Environmentalists are sounding the alarm about the catastrophic reduction of biodiversity on our planet due to the activities of modern people, who for the most part, living in the city, practically do not encounter nature, have no idea about its diversity and can only see on TV. This creates a sense of non-involvement of biodiversity in everyday life, but this is not so.
What is biodiversity?
Scientists understand the term biodiversity as the diversity of life on Earth - plants, animals, insects, fungi, bacteria and the ecosystems that they form. In this concept, there is also a relationship that is present between them. Biodiversity can occur:
- at the level of genes, determines the variability of individuals of a certain species;
- at the species level, reflects the diversity of species (plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms);
- diversity of ecological systems (ecosystems), this includes differences between them and various conditions (habitat, ecological processes).
It should be borne in mind that all the given types of diversity are interrelated. Many ecosystems and various landscapes create the conditions for the emergence of new species, genetic diversity makes it possible to change within one species. Reduced biodiversity indicates certain violations of these processes.
At present, ecologists are sounding the alarm due to the fact that human living conditions, environmental processes are violated, people create new species of plants, animals at the genetic level. How this will affect future life on Earth is unknown. Indeed, in nature, everything is interconnected. This is evidenced by the so-called "butterfly effect". The writer science fiction writer Ray Bradbury told the world about him in his story “And the Thunder struck” back in the middle of the last century.
The impossibility of life without biodiversity
The most valuable and important thing that exists on earth is biological diversity. Whether we know about it or not, but our whole life depends on the richness of the earth, namely biological, since animals and vegetation give us it. Thanks to plants, we get enough oxygen, and materials based on them give us not only food, but also wood, paper, fabrics.
In our technogenic age, a huge amount of energy is needed by burning fuel, which is produced from oil formed as a result of decomposition of the remains of many organisms, plants. Human life without biological diversity is impossible.
Arriving at the store, we buy food, packed in bags, thinking little about where it comes from. The life of the majority of the population takes place in an artificial environment, which is composed of asphalt, concrete, metal and artificial materials, but this does not mean that the consequences of reducing biodiversity will bypass humanity.
Life on Earth and its diversity
The history of planet Earth suggests that at various times it was inhabited by many living organisms, most of which as a result of evolution, died out and gave way to new species. This was facilitated by conditions and reasons, but even during periods of natural stagnation, biodiversity did not decrease, and the diversity of biological species increased.
Nature is structured in such a way that everything in it is in interaction. No species of living organisms can live and develop in a closed environment. This was shown by numerous experiments on the creation of isolated biosystems that suffered a complete collapse.
Modern scientists have described and studied 1.4 million species of living organisms, but according to calculations on Earth, there are from 5 to 30 million species that live, develop depending on conditions. This happens naturally. Living organisms populated the entire planet. They live in water, air, on earth. They can be found in the desert and in the Northern and Southern zones. Nature provides everything necessary to continue life on Earth.
With the help of living organisms, the nitrogen and carbon cycles go through, which, in turn, supports the renewal and processing of natural resources. The favorable environment for life created by the Earth’s atmosphere is also regulated by living organisms.
What contributes to biodiversity reduction?
First of all, the reduction of forests. As mentioned above, plants play a very important role in the life of the planet. Taigu and the jungle are called the lungs of the planet, thanks to them it receives a sufficient amount of oxygen. In addition, more than half of the species of living organisms exist in the jungle, occupying only 6% of the earth's surface. They are called the genetic fund accumulated over 100 million years of evolution on Earth. Its loss will be irreparable and may lead the planet to a complete environmental disaster.
The reasons for the decline in biodiversity are the activities of a person transforming the planet in order to satisfy his needs, which are not always reasonably increased. The uncontrolled felling of taiga and the jungle leads to the disappearance of many species of life, even unexplored and not described by humans, to the disruption of ecosystems and water balance.
This is facilitated by deforestation and forest burning, harvesting of various types of plants and fisheries carried out in predatory sizes, the use of pesticides, drainage of marshes, the death of coral reefs and deforestation of mangroves, an increase in the number of agricultural land and the area of settlements.
It is understood that technological development, technological progress cannot be stopped. But it is necessary to take measures to solve the environmental problems of reducing biodiversity.
International Convention on Biological Diversity
To this end, the “Convention on Biological Diversity” was adopted, which was signed by 181 countries, whose governments committed themselves to preserving it in their countries, pledged to work with other states and share the benefits of using genetic resources.
But this did not prevent the reduction of biodiversity on the planet. The environmental situation on Earth is becoming more threatening than ever. But there is hope that the common sense that God gave to man will prevail.
Evolution is the engine of life
The engine of life forward is evolution, as a result of which some species die out and new ones appear. All modern living creatures have come to replace the extinct, and, as scientists have calculated, out of the whole variety of species that existed on Earth, their current number is only 1% of their total number.
The extinction of species is a natural moment of evolution, but the modern rate of decline in biodiversity on the planet is rampant, there is a violation of natural self-regulation and this has become one of the most important environmental problems of mankind.
The role of the species in the biosphere
The knowledge of mankind about the role played by representatives of one species or another in the biosphere is negligible. But scientists know for certain that each species has a certain meaning in nature. The disappearance of one species and the inability to replace it with a new one may entail a chain reaction, which will lead to the extinction of man.
Necessary actions
First of all, mankind should try to preserve the rainforests. Thus leaving the opportunity to save some species of living creatures and plants from extinction. Preserving the jungle will stabilize the climate.
The jungle is a direct source of rich genetic material, a treasury of various types of living creatures. In addition, it is a source of plants, on the basis of which a person creates unique medicines. Moisturizing the atmosphere, rainforests prevent global climate change.