Conservation is the management of ecosystems so that their biodiversity is maintained. It aims to protect species, their habitats and the ecosystems they are part of. AQA's key point is that conservation of habitats frequently involves management of succession.Many habitats people value are not climax communities. They are earlier stages of succession. In lowland Britain, heathland, chalk grassland, hay meadows and moorland would all, if left alone, gradually be colonised by shrubs and then trees until they became woodland. The species that depend on these open habitats, such as heather, many orchids, butterflies and ground-nesting birds, would then lose their habitat and disappear from the area.So conserving these habitats means preventing succession from reaching the climax. The community that is kept stable by human management is called a plagioclimax. Many plagioclimax communities were originally created by traditional farming, such as grazing sheep on chalk downland.Reasons for conservation include:
• ethical: other species have a right to exist;
• economic: species provide food, medicines and other products, and attract tourism;
• aesthetic: people enjoy varied landscapes and wildlife.Conservation often involves conflict. Land managed for wildlife cannot be used as fully for farming, housing or forestry, and managing succession costs time and money. When evaluating a conservation scheme, you need to weigh the evidence for its benefits against these costs and against the needs of local people.
• ethical: other species have a right to exist;
• economic: species provide food, medicines and other products, and attract tourism;
• aesthetic: people enjoy varied landscapes and wildlife.Conservation often involves conflict. Land managed for wildlife cannot be used as fully for farming, housing or forestry, and managing succession costs time and money. When evaluating a conservation scheme, you need to weigh the evidence for its benefits against these costs and against the needs of local people.