Biodiversity means all the living things on Earth.
Biodiversity is the biggest things down to the very tiny things.
Living things work together.
Every living thing depends on another.
What is biodiversity?
The word is short for 'biological diversity'. Biodiversity includes the variety of species of all living things, from humans, animals, plants and fungi down to the tiniest organism. They are all intertwined, connected, rather like a net. It is sometimes referred to as the web of life.
Why is biodiversity so important? The more biodiversity there is, the stronger an ecosystem is because small changes will have less of an effect on its stability.
©Getty Images
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem (short for ecological system) is a community of inter-connected living and non living things in a particular area. An ecosystem includes all the living things such as plants, animals and other organisms interacting with each other, as well as with the non-living aspects of their area such as weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere.
In an ecosystem, each has its own part to play, and the removal of one from the ecosystem weakens it.
To see an example of this, watch the video below about how removing wolves from one ecosystem affected it, and how, when wolves were returned, the ecosystem immediately began to operate effectively again.
In a healthy ecosystem there is lots of diversity, and everything has its place in it, and everything, living and non living, in the ecosystem interacts.
The first group of an ecosystem are the producers. Green plants are the producers because they make their own food by photosynthesis (say foe-toe-sin-thess-iss).
They use the energy they get from the sun and water in the soil.
Plants make their food by photosynthesis. ©Getty Images
Plants are eaten by the the second group, the consumers, which are animals that get their energy from eating producers or from eating animals that do. Consumers are herbivores or carnivores.
The third group are the decomposers, which are animals or plants (for example, fungi) that break down dead animals or plants into organic materials that go into the soil, which enriches it. This is known as a food chain, or to be more accurate, a food web.
Why we need biodiversity
Soils are kept healthy, and therefore productive, by microbes, worms, insects and all manner of burrowing animals. They turn decaying plant and animal matter into soil enriching material. Plants grow in soil and put oxygen into the air for us to breathe. Plants, as well as tiny organisms, filter our water. Plants feed us, and from some plants cloth is made that clothes us. Plants feed animals which in turn are used by us, eaten for food or their fleece made into cloth or yarn to clothe us. Medicines are made from plants. Birds and insects spread seeds and pollen which helps plants reproduce.
Biodiversity feeds and clothes us, provides us shelter, clean air and water. It is an essential part of our lives. If we destroy the plants and animals that are part of the biodiversity, then we lose those benefits they provide. There are an estimated 10 to 100 million species of living things on earth. Today, humans are destroying species faster than at other time in earth's history. It has been estimated by scientists that approximately 8 species an hour, 70 000 a year, are being destroyed.
It’s a good idea to use more than one source to find information
Read more
http://kids.kiddle.co/Biodiversity
Watch these videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Ua_zWDH6U
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/why-is-biodiversity-so-important-ted-ed
Watch this video to see how the removal of just one species, wolves, from Yellowstone National Park in the United States, changed the environment. And then, how the return of the same species helped restore biodiversity.
Megabiodiversity
There are 17 countries that are identified as being megadiverse, which means having a great number and variety of native animal and plant species. This group of 17 totals less than 10% of the world's surface, yet has more than 70% of the biological diversity in the world.
The 17 megadiverse countries are: Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, South Africa, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, USA, Venezuela.
Thylacine, Australia's wild marsupial dog, is presumed extinct. ©Getty Images
Australia is megadiverse because it has more unique species than anywhere else on Earth.
Yet in Australia, 10 out of 144 species of marsupial have become extinct. Three species of emu are extinct. More than 100 species of mammal are endangered or vulnerable.
Nearly half of Australia's forests are gone (and that figure includes three quarters of our rainforests), so that many of the other forms of forest life are badly affected. Less than 1% of our native grasslands remain, so grassland animals are seriously threatened.
Biodiversity 'hotspots'
The endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat is found in a biodiversity hotspot in Queensland ©Getty Images
A biodiversity hotspot is an area that is mostly intact (untouched or damaged) where there are a good number of native species. It is also a place where there are a number of endemic species. Endemic means it is found nowhere else on Earth. Australia has 15 biodiversity hotspots.
What can we do to help our biodiversity?
plant native plants or help revegetate bushland areas to attract native birds and animals
create a habitat garden: native plants in layers (leaf litter, low plants then taller shrubs then
trees), add logs and rocks for lizards and other creatures
make a wetlands habitat to attract frogs to your garden
plant bird attracting plants in your garden, and add a birdbath
remove weeds: they are not native plants and can smother or overtake native habitat