biodiversity

The variety of all the different species of organisms on earth is called biodiversity.

Biodiversity can also refer to an individual ecosystem.

Species depend on each other for food and shelter , species also help to maintain the environment for e.g decomposers break down the remains of dead organisms.

A high level of biodiversity means that there are lots of different species and this makes an ecosystem more stable. Lots of different species mean that the ecosystem is less dependent on one species. So if the population of a species falls it is less likely to affect the whole ecosystem.

Humans have a negative effect on biodiversity.

A good example is deforestation- tropical forests contain a very rich biodiversity, however large areas of these forests are being destroyed to provide land.

Key—→ the land is often used for rice fields or for grazing cattle

The land is used to grow crops which are then used to make biofuels