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

Discussion || Should Everyone Switch To Electric Cars?

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!! I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic. Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study show...

Eco system Galápagos: Part 1 Geography

Hello and welcome to the first post about the Galapagos Islands. Currents and Winds The volcanic islands of Galápagos started to form 4 million years ago. Where they lie, is unique. They are situated directly on the equator, on the Nazca tectonic plate. The Galapagos Islands are on the crossroads of three currents. The cold South Equatorial Current flows westward towards Galapagos. The warm Panama Current runs in from the north. And finally, the deep sea Cromwell Current runs from the west. The Galapagos Islands are also where the Northeast Trade Wind meets the Southeast Trade Wind. Galapagos Hotspot 21 Volcanoes make up the Galápagos Islands with 13 still active. The reason for this volcanic activity is a giant hotspot under the island. A hotspot is a gigantic column of super heated molten lava, rising up towards the surface. It is immense; at least sixty miles (97 kilometers) across and 1800 miles (2897 kilometers) deep. It connects the islands to ...

19.07.2020: Animal of the week: Honey Bees

Hi everyone, This week's animal is the honey bee. Enjoy! General Information An average honeybee hive is made up of one queen, hundreds of male drones and thousands of female workers. If the queen bee dies then a new queen is created. The workers select a young larva and feed it with a special food called ‘royal jelly’. The ‘royal jelly’ makes the larva grow into a fertile queen. Queens live for several years but the workers only live for five or six weeks. An average worker will make a twelfth of a tee spoon of honey during her entire life. Drones are turned out of the hive and left to die in Autumn. In the summer months, the queen bee is very busy, she can lay up to 2500 eggs in a single day. How they affect the world around them Honey bees are very important for flowers, fruit and vegetables. This comes from the fact that they are pollinators. They help the plants by transferring pollen between male and female parts, meaning the plants can g...

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 ...

Announcement: Animal of the week

November Top Tips | sustainable activities and hobbies

Hello everyone, So this week, we are going to be talking about sustainable free time activities. This area can quite big when it comes to environmental impact, so here are some things that you can do in your free time, that are more sustainable. 1. Reading So reading is one of our favourite things to do. However, books are made of paper and the paper industry isn't great. Some ways you can get around this is by reading online (for example, on a kindle), or through borrowing books from a library or using book boxes. If there aren't any in your area then at least try to support independent bookshops! 2. Running If you love being active then this one is for you. Running is probably one of the most sustainable forms of sport. All you need are some running shoes and somewhere to run. There is obviously more high-tech gear but that isn't really necessary if it's just a hobby. 3. Gardening If you've got a small area of land o...

Greta Thunberg's Speech at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019

Hi Everyone! I thought I would share the transcript of Greta Thunberg's inspiring speech from the UN Climate Action Summit. The phrase we remember is 'How dare you!'. But what did she really want us to take away from it? She wanted us to act, so watch the video using the link below and take action because the world isn't just going to heal itself. Greta Thunberg's speech at the UN Climate Action Summit video "My message is that we'll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic g...

New Year's Eve 2020 Challenge!!!

Challenge New Year's Eve is only a week away now. Hundreds of people set goals for the coming year on New Year's Eve. We would like you to set some goals that are about the environment. For instance cut down on how much meat you eat or use less plastic. You can chose the easy, the normal or the hard challenge. Easy Challenge For the easy challenge you only need to set one environmental goal. Normal Challenge To complete the normal challenge you will need to set three environmental goals. Hard Challenge This one is for people who are willing to give things up for the environment. To do the hard challenge you must set five environmental goals. Completion Date 31.12. (New Year's Eve) You have one week. Other info Tell us about your goals We would love you to tell us about your goals. If you wish to share them with us: just write them in a comment. Tips Don't set goals that you know you won't be able to complete. Just...

The Responsible Traveller by Karen Edwards || a practical guide to reducing your environmental and social impact // BOOK REVIEW

HI Everyone! Our January monthly post was a zero-waste challenge, but as we explained in our 2023 wrap up , this year we will be alternating a monthly challenge with a book review, of course related to the environment. This week, I'm going to share a recommendation for a fantastic book, all about how you can travel more sustainably and responsibly. I absolutely love travelling, but I'm also very aware of the impact it has on the world, and I am very keen to learn more about how I can further reduce my impact. That's why I bought this book around a year ago, and I've really enjoyed reading it and learning from it. This is a practical, small-format guide, sharing both basic information about the climate crisis and the impact of various travel activities, and how you can do your bit. It shares specific journeys that are more environmentally friendly options, for example long distance train journeys such as The Alaskan Railroad with its stunning alpine forests and wide ar...

A Few Apps That May Help You Protect The Environment And Recognise What You See!

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to share a few apps that have helped me in my mission to be as plastic free as possible and recognising plants and birds. They are all 100% free! The first app we have already mentioned- Refill . It is one of my personal favourites. It was originally made to tell you where you can Refill your water bottle for free when out and about but they have recently expanded to showing shops you can refill your coffee, buy loose products and other functions I haven't got the hang of yet! You can set a reminder to a certain time so you remember to walk out the door with your water bottle. It is all in an effort to reduce the amount of plastic bottles we purchase. At the moment it isn't as useful as usually though as we aren't going anywhere! This is a screenshot of a random place in Taunton. You can see there are three refill stations here! ...

Green World

Search This Blog