What is Biodiversity?

Happy Biodiversity Week!

Biodiversity is all the variety of life that you will find on the Earth or in a specific ecosystem. This includes all different kinds of life from animals, plants and fungi to even microorganisms like bacteria. Each species work with one another in an ecosystem to maintain balance and support life.

How are we affected by biodiversity?

Biodiversity affects us in so many different ways, it is the key to living healthy lives. From providing us with food and medicine, biodiversity also provides us with ecosystem services. These services include everything from cleaning water to providing the oxygen for us to breathe.

Have you ever felt so much more relaxed after stepping out into nature? Well biodiversity has been shown to increase our mental well being.

Threats to biodiversity

The Earth is facing challenges that it has never seen before. From deforestation and over-consumption of natural resources to pollution, this is all having a massive effect on Biodiversity. Some scientists believe that on the evidence we have today, it shows that we are currently facing the sixth mass extinction. The most famous was the loss of dinosaurs by an asteroid. However, this time it’s very different. It’s not a natural event or natural disaster that has occurred but is instead being caused by humans.

Enjoy biodiversity on your doorstep

When people talk about seeing wildlife close up, many think you need to be in places like the Amazon Rainforest to see biodiversity in full. However, there is such a biodiverse ecosystem on your doorstep. Although the pandemic we are facing is incredibly sad, we can also look at some of the positives and a big one is that people are spending more time out walking in nature. They are heading out into their local area with family and discovering the wildlife that surrounds their home.