Seven Thousand Species Of Wild Plants example essay topic

Without biological diversity our planet will have a hard time supporting the growing human race, and yet by acting quickly and wisely we can stem this loss of diversity. The first step we must take in continuing the development of biodiversity is to gain understanding of it. What is biodiversity? On its basic level, biodiversity is the grand assortment of the many and varied forms of life and their habitats. There is diversity at the minute level that is represented by each species gene-pool. A glance around in a public shopping center will quickly reveal many variations in the human gene-pool.

We can also find diversity shown by the different species of living organisms and plants on earth. To date scientists have identified 1.75 million species: however, estimates for the total range from three to one hundred million with an average consensus of fourteen million. On the larger scale, diversity is found with the many ecosystems of the planet; such as: deserts, coral reefs, rain forests, swamps, and oceans to name a few. As we the human race have evolved as an integral part of our planet, we must wonder how we will fare without the diversity nature originally provided. The importance of biodiversity can be seen readily in some of the services and goods ecosystems provide. For example, swamps and wetlands give us essential water purification.

These ecosystems make use of their various plants, animals, and micro-organisms to act as sponges. These "sponges" filter sediments and toxins from inflowing waters. Another example of this importance is pollination. By the actions of animals and insects our commercially grown crops are pollinated. Farming is worth six to twelve billion a year to our country. A little known fact is that many of the ecosystems contain the natural enemies of many disease carrying organisms.

Diseases such as Malaria, Lyme disease, hantavirus, and cholera are controlled in this manner. Many wild ecosystems also provide the human race with a substantial portion of the wild foods we eat. Fish and other marine animals make up twenty percent of the world's animal protein consumed yearly, and more than seven thousand species of wild plants are harvested for human usage. A great deal of our medicines also originate in wild ecosystems. For example, twenty five percent of all prescription drugs, and one hundred and eighteen of the top one hundred and fifty, contain chemicals from wild plants, fungi, and other species. There are many threats to biodiversity that we as humans should concern ourselves with.

The main threats are: Pollution, over-harvesting, climate changes, introduced and invasive species, habitat loss, and disruption of community structure. The human races over-harvesting of the land and sea accounts for seventy-three percent of current species extinct, endangered, vulnerable, or rare. We " ve also managed to affect the world's climate as the high levels of carbon dioxide in the air can be said to be a cause of global warming. Under normal natural law there is a background extinction rate that is acceptable in nature. As a result of habitat loss throughout the world, this rate is now one-thousand to ten-thousand times the norm.

Some scientists predict a thirty percent extermination of all species by the mid twenty-first century as being sensible. Other scientists say that in thirty years there will be need to feed an estimated 8.2 billion people, thirty-two percent more than exist today. This population growth will surely result in more massive habitat loss and extinction. Many scientists are working to preserve biological diversity by studying species, ecosystems, and genetics.

After discovering how humans interact with, and change the various ecosystems, scientists can come up with ways to conserve biodiversity. Science has identified three important steps to take for biodiversity recovery. First we must find the threats to the individual ecosystems, and the plants and animals most vulnerable to those threats. Then we must consider the ideas that scientists give us to help reduce the threats.

Finally we have to use reasonable recovery methods to help life-forms that will not be filtered out. For example, to assist in pollution control we need to constantly change our listings of pollutants according to both the local and global scale and intensity of the effects of pollutants. For us to help slow the over-harvesting of habitats and lifeforms, we must change the standards of the haul. As most guidelines for maximum sustainable yield only concern one type of tree or animal to the detriment of others.

These are just a few of the many ways we can work to preserve earth's biological diversity, thus also preserving our future, our children's future, and the future of our thriving society.