Reducing carbon dioxide emissions to protect biodiversity

Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, $$\ce{CO2}$$, into the atmosphere. As its concentration increases, more of the heat radiated from Earth is retained in the atmosphere. This strengthens the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change.

Effects on biodiversity

Climate change can alter the temperature and rainfall in a habitat. These changes may make the habitat less suitable for the species living there. If a species cannot adapt to the new conditions or move to a suitable habitat, its population may decline. Some species may become extinct, reducing biodiversity: the variety of living organisms in an area.

Reducing emissions

Governments can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by, for example, encouraging energy generation that does not burn fossil fuels or setting limits on emissions. Reducing emissions limits their contribution to further climate change, helping to limit changes to habitats and the resulting harm to species.

Habitat protection and restoration

A habitat provides organisms with places to live, feed and reproduce. When a habitat is destroyed, these places are lost. When it is degraded, they remain but become less suitable for the organisms that use them. Populations can decline as a result, reducing biodiversity.

Habitat protection limits damaging activities in habitats, particularly those that are rare. Habitat restoration, or regeneration, helps damaged habitats recover so that they can support their characteristic communities of organisms again.

Field margins and hedgerows

In agricultural areas where a single crop is grown, removing field margins and hedgerows reduces the variety of habitats available. Reintroducing these features provides food, shelter and breeding sites for a wider range of organisms.

Hedgerows can also connect separate areas of habitat. This helps organisms move between them, allowing them to reach places where they can live, feed or reproduce.

Recycling and biodiversity

Recycling processes discarded materials so they can be used again rather than sent to landfill. This can help protect biodiversity: the variety of living organisms in an area.

Less waste sent to landfill means less land is needed to dispose of it. Landfill can damage habitats or pollute them, making them less suitable for the organisms that live there.

Using recycled materials can also reduce demand for newly extracted raw materials. This can limit habitat damage caused by obtaining those materials. By reducing both landfill and raw material extraction, recycling can help protect habitats and the species that depend on them.

Breeding programmes for endangered species

A breeding programme manages the reproduction of an endangered species to maintain or increase its population and reduce its risk of extinction. People select individuals to breed and care for their offspring, rather than leaving reproduction entirely to chance.

Choosing breeding pairs

A small population may contain little genetic diversity: there may be relatively few different versions of genes among its members. Breeding programmes select pairs to help retain as much of this diversity as possible.

Pair selection also helps limit inbreeding, which is reproduction between closely related individuals. Relatives are more likely to carry the same harmful versions of genes, so their offspring are more likely to inherit harmful conditions.

Returning offspring to the wild

Offspring from a breeding programme may be released to reinforce a wild population, adding individuals to a population that still exists. They may also be used to reintroduce a species to suitable habitat where it has disappeared.

Producing offspring alone does not guarantee long-term success. The population needs suitable habitat, and threats to the species must be controlled so that the released animals can survive and reproduce.

Deforestation and biodiversity

Deforestation is the clearance of forest, commonly to obtain timber or make land available for agriculture. It removes the habitat on which forest organisms depend.

When trees are removed, organisms lose sources of food, shelter and places to breed. As a result, populations may decline. If a species disappears from an area entirely, it is locally extinct there. The loss of species reduces the area’s biodiversity, meaning the variety of living organisms found there.

Deforestation can also fragment habitats: a continuous forest is broken into smaller, separated patches. Populations in different patches may become separated, making it harder for individuals to find mates and for populations to remain connected.

Reducing deforestation retains more forest habitat. This helps protect the species living there and the ecological relationships between them, such as feeding relationships.