Have you ever heard people saying “variety is the spice of life”? How right they are!
These are some of the reasons why biodiversity is important.
- Many plants and animals depend on each other to survive. Lots of plants need insects to help them to pollinate and reproduce. For example, pollen from flowers sticks to the body of a bee. When the bee moves to the next flower, it carries the pollen with it. This is very important because flowers can’t get up and walk about to scatter their pollen!
- It is important to have lots of different crops and animals. If a disease attacked one species and wiped it out, there would still be other species left to help the ecosystem survive.
- Some species are needed to clean up our planet by helping dead plants and animals to decompose into the ground e.g. worms. This leaves space for new plants to grow and shelter other animals.
- Many plant species are important for medicine.
Can you think of any other reasons why biodiversity is so important?