Biodiversity meaning

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Scientists use different methods to describe and compare the biodiversity of different areas. A common measurement is species richness, or the number of species in an area. For example, a A species count can be a very useful measurement, but it does not alone provide a full picture of an area’s biological richness. For one thing, the data on species numbers are far from complete and are not uniformly available for all areas. Roughly 1.5 million species of living things (excluding bacteria) have been discovered and scientifically described, but scientists believe there may be a total of some 10 million species on Earth (again excluding bacteria). Besides, the kinds of different species in an area and how similar they are to one another are also key factors. Consider two hypothetical areas that each include five species of birds. In one area, all five are closely related sparrows from the same genus. The other is home to more distantly related birds from five different orders, such as a woodpecker, an owl, a pigeon, a songbird, and a nightjar. The second area might be considered to have a greater biodiversity. Biologists also pay special attention to organisms that are unique or unusual. Some places are home to species, genera, families, or even larger groups that have no close relatives or that are found in few, if any, other places. The communities that live around vents in the In some places, nearly all the native species are endemic. Nearly ...

The Sustainable Development Goal 15 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is devoted to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. At the Rio+20 Conference, Member States reaffirmed, through paragraphs 197- 204 of the outcome document, the Future We Want, that “intrinsic value of biological diversity, as well as the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values of biological diversity and its critical role in maintaining ecosystems that provide essential services, which are critical foundations for sustainable development and human well-being”. Member States also recognized “the severity of global biodiversity loss and degradation of ecosystems” and stress the negative impact that this situation has on food security, nutrition, access to water, health of the rural poor and people worldwide”. Furthermore, the Future We Want reiterated the importance of implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets adopted at the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention. Biodiversity was discussed by the Commission on Sustainable Development on several occasions, and was one of the themes of the 2012/2013 two-year cycle. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg 2002, biological div...

Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilize the climate. But biodiversity loss is happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human health worldwide, according to a What is biodiversity? Biodiversity underpins all life on Earth, and refers to biological variety in all its forms, from the genetic make up of plants and animals to cultural diversity. What does biodiversity mean for human health? People depend on biodiversity in their daily lives, in ways that are not always apparent or appreciated. Human health ultimately depends upon ecosystem products and services (such as availability of fresh water, food and fuel sources) which are requisite for good human health and productive livelihoods. Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health impacts if ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Indirectly, changes in ecosystem services affect livelihoods, income, local migration and, on occasion, may even cause or exacerbate political conflict. Additionally, biological diversity of microorganisms, flora and fauna provides extensive benefits for biological, health, and pharmacological sciences. Significant medical and pharmacological discoveries are made through greater understanding of the earth's biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity may limit discovery of potential treatments for many diseases and health problems. Threats to biodi...

The Earth is undergoing a The numbers are staggering: the population sizes of vertebrate species, which include mammals, reptiles, birds and fish, During the 20th century, extinction rates were about What does this loss of biodiversity mean for the future of the planet and its inhabitants – and what can we do about it? The first step is understanding the basics, unraveled in easy-to-digest terms here in this explainer: • • • • • Rhinerrhiza divitiflora, also known as the Raspy Root Orchid. cskk, What is biodiversity? biological diversity, the term usually refers to the “Biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part. But the CBD makes it clear that measuring biodiversity is no simple feat: This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. How is biodiversity measured? Let’s start with biodiversity between species, or species diversity. Arguably the simplest measure is ‘species richness’– a count of how many species live in a community. But species richness does not consider the relative abundance of each species, or its importance to an ecosystem or landscape, or its value to people. As such, biologists have invented diversity indices, such as the When talking about biodiversity loss, we often focus on losses in species diversity, as it is crucial to maintain the balance of ecosystems, nutr...

biodiversity loss, also called loss of biodiversity, a decrease in Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is a term that refers to the number of biodiversity loss describes the decline in the number, genetic variability, and variety of species, and the biological communities in a given area. This loss in the variety of life can lead to a breakdown in the functioning of the ecosystem where decline has happened. Interactions between two or more of these drivers increase the pace of biodiversity loss. Fragmented ecosystems are generally not as Elaeis guineensis) cultivation became an additional obstacle to the species’ survival. Palm oil production increased 900 percent in Indonesia and Malaysia between 1980 and 2010, and, with large areas of Borneo’s tropical forests cut, the Bornean orangutan and hundreds to thousands of other species have been deprived of