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What is biodiversity and why is it important?

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OCR AS Biology Notes: Biodiversity, Evolution and Disease - Biodiversity

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Concise and high quality OCR AS Biology notes for Biodiversity, Evolution And Disease: Biodiversity

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For some people, the safety of biodiversity is simply a moral or ethical issue. For others it may be for ecological reasons, aesthetic reasons, social and commercial reasons or for other services.

Ecological reasons

the higher the diversity of an ecosystem, the less likely it is to be unbalanced by changes in conditions or threats such as pollution

ecosystems are of direct value to humans

e.g.: - antibiotics from fungi, bacteria

- anti-cancer drugs isolated from plants

people gain pleasure from studying or just appreciating the natural work (inspiration to artists, poets, photographers,...)

ecotourism : wildlife = source of income --> provides employment; contributes to economies

Social and commercial reasons

wild plants species that are resistant to large numbers of disease of rice known as bacterial blight --> interbreed with cultivated rice (crop plants don't hae much genetic diversity as their wild relatives, because it has been lost by selective breeding for uniform, high-yielding crops)

microorganisms = source of useful products

organic waste added in water gets broken down by mircroorganisms

transpiration of plants : contribute to the water cycle - provides water for drinking and irrigation

termites, ants, fungi, bacteria recycle elements (C,H,O,N,...)

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For some people, the safety of biodiversity is simply a moral or ethical issue. For others it may be for ecological reasons, aesthetic reasons, social and commercial reasons or for other services.

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Reasons for Maintaining Biodiversity | A-level Biology | OCR, AQA, Edexcel

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11.7 Reasons for maintaining biodiversity.pptx