If extrapolated to its logical conclusion, a single hectare of Amazonian rainforest would be worth more than the entire African Savannah.
I think the proper comparison is Amazon rainforest to boreal rainforests, like in Canada. Rainforest:Savannah isn't really equal because trees act as carbon sinks, and savannahs are just basically steppes filled with bovids.
I think in terms of CO2, you can make a very broad value judgement, that forests > grasslands > deserts. Not only in terms of value to climate, but also in temporal sequence--forests must become grasslands before they become deserts.
The problem is that in terms of human value, grasslands > forests > deserts. Forests become grasslands (through human deforestation) to provide value, and then grasslands become deserts (through lack of careful maintenance).
I agree, biodiversity is an insurance policy. I just think that it's an almost entirely irrelevant thing to focus on, because it's a lagging effect. In the situations where you need a certain role (like a predator) that can be done, like you said with the Great White Shark case, by introducing a predator into the environment. Which is technically adding biodiversity, but without this inane focus on it for its own sake
Also it leads to fun paradoxes like lions are bad. Because if you could cull the entire biomass of lions/leopards/cheetahs, and instead replace them with smaller cats, and then ALSO replace their prey with smaller pygmy elephants and tapirs instead of African elephants and rhinos, then you could triple the biodiversity.
Actually, as I type this comment I'm beginning to realize that the forest > grassland > desert trichotomy probably causes decreased BD. BD is high in forests because largeness is disadvantageous. Grasslands are desirable to humans (but not ONLY to humans, also to lions, elephants) because they are easy to live in and traverse. Exploit them too much and they become deserts.
Elephants and lions are big because they live in privileged easy grassland habitats, kind of like us. The big animals all outcompeted the small animals, decreasing BD. In a forested area BD is inherently guaranteed because it pays to be small, so there can be a greater variety of species. So forests are the best, because not only carbon sinks, but also biodiversity.
I think the proper comparison is Amazon rainforest to boreal rainforests, like in Canada. Rainforest:Savannah isn't really equal because trees act as carbon sinks, and savannahs are just basically steppes filled with bovids.
I think in terms of CO2, you can make a very broad value judgement, that forests > grasslands > deserts. Not only in terms of value to climate, but also in temporal sequence--forests must become grasslands before they become deserts.
The problem is that in terms of human value, grasslands > forests > deserts. Forests become grasslands (through human deforestation) to provide value, and then grasslands become deserts (through lack of careful maintenance).
I agree, biodiversity is an insurance policy. I just think that it's an almost entirely irrelevant thing to focus on, because it's a lagging effect. In the situations where you need a certain role (like a predator) that can be done, like you said with the Great White Shark case, by introducing a predator into the environment. Which is technically adding biodiversity, but without this inane focus on it for its own sake
Also it leads to fun paradoxes like lions are bad. Because if you could cull the entire biomass of lions/leopards/cheetahs, and instead replace them with smaller cats, and then ALSO replace their prey with smaller pygmy elephants and tapirs instead of African elephants and rhinos, then you could triple the biodiversity.
Actually, as I type this comment I'm beginning to realize that the forest > grassland > desert trichotomy probably causes decreased BD. BD is high in forests because largeness is disadvantageous. Grasslands are desirable to humans (but not ONLY to humans, also to lions, elephants) because they are easy to live in and traverse. Exploit them too much and they become deserts.
Elephants and lions are big because they live in privileged easy grassland habitats, kind of like us. The big animals all outcompeted the small animals, decreasing BD. In a forested area BD is inherently guaranteed because it pays to be small, so there can be a greater variety of species. So forests are the best, because not only carbon sinks, but also biodiversity.