Poor farming practices as habitat destruction

• With a growing population, the demand for food is also increasing constantly
• The increased demand for food places more pressure on agriculture for higher food production
• Large-scale removal of natural vegetation to provide space for cultivation of food crops takes place
• The habitats of a large number of species are destroyed, leading to a decrease in biodiversity or even extinction
• Poor farming methods, such as planting monocultures and overgrazing, lead to the degredation of soil and vegetation, which further contribute to habitat destruction.
• Cultivating monocultures leads to the formation of unstable ecosystems
• Animal species living in a biodiverse habitat are dependent on other species and cannot survive in an area with only one plant species
• Monocultures are very susceptible to outbreaks of pests and diseases
• The resulting increase in chemical methods of combating disease and pests leads to pollution and further habitat destruction.
• The increase in livestock puts greater pressure on the soil due to overgrazing.
• With overgrazing, vegetation is irreparably damaged and the compacted soil is vulnerable to soil erosion, which in turn accelerates soil degradation.
• Possible actions to prevent poor farming practices:

  • Introduce indigenous tracts of land in fields of monoculture to provide space for indigenous species to survive and preserve biodiversity
  • Use biological control to combat pests and lower the impact of chemical pollution on local species