Air Pollution

Air Pollution poses a threat to biodiversity that is closely related to several other topics that I’ve mentioned.  Pollutants contribute greatly to greenhouse gasses, which are in turn related climate change and global warming. Another affect of pollutants in the atmosphere that I haven’t talked about before is the creation of acid rain. Acid rain is precipitation that is acidic, or has a low pH. It is made through the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. There are natural sources of these emissions, such as volcanoes and decaying fruit but the leading cause is the burning of fossil fuels. Acid rain is very harmful to the environment. One part of this is that it harms trees and plants by reducing the amount of nutrients available. It also allows aluminum to be absorbed into soil, which can harm trees as well. This is harmful to the biodiversity of trees and plants, but also of the species that rely on them. Another effect of pollution is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is caused directly by ocean acidification, or a decrease in the pH of the ocean caused by an increase of carbon dioxide. Coral bleaching is a threat to biodiversity because corals are a home to 25% of fish in the ocean. Their endangerment causes a threat to the diversity of species of fish and other aquatic organisms in the ocean. Air pollution has a very damaging effect on biodiversity and a serious problem.

Sources:

BISE. "Pollution." Biodiversity Information System for Europe. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

"8 Biodiversity | 3 Pressures Affecting Biodiversity | 3.5 Pollution." Department of the Environment. Australian Government, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

Rainforest Conservation Fund. "5) Causes of Recent Declines in Biodiversity."Rainforest Conservation Fund RSS. N.p., 02 Mar. 2010. Web. 04 May 2015.

Image: Payam Boromand-http://www.cartoonmovement.com