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

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...

April Top Tips: ten tips for environmentally friendly travel

Hi Everyone! We haven't been very present on the blog again recently but we are back today with ten top tips for environmentally friendly travel. Most forms of travel over long distances (unless you are willing to put in a lot of physical effort) use fossil fuels and are generally not good for our planet. So today we will be giving you a few tips which although won't mean that your travel is 100% planet friendly, will be a good start to doing as much as you can. Your Green World Blog Team💚 1. Use trains and boats rather than planes where possible Planes are awful for the environment. They are, however, extremely practical and so easy to use, cheap...It's hard to avoid them! They are so quick too so you don't have to spend as much time travelling. However, they are really bad for the environment. For example, you could fly once to Edinburgh from Heathrow for the same carbon dioxide levels as driving to Edinburgh 336 times! 2. Fly...

October Top tips | homemade presents

Hi everyone, So today we're going to talk about sustainable homemade presents. If you start now, then some of these would make amazing Christmas presents. 1. Knitting, crochet, embroidery & more yarn items You can make some incredible presents by knitting or crocheting with wool or thick yarn. All you need are needles and wool/yarn. Wool can be expensive if you want good quality so check out this post about making your own yarn out a t-shirt! With thinner yarn you could make some amazing thing through embroidery. Here are some project ideas: Scarfs Socks Blankets Jumpers Pouch Dishcloths Table mat Headband Fingerless gloves Keychains Friendship bracelets Wall decorations Handles for hot pots and pans Figurines Bag designs 2. Origami Origami is an amazing way to show someone that you put time into what you made. You can use paper of any size, colour or pattern. Here are some ideas: Swans ...

Animals 21-25 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi Everyone! Here are the next five animals in our current series! We hope you learn something from this. 21. Stick insect Stick insects are masters of disguise. They look like twigs or leaves. This strange appearance makes them hard to spot when stationary. Stick insects are herbivores, feeding on leaves, and can live for up to three years. Their habitat includes most tropical and subtropical regions, but there are a few species that live in temperate areas as well. There are roughly 3 000 different stick insect species! Not much more is known about them, because they are difficult to find. The two main threats to their populations are the pet trade and people killing them so as to frame their carcasses, like butterflies. Their conservation status ranges from critically endangered to least concern - so basically every category that is on the list! 22. Glass frog The glass frog is, well, see through. You can literally ...

13.12.2020 Animal Of The Week: Lark

Hello, Today's post is all about a rather interesting bird I don't know much about and so I can't wait to discover more! Habitat There are many different species of Lark so they are quite widespread. Different websites say different figures but most agree that there are between 90 and 100 different species of Lark. They live in open countryside from deserts to mountains. Their colour is adapted to their environment and so they can vary in appearance. Diet Larks are omnivorous animals and eat many species of insects as well as seeds, leaves, grasses and fruits, especially in Winter as insects are scarce. Some species will also eat snails which they break open on rocks. Lark Song The lark is reputed for its song, especially when it is in flight. This is the reason that they are sometimes represented in poetry. I love poetry and I haven't read any Lark themed poetry yet but writing this has made me want to. However, the wi...

Metamorphosis

Hello! Today we thought it would be good to explain exactly how metamorphosis works. It's a term that we often use when talking about frogs, butterflies or other animals, but we've never actually explained what it is or how it works. What is metamorphosis? Metamorphosis is the term used to describe the changes that some animals undergo when turning into adults. It is a physical change that happens after birth/hatching. There is a brilliant quote from the website a-z animals that I just couldn't put any better: unlike the typical subtle developments in animals, metamorphosis is dramatic. It’s controlled by a release of hormones in the cells. Mammals usually move from adolescence to adulthood and old age gradually, maintaining their form and shape. However, in metamorphosis, an animal moves through those stages and changes from one form or shape to another. How does metamorphosis work? Let's take the classic butterfly example./d...

The life of ... a cicada

Hi everyone, We're back to talk about another animal. Cicadas ( Cicadoidea ) are invertebrates and are 1.9cm to 5.7cm in size. There are 3 000 species that can be divided into annual cicadas and periodical cicadas. Annual cicadas can be seen annually and are found worldwide whereas periodical cicadas only leave the ground every decade or two and are only found in North America with hotspots in the eastern and central areas of the United States. Most annual cicadas have a lifespan of about two to five years and periodical cicadas can live up to the age of 17. Female cicadas lay around 400 eggs split up over several places. They normally lay their eggs on twigs, branches or other vegetation. The eggs hatch after about six to ten weeks, now known as nymphs, and dig their way into the soil. The nymphs feed on the liquids found in plant roots. They fully develop underground, before molting their shells and coming to the surface, now fully deve...

August 2021 Factfile - some news, animals and a plant

Welcome to our August factfile, News Bad news :( Fires in and around Athens Athens has been under siege this month, but not by any army. The forests all around the capital and in other parts of Greece and Turkey have gone up in flames. Houses have been destroyed and thousands have been evacuated. The reason is, of course, climate change . “It’s been crazy over here. Between the extreme heat and the wildfires, it feels apocalyptic,” Eleni Myrivili wrote in an email on Thursday as the army was deployed to assist firefighters. “Ash is raining down on us here in Athens.” England's lake district in peril Lake District, a popular holiday resort in the north of England, is now eroding faster as a result of climate change and an increased amount of walkers due to the pandemic. Paths that were once two meters wide are now at least 12 meters wide on some walks. Also visitors tend to walk off the path, endangering local wildlife. With...

Announcement: Galápagos Islands

The life of ... a kangaroo

Welcome back to Green World, Today we're talking about a rather amazing animal that we've all heard of: the kangaroo. Kangaroos are marsupials. They have powerful back legs, short front legs and a strong tail for balance. Kangaroos can weigh up to 90kg and stand over 1.80m tall. They are probably best known for leaping about on their hind legs. And for good reason, grey kangaroos can cover 9 meters in a single bound and travel at more than 55km/h. Interestingly, red kangaroos use less energy when traveling at 10km/h than when traveling at 6.5km/h. All Kangaroos live in Australia, but different species inhabit different areas. Eastern grey kangaroos are found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. Western grey kangaroos are located on the southern coast and in the southwest of western Australia. Red kangaroos dwelll in the interior grasslands and desert while antilope kangaroos can be found on the plains of the tropical north. They l...

Green World

Search This Blog