What is Biodiversity? BIODIVERSITY UNDER THREAT Learning intention: To understand what biodiversity is and how it is threatened

 I would like you to try to spot the 20 key terms that you will need to know for this topic  For this topic I would like you to create a glossary, adding any key terms to it Spot the terms

 Biodiversity is a term which is commonly used within geography  What do you think the term ‘biodiversity’ means? What is it?

 The 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro defined ‘biodiversity’ as “the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, ‘inter alia’, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species of ecosystems.”  This is the closest thing to a single legally accepted definition of biodiversity What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity Ecosystem diversity Species diversity Species richness Total number of species Abundance of species EndemismDisparity Genetic diversity Biodiversity

 In pairs I would like you to attempt to define:  Genetic diversity  Species diversity  Ecosystem diversity  What are the pros and cons of each way of categorising diversity Define the key terms

 Range of genetic characteristics found within a species. The diversity will often determine the degree of resistance to pests and diseases.  In Agribusiness, breeding new varieties of cereals has led to genetic erosion and genetic pollution. This can weaken the plant. What is genetic diversity? What impact could this have in the future on food security?

 This is the wide variety of plant and animal species present in an ecosystem  Diversity is needed to enable the ecosystem to carry out its functions such as carbon cycling What is species diversity? What will removal of species from trophic levels have on energy flows and nutrient cycles?

 An ecosystem is a set of interacting, interdependent living and non-living organisms.  Ecosystem diversity refers to the diversity of a place at the level of ecosystems. The term differs from biodiversity, which refers to variation in species rather than ecosystems.  Ecosystem diversity can also refer to the variety of ecosystems present in a biosphere, the variety of species and ecological processes that occur in different physical settings. What is ecosystem diversity?

 On your world map I would like you to identify the major world biomes  A biome is a large global ecosystem. Each biome gets its name from the dominant type of vegetation found within it. Each biome is also characterised by the adaptations of the various organisms to that particular environment. Global distribution of biodiversity

Biome distribution

 Biodiversity is threatened by many different things  But what threats can you think of?  Are these a threat everywhere? What threats can you think of?

 What is the biggest threat to biodiversity? What do you think?