Importance of Biodiversity for maintaining Ecosystems
Biodiversity is defined as "the variety of life and it's processes," which can be thought of as the diverse and richness of life that exists on earth. Based on tropical rainforests, we see why biodiversity is so crucial in maintaining an ecosystem. Since rainforests have huge ranges of plants, many insects or animals will have more diverse preys. The reason why tropical rainforests have such variety may be linked to the warm, wet weather throughout the year. The constant temperature encourage plants to grow vigorously and competition is intense. Being diverse also benefits the plants as it ensures natural sustainability for life. If an ecosystem had organisms that were not diverse, but had one or two different species, a sudden change in the environment can have a greater effect in destroying the population. A natural disaster or some sort can wipe out the whole species if they had the same traits and that is why varieties are needed. If the organisms were more diverse, the ranges of adaptations or abilities will give some organisms the advantage and more organisms will live on to pass on its gene. If more organisms diversify, it ensures the natural sustainability of all life forms in the ecosystem. Biodiversity does not only include plants and animals, but also includes soil fertility, water quality and air pollution. Which is precisely the fact why tropical rainforests are successful at maintaining their ecosystem for so long. Tropical rainforests are considered to be the oldest biome in earth, that is why it is not surprising their they have the greatest variety and variability among living organisms. They are habitats to 50% of the worlds plants and animals, considering the fact that they house only 6% of earths surface area. If humans keep destroying the tropical rainforest biome, the biodiversity will be lowered and the ecosystem will break down much easier. Many organisms like turtles, orangutans and many others live alongside each other to create a cycle of how life benefits each other and the only problem with rainforests is the fact that humans keep manipulating the biodiversity of the habitat. Biodiversity is also important because specific organisms can symbiotically exist with each other. For example, in the rainforests, plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, and variety will allow different animals to do the same function for different plants. As plant diversity increases, diversity also increases among pollinators. Animals and plants coexist to symbiotically live with each other and provide food for each other. By benefiting each other the overall stability of the ecosystem improves. This allows ecosystems to stay stable and allows interactions among the organisms in the habitat. In summary, biodiversity is important to the ecosystem because it allows a greater chance for natural sustainability of all life forms in the ecosystem.