3. Importance of Biodiversity Flashcards
(12 cards)
Reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- Ecological reasons
- Economic reasons
- Aesthetic reasons
ECOLOGICAL reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- To protect species, including keystone species
- To maintain genetic resources
What is an ecosystem
All the biotic factors (living organisms) living in a particular area & all the abiotic factors (non-living conditions).
INTERDEPNDENT
ECOLOGICAL reasons: 1. To protect species, including keystone species PART 1
- Organisms in an ecosystem are interdependent - they depend on eachother to survive, loss of one species can have drastic effects on an ecosystem such as:
- Disruption of food chains - eg. species of bear feed on salmon, which feed on herring. If no. of herring decline, can affect both salmon & bear pops.
- Disruption of nutrient cycles - eg. decomposers like worms improve quality of soil by recycling nutrients. If worm no.s decline, soil quality is affected. Will affect growth of plants & amount of food available to animals.
ECOLOGICAL reasons: 1. To protect species, including keystone species PART 2
- There are some species on which many other species in ecosystem depend on & w/o which the ecosystem would change dramatically - KEYSTONE SPECIES.
- Keystone species are often predators - keeping pop of prey in check, but can also be modifiers - maintaining the env needed for the ecosystem, or hosts - plants that provide a particular env (sa palm trees).
Eg of keystone species needed?
ECOLOGICAL reasons: 2. To maintain genetic resources
- Genetic resources refer to any material from plants, animals or microorganisms, containing genes, that we find valuable.
- Could be crops, plants used for medicines, microorganisms used in industrial processes, or animal breeds. We need to maintain genetic resources for following reasons:
- Food & drinks - from plants/animals
- Clothing - fibres & fabrics from plants/animals
- Drugs - from plant comports (eg morphine from poppies)
- Fuels - renewable fuel (eg. ethanol) sources
- Other industrial materials - many other materials produced from plant/animal (eg, wood, paper, dyes, oils, pesticides)
How does ecological reason link to economic
Many genetic resources (2.) are importance for global economy - products derived from plant/animal species traded on local & global scale.
How can genetic resources allow us to adapt to changes in environment
- For eg, climate change may mean some crops wont be anle grow in same areas as they do now (eg. droughts).
- HOWEVER, we may be able to use genes from a plant that resistant to droughts to genetically engineer a drought-resistant crop.
ECONOMIC reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- To reduce soil depletion
ECONOMIC reasons: 1. To reduce soil depletion
- Continuous monoculture involves planting the same crops in the same field w/o interruption.
- Causes soil depletion bc nutrients required by crop are gradually used up. (In more traditional farming, crops are rotated w other types of crops, so nutrients & organic matter are replaced).
- The economic costs of soil depletion increased spending on fertilisers & decreased yields (crops produced).
AESTHETIC reasons for maintaining biodiversity
- Some ppl believe we should conserve biodiversity as it brings joy to millions.
- Areas rich in biodiversity provide pleasant, attractive landscapes ppl can enjoy - by maintaining it, we protect these landscapes.
- The more biodiversity in an area, the more visitors it attracts - economic advantages.