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Chapter 5, Section 3 of our biodiversity conservation guide explores the critical distinction between renewable and nonrenewable resources. Renewable resources, such as solar energy and water, can be replenished quickly by nature, but their sustainability is contingent on balanced demand. In contrast, nonrenewable resources like fossil fuels exist in finite quantities and take millennia to recover. We emphasize sustainable practices, ecosystem preservation, and the protection of biodiversity hotspots. Effective conservation requires mindful resource management to maintain the health of our biosphere.
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Conserving Biodiversity Chapter 5 section 3
Renewable Resources • Resources that can be replaced faster by natural processes • Examples: solar energy, agricultural plants, water, air • These things are not unlimited, if supply is greater than demand the resource could become depleted
Nonrenewable Resources • Resources that are found on Earth in limited amounts OR that are replaced by natural processes over extremely long periods of time • Examples: fossil fuels, minerals
Sustainable Use • Using resources at a rate in which they can be replaced or recycled while preserving the long term health of the biosphere • Conservation can include reducing the amount of resources that are consumed, recycling when possible, preserving ecosystems
Protecting Biodiversity • Protected Areas in the US: State and National Parks and Nature Reserves; Ex. Yellowstone National Park • International Protected Areas: 7% of the worlds land is set aside as some type of reserve; http://www.science20.com/anthrophysis/new_method_identifying_habitats_need_conservation-88575
Protecting Biodiversity • Biodiversity Hot Spots: locations around the world that are characterized by the high levels of Endemic Species (species that are found only in a specific geologic area) and critical levels of habitat loss • Must meet 2 criteria: at least 1500 species of plants that are endemic and the region must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat http://www.newyorkgoadiaries.com/2012/03/source-biodiversity-hotspots-website.html
Protecting Biodiversity • Corridors Between habitat fragments: passages between habitat fragments so that organisms can still pass safely http://www.care2.com/news/member/100041282/2723566
Restoring Ecosystems • Bioremediation: use of living organisms (such as prokaryotes, fungi or plants) to detoxify a polluted area (such as during an oil spill • Biological Augmentation: adding natural predators to an ecosystem (ex: aphids destroys crops and lady bugs eat aphids. Introduce ladybugs to an ecosystem to lower number of aphids)