Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
- Biology
- Ages 11–14 · Grades 6–8
What you’ll find out
- Biodiversity is the variety of species, genes and habitats in an area.
- High-biodiversity ecosystems are more stable and resilient than low-diversity ones.
- Ecosystems provide services such as pollination, clean water, carbon storage and medicines.
No sign-up and no real names. In the lesson you check your understanding as you read, and practise until it sticks.
Why biodiversity matters
Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area, including the number of different species and the differences within each species. A tropical rainforest may contain thousands of plant and animal species, while a farm field planted with a single crop contains very few. Ecosystems with high biodiversity tend to be more stable, because if one species declines, others can fill its role. Low-diversity systems are more fragile: a single disease can destroy an entire field of identical crop plants. Scientists measure biodiversity carefully.
Services nature provides
Healthy ecosystems provide many benefits to people, known as ecosystem services. Insects such as bees pollinate a large share of the crops we eat. Wetlands filter pollutants from water and soak up floodwater like sponges. Forests release oxygen, store huge amounts of carbon and hold soil in place. Many important medicines were first discovered in plants. When ecosystems are damaged, these services are lost, and replacing them with technology is often expensive or impossible.
Curriculum links: NGSS MS-LS2-5 · England KS3: Interactions and interdependencies · Cambridge Lower Secondary Stages 7–9: Biology · NCERT Science, Classes 6–8