OCR - A-Level - Biology - Why Maintain Biodiversity?

Ecological
1. Interdependence
  1. Ecosystems are complex
    1. Food web - Evolved to live together
    2. The balance can be upset by external influence, causing reduction in biodiversity
  2. More diverse, more stable (so less effect if one species is reduced)
  3. Keystone species have a disproportionate effect on a habitat, greater than it might seem
    1. E.G. Beaver
2. Genetic resources
  1. Genetic diversity needs maintaining within a habitat
  2. Could be a solution to a future problem that might occur
    1. Disease
      1. Plants used as medicine
    2. Pests
    3. Climate
Economic
1. Medicines for pharmaceuticals
2. Nutrient recycling in plants
3. Detoxification - compost bins
4. Makes soil more fertile without monocultural plants
Aesthetic
1. Nature makes people happy
  1. Recovery is more rapid in natural environmental conditions
    1. Good for physical, emotional and intellectual health
2. Living biosphere affects landscape
  1. Trees protect soil from erosion
  2. Run off and drainage are reduced - acts as reservoir for some time after
    1. Flooding is more likely without trees, which is then followed by drought because of no reservoir
Summary
1. Biodiversity is important to maintain because otherwise it could have cataclysmic effects on humankind and the planet. Without it, the economy suffers, happiness decreases, species will become extinct

Resource summary

	Created by Josh Anderson almost 8 years ago