Are you familiar with the benefits of biological diversity?

Question

http://www.netcoast.nl/coastlearn/website/biodiversity/benefits.html

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

Dr Blob speaks with straight tongue

BIO DIVERSITY

The diversity in plants results in bio diversity all long the line ,

the ground water quality is the end of the line and that comes back to us

Health of the SOIL

Plants both require and secrete certain chemicals,

each specie is different .

If one plants all of the same specie ,

many plants consume the same chemical from the soil ,

and will TIRE out the soil in no time ,

depleting it of the chemical they require

At the same time they will all saturate the soil

with the same chemicals

and end up contaminating it .

To now fertilize the soil with chemical further counteracts Nature natural processes and the plantation becomes addicted to the chemicals,which leech down to subterranean water supplies also polluting this .

the use of fertilizers.leaves Astregine(?) in the water ,this goes undetected and is unaffected by normal filtration processes  or water treatment that is done to get potable water.

Recent tests have shown that the tap water in agricultural areas such as in Missouri had cocktails of agro chemicals in them compared to cities like New york or Los Angeles ,there they find cocktails of pharmaceuticals.

The sperm count of farmers is far lower than that of city folks,.

But there is an overall drop in sperm counts across the nation compared to 50 years ago.

Only a billionth of a part is necessary ,to ensure s*x changes in frogs,going undetected by the normal antibodies.

Leopard frogs are becoming hermaphrodites ,they are the canaries of eco systems

--------------------------------------...

Pests and Plagues

Certain insects are drawn to certain plants,if the plants are all the same there will only be a few species of insects and far to many .and this will easily become a plague.

To again counter act with chemicals,further adds to the dangers mentioned above.And spraying for pests also kills the natural predators which we need

Natures response

will be to regard a mono culture as a plague of corn ,for example and sends elements to counter act this ,in the form of disease or predators.

Man AGAIN counters this with chemicals ,AGAIN adding to the contamination of the soil and the water ,which very quickly affects humanity.

So this type of farming is ALL the way uphill ,going against ALL the forces of nature

Costing billions of dollars spend on chemicals ,to undermine the health of Humans ,with infertility ,s*x changes in the embryo,cancer ,skin .eye diseases etc,

and the Environment in general, with contaminated air ,soil and water,not to mention damaged eco systems because of the insect populations that are affected by the wind spreading the chemical further than intended.

Diversity planting on the other hand ensures a variety of insects ,with a variety of predators that follow,rarely ending up as a plague,

As well as a varied chemical requirement ,and OUTPUT ,resulting in a balanced soil structure ,

And by NOT using harmful chemicals the mentioned dangers to humans as well as Nature can be avoided.

There are roughly 80.000 different Chemical compounds coming from modern society,that end up in the water ,the combinations are endless.and so are the effects

Man has researched individual chemical effects ,but the research for chemical cocktails has only just began.

Mono culture farming because of the Natural reactions and effects of Nature, entice Farmers to use many of these chemicals.Often encouraged by the government

Agriculture is in places that are very close to the sources of water,

Bio diverse planting and organic pest control ,avoids the necessity to use these chemicals,and will help to some extent

That still leaves all the Chemicals people put in the toilets in the cities.

Another factor is that so many swamps and wet lands have been cleared to make space for more crops

these were the natural filters of the water courses .

in Australia some farmers are returning the trees to the banks of their rivers ,and they have stopped draining their wet lands

--------------------------------------...

NOTE

In the case of sustainability within human Development ,we have to build up the bio diversity from scratch,because we tend to destroy everything first,

We should come back with what would be an artificial biodiversity, copying nature but only putting in what applies to us and the system,But we must stick to local indigenous species.

ALIENS

As it is Modern society is changing the whole world, placing alien species all over the place inadvertently  ,

A ship emptying its ballast tanks .places millions of micro organisms and seeds from across the world in the harbors

Containers and airplanes bring  in, stow away insects and seeds

Tests done in a north American harbors  find far more  Aliens  than indigenous species amongst  the under water growth on some of the docks.

I recommend watching--strange days on planet earth ,a documentary in 3 parts.The one called-- invaders

--------------------------------------...

Going to the edges of development ,(what should be Nature),

To  change the natural equilibriums by removing components of the eco systems can have drastic results,Which usually we do not know until much later.

although solutions can be difficult to realize when it comes to predators,See the first question about trees ,concerning wolves,http://byderule.multiply.com/journal/ite...

Answer 3

More than a few years back I debated a similar topic and delved into ecological theory.

I came to the conclusion that biological diversity is indeed necessary and beneficial - except in the extreme.  For example - invasive species such as the Zebra Mussel.  We're adding another species to the ecosystem in this case, but that additional species is destructive and displacing the 'native' species.  But we're still looking at a "diverse" ecology, right?  (That is until the invader wipes everything else out.)

So diversity is beneficial as long as we're maintaining a balance - this is often referred to as "biological integrity" - though I'm sure I've probably oversimplified.

I'm not quite sure how you're relating sustainable development, but my thinking is this:  A truly sustainable model for developing something humans need is something that preserves (or even enhances) the environment within which it is placed.  In essence we seek to mitigate or eliminate adverse impacts -

Thus preserving the diversity that came before and the integrity of the system!  

How cool to attempt to play a "zero sum" game with our existence!!!  And why not?  It should have universal appeal based on the economics alone - an appeal to our sense of efficiency and ingenuity...

Or even our arrogance - the thought that we could maintain our existence as a species indefinitely by using our brains - ensuring our long-term survival - even to the point of outliving our own solar system...

(OK I'll stop before I get too cosmic!)

But I guess those concepts get lost in the politicized shuffle.

Answer 4

When you disturb an ecosystem the first thing that happens is the number of species declines by an order of magnitude.  A diminished system does not function in a regenerative capacity anywhere near as efficient as the original did, and becomes vulnerable to total collapse.  

Human intervention decreases diversity.  Be it by directly mechanically destroying an ecosystem (filling in estuaries to build cities, dragnet trawling), modifying an ecosystem (logging and farming), global transportation (alien species invasion) or pollution (poisoning).  Global climate change, for example, is the result of pollution modifying an ecosystem (changing global temperature and precipitation and ocean acidification) and species are going extinct now as a result of it.

Biological diversity is the cornerstone, the foundation, the crux, the nexus of our world.  Without it the biosphere as we know it will cease to be.  

It took 4 billion years overall and 10's of millions of years since the last mass extinction to create the current favorable conditions we enjoy.  

The question remaining is whether we will be able to adapt to the degraded world we are creating.

We are many generations away (or perhaps an infinite distance away) from such a complete understanding of the natural world that we could substitute synthetic systems for natural systems. No magic technology will be found.  You can't engineer an entire planet. You can't apply a "fix" to 4 billion years of evolution. Every intervention we attempt leads to a greater, more intractable problem

We are engaged in a giant uncontrolled global experiment and it's risky business.

Some think that it may turn out that the preservation of vast areas, on the scale of continents and oceans, is a prerequisite to maintaining the diversity necessary for our survival.  

Let us hope this is not so, because if it is, it's already too late.