REARRANGED ORDER - Mainatining Bioversity (GCSE Biology)

Maintaining Biodiversity & Its Benefits

Biodiversity

Maintaining Biodiversity

We have considered the negative impacts of humans on the environment, however now let us look at a few of the positive measures put in place to increase biodiversity. A lot of these methods are part of conservation schemes to conserve and protect species:

• Breeding programmes are in place to preserve endangered species. As habitats have been lost, humans are attempting to repair some of the damage. Animals such as the Arabian oryx and the panda have been kept alive by breeding programmes in zoos. Here, animals are looked after well and helped to breed to keep their species alive and are protected from being hunted too.
• Rare habitats are protected and regenerated. National parks and nature reserves are made in order to protect certain endangered habitats.
• Seedbanks can store biodiversity. Seedbanks store seeds from different species and thus store genetic material. If a species were to become extinct, the seeds can be used to return the species and maintain biodiversity.
• Hedgerows and field margins are replanted. When farmers grow only one type of crop, hedgerows and field margins are replanted as they provide a great habitat for many organisms. This increases biodiversity.
• Reduction of deforestation, carbon emissions and production of greenhouse gases. Reducing deforestation has led to an increase in the numbers of certain habitats. This has increased biodiversity. By reducing carbon emissions and production of greenhouse gases, there could be a reduction in global warming e.g. renewable sources of energy can be used instead of burning fossil fuels.
• Reforestation of deforested areas. This is where trees and plants are replanted and a range of tree species can be planted to create a new forest with high levels of biodiversity.
• Recycling resources. Recycling resources has reduced the amount of waste in landfill, which reduces land pollution.
• Reducing sulphur dioxide pollution. This reduces acid rain and can be done by burning coal with less sulphur dioxide in power stations or removing some of the sulphur dioxide before it is burnt or by preventing sulphur dioxide being released from chimneys by installing ‘scrubbers’.

Benefits of Maintaining Biodiversity

Maintaining biodiversity has advantages both for the environment but also for the human population. Maintaining biodiversity:

• Reduces damage to food chains – the extinction of one species can impact the species that are related to it in the food chain. By saving and conserving that species, you will also be saving other species.
• Provides resources for future generations – protecting the food supply e.g. fish supply and maintaining species that provide fuels and industrial materials e.g. oils, wood helps save important resources for future generations.
• Allows future medicines to be discovered – a lot of medicines come from plant species. If plants are destroyed, valuable undiscovered medicinal chemicals may be lost.
• Promotes ecotourism – this is a type of tourism where the beauty of nature and conservation of species are appreciated while there is little negative impact on the ecosystem. High levels of biodiversity are maintained and the money generated helps fund the conservation schemes.

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Challenges of Maintaining Biodiversity

Along with its benefits, maintaining biodiversity does come with its challenges:

• It can be difficult to monitor conservation projects. For example, keeping a track of whether people are sticking to the fishing quotas (restrictions when fishing).
• There may be disagreements when organising conservation schemes. Locally people might object as it could interfere with their income e.g. logging and fishing restrictions. On a larger scale, when different countries are involved, some countries may not be willing to sign agreements