Biodiversity and the effect of human interaction on ecosystems - AQAPeat bog destruction
Biodiversity is a measure of how many different species live in an ecosystem. Human activities like changing land use, deforestation and peat bog destruction reduce this.
bogsA muddy area of land. are very wet areas of land without trees in which many types of moss grow. They are acidic and often have very low levels of nutrients. Here decompositionThe process of breaking down material to release nutrients back into the soil. is very slow and peat is formed from partially decayed plants.
For many years peat was removed from bogs for gardeners to add to their soil or to burn as fuel. This dramatically reduced biodiversityThe range of animals and plants in a given area. . Because peat takes such a long time to form, it is a non-renewableA resource that cannot be replaced when it is used up, such as oil, natural gas or coal. energy resource like fossil fuels.
peat bogPeat bogs are poorly drained areas made up of partially decomposed organic matter due to waterlogging. are a very important store of carbon. We call them carbon sinkAnything that absorbs more carbon than it releases, whether natural of artificial.. If all the peat was removed and burned this would quickly release a huge volume of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effectThe retention of heat in the atmosphere caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases..