Biodiversity and the effect on ecosystems

• Biodiversity is a measure of how many different species live in an ecosystem
• Human activities like changing land use, deforestation, and peat bog destruction reduce biodiversity
• Areas like tropical rainforests have millions of different species and are very biodiverse, while the Polar Regions have far fewer species and are less biodiverse
• Interdependence in ecosystems: if the numbers of one species are affected, there are knock-on consequences
• Ecosystems with higher biodiversity have fewer species that depend on just one other for food, shelter, and maintaining their environment
• Conservation of species and habitats by charities, governments, and individuals helps to maintain the range of biodiversity