Unit 3.2.11 - Biodiversity

Question 1

What is species richness?

Answer 1

The number of different species

Question 2

What is species diversity?

Answer 2

Takes account of the number of organisms of each species

Question 3

What is the index of diversity?

Answer 3

The relationship between the number of species and the number of individuals in a community

Question 4

Why is the index of diversity a better measure of diversity?

Answer 4

There might be many different species but the numbers in each species might be really high or low

Question 5

What is biodiversity?

Answer 5

The measure of the richness of a habitat or ecosystem

Question 6

Give five reasons why biodiversity is important?

Answer 6

It provides is with food, fresh water, oxygen, medicines and raw materials we need to live

Question 7

Give five things that can reduce biodiversity?

Answer 7

Deforestation, woodland clearance, hedgerow clearance, pesticides and monoculture

Question 8

How does deforestation, woodland clearance and hedgerow removal reduce biodiversity?

Answer 8

It reduces the number of trees and so reduces tree diversity
It destroys habitats so some species could lose their shelter and food source so some species may die or migrate away further reducing the biodiversity of the area

Question 9

Why do we clear woodlands?

Answer 9

To increase are for farming

Question 10

What is hedgerow removal?

Answer 10

Turning lots of smaller fields into fewer larger ones for farming

Question 11

Name two types of pesticides?

Answer 11

Herbicides and insecticides

Question 12

What are herbicides?

Answer 12

A type of pesticide the kills of weeds that compete with crops for light and nutrients

Question 13

What are insecticides?

Answer 13

A type of pesticide that kills of insect pests

Question 14

How do pesticides reduce biodiversity?

Answer 14

This reduces diversity directly by killing the pests
Also ant species that feed of the pests will lose a food source so their numbers could decrease too further decreasing biodiversity

Question 15

How does monoculture reduce biodiversity?

Answer 15

Supermarkets want to buy from just a few large supplies, it makes economic sense to have large fields growing one type of crop like wheat instead of lots of things reducing plant biodiversity
Also it the one crop will support fewer species further decreasing biodiversity

Question 16

Give two benefits of deforestation?

Answer 16

1. ) wood and land for infrastructure

2. ) provides jobs for the local people

Question 17

Gives five risks of deforestation?

Answer 17

1. ) reduced biodiversity
2. ) less carbon dioxide stored contributing to global warming
3. ) many medicines come from forests
4. ) natural beauty is lost
5. ) less oxygen is released for human respiration

Question 18

Give two benefits of agriculture?

Answer 18

1. ) more food can be produced

2. ) provides jobs for people

Question 19

Give two risk of agriculture?

Answer 19

1. ) reduced biodiversity

2. ) natural beauty is lost