The Health of

Ecosystem
Depends on its
Biodiversity
By group 2 - Jitshen Jigdrel Shacha Wangmo Tshering
- Kinley Namgay Palden
- Kuenlay Sonam Yangchen
- Sherab Yeozer
- Sherab Tenzin
- Tandin Gyeltshen
Content
1
1.1What is biodiversity?
1.2What is an ecosystem?
2
2.1Impacts of biodiversity
2.2Importance of biodiversity
3
3.1Importance of Ecosystem
3.2How to maintain a healthy ecosystem
4
4.1Manage Natural Resources Carefully
4.2PROTECT THE WATER
4.3Reduce logging
4.4Reduce chlorofluorocarbon
5
5.1What is the relationship between ecosystem and it’s
biodiversity?
1.1What is biodiversity?
Well, Biodiversity is the number of variety and
variability of life on Earth.Biodiversity is typically a
measure of variation at the genetic, species, and
ecosystem level.Most people recognize biodiversity
by species—a group of individual living organisms
that can interbreed. Examples of species include blue
whales, white-tailed deer, white pine trees,
sunflowers, and microscopic bacteria that can’t even
be seen by the naked eye.
1.2What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants,
animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and
landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.An
ecosystem can also be defined as the biological
community of living beings, communicating with
the physical environment and other nonliving
components. It can also be defined as the chain of
communication or interaction between the living
organisms and their environment.
2.1Impacts of biodiversity
Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition
through its influence on world food production, as it
ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides
the genetic resources for all crops, livestock, and marine
species harvested for food.The five greatest drivers of
biodiversity loss with the largest global impact are:
changes in land and sea use; direct exploitation of
organisms; climate change; pollution; and invasive
species. These drivers are largely a result of underlying
societal values and behaviors.

2.2Importance of biodiversity
Biodiversity maintains the ecological balance.
It helps in the healthy existence of humans and other
species in the ecosystem.
It helps in high productivity and human wellness.
Biodiversity provides humans with valuable genetic
diversity. Because genetic material is the result of
millions of years of evolution, biodiversity preservation is
critical.
Biodiversity is a good indicator of our interdependence
with other living things.
It also signifies each species’ contribution and function in
maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
Ecological life support—biodiversity provides
functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and
water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater
treatment and many ecosystem services.Biodiversity
provides vital ecosystem functions such as soil
fertilization, nutrient recycling, pest and disease
regulation, erosion control and crop and tree pollination
3.1Importance of Ecosystem:
It provides habitat to wild plants and animals. It promotes
various food chains and food webs. It controls essential
ecological processes and promotes lives. Involved in the
recycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic
components.An ecosystem is a geographic area where
plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather
and landscape, interact with the seasons and environment
and try to coexist. Ecosystems are composed of both
biotic components or living organisms, as well as abiotic
which consist of nonliving organisms.Ecological life
support—biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems
that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of
plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many
ecosystem services.

Biodiversity can be conserved by:

Preventing the cutting of trees.
Putting a ban on hunting of animals.
Efficient utilisation of natural resources.
Protected areas should be developed for animals where no
human activities are allowed.

3.2How to maintain a healthy ecosystem

To create healthy ecosystems in your backyard, you
should plant native species. It’s also a great practice to
remove invasive weeds too. Controlling pests is also
important for maintaining a balanced ecosystem as well.
In your home, utilizing energy-saving appliances like
LED lightbulbs to helps to conserve resources.
How to maintain a balanced ecosystem
An ecosystem is balanced when the biotic (living) and
abiotic (non-living) parts of the ecosystem are in
equilibrium. This means that the nutrients are able to
cycle efficiently, and no community of organisms or
natural phenomena is interrupting the flow of energy and
nutrients to other parts of the ecosystem.
4.1Manage Natural Resources Carefully
A concerted effort to use natural resources in a sustainable
manner will help to protect and maintain ecological
balance

Examples of natural resources that are harmful towards

the environment: Petroleum,natural gases and coal

There are also cases reported that oil spills occur at the
shorelines. This damages the reefs and the aquatic
creatures and upsets the ecosystem.

Petroleum-fueled transportation and coal-burning power

plants are considered the chief causes of global warming.
Excess amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, and NO x ,
among other gases, trap heat in the atmosphere and create
the greenhouse effect.

4.2PROTECT THE WATER

Contamination from sewage, and pollution from
manufacturing and agricultural runoff threatens the
balance of marine ecosystems. Reduce the use of
agriculture fertilizer as this causes the rapid growth of
algae. Rapid growth of algae will cover the surface of the
water which causes the sunlight cannot enter the water.
Photosynthesis cannot occur. Plants will die and animals
which survive on plants will too die as it lacks of foods.

And that is not it. The decaying algae promote the growth
of anaerobic organisms, which release compounds into
the water that are toxic to marine animals.
Compound released by anaerobic organisms :
Methane,Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen Sulfide

In worse cases, if the anaerobic environment drags on, it

might even lead to growth of deadly bacterias Clostridium
botulinum which can cause flaccid paralysis.

4.3Reduce logging
The demand in logs are increasing day by day as more
and more paper are used. This causes more trees to be cut
down and it means lesser trees to produce oxygen through
photosynthesis. The carbon dioxide increases and traps
heat in the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide may not be accounted as a pollutant, but it

is one of the factors of the greenhouse effect.

