Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity forms the web of life - something we are all involved in. Our actions will shape biodiversity just as much as it moulds our lives.

Ecosystems provide us with:

Bog Deal

In the foreground of the picture is bog deal. These are the stumps of pine trees found deep within peat and would once have lived on the bog when its surface was drier, forming a forest of Scots Pine. In the background of the picture is a cut over bog, with a pool and shrubby vegetation. Bogs are very important habitats, and very few intact bogs now remain in Ireland. Bogs can provide us with a glimpse into the vegetation and climate of the past. However, once the climate began to get wetter, pine seeds could not germinate on the wetter bog and the roots of existing trees drowned as the bog began to grow again. These trees stumps still exist in the bog because the low oxygen conditions in peat prevent decay.

Michael Viney

Bog Deal
Michael Viney

Bog Deal

In the foreground of the picture is bog deal. These are the stumps of pine trees found deep within peat and would once have lived on the bog when its surface was drier, forming a forest of Scots Pine. In the background of the picture is a cut over bog, with a pool and shrubby vegetation. Bogs are very important habitats, and very few intact bogs now remain in Ireland. Bogs can provide us with a glimpse into the vegetation and climate of the past. However, once the climate began to get wetter, pine seeds could not germinate on the wetter bog and the roots of existing trees drowned as the bog began to grow again. These trees stumps still exist in the bog because the low oxygen conditions in peat prevent decay.

Michael Viney

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Food, fuel and fibre: Our food comes from nature. We grow our food from species of plants, hunt or raise our different types of meat. We wear cotton and linen clothes.

Purification of air and water: Plant species purify the air and regulate the composition of the atmosphere, recycling vital oxygen. Bogs and marshes absorb and recycle essential nutrients, treat sewage and cleanse waste.Trees and forest soils purify water as it flows through and forests also prevent the harmful silting of rivers and reservoirs.

Detoxification and decomposition of waste: Billions of tonnes of organic waste is processed every year by earth’s decomposing organisms. Industrial waste including detergents, oils, acids and paper are also detoxified and decomposed by the activities of living things.

Stabilisation and moderation of the world’s climate: Plant tissues help to slow the build up of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Tropical forests act as carbon sinks by absorbing the carbon produced by human activity. Forests in colder climates act as insulators and windbreaks thus keeping the surrounding areas warmer.

Oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis: Phytoplankton in the oceans are another important source of oxygen which they produce through photosynthesis. The amount they produce is comparable to the oxygen produced via photosynthesis by trees, shrubs, grasses and other plants.

Burren walkers

The County Clare landscape is home to buckets of biodiversity and is one of the largest Karst landscapes in Europe. Walkers, climbers and the locals all get huge pleasure from the area but without measures to help halt the decline of biodiversity, beauty spots like this one are in grave danger.

Copyright the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Burren walkers
Copyright the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Burren walkers

The County Clare landscape is home to buckets of biodiversity and is one of the largest Karst landscapes in Europe. Walkers, climbers and the locals all get huge pleasure from the area but without measures to help halt the decline of biodiversity, beauty spots like this one are in grave danger.

Copyright the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

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Generation and renewal of soil fertility including nutrient cycling: Bacteria, algae and worms break down organic materials and release essential nutrients to plants. The Nitrogen Cycle is a good example.

Pollination of plants: Many flowering plants rely on the activities of various animal species – bees, butterflies, bats and birds to help them reproduce through the transportation of pollen. More than one third of humanity’s food crops depend on this process of natural pollination.