For our week 8 lecture we focused a lot on biodiversity and how broad this topic actually is. So what is biodiversity? A couple of examples I learnt was;
- Ecosystems. There are many different ecosystems around the world
- Different species (plants, fungi)
Jenny included this photo in her slides so we can get a better visual of this ecosystem. There are so many in the world and it is really cool to think that they all exist at once and together. One thing to note, however, is that this picture of an ecosystem does not really show a picture of diversity, it honestly seems more of a food chain when really there are so many other elements that should be involved.
So another element of biodiversity, different types and species! There are so many different species and types of things such as grass (quick fact: 70% of crops are actually grass?!), plants and food however this is not always represented to society. An example of this would be looking at the food that is available for purchase in our own supermarkets, they do not practice biodiversity! Have a look at all these different types of carrots we actually produce compared to how many we see in our supermarkets? I know I only see one of these sold! What about you? This is something I would definitely make my class of students aware of and maybe see if we could grow our own different types of food or encourage them to do the same at home.
The tutorial this week included a presentation on 'Fresh Water in Australia.' This presentation taught us that one of the reasons Australia is the driest continent on Earth is because it has one of the lowest rainfalls in the whole world and about three-quarters of Australia's land is said to be arid or semi-arid. This means that the land is too dry to support vegetation.
We also learnt about the Murray Darling basin. This is a large area of land, which contains over 40% of all farms in Australia. It is a really important area because of agriculture, it produces over one third of Australia's food supply! I have included a picture below of where the Murray Darling Basin is if you want to get a better idea. :)
So another element of biodiversity, different types and species! There are so many different species and types of things such as grass (quick fact: 70% of crops are actually grass?!), plants and food however this is not always represented to society. An example of this would be looking at the food that is available for purchase in our own supermarkets, they do not practice biodiversity! Have a look at all these different types of carrots we actually produce compared to how many we see in our supermarkets? I know I only see one of these sold! What about you? This is something I would definitely make my class of students aware of and maybe see if we could grow our own different types of food or encourage them to do the same at home.
The tutorial this week included a presentation on 'Fresh Water in Australia.' This presentation taught us that one of the reasons Australia is the driest continent on Earth is because it has one of the lowest rainfalls in the whole world and about three-quarters of Australia's land is said to be arid or semi-arid. This means that the land is too dry to support vegetation.
We also learnt about the Murray Darling basin. This is a large area of land, which contains over 40% of all farms in Australia. It is a really important area because of agriculture, it produces over one third of Australia's food supply! I have included a picture below of where the Murray Darling Basin is if you want to get a better idea. :)
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