Environment – Biodiversity And Ecosystems
Author: Helen Cox
Our global ecosystem is home to earth's entire collection of
living organisms and the habitats in which they live.
Biodiversity forms part of the earth's ecosystem and is short
for biological diversity, a term used to describe the whole
variety of life on earth.
Biodiversity doesn't just refer to rare species; it encompasses
the diversity of all living things from the human race to
micro-organisms. Biodiversity also refers to the amazing
richness of habitats on earth such as snowfields, rain forests,
mountain tops and the ocean floor. Even in a busy city park
biodiversity is present as there are an enormous number of
individual species living with it.
Biodiversity is a fundamental part of earth's life support as
without it we wouldn't be able to survive. This is because
no-one living organism lives in isolation; millions of organisms
interact and contribute to the balance of the global ecosystem
and the survival of the planet. It takes numerous organisms to
regulate a natural process such as the growth cycle of plants,
the mating season of animals and even our weather patterns.
Sadly however the planet is losing biodiversity at a rapid
rate. Even though the normal course of evolution involves
species to die out; the rate at which biodiversity is decreasing
is extremely quick, much quicker than natural standards. So what
is causing this decrease in biodiversity within our planet?
There are a number of contributing factors that are causing
biodiversity to come under threat from various dangers, sadly
most of these factors are caused by the human race, an example
being habitat loss and fragmentation. This is the primary cause
of biodiversity loss; it refers to the clearance of vegetation
for agriculture, housing, timber and industry. Habitat loss and
fragmentation also refers to the draining of wetlands and the
flooding of valleys to form reservoirs. By destroying habitats
like this we are destroying organisms and therefore decreasing
the biodiversity of our ecosystem.
Pollution is another contributing factor to the loss of
biodiversity within our planets ecosystem. Pollution can affect
all forms of life, whether they dwell in sea or on land.
Transport, industry, construction, extraction and power
generation are all contributors to the pollution of land, air
and sea. These chemicals can directly affect biodiversity and
cause chemical imbalances, which will kill species and there
habitats.
One of the biggest threats however to biodiversity and also one
of the largest environmental challenges facing the world today
is climate change. Climate change is the result of co2
emissions, greenhouse gases, these gases are released when
fossil fuels are burnt. Currently the world is emitting around
6.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every
year through burning coal, oil and gas and what is the world
doing to help this? Cutting down the rainforest, destroying our
landscape, getting rid of vital elements of nature that absorb
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – trees. The more vegetation
and forestry that is destroyed, the more carbon dioxide will
build up in our atmosphere.
Climate change will make our climate feel too hot for certain
species and too cold for other, wiping out yet more of our
biodiversity. More than 16,000 species are already endangered
and the rate of extinction has been increased 1000 times. The
greater demand for land within the world is threatening species.
Our planets resources are already overused by about 25% and the
polar bear population has declined by 30%.
The world is running up a serious ecological debt and our
ecosystems are being degraded at an unprecedented rate. Climate
change will cause a rise in sea levels and problems to many
coastal ecosystems; the planet will suffer irreparable damage if
action is not taken.
There is a time lag between when emissions occur and when we
begin to feel their effects, we have yet to experience the
damage done from the past 30 years. This doesn't mean climate
change can be reversed, it means that everyone has to come
together to make a difference now to stop the decline of our
planet in years to come. Climate change cannot just be stopped
by environmentalists alone; it must become the responsibility of
everyone.
About The Author: Helen Cox is the web master of Article Alley,
home of all your Environmental
http://www.articlealley.com
