Without these, there might not be enough oxygen to support such a large world population and complex animal life.įreshwater biomes have suffered mainly from pollution. In addition to this climate-buffering capacity, the oceans contain several billion photosynthetic plankton which account for most of the photosynthesis occuring on Earth. Water has a high capacity for heat, and because the Earth is mostly covered with water, the temperature of the atmosphere is kept fairly constant and able to support life. The world's oceans have an even greater effect on global climate than forests do. Freshwater biomes supply us with our drinking water and water for crop irrigation. Water is the basis of life, it supports life, and countless species live in it for all or part of their lives. Their medium, water, is a major natural resource. The freshwater and marine biomes are probably the most important of all the biomes. Public attention to this exploitation have helped to alleviate the problem somewhat, though many challenges are still to be faced. Over half of the world's original tropical forests are already gone. Our increasing demand for meat products has spurred these events.įor years, this destruction was occuring at a rapid rate. Tropical forests have fallen victim to timber exploitation, slash and burn farming, and clearfelling for industrial use or cattle ranching, particularly in Latin America. Wiser use of the forests and efforts to replant trees have helped to slow down the depletion of these communities. More recently, people have begun to realize that logging has cleared much of these forests. The increased demand for homes, paper, and other wood products have not allowed for much conservation. Logging has depleted many old-growth temperate forests. Also, forests have a global climate-buffering capacity, so their destruction may cause large-scale changes in global climate. Hidden within these biomes are potential medicines and many thousands of unseen and undiscovered species. However, the continued heavy exploitation of certain biomes, such as the forest, freshwater, and marine, may have more severe implications.įorests are important as they are home to the most diverse biotic communties in the world. It is important to preserve all types of biomes as each houses many unique forms of life. Over the past several decades, increasing human activity has rapidly destroyed or polluted many ecological habitats throughout the world.

A coral reef surrounds an island in French Polynesia.īecause we share the world with many other species of plants and animals, we must consider the consequences of our actions.

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