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Question

How does biodiversity affect the environment?


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Solution

Biodiversity:

  1. The earth's biosphere contains enormous diversity at all levels of biological organization.
  2. Biodiversity refers to the variety that exists in the number and type of genes, species, organisms, and large biological communities or biomes.
  3. Biodiversity loss refers to the loss caused by a decrease or reduction in this variety as a result of various factors.

Due to biodiversity loss, the environment will be affected by affecting the following processes:

  1. The biodiversity provides raw materials for the survival of the livelihood within it.
  2. Soil fertilization, nutrient recycling, pest and disease regulation, erosion control, and crop and tree pollination are all provided by biodiversity.
  3. The biodiversity provides raw materials for the survival of the livelihood within it.
  4. Soil fertilization, nutrient recycling, pest and disease regulation, erosion control, and crop and tree pollination are all provided by biodiversity.
  5. Biodiversity is a resource reservoir for the production of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
  6. Crops, livestock, fishery, and forests are all excellent food sources.
  7. Biodiversity protects various cultures and spiritual heritage.

Causes of biodiversity loss:

Co-extinction:

  1. In this case, biodiversity loss implies co-extinction.
  2. When a host fish species becomes extinct, the parasite assemblage suffers the same fate.
  3. Thus, biodiversity loss in a region may result not only in the extinction of a single species but also in coextinction due to a combination of biodiversity and ecosystem loss.

Alien species invasion:

  1. Alien species for a specific region are species that did not originate in that region or have not evolved in that region.
  2. When a foreign species is introduced into a region, whether knowingly or unknowingly, it can become invasive and cause biodiversity loss.

Overexploitation:

  1. Natural resources that seemed limitless a thousand years ago now appear to be severely depleted due to human population growth alone.
  2. Furthermore, the greed of many human enterprises and endeavors over the centuries has resulted in the overexploitation of natural resources, which has resulted in the destruction of biodiversity.

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