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Design an Arthropod
For a certain region to be considered a biodiversity hotspot, it must have endemic vascular plants that are not easily seen in other parts of the Earth. A biological hotspot should also have natural vegetation.
Some of the risks that biological hotspots are confronted with include but not limited to the following: population pressures, loss of habitat, and global warming. Human beings bring about massive effect that drives all other dangers to coral reefs. Overfishing, oil spills, coral harvesting, agriculture, logging, coastal development, all of these contribute to the destruction of habitat. In addition, increasing warming of earth’s surface has endangered the existence of other species.
With human intervention on the hotspot, people will be able to conserve the remaining species. Further, organizations are established to retain the balance in the ecosystem. Reforestation, for instance, is encouraged. Reforestation is the planting of trees in replacement of those that were burnt or cut. Trees lessen the amount of flowing water by absorbing the water and holding the soil together. As long as there is grass, soil is protected from erosion. Pesticides are also used in sufficient quantity to eliminate pests that destroy the plants.
Climate change also impacts the diversity of life in biodiversity hotspots. Climate change is the result of this temperature increase trend. Today, we as a civilization are facing a challenge. The challenge to adapt and survive amidst the pressing concerns of climate change. It is projected that in the future the pressing concerns related to climate change and global warming will intensify.
Scientists have long recognized the fact that the Earth’s climate is fluctuating between warmer and cooler periods. Despite these changes, the Earth gave support to life for millions of years. Because of addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, climatologists observe massive changes in the Earth’s climate. In the twentieth era, global temperature increased by 1.08 degrees Fahrenheit (Dryas, 2004). If this trend continues, the Earth’s temperature will be greater than 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (Dryas, 2004).
Carbon dioxide is the ultimate factor that causes global warming that ultimately leads to climate change. The release of carbon dioxide in enormous amounts is caused by different human activities as well as activities associated with industrial processes. This gas is also released in natural ways such as respiration and volcanic eruption. Humans have increased carbon dioxide atmospheric concentration dramatically since the Industrial Revolution began. Second only to carbon dioxide concentration is methane. The human activity that produces the bulk of methane released into the atmosphere is agriculture, particularly rice farming. Sources of methane include wastes and landfills, ruminant digestion and manure management of domestic livestock. All these human activities and inventions trigger climate change.
With climate change, all living organisms are at risks. Too much heat will dry the land Water will dry up. Plants will die. Consequent to this, organisms are also ripped off of their habitat. They will have no food to feed on and no water to sustain their existence. Too much amount of water in the form of flood can also cause destruction in biodiversity. When this happens, there arises imbalance in the ecosystem. Crop rotation is another approach that can restore the quality of the soil. Crop rotation means planting diverse crops in the same field at diverse periods. This practice adds residues to the soil that also help bind the soil particles together. Crop rotation does not only help manage soil erosion. It also averts the loss of minerals in the soil.
The university is encouraged to conduct further research on this topic because in finding solutions to effective retention of biological hotspots, sustenance of balance in the ecosystem is also achieved.
Works Cited
Conservation International,. 'Hotspots - Conservation International'. N. p., 2014. Web. 30 May. 2014.
Dryas, Younger. 'How Does Climate Change Today Compare With Climate Change In The Past?'.Citeseer (2004): n. pag. Print.