The logging site will usually go barren and can hardly

grow anything anymore.
And another good reason we need to reduce the amount of
logging of trees is that animals are losing their habitat at a
fast rate. And when they lose their habitat, they usually
will die off and will cause extinction of some species.
This will upset the food chain and greatly impact the
ecosystem.

4.4Reduce chlorofluorocarbon
Products such as air conditioners, perfumes and deodorant
emits CFC into the surrounding.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are a group of synthetic

organic chemicals composed of carbon, oxygen, chlorine
and fluorine

CFC released from various source rise up in the

atmosphere and there break down ozone molecules in the
earth’s upper atmosphere. This reduces the ability of the
atmosphere to prevent too much of ultraviolet rays
reaching the earth’s surface. This in turn harms the animal
and plant life on the earth.

First, the impact of thinning of ozone layer on the ocean.

Increasing amounts of UV radiation will have an impact
on plankton and other tiny organisms at the base of the
marine food web. These organisms provide the original
food source for all other living organisms in the oceans.
Plankton such as phytoplankton and zooplankton are
extremely sensitive to UV rays as they lack UV protective
layer like higher forms of organisms have.

An this will cause an upset to the food chain in the ocean

as phytoplankton and zooplankton are foods to the small
fishes which are foods to the big fishes.

Depleting of the ozone layer will too mean the increase of

the greenhouse effect as it reduces the effectiveness of
carbon dioxide dissolving into the ocean. This too
happens because of the huge decrease in the number of
phytoplankton which assimilates a huge amount of
atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. This
will cause an increase on the carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
Stop open burning
The two main type of open burning: forests and
garbage.Open burning of forests usually are meant for
agriculture purposes like those in our neighbouring
country Indonesia did.Open burning of forests releases
carbon dioxide into the air and greatly effects the
temperature. Increase in the temperature results in the
abnormal migration of animals to colder places such as
the Antarctic. Recent cases has reported that birds and
mosquito are seen at the Antarctic. This will cause a huge
disrupt on the ecosystem as the food chain is
distorted.And not only that, an increase in the temperature
will result in the rise of the sea level as the effect of
meltdown at the poles. This will obliquely cause tsunamis
and floods will occur around the world. Destruction of
property will happen as liken of the tragedy in Aceh,
Indonesia. Open burning of garbage will cause even more
damage to the ecosystem as it will impact the human. We
now understand that open burning of garbage even
seemingly harmless materials like paper, cardboard, yard
waste, and construction debris releases a hazardous
mixture of cancer-causing compounds and other toxic
substances when open-burned.Open burning of garbage
releases hazardous smoke such as Dioxins, Furans,
Arsenic, Mercury, PCBs, Lead, Carbon monoxide,
Nitrogen oxides Sulphur oxides, Hydrochloric acid.This
substances in short term can cause nausea, vomiting,
headaches and rashes. In long term it will build up into
diseases such as cardiac arrest and lung cancer.In extreme
cases, patients who suffers from asthma who inhaled this
smoke excessively can be fatal.Babies, toddlers and
children who inhaled this smoke excessively can contract
asthma at early age and even suffer from stunted
growth.The ash that comes from open burning of garbage
may be dispersed by wind or even leached into waters
which causes the water to contaminate and destroy
aquatic life.In large concentrations, the hydrocarbon
molecules that make up crude oil and petroleum products
are highly toxic to many organisms, including humans.

5.1What is the relationship between ecosystem and it’s

biodiversity?

Biodiversity is an essential component of all ecosystems.

It plays role food webs, trophic dynamics, ecosystem
diversity, biological productivity and finally adds
economic value to ecosystems. It maintains health and
functioning of an ecosystem. Biological diversity
provides stability to the ecosystem.Every one of these live
and work together in ecosystems to maintain and support
life on earth, and exist in delicate balance.Scientists have
long hypothesized that biodiversity is of critical
importance to the stability of natural ecosystems and their
abilities to provide positive benefits such as oxygen
production, soil genesis, and water detoxification to plant
and animal communities, as well as to human society.
According to U.S Environmental Protection Agency,
biodiversity is “essential to existence and proper
functioning of all ecosystems.” Having a diverse
environment.The main direct cause of biodiversity loss is
land use change (primarily for large-scale food
production) which drives an estimated 30% of
biodiversity decline globally. Second is overexploitation
(overfishing, overhunting and overharvesting) for things
like food, medicines and timber which drives around
20%.
Greater biodiversity in ecosystems, species, and
individuals leads to greater stability. For example, species
with high genetic diversity and many populations that are
adapted to a wide variety of conditions are more likely to
be able to weather disturbances, disease, and climate
change.

Declining biodiversity lowers an ecosystem’s productivity

(the amount of food energy that is converted into the
biomass) and lowers the quality of the ecosystem’s
services (which often include maintaining the soil,
purifying water that runs through it, and supplying food
and shade, etc.

Reference
www.quora.com
http://www.researchgate.net
www.clientearth.org
www.usgs.gov
https://www.usgs.gov/news/biodiversity-critical-
maintaining-healthy-ecosystems
https://www.greenmatters.com/big-impact/how-does-
biodiversity-support-healthy-ecosystems
Wikipedia
Textbook