Biology · Ecology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species on Earth, or in one ecosystem. High biodiversity makes an ecosystem stable, because each species depends less on any one other species for food and shelter.
The human population is growing fast and living standards are rising, so we use more resources and make more waste. Pollution kills plants and animals. Building, quarrying, farming and dumping waste take land away from other species.
Burning fossil fuels, deforestation and peat destruction add carbon dioxide to the air. Rising levels of carbon dioxide and methane contribute to global warming, which changes habitats and where species can live.
Trees do not give out carbon dioxide in photosynthesis; they take it in. Deforestation raises carbon dioxide because less is removed from the air and because the cut trees are burned or decay.
Answer: 16% of the forest is lost, and the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rises.
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