Biodiversity

Hello,

Today we're talking about biodiversity and why it's so important. As you probably know biodiversity describes the variety of living species, often referring to one specific place or ecosystem. For example, the Amazon rainforest is a very biodiverse ecosystem. The opposite of biodiverse is a monoculture. A monoculture often refers to farmland, where only one crop is produced. Palm oil plantations are normally monocultures, with rows and rows of palm trees and nothing else.

I'm going to start by giving you an idea of the current situation. This year, the State of Nature 2023 report was published. This report looks at recent changes in biodiversity in the UK. To be frank, it's bad news. One in six (17%) of all UK species and almost half (43%) of bird species are at risk of extinction. 31% of amphibians and reptiles and 28% of fungi are also at risk. There has been a 54% decline in flowering plant species and a 34% decline in pest controlling insects (insects that eat/kill "pests"). This is mostly due to us humans. Habitat loss, diseases spread via factory farming (like avian flu), variability in climate due to climate change, intensive farming and unsustainable fishing are all contributing to these shocking numbers. Only 20% of farmland is considered eco-friendly and only 44% of woodland is sustainably managed, not always successfully. Only 7% of woodland, 25% of peatland and none of the seafloor that was assesed is in a good ecological condition. Especially the seafloor has suffered from habitat destruction due to fishing gear. But, there was some good news. The conservation work that is being done is paying off. Lyme Bay marine protected area, in Dorset and Devon, South-West England) has seen a increase in biodiversity since trawling was banned in 2008. The RSPB's (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) Hope Farm has proven that it is possible to produce food and have a 177% increase in breeding birds over 12 years. The improvement of water quality, has made the recovery of freshwater fish species possible.

So, we've already established that biodiversity is declining. This isn't only happening in the UK. It's happening everywhere across the world. And we've already covered some of the reasons for this decline. But is it actually a problem? What are the consequences of biodiversity loss? Probably the biggest problem is the spread of diseases. In a less biodiverse world, dominant species become more and more abundant, and with them whatever viruses and diseases they happen to carry. This has been seen in mosquitoes. The variety of different mosquito species is declining and those that can survive are reproducing more and more and carrying deadly viruses to more and more areas, where they can transfer to humans. Also, monocultures attract certain species like rats, mice and bats. These species are known to generally carry a lot of diseases. Another problem is something that farmers have none about for thousands of years. Monocultures unbalance the soils nutrients and in the worse case make it infertile. This is because one plant species needs certain nutrients in the soil and doesn't need others. That way, all of the nutrient that it needs is used up and there is too much of other nutrients. This can cause the soil to become infertile, meaning that almost nothing can actually grow there. One technique to avoid this is to rotate the crops every year and also have each field have one year where it isn't used at all and can recover. One more point is that the more biodiverse an area is, the more CO2 is stores. Tropical rainforests with high biodiversity can store more CO2 than a palm oil plantation with just the same plant species for as far the eye can see.

So how do we move forward? What is science doing about this problem? The good news is that this problem is now recieving the attention it deserves. It's even a boundary in the planetary boundary model which we explained a little while ago. One exciting concept is using AI. AI can be an amazing tool for science. Now scientists are using it to measure biodiversity from listening to recordings of animal sounds. Some areas are hard to explore because of thick undergrowth or the animals are very secretive. So simply leaving recording devices in the area and then getting AI to recognise the different sounds is very effective. The sustainabile development goals are very important targets. Unfortunately we are quite far behind on the goals regarding biodiversity and marine life. Another idea that's being considered is calculating biodiversiy loss into prices. The same way that sometimes CO2 emmissions are included in prices, the same could be done in regards to biodiversity. Scientistss from all over the globe are now collaborating and sharing data and technology in global monitoring systems for biodiversity. This also means including other scientists not just biologists and ecologists in the dicussion. Integrating the knowledge from different areas, like biodiversity, climate change, economics, politics, sociology and virology, really accelerates the progress made it each of these areas. All of the topics are different, but they all happen in the same system, our planet.

We hope you enjoyed this post. See you next week!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/27/species-risk-extinction-great-britain-wildlife-state-of-nature-report
https://www.nature.com/articles/d43978-023-00133-5
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230918105202.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231017123340.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03103-5
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230915144334.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230913122723.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230831121715.htm
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/biodiversity/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231117102459.htm

Images:
"Aerial view of oil palm plantation", owned by CIFOR (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"Flower", owned by matthew mclalin (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-2.0.
"monoculture 1", owned by Andy / Andrew Fogg (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Comments

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

18.10.20 Animal Of The Week: Sloth

Hello, Sorry this didn't come out on Sunday as planned but this week's animal of the week is the sloth because the twentieth of October is Sloth Day. Habitat The sloth resides in Central and South America. It lives in the rainforests there and occasionally drops into the water for a bathe as, believe it or not, they are actually excellent swimmers! Diet Sloths eat leaves, twigs and buds which they find in the rainforest. As they don't have incisors they smack their lips together to make leaves more digestible. Sloths can survive on relatively little food as it takes a while for them to digest it. Sleep and Speed When you think of a sloth, you probably think of this slow, sleepy creature. They actually sleep for about 15 hours a day! Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate (what basic calories your body needs to survive), which means they move at a slow pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 40 yards per day ...

Photo Essay | dolphin spotting boat ride

Hi Everyone! Quite a while ago now, me and my family went on a dolphin spotting boat ride, and I've been meaning to share some photos for ages now! We saw so many dolphins very close up and we managed to get some good shots, although it can never be as magical as in person! All photos in this post were taken by me or my family. They were so close to the boat! This photo is stunning! It's under the water! Again - under the water! It was so hard to capture them jumping! This was the boat.... ...

Green Pets || easy house plants to get you started // best house plants for beginners

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about some easy house plants you could look after to get you started on your green pets journey. These are plants that are easy to look after and that I recommend for an introduction into caring for house plants. If you are a beginner or want to look after some plants, then this is the post for you! 1. Cacti - moon cactus I don't actually have a cactus, but they are the obvious place to start. They need little water and thrive in warm conditions; they are described as "low maintenance". I have done some research and it looks like the moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) is the best one in terms of not being too fussy with needing minimal water and tolerates lower light levels. I would like a cactus at some point, but if you are just starting out wanting to care for some house plants, then this is the one to start with! 2. Aloe Vera One of my first house plants, this is one that is rela...

How much do you know about the greenhouse gas effect? - Quiz

Welcome back to Green World! Today we have a quiz that will test your knowledge about the greenhouse gas effect and its effect on the world. Enjoy! Questions True or False? Carbon dioxide is the only greenhouse gas. Burning fossil feuls mostly emits ... a) methane b) nitrogen c) carbon dioxide True or False? One ppm (part per million) is the same ratio as one drop of water in 13 gallons of liquid. Which one of these is not a greenhouse gas? a) carbon dioxide b) nitrous oxide c) oxygen True or False? Some greenhouse gases are only in the atmosphere for a few years. Which sector has the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the US? a) Agriculture and other land use b) Electricity c) Industry True or False? 94% of global methane emissions come from human activities. Which sector has experienced the highest increase in...

Overfishing- An Introduction

When writing the article on the Yangtze Finless Porpoise, I briefly touched on the topic of overfishing. Many of you have probably heard about it, and know it is a massive problem threatening our seas and their inhabitants. Overfishing is so destructive, it can kill all life in the ocean, and many of you might be part of it every day. So I read through many articles from international organisations, and they all say pretty much the same things. It's a highly complex topic, with so many things to say and do, so this is just an introduction to the broadest points. It's very interesting (and sad) but when you look into it further you realize there is actually a lot you can do! This is very important, especially for ocean lovers and seafood people. What is overfishing? By definition, overfishing is so intense fishing, people catch fish quicker than the stocks can reproduce. Leading to a massive decrease in stocks that can peak in the extinction of a s...

How much do you know about migrating birds? - Quiz

Hello everyone, We've got another quiz for you and this time it's about migrating birds. As most of you probably know, there are loads of birds that fly to a different country or even continent to avoid harsh weather and to find better feeding and breading areas. Questions True or False? Birds use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate while migrating? How many miles does an arctic term migrate? a) between 10 000 and 20 000 km b) between 20 000 and 30 000 km c) more than 40 000 km True or False? Arctic terns can fly 600km in a day. What percentage of birds migrate? a) about 40% b) about 60% c) about 80% True or False? Great snipes travel 5 000 miles at 70mph. How long can the bar-tailed godwit fly non stop for? a) nearly 5000 miles b) nearly 7000 miles c) nearly 9000 miles True or False? Bar-headed geese can fly up to 5.5 miles above sea level. ...

Animals 36-40 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi, As you probably noticed, we took a break from this series, mostly due to having just too much to do. But we're back now with the last three posts. 36. The Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog can be found in the Foja Mountains in Indonesia. They mainly eat insects, although little is known about them. They are named because the males have a spike on their noses. They were only discovered in 2008, and this was completely by accident! It remained unnamed scientifically until over ten years later when it was given the name " Litoria pinocchio " . There is very little information about them but Wikipedia states that "the male Pinocchio frog inflates its nose when calling, and the nose decreases in size when the frog is calm and quiet," which I think is hilarious and so interesting! 37. Snub-nosed monkey Especially noticeable due to their curious looks, the snub-nosed monkeys can be found in the forests of central China and northern...

Rachel Carson 1907-1964

Hi everybody, Today I am going to tell you about a really inspirational environmentalist. Her name is Rachel Carson. I hope her story inspires you to be more careful about pesticides. As a girl, Rachel adored writing stories about animals. She got a degree in zoology but had to go home to care for her ageing mother. She wrote a series of radio shows about fish for a living. Rachel's program, called 'Romance Under Waters', was a big hit. Her ways of writing were different to anyone else and no one had made that sound so interesting before. It proved that she was talented in not only science but also writing. She wrote two books called 'The Sea Around Us' and 'The Edge Of The Sea'. When Rachel moved to the countryside, she realized the impact of pesticides. At that time farmers sprayed chemicals on their fields a lot to protect them from animals that may want to eat them. Rachel worked out that they were killing pla...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

Green World

Search This Blog