What is the relationship between healthy biodiversity and climate change?

What is the relationship between healthy biodiversity and climate change?

• A. Healthy biodiversity helps adapt to climate change and reduces disaster risks.
• B. Biodiversity has no effect on climate resilience.
• C. Biodiversity increases vulnerability to climate impacts.
• D. Climate change always improves biodiversity.

Answer: (A)

Healthy biodiversity boosts resilience to climate change by expanding the toolbox ecosystems have to cope with shifting conditions and by maintaining the services humans rely on. When a habitat contains many species, they respond to stress in different ways. This functional diversity means some species can thrive under new temperatures or rainfall patterns, helping the ecosystem keep its key processes—like pollination, nutrient cycling, and pest control—going even as conditions change. Genetic diversity within crops and wild relatives supports breeding for drought or heat tolerance, improving food security in a warming world. Diverse ecosystems also provide tangible protections against climate-related disasters. Wetlands and mangroves, for example, can absorb floodwaters and dampen storm surges, while a mix of tree species can stabilize soils and reduce landslides after heavy rain. In short, biodiversity not only helps ecosystems adapt to climate change but also reduces the risks that extreme events pose to people and economies. The other statements don’t fit because biodiversity can influence resilience, climate change can threaten biodiversity rather than always improving it, and climate change is not guaranteed to enhance biodiversity.

Healthy biodiversity boosts resilience to climate change by expanding the toolbox ecosystems have to cope with shifting conditions and by maintaining the services humans rely on. When a habitat contains many species, they respond to stress in different ways. This functional diversity means some species can thrive under new temperatures or rainfall patterns, helping the ecosystem keep its key processes—like pollination, nutrient cycling, and pest control—going even as conditions change. Genetic diversity within crops and wild relatives supports breeding for drought or heat tolerance, improving food security in a warming world.

Diverse ecosystems also provide tangible protections against climate-related disasters. Wetlands and mangroves, for example, can absorb floodwaters and dampen storm surges, while a mix of tree species can stabilize soils and reduce landslides after heavy rain. In short, biodiversity not only helps ecosystems adapt to climate change but also reduces the risks that extreme events pose to people and economies.

The other statements don’t fit because biodiversity can influence resilience, climate change can threaten biodiversity rather than always improving it, and climate change is not guaranteed to enhance biodiversity.