■ Exploration of oil, gas, and minerals and the construction of pipelines and
roads can cause physical disturbances of the permafrost and habitat
fragmentation.
■ Oil spills can kill wildlife and significantly damage tundra ecosystems.
■ Invasive species push aside native vegetation and reduce the diversity of
plant cover.SOLUTIONS
– Switch to alternative energy sources to minimize human-made global
warming.
– Continue replacing ozone-depleting chemicals with products that do not
destroy the ozone layer.
– Establish protected areas and park reserves to restrict human influence.
– Limit road construction, mining activities, and the construction of
pipelines.
– Require oil transport vehicles (oil tankers, railroad cars, trucks, etc.) and
oil transport pipelines to be double-walled.
– Limit tourism and respect local cultures.BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is defined as the variability among species, between species, and of
ecosystems. It can be described at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.
■ GENETIC DIVERSITY describes the range of all genetic traits, both
expressed and recessive, that makes up the gene pool for a particular
species.
■ SPECIES DIVERSITY is the number of different species that inhabit a
specific area (e.g., tropical rainforests have higher species diversity than
deserts).
■ ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY describes the range of habitats that can be found in
a specific area. Ecosystems that have high biodiversity are characterized
by: – large numbers of organisms of different species
– a large genetic diversity
– abundant natural resources