Causes of Biodiversity Loss
This is an excellent discussion of the causes of biodiversity loss. I highly recommend clicking through to the original article.
Figure 6. Pinnacled biological soil crust in a protected area of the Great Basin Desert. Such crusts trap moisture and nutrients and block invasive weeds. Livestock trampling can eliminate them. Photograph © Garry Rogers.
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The Primary Benefit of Biodiversity
Naturalists often warn that biodiversity loss is a greater danger to human civilization than climate change. They give a variety of reasons, but the most important is often overlooked. It is soil. Soil is the foundation for all life on Earth. Plants and animals of healthy, or at least well developed, ecosystems shield the soil from erosion and their decaying bodies add fertility. But all of Earth’s creatures are dependent on soil to support the plants that harvest solar energy. Without soil, Earth would be as lifeless as the moon.
