Biodiversity Flashcards
(12 cards)
Biodiversity definition
The variety of living organisms in an area
Habitat definition
The place where an organism lives
Community definition
All the populations of different species in a habitat
What is local biodiversity?
The variety of different species living in a small habitat that’s local to you such as a pond or meadow
What is global biodiversity?
The variety of species on earth
What is species richness?
Number of different species in the community, it can be worked out by taking random samples of the community and counting the different number of species
Index of diversity formula
d = N(N-1) / Σ n(n-1)
N- total number of organisms of all species
n- total number of organisms of one species
Σ- sum of
What is Woodland clearance?
Reduces the number of trees and sometimes the number of three species, to increase the area of farmland
- Species will die or have to migrate to another suitable area reducing diversity
What is hedgerow removal?
Done to increase the area of farmland by turning lots of small fields into few large fields
- Reduces biodiversity for the same reasons as Woodland clearance
What are herbicides and what do they do to diversity?
- chemicals that kill unwanted plants
- Reduces plant diversity and could reduce the number of organisms that feed on the weeds
What is monoculture?
This is when farmers have fields containing only one type of plant
- Single type of plant reduces biodiversity and will have fewer organisms which further reduces biodiversity
What conservation can be done to protect biodiversity?
- Giving legal protection to endangered species
- Creating protected areas
- Environmental stewardship scheme which encourages farmers to conserve biodiversity
