4.1.2 Biodiversity – What Affects Biodiversity Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is happening to biodiversity across the world?
It is decreasing.
What are the three main factors reducing biodiversity?
- Human population growth
- Agriculture
- Climate change
How is human population growth reducing biodiversity?
- Over-exploitation of resources
- More pollution and waste
- Introducing non-native species
- Destroying habitats/deforestation to use the land for housing and agriculture.
Give two examples of pollution that is affecting biodiversity.
Plastics, exhaust fumes, oil spills and acid rain, land pollution from waste.
How is agriculture reducing biodiversity?
- Habitat destruction, including deforestation to make space available for crops, animals and buildings.
- Increased use of pesticides
- Increased use of fertilisers
- Monoculture
Why are pesticides used?
To kill species that would affect the yield of the crop.
How do fertilisers reduce biodiversity?
Fertilisers wash in to the streams and rivers which causes eutrophication (over growth of algae, meaning less aquatic plants and fish).
What is monoculture?
Farming large areas of only one strain or species of a crop in order to increase productivity and ease of farming.
How does monoculture reduce biodiversity?
It reduces the biodiversity by reducing species richness but also leads to the loss of wild strains on species and therefore a reduction in genetic diversity.
How is the global climate changing?
- Higher mean global temperatures
- Sea levels rising
- More flooding
- More droughts
- More extreme weather events
How does climate change reduce biodiversity?
- Destroying habitats
- Changing the distribution and migration of organisms and therefore food chains and webs
- Allowing new pest species to colonise an area
- Increasing the number of diseases and transmission of disease
