1 1.1 What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.
Biodiversity forms the foundation of the vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well-being.
Biodiversity is important in human-managed as well as natural ecosystems.
Decisions humans make that influence biodiversity affect the well-being of themselves and others.
Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services to which human well-being is intimately linked. No feature of Earth is more complex, dynamic, and varied than the layer of living organisms that occupy its surfaces and its seas, and no feature is experiencing more dramatic change at the hands of humans than this extraordinary, singularly unique feature of Earth. This layer of living organisms—the biosphere—through the collective metabolic activities of its innumerable plants, animals, and microbes physically and chemically unites the atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere into one environmental system within which millions of species, including humans, have thrived. Breathable air, potable water, fertile soils, productive lands, bountiful seas, the equitable climate of Earth’s recent history, and other ecosystem services are manifestations of the workings of life. It follows that large-scale human influences over this biota have tremendous impacts on human well-being. It also follows that the nature of these impacts, good or bad, is within the power of humans to influence.
There are many measures of biodiversity; species richness (the number of species in a given area) represents a single but important metric that is valuable as the common currency of the diversity of life—but it must be integrated with other metrics to fully capture biodiversity.
Ecological indicators are scientific constructs that use quantitative data to measure aspects of biodiversity, ecosystem condition, services, or drivers of change, but no single ecological indicator captures all the dimensions of biodiversity. Ecological indicators form a critical component of monitoring, assessment, and decision-making and are designed to communicate information quickly and easily to policy-makers.
Biomes and biogeographic realms provide broad pictures of the distribution of
functional diversity. Functional diversity (the variety of different ecological functions in a community independent of its taxonomic diversity) shows patterns of associations (biota typical of wetlands, forests, grasslands, estuaries, and so forth) with geography and climate known as biomes.
Levels of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is wide-ranging and is normally divided into three types or levels:
Genetic Diversity
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Species Diversity
Ecological Diversity
1. Genetic Diversity
All species on Earth are somewhat related through genetic connections. And the more closer a species is related to another, the more genetic information the two species will share. These species will also look more similar.
The closest relations of an organism are members of its own species. Members of a species share genes. Genes are the bits of biochemical information that partly determine how an organism looks, behaves, and lives.
Moreover, members of a species share intricate mating behaviors. These behaviors help them to identify each other as potential partners. Virtually every species in an environment has a similar and closely related species in a neighboring environment.
Western and Eastern gray squirrels are great examples in this case. Western gray squirrels, which inhabit the west side of the Rocky Mountains, have more similarities than differences with the eastern gray squirrels. However, these two types of squirrels don’t share a common mating behavior.
Even when placed in the same environment, eastern and western squirrels don’t mate because they are two different species.
Additionally, every species has other, more distantly related species. These two species share a more general set of traits. The squirrel family, for example, encompasses chipmunks, prairie dogs, and gray squirrels.
These animals share various features such as muscle anatomy, number of teeth, as well as shape and details of the skull. And all of them are rodents, which are in turn related to a broader group known as mammals.
Mammals share characteristics such as hair, three bones in the middle ear, and breastfeeding their young. Likewise, all mammals are distantly related to vertebrates. Vertebrates are animals with backbones.
Every animal has the same cell structure as fungi, plants, and some microorganisms. Lastly, all organisms have ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule. Moreover, most of them have
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
All these imply that species have come from one, common ancestor. However, they diverge and develop distinctive attributes with time, and hence promote biodiversity in their own unique way.
3 2. Species Diversity
A wide variety of species exists in an environment. And that’s what is referred to as species diversity. Species are the standard measure of biological diversity in light of the fact that they are the basic units of biological classification.
The number of various species in a given ecosystem or environment is described as Species Richness. The total number of species in the world is about 10 million. However, only 1.75 million species have been named scientifically to date.
Some regions have many species. Tropical North and South America, for example, have approximately 85,000 flowering plants. Tropical and Subtropical Asia have at least 50,000 while tropical and subtropical Africa has about 35,000.
Conversely, all of Europe has about 11,300 vascular plants. Other environments such as a polluted stream, have incredibly low numbers of species.
3. Ecological Diversity
Ecological or ecosystem diversity is the variety of ecosystems in an area. It involves the complex network of various species present in the ecosystems and the dynamic interactions between them. An ecosystem is made up of organisms from several different species living together in an environment and their connections through the flow of nutrients, energy, and matter.
An ecosystem can cover a small area, like a pond, or a large area, like an entire forest. The primary source of energy in virtually every ecosystem is the sun whose radiant energy is transformed into chemical energy by the plants.
Animals eat the plants, allowing the energy to flow through the systems. The animals are, in turn, eaten by other animals. Fungi decompose organisms to obtain energy and in the process recycle nutrients back into the soil.
Hence, an ecosystem is a collection of living components and non-living components that are connected by energy flow. It is difficult to measure ecological diversity because every
ecosystem on earth merges into the surrounding ecosystems.
Due to its various benefits, biodiversity needs to be conserved. In that light, let’s take a quick look at methods of conserving biodiversity
VALUES OF BIODIVERSITY
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Some of the major values of biodiversity are as follows: 1. Environmental Value 2.
Social Value 3. Ecosystem Services 4. Economic Value 5. Consumptive use value 6.
Productive Use Value 7. Ethical and Moral Value 8. Aesthetic Value.
Biodiversity is the most precious gift of nature mankind is blessed with. As all the organisms in an ecosystