What is an ecosystem service that biodiversity helps maintain?

Prepare for the NEHA General Environmental Health Test. Utilize study tactics, flashcards, and comprehensive quizzes to enhance your readiness. Ensure your success with in-depth exam insights and effective strategies.

Biodiversity plays a crucial role in maintaining air quality control, which is an essential ecosystem service. Diverse ecosystems, comprising a variety of plant and animal species, are better equipped to filter pollutants from the air. Plants, particularly trees and vegetation, absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis while releasing oxygen, thus improving air quality. Additionally, various organisms contribute to the breakdown of harmful pollutants, further enhancing the ecosystem's ability to purify the air.

This highlights the importance of biodiversity in sustaining ecosystem functions and services vital for human health and well-being. The other options provided do not align with the positive contributions of biodiversity. For instance, promoting invasive species or increasing carbon emissions negatively impacts ecosystems and the environment. Similarly, the reduction of water quality is an adverse effect linked not to biodiversity, but rather to issues like pollution and habitat destruction.

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