Q.What is the impact of loss of Biodiversity?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Loss of biodiversity destabilises ecosystems, reduces their productivity and resilience, and permanently removes genetic resources and ecosystem services humans rely on.
Biodiversity loss has wide-ranging negative impacts:
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Reduced ecosystem productivity and stability: According to the rivet-popper hypothesis (proposed by Paul Ehrlich), each species in a community is like a rivet holding together an aircraft's parts (the ecosystem). Removal of species (rivets), even a few at a time, may seem to have little effect initially, but beyond a threshold the ecosystem's stability declines sharply and it may collapse. In general, communities with more species tend to be more stable and productive than those with less biodiversity.
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Extinction of species and loss of genetic resources: As habitats degrade and species go extinct, the unique genetic diversity present in wild species — a valuable resource for future crop and medicinal improvement — is permanently lost.
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Loss of ecosystem services: Biodiversity underpins many ecosystem services such as oxygen production, pollination, natural pest control, water purification, soil fertility, and climate regulation; loss of species can degrade or eliminate these services.
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