English for academic purposes

Topic: Explore the benefits of biodiversity and the threats it faces

The diversification of living organisms is essential for their survival, with every organism having a role
that cannot be overemphasized. Every organism relies one another (biodiversity) to survive; even
the absence of the microscopic nitrogen-fixing bacteria could potentially threaten the very existence
of humanity. (Solbrig,1999)

Nitrogen fixing bacteria is a vital organism that supports life on earth by contributing immensely to
the growth of plants and potentially preventing the death of many marine lives. Plants are
considered a critical piece of the ecosystem that brings energy into the food chain (Smith E, 1984),
and for them to grow healthily they need large quantities of nitrogen, which is made available by
Nitrogen fixing bacteria (Bhattacharjee, R. 2008) The effects of Nitrogen-fixing bacteria on plants has
been supported by a recent study in Australia which claims that these microorganisms contributed
for 20 kilograms per hectare of a farmland, every year (Vadakattu & Paterson 2006). Because of this,
the presence of effective Nitrogen fixing bacteria could save some government with citizens large
sums money when supplying dangerous (according to..)artificial fertilizers. Additionally, Because of
importance of nitrogen for the growth of the indispensable plant species, if the nitrogen fixing
bacteria cease of exist, most farmers would be forced to rely solely on the artificial fertilizers, which
would likely results in loss of aquatic lives (Gite 2022). This has been supported by an experiment
which explains that, after fertilization, crops utilize about a quarter of the fertilizers used, with its
residue drained into sea bodies (Kostadinova,2011) potentially causing Eutrophication (Smith V,
Schindler D, 2009). Gite(2022) further explains that eutrophication could result in algae blooming
which could deplete oxygen levels in water bodies in two ways; First, the overgrown algae utilizes
the ocean’s oxygen for its respiration. Second, its accumulation on the causes turbidity in form of
dead zones, which limits the entry of light needed for photosynthesis and production of oxygen by
plants (Gite,2022). In the absence of sufficient oxygen, sea creatures could struggle to survive
(Gerschman,R .2013).

With many human activities, such as deforestation and addition of artificial fertilizer, contributing to
the rapid increase in the extinction rate of various species on earth, Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
included, diversity of life is constantly at risk (De Vos, 2015). In the past few years, more than 4.7
million hectares of wooded areas were destroyed every year for the construction of buildings and
industrial processes (Ritchie, H 2021). This led to the population of nitrogen -fixing bacteria decline
drastically (Syoling,S 2005), as they majorly habituate in the root’s nodules of leguminous plants
(Franche C,2009). Many researchers claims that deforestation rate would keep increasing in coming
years, because of the ever-increasing activities of the growing human population (Pahari, K.). In
Addition, in an attempt to produce healthier plants, some farmers add nitrogen fertilizers to their
farmlands. In some studies, however, it has been suggested that these fertilizers reduce legumes’
competitive advantage, resulting in a decline in their relative abundance and richness (Tognetti, P
2021), consequently leading to the gradual extinction of this bacteria species.

In conclusion, in today’s world, every living organism, regardless of size, plays a valuable role in our
complex ecosystem and as humans with superior intellects (Macphil, E 1985), it is advisable to be
cautious of our activities and how they might endanger certain species on earth (Kerr & Currie, 1995)
The diversification of living organisms is essential for their survival, with every
organism having a role that cannot be overemphasized. Every organism relies
on one another (biodiversity) to survive; even the absence of microscopic
nitrogen-fixing bacteria could potentially threaten the very existence of
humanity. (Solbrig, 1999)
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria is a vital organism that supports life on earth by
contributing immensely to the growth of plants and potentially preventing the
death of many marine lives. Plants are considered a critical piece of the
ecosystem that brings energy into the food chain (Smith & Anderson, 1984),
and for them to grow healthily they need large quantities of nitrogen, which is
made available by Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Bhattacharjee, Singh &
Mukhopdhyay, 2008). The effects of Nitrogen-fixing bacteria on plants has
been supported by a recent study in Australia which claims that these
microorganisms contributed for about 20 kilograms per hectare of farmland,
every year (Vadakattu & Paterson, 2006). Because of this, the presence of
effective Nitrogen fixing bacteria save some governments and farmers large
sums of money when providing farmlands with nitrogen(Pimentel et al., 1997).
Additionally, Because of the importance of nitrogen for the growth of
indispensable plant species, if the nitrogen-fixing bacteria cease to exist, most
farmers would be forced to rely solely on artificial fertilizers, which would likely
result in the loss of aquatic lives (Gite, Throat, Patole & Kumar, 2022). This has
been supported by an experiment that explains that, after fertilization, crops
utilize about a quarter of the fertilizers used, and its residue is drained into sea
bodies (Kostadinova, 2011), potentially causing Eutrophication (Smith V &
Schindler, 2009). Gite, Throat, Patole and Kumar further explains that
eutrophication could result in algae blooming which could deplete oxygen
levels in water bodies in two ways; First, the overgrown algae utilize the
ocean’s oxygen for its respiration. Second, its accumulation on the sea's
surface causes turbidity in form of dead zones, which limits the entry of light
needed for photosynthesis and the production of oxygen by plants (Gite,
Throat, Patole & Kumar). In the absence of sufficient oxygen, sea creatures
could struggle to survive (Gerschman, 2013).
With many human activities, such as deforestation and the addition of artificial
fertilizer, contributing to the rapid increase in the extinction rate of various
species on earth, Nitrogen-fixing bacteria included, the diversity of life is
constantly at risk (De Vos, Joppa, Gittleman, Stephen & Pimm, 2015). In the
past few years, more than 4.7 million hectares of wooded areas were
destroyed every year for the construction of buildings and industrial processes
(Ritchie & Roser, 2021). This led to the population of nitrogen-fixing bacteria
declining drastically (Syoling, Mohammed, Lyimo & Kyaruzi S 2005), as they
dwell majorly in the root nodules of leguminous plants (Franche, Lindstorm &
Elmerich, 2009). Many researchers claim that the deforestation rate would
keep increasing in the coming years, because of the ever-increasing activities
of the growing human population (Pahari & Murai, 1999). In Addition, in an
attempt to produce healthier plants, some farmers add nitrogen fertilizers to
their farmlands. However, In some studies, it has been suggested that these
fertilizers reduce legumes’ competitive advantage, resulting in a decline in
their relative abundance and richness (Tognetti et al., 2021), consequently
leading to the gradual extinction of this bacteria species.
In conclusion, in today’s world, every living organism, regardless of size, plays a
valuable role in our complex ecosystem. Since humans possess superior
intellects (Macphil, 1985), it is prudent to be cautious of our activities and their
potential to endanger some species on our planet (Kerr & Currie, 1995).

1. Solbrig, O.T. (1991) The Origin and Function of Biodiversity, Environment:

Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 33:5, 16-38.
2. Smith, E.L. & Anderson, C.W. (1984). Plants as producers: A case study of
elementary science teaching. Journal of research in Science Teaching,
21(7), pp.685-698.
3. Bhattacharjee, R.B., Singh, A. & Mukhopadhyay, S.N. (2008). Use of
nitrogen-fixing bacteria as biofertiliser for non-legumes: prospects and
challenges. Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 80,199-209.
4. Vadakattu, G. & Paterson, J. (2006). Free-living bacteria lift soil nitrogen
supply. Farming Ahead, 169, 40.
5. Pimentel, D., Wilson, C., McCullum, C., Huang, R., Dwen, P., Flack, J., Tran,
Q., Saltman, T. & Cliff, B. (1997). Economic and environmental benefits of
biodiversity. BioScience, 47(11),747-757.
6. Kostadinova, G. (2011). Spatio-temporal distribution of nitrates, nitrites
and ammonium in groundwaters.
7. Smith, V.H., & Schindler, D.W. (2009). Eutrophication science: where do we
go from here?. Trends in ecology & evolution, 24, 201-207.
8. Gite, A., Thorat, S., Patole, P. & Kumar, N. (2022) Eutrophication-An
Environmental Crisis.
9. Gerschman, R.E.B.E.C.A. (2013). Biological effects of oxygen. Oxygen in the
animalorganism, 475-494.
10.De Vos, J.M., Joppa, L.N., Gittleman, J.L., Stephens, P.R. & Pimm, S.L. (2015).
Estimating the normal background rate of species extinction.
Conservation biology, 29(2), 452-462.
11.Franche, C., Lindström, K. and Elmerich, C. (2009). Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
associated with leguminous and non-leguminous plants.
12.Sjöling, S., Mohammed, S.M., Lyimo, T.J. & Kyaruzi, J.J. (2005). Benthic
bacterial diversity and nutrient processes in mangroves: impact of
deforestation. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 63, 397-406.
13.Tognetti, P.M., Prober, S.M., Báez, S., Chaneton, E.J., Firn, J., Risch, A.C.,
Schuetz, M., Simonsen, A.K., Yahdjian, L., Borer, E.T. & Seabloom, E.W.
(2021). Negative effects of nitrogen override positive effects of
phosphorus on grassland legumes worldwide. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 118,
14.Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. (2021). Forests and deforestation. Our World in
Data.
15.Pahari, K. and Murai, S. (1999). Modelling for prediction of global
deforestation based on the growth of human population. ISPRS journal of
photogrammetry and remote sensing, 54, 317-324.
16.Macphail, E.M. (1985). Vertebrate intelligence: The null hypothesis.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological
Sciences, 308, 37-51.
17.Kerr, J.T. and Currie, D.J. (1995). Effects of human activity on global
extinction risk. Conservation Biology, 9, 1528-1538.