7.3 Biodiversity and the Effect of Human Interaction on Ecosystems

Land use

Land used up by growing infrastructure: homes, farms, landfills, mining and quarrying

Consequently less space for other animal/plant habitats

Habitats destroyed for resource harvesting: quarries, deforestation, peat bogs for compost

Burning/decay of peat releases a large volume of CO2

Deforestation

Make space for crops and animals

Major cause of habitat destruction

Leads to soil erosion, extinction, flash flooding and release of greenhouse gases

Global warming

Rising temperatures lead to extinction of species that cannot adapt e.g. coral reef

Leads to more natural disasters

Caused by increased release of greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and methane

Waste management

Growing population leads to more waste and a higher demand for raw materials

Must manage pollution of air, water and land

Biodiversity

Large biodiversity leads to a more stable ecosystem

Number of organisms and variety of species in an area, as well as the diversity of their genes

Maintaining biodiversity

Habitat protection

Breeding programmes

Reintroduction of species

Reduction of deforestation and replanting

Recycling waste