Factors Affecting Global Biodiversity Flashcards
(22 cards)
What are the 3 factors that affect global biodiversity?
-Human Population Growth
-Increased Use of Monoculture in Agriculture
-Climate Change
Why does Human Population Growth affect Global Biodiversity?
As the human population grows hugely, in the last couple of centuries and is continuing to rise. This decreases global biodiversity.
What are the 4 factors why human population growth affects biodiversity?
-Habitat Loss
-Over-Exploitation
-Urbanisation
-Pollution
Why does habitat loss affect human population growth?
Human development is destroying habitats such as deforestation in the Amazon to make way for grazing and agriculture. Decreases habitat diversity.
Why does over-exploitation affect human population growth?
A greater demand for resources means a lot of resources are being used up faster than they can be replenished. Genetic diversity can be decreased as well as decreasing species diversity
Why does Urbanisation affect human population growth?
Sprawling cities and major road development can isolate species, meaning populations are unable to interbreed and genetic diversity is decreased.
Why does Pollution affect human population growth?
High amounts of pollutants can kill species or destroy habitat which decreases biodiversity
Why does and increased use of monoculture in agriculture affect biodiversity?
To feed an ever growing number of people, large areas of land are devoted to monoculture.
What is monoculture?
Growing of a single variety of crops
What is the first factor related to monoculture which affect global biodiversity?
Habitats are lost as land is cleared to make way for the large fields, reducing habitat diversity
What is the second factor related to monoculture which affect global biodiversity?
Local and naturally occurring plants and animals are seen as weeds and pets and so are destroyed with pesticides and herbicides, reducing species diversity
What is the third factor related to monoculture which affect global biodiversity?
Heritage varieties of crops are lost because they don’t make enough money and so are not planted any more which reduces species diversity
What is climate change?
Is the variation in the Earth’s climate such as things like changes in temperature and rainfall patterns.
How does climate change occur? And what is the climate change we are currently experiencing caused by?
Occurs naturally but the scientific consensus is that the climate change that we currently experiencing is caused by human increasing emissions of greenhouse gases
What does an increase in greenhouse gases cause?
They cause global warming which increases global average temperature which causes other types of climate change
What varies in climate change?
It will affect different areas of the world in different ways as some places will get warmer or colder or drier or wetter. These will all affect global biodiversity.
What do most species need to survive?
A particular climate
What might a change in climate mean?
That an areas that was once inhabitable is now uninhabitable or vice versa
What may this change cause?
An increase or decrease in the range of some species which could increase or decrease biodiversity.
What are some species forced to do?
Migrate to a more suitable area causing a change in species distribution
What will happen if there isn’t a suitable habitat to migrate to or if the species is a planta and can’t migrate or if the change is too fast?
The species may become extinct which will decrease biodiversity
What do migrations often decrease?
Biodiversity in the areas the species migrate from, and increase biodiversity in the areas they migrate to
