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

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now. A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches). Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long. How endangered are we talking? Javan rhinos are the most ...

Linking climate change and inequality - 'The Great Carbon Divide'

Hey everyone, Have you heard of 'The great carbon divide‘? It is often referred to as the 'carbon footprint gap' or the 'emissions imbalance‘, and produces frightening numbers. The great carbon divide describes the huge gap between the amount of carbon dioxide the rich versus the poor emit, and these numbers shocked even us. What does this mean? There have been many different studies, and all of them show terrifying results. One study from the Guardian and Oxfam, reports that the richest 1% of the world's population emit more carbon than the poorest 66%. The richest 1% consist of 77 million people, which may seem like a lot at first, but the poorest 66% refers to over 5 billion people! Africa, which is home to 17% of the world's population, only causes 4% of the world's emissions. This top 1% emitted 16% of global CO2 emissions in 2019, that's 5.9 billion tonnes of CO2. Modelling suggests that it would take someone who isn't in the top 1% about 150...

06.12.2020 Animal of the week: Cheetah

Hello everyone, this week's post is all about cheetahs. These incredible big cats are known for their speed, but what else? Habitat and loss of it Cheetahs live and hunt in the grasslands and bushy areas of Africa and the Middle East. Once, they could be found all across Africa and Asia, now they are heading towards extinction. The loss of their natural habitats and the decline in their prey is the reason behind this massive decline. Hunting and Diet Cheetahs have excellent eyesight, which they use to spot prey during the day. They then creep up on their prey, camouflaged in the grass. Suddenly they dash for their prey. They are the fastest land animals in the world, reaching speeds of about 60 to 70 miles an hour (97 to 113 kilometres an hour). However they can only run this fast for about 15 seconds before they overheat. After that they have to catch their breath for half an hour before they can eat anything. They use this method to...

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...

Ecotourism: what it is, the advantages and the disadvantages

Hi Everyone! Today we wanted to talk about the idea of ecotourism, including the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. If you are looking to reduce your environmental and social impact when travelling, then this is the post for you! Ecotourism is a form of tourism which limits the damage to the environment and local community. It can involve helping in community projects such as planting trees, as well as taking part in local customs and festivals. It helps to keep the local culture alive, while preserving the natural environment. The advantages are abundant. By helping in a project conserving the environment, tourists gain a new understanding and appreciation for the natural world and may be inspired to make changes in their "real" life to live more sustainably. It provides a valuable insight to a country and community, perhaps also inspiring more respect for different people and the lives they lead. The projects also provide sustainable income sources for locals, h...

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...

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 ...

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no. 9 - South Island takahē

Hello Today we’re talking about the South Island takahē, porphyrio hochstetteri . They are flightless birds, endemic to New Zealand. Takahē are brightly coloured and weigh 2.3-3.8 kg. They have red legs and a large red beak. Their feathers are coloured blue and green. They have wings, but these are only used during courtship or rivalry displays. They are territorial, with one family’s territory reaching anywhere from 4 ha to 100 ha (0,04-1km^2). Pairs will live in the same territory each year. They breed once a year and will raise 1-3 chicks (normally 2) each year. Both parents raise the chicks together. In the wild, takahē live in native grasslands and have a lifespan of 16-18 years. If snow covers the ground then they will move into nearby forests. They eat tussock grasses, sedges and sometimes rushes. But they are opportunists, so they will occasionally go for insects or even ducklings and...

Announcement: Amazon Rainforest Series

Climate change: what is it and what's the problem

Hello, I've noticed that we are always mentioning climate change. Not only us blog editors but also politicians, activists and so on. The words climate change are bounced around in the media and probably in your households, but do you actually know what it is or how it works? I know that for a long time, I didn't know what it really meant. I hope that this post changes that. What is climate change and how does it work? The words climate change describe a slow shift in the earth's temperature and changes in the weather patterns. Having a single warm winter does not instantly mean climate change. Climate change happens over a long period of time. If you look at a temperature graph over the years, it doesn't go up in one day and then stay the same for another hundred years. It curves up slowly but steadily. This is a average temperature graph from 1880 to just after 2000. You can see how the temperature gradually gets warmer....

Green World

Search This Blog