Reasons to Maintain Biodiversity

Question 1

What are the 3 main reasons to maintain biodiversity?

Answer 1

1. Aesthetic reasons
2. Economic reasons
3. Ecological reasons

Question 2

Explain the aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity. Give an example

Answer 2

Biodiversity brings joy to millions of people. Areas rich in biodiversity provide pleasant, attractive landscapes that people can enjoy. The more biodiversity in an area, the more visitors the area is likely to attract, giving it economic advantages (ecotourism)
E.g The National Trust owns and protects many areas of outstanding natural beauty

Question 3

Explain how reducing soil depletion is an economic reason for maintaining biodiversity. Give an example

Answer 3

Continuous monoculture, planting the same crop in the same field without interruption, causes soil depletion because the nutrients required by the crop are gradually used up. The economic costs of soil depletion are fertilisers to artificially replace nutrients and decreased yields.
E.g Rice-fish agriculture, where fish are farmed in flooded paddy fields, as the nitrogenous waste from the fish add fertiliser to the rice crop, and the fish can be harvested for a second income.

Question 4

Explain how protecting species is an ecological reason to maintain biodiversity

Answer 4

Organisms in an ecosystem are interdependent, therefore the loss of just one species can have pretty drastic effects on an ecosystem e.g disruption of food chains and nutrient cycles.

Question 5

Explain what keystone species are and how this is an ecological reason to maintain biodiversity. Give an example

Answer 5

These are species on which many other species in an ecosystem depend on, and without the ecosystem would change dramatically. They are often predators, keeping the population of prey in check
E.g The wolf is a keystone species in America, keeping elk populations in line so overgrazing doesn’t become a problem

Question 6

Explain what genetic resources are

Answer 6

Any material from plants, animals, or microorganisms containing genes, that we find valuable.

Question 7

Explain why we need to maintain genetic resources

Answer 7

1. they provide us with a variety of everyday products, for e.g food and drink, clothing, drugs, fuels, and other industrial materials
2. they allow us to adapt to change in our environment for e.g climate change may mean some tops can’t grow in the same areas as they do now, but we may be able to use the genes from a plant that’s resistant to drought to genetically engineer the crop.