Preserving Flower and Plant Diversity

Many big farmers and agricultural corporations adamantly advocate the use of genetically modified organisms and monocultures. However, these practices have several adverse effects on plant biodiversity and the surrounding ecosystems. In this lesson, students will use basic genetics and theoretical scenarios to study the importance of maintaining plant diversity.

Background Information/Additional Resources:

• American Institute of Biological Sciences
• Flowering Plants: Keys to Earth’s Evolution and Human Well-Being
• The Ecological Impacts of Agricultural Biotechnology
• Agroforestry and the Maintenance of Biodiversity

Activities:

• Seed Savers and Genetic Inheritance (Activity 2)
  • In partners or small groups, have students complete the exercise involving Punnett squares in order to understand the importance of genetic diversity.
  • Includes supplemental video clip

• Biodiversity and the Future of Flowering Plants (Activity 3)
  • Have students complete the exercise involving theoretical scenarios in order to understand the consequences of genetically modified organisms and monocultures.
  • Includes supplemental video clip

• Have students answer the following questions:

Q: What is biodiversity?

A: Biodiversity is the total variety of living entities on this planet including all living organisms, as well as their surrounding habitats, or ecosystems, and the genetic material of which they are made (Agroforestry).

Q: How can you measure biodiversity?

A: Biodiversity can be measured by combining the concepts of species richness and species evenness. Species richness refers to the number of different species in an ecosystem. Species evenness refers to the distribution of individuals across species in an ecosystem.

Q: Why should humans be concerned about preserving plant biodiversity?

A: Much of the decrease in biodiversity is due to human activity. Apart from monocultures and genetically modified organisms, biodiversity is decreasing due to habitat destruction, diseases, overexploitation, and invasive species that are often introduced by humans. The decrease in plant biodiversity causes a decrease in resources for food and shelter materials for humans and other organisms, as well as a decrease in the important photosynthetic activities that plants perform. The loss of biodiversity is concerning for obvious reasons, but certain secondary concerns are also important. For example, as more plant species become extinct, more potential sources of medicine are being lost.

Q: What are other consequences of using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture?

A: Crop-weed hybridization can cause weed populations to acquire resistance, possibly causing an increase in herbicide use. Similar hybridization can cause a decrease in fitness in plants in neighboring ecosystems. Recombination and gene transfer may lead to new pathogenic organisms. GMOs may accelerate the evolution of resistance in insects. They may also cause a decrease in the population of non-target herbivorous insects, such as monarch butterflies. (Ecological Impacts)