biodiversity is good?

Answer 3

To reduce soil depletion:

• Monoculture- growing single variety of crops
• Continuous monoculture- Planting the same type of crop in the same field
• This causes soil depletion, as nutrients required by the crop are gradually used up.
• increased spending on fertilisers and decreased yields

Question 4

Aesthetic reasons why maintaining biodiversity is good

Answer 4

• Areas rich in Biodiversity provide nice looking landscapes.
• The more biodiversity in an area the more likely the area is likely to attract.