Maintaining biodiversity — AQA GCSE Biology
Test yourself on Maintaining biodiversity with AQA GCSE practice questions.
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Maintaining biodiversity explained
Humans interact with ecosystems in ways that can help or harm biodiversity.
Read the full explanation
Negative interactions include deforestation, pollution, overfishing, draining wetlands and introducing invasive species, all of which reduce the variety of species and habitats. Positive interactions include conservation, reforestation, creating nature reserves, protecting endangered species, reducing pollution and sustainable farming. Biodiversity is the variety of different species and the range of habitats in an ecosystem. A healthy biodiversity helps ecosystems remain stable and provides resources such as food, medicine and clean water. Answers should describe both types of interaction and explain how each affects biodiversity.
Scientists and concerned citizens have put in place programmes to reduce the negative effects of humans on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Human activities such as deforestation, pollution and overfishing reduce biodiversity, so scientists and concerned citizens design programmes to limit the damage. A programme is a planned set of actions with a clear aim, carried out by people such as ecologists, conservation charities, zoos and local volunteers. For example, a wildlife trust may survey a rare orchid, fence it from trampling and raise funds to buy the site. Scientists provide evidence: they count species, monitor populations and judge whether a method works. Concerned citizens provide money, time and political pressure. Together these programmes aim to protect species, habitats and genetic variation so ecosystems stay stable and useful to humans.
These include: • breeding programmes for endangered species • protection and regeneration of rare habitats • reintroduction of field margins and hedgerows in agricultural areas where farmers grow only one type of crop • reduction of deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions by some governments • recycling resources rather than dumping waste in landfill.
Biodiversity is the variety of species and habitats in an ecosystem, and it can be maintained by several practical measures. Breeding programmes in zoos and conservation centres keep endangered species alive and produce offspring for release. Rare habitats such as heathland or wetland are protected and regenerated by removing invasive species and replanting. In farmland growing only one crop, field margins and hedgerows are reintroduced to provide food, shelter and corridors for insects, birds and mammals. Governments can reduce deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions, slowing habitat loss and climate change. Recycling resources such as paper, glass and metals reduces waste sent to landfill, lowering pollution and demand for raw materials. Together these actions protect species, habitats and genetic variation.
Your focus
- Describe positive and negative human interactions in an ecosystem.
- Explain how these interactions affect biodiversity.
- Suggest ways that human activity can be managed to maintain biodiversity.
Show all 9 objectives
- Describe how scientists and concerned citizens respond to loss of biodiversity.
- Give an example of a conservation programme and state its aim.
- Explain how a programme reduces a named negative human effect on an ecosystem.
- Describe at least four ways biodiversity can be maintained, including breeding programmes, habitat protection, field margins and hedgerows, reducing deforestation and emissions, and recycling.
- Explain how each measure reduces a specific threat to biodiversity, such as habitat loss, climate change or pollution.
- Apply these measures to a named example, such as a farmland or endangered species scenario, to justify how biodiversity is protected.
Maintaining biodiversity exam tips
Marking Points
- Biodiversity is the variety of species and habitats in an ecosystem.
- Negative interactions include deforestation, pollution, overfishing and introducing invasive species.
- These reduce habitats and species numbers, lowering biodiversity.
- Positive interactions include conservation, reforestation, nature reserves and protecting endangered species.
- These maintain or increase habitats and species numbers, raising biodiversity.
- Sustainable farming and reducing pollution can also protect biodiversity.
- High biodiversity helps ecosystems remain stable and provides resources for humans.
- State that human activities reduce biodiversity and that programmes are deliberate responses to this.
- Identify scientists as the group that gathers evidence, monitors populations and evaluates conservation methods.
- Identify concerned citizens as volunteers, donors or campaigners who support and fund conservation work.
- Give a named example of a programme, such as a captive breeding scheme or a habitat protection project.
- Explain that the overall aim is to reduce negative effects on ecosystems and biodiversity.
- Breeding programmes maintain endangered species by producing offspring in captivity, which can later be released into suitable wild habitats.
- Protection and regeneration of rare habitats involves conserving existing areas and restoring damaged ones, for example by replanting native vegetation or removing invasive species.
- Field margins and hedgerows are reintroduced in monoculture farmland to increase habitat variety, providing food and shelter for wildlife and connecting fragmented habitats.
- Reducing deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions by governments slows habitat destruction and climate change, both of which threaten biodiversity.
- Recycling resources instead of dumping waste in landfill reduces pollution and the extraction of raw materials, helping to preserve habitats and species.
- Each measure can be linked to a specific cause of biodiversity loss, such as habitat destruction, overexploitation or pollution.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Structure your answer into positive and negative interactions so both are clearly covered.
- 💡Use named examples such as deforestation or nature reserves to support each point.
- 💡Finish each example by stating the effect on biodiversity, for example reduces or increases it.
- 💡Use the words scientists and concerned citizens explicitly in your answer.
- 💡Link each programme to a specific negative effect it reduces, such as habitat loss or overfishing.
- 💡Give one concrete example rather than a long list of vague names.
- 💡Name the measure and then state exactly how it maintains biodiversity, linking to species, habitats or genetic variation.
- 💡Use a named example, such as breeding programmes for endangered species or planting hedgerows between fields, to make your answer concrete.
- 💡When asked to evaluate, compare measures by considering cost, scale and how directly they address the cause of biodiversity loss.
Common Mistakes
- Giving only negative examples; correction: the question requires both positive and negative interactions.
- Describing an interaction without linking it to biodiversity; correction: explain how it changes the variety of species or habitats.
- Confusing biodiversity with the total number of organisms; correction: biodiversity is the variety of species and habitats, not just population size.
- Writing that programmes stop all human impact; correction: they reduce negative effects, they do not remove them completely.
- Confusing a programme with a single one-off action; correction: a programme is planned and sustained over time.
- Naming only scientists and ignoring concerned citizens; correction: the statement names both groups, so credit both.
- Describing breeding programmes as simply keeping animals in zoos; the correction is that they aim to produce offspring for reintroduction to the wild.
- Thinking hedgerows only make farmland look attractive; the correction is that they provide food, shelter and wildlife corridors between habitats.
- Confusing recycling with reducing energy use; the correction is that recycling reduces waste in landfill and demand for raw materials, which helps maintain biodiversity.