Factors for Biodiversity loss

Loss of biodiversity is happening all over the world and there are many different reasons for this. In Ireland the loss of biodiversity is mainly caused by:

Combine Harvester

Intensive farming has become more prevalent in Ireland but at a price. In 2006 it was reported that 29 species of birds and 120 flowering plants are in serious decline - in some instances - because of the introduction of more intensive farming methods that damage their habitat. Other wildlife, such as the marsh fritillary butterfly, is also under threat.

Copyright the Environmental Protection Agency

Combine Harvester
Copyright the Environmental Protection Agency

Combine Harvester

Intensive farming has become more prevalent in Ireland but at a price. In 2006 it was reported that 29 species of birds and 120 flowering plants are in serious decline - in some instances - because of the introduction of more intensive farming methods that damage their habitat. Other wildlife, such as the marsh fritillary butterfly, is also under threat.

Copyright the Environmental Protection Agency

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Population growth has resulted in greater use of land and water to feed a larger number of people. In Ireland, land reclamation has changed upland and waterlogged lands into fertile cultivated land. Intensive farming has replaced subsistence farming. Think about your local area. How has it changed in the last fifty years? How might it change in the next fifty years?

Whales in the sea

Five most endangered whales: North Atlantic right whale - fewer than 350 animals. Western Pacific grey whale - fewer than 120 animals. Bowhead - fewer than 120 animals. Narwhal - fewer than 120 animals. Cook Inlet beluga whales - fewer than 400 animals

Whales in the sea

Five most endangered whales: North Atlantic right whale - fewer than 350 animals. Western Pacific grey whale - fewer than 120 animals. Bowhead - fewer than 120 animals. Narwhal - fewer than 120 animals. Cook Inlet beluga whales - fewer than 400 animals

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Over-harvesting and over-hunting for food, fashion and medical purposes has caused significant reduction in species and endangered many more. Whales and African elephants are two examples of species at most risk, with commercial hunting and poaching their main threats. Well regulated recreational hunting does not have such an impact. In Ireland, we can see the effects of overfishing very clearly in the collapse of the cod fishing stocks around our shores.

Hedgerow

We can all see the removal and the cutting back of hedgerows in the Irish countryside. This makes for more efficient farming but creates problems for the birds, animals and insects who made their homes there.

Courtesy of Pete Birch

Hedgerow
Courtesy of Pete Birch

Hedgerow

We can all see the removal and the cutting back of hedgerows in the Irish countryside. This makes for more efficient farming but creates problems for the birds, animals and insects who made their homes there.

Courtesy of Pete Birch

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Habitat loss and fragmentation is a very important cause of species extinction. The deforestation of tropical forests is expected to be the greatest cause of mass extinctions caused by human activity. Cutting down forests and hedgerows to provide agricultural land has increased. The loss of tropical forests, which hold 50% of the world's biodiversity, are proving to be the most significant threat to species in the modern age. This leads to fragmentation of habitats, and species which require large habitats - such as bears - cannot survive if the area is too small. An example in Ireland is the hare. Hares live above ground in a patch of flattened vegetation called a form. Their habitats have been disturbed by intensive farming methods, including changes in land usage, where farmers have moved from grassland to arable farming and an increase monoculture.