Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria and fungi. The biodiversity of a specific region or place is called an ecosystem. Ecosystems are like a web to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive such as food, clean water, breathable air, medicine and shelter. Meaning if our ecosystems are in danger our clean water and air and so on are also in danger. Our biodiversity is like a safety net that upholds the planet's resilience. With no change in human activity, we are heading to an unlivable planet.

Humans put pressure on wildlife, ecosystems and biodiversity by using more resources than ever before and we risk upsetting the balance of ecosystems and losing biodiversity. Many reports have shown a huge decline in the population of many species all around the world and many species are threatened with extinction. About 75% of the land surface environment and 66% of the ocean environment have been significantly altered. More than 1/3 of the world's land and surface and nearly 75% of the world's freshwater resources are now devoted to crop or livestock production. Even though crops are still plants they cannot provide an ecosystem because of the monoculture. This also happens many times when organisations or governments are planting trees to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by planting hundreds of trees from the same species are planted together. However, a monoculture cannot provide a stable and strong ecosystem and is therefore ineffective when it comes to restoring biodiversity. Also, climate change worsens the impact of other stressors on nature. Even though climate change is a naturally occurring process, human activity accelerated global warming and thus climate change massively by burning fossil fuels among other things. Because global warming happens so fast it is impossible for species and ecosystems to adapt to the new climate which results in the extinction of species and ecosystems slowly dying or falling apart.

Even the biggest and most important biodiversity hubs around the world are not immune to in immense pressure that humans put on wildlife and ecosystems. If we stop all emissions and pollution and we give ecosystems time and freedom, ecosystems will restore themselves.

What are the 6 major threats to biodiversity?

1. 1. Climate change
2. 2. Habitat loss & Degradation
3. 3. Pollution (All forms)
4. 4. Invasive species
5. 5. Overexploitation
6. 6. Other potential threads

Biodiversity threads explained

1. Climate change

Climate change refers to the long-term and irreversible change that occurs in the earth's climate. The increase in the temperature of the atmosphere has a major effect on the environment. It affects seasons, rising sea levels and glacial retreats

• Biodiversity of organisms is affected regarding morphology, population, the level of ecosystems, function and distribution.
• Due to climate change and the rising temperature by expanding the latitudes of their habitat further away from the equator. Because of this behaviour populations have declined. Also, there has been a change in the timing of physiological functions in many animals. For instance, the migration and mating of some species have become earlier than usual, which results in failure in the breeding and production of young.
• Desert ecosystems have expanded due to climate change. This has an effect on the function and service that the ecosystems provide for many species.

Threads for humans because natural resources are becoming more limited. Global warming and climate change already have an irreversible impact on biodiversity.

2. Habitat loss & Degradation

Habitat loss can happen when an ecosystem has been dramatically changed by human activities and it can no longer provide the food, water, cover and places to raise young that wildlife needs to survive. Because the habitat can no longer support the life of the organism present it results in a decline in the population.

• Habitat loss can be due to:
  • Natural events for instance: natural calamities and geological events
  • Anthropogenic activities for instance: Deforestation, and man-induced climate change
• The loss of habitats results in organisms that lived in that habitat having to relocate of they do not survive the loss of that habitat which will then result in a reduction in biodiversity.

Man-made activities are at the moment the primary reason for habitat loss by clearing out ecosystems for agriculture and industrial land use. Also, logging and mining are important man-made reasons for habitat loss.

3. Pollution

Water land and air pollution are major threats to habitats. All sorts of pollution form a major threat to biodiversity when it comes to nutrient loading of the elements nitrogen and phosphorus.

• In Europe nitrogen is the only pollutant that has not decreased in the atmosphere since the implementation of the legislation. The high concentration of nitrogen poses huge challenges in keeping and protecting natural habitats and the ecosystems
• The presence of nitrogen in water causes Eutrophication
• The presence and accumulation of phosphorus can change the way food webs function and phosphorus in water systems can cause eutrophication as well
• Acid rain is a type of pollution that can damage or kill organisms. Acid rain consists of harmful acids like nitric and sulfuric acid. The cause of acid rain is usually the excessive burning of fossil fuels.

Some types of pollution are reversible, however, that us only the case when humans stop or limit the use of various chemicals that contribute to the extinction of many organisms.

4. Invasive species

An exotic or unnatural species can be any kind of organism introduced to a foreign habitat. Exotic or unnatural species can cause major threats to native organisms because they get affected by great competition for resources, diseases and predation.

• Invasive species are ranked second biggest threat to biodiversity
• Greatest threat to invasive species is that they can change an entire habitat. The species are highly adaptable and can easily dominate the environment. As a result, natural species get displaced or perished
• Habitats or ecosystems with extreme environmental conditions have a lower possibility of inviting species

Invasive species can have a major impact on the habitat or ecosystem, however not all introduced species become a thread

5. Overexploitation

Overexploitation means that the harvest of species and natural resources happens at a faster rate than the species and natural resources can sustain themselves in the wild. As a result of overexploitation, species populations are put at great risk of reduction.

• Examples of overexploitation are overharvesting, overfishing and overhunting
• Some species' reproduction gets highly affected when the number of organisms is too low.
• Ecosystems suffer from low species diversity. When there is extra or more pressure on the ecosystem due to for instance: a natural disaster or other forces, the probability of getting wiped out completely increases a lot

= 6. Other potential threats

Besides the other five threats, there are more causes that contribute directly or indirectly to the loss of biodiversity

• Epidemics and infectious diseases of wildlife can be a massive threat to biodiversity. Mostly besides the health of wildlife it also affects human health.
• Human-induced activities: Economic, technological, scientific, cultural and demographic factors also have an impact on biodiversity. For instance industrialisation, urbanisation, building infrastructure and the use of pesticides.
• The desiccation of wetlands and soils owing to the excessive pumping of water tablets contributes to the death of organisms living in that environment.
• Overuse of nature parks and watersheds as tourist destination contribute to the loss of biodiversity due to the noise disturbance and perturbation that humans cause and disrupting the wildlife living in the nature parks and watersheds.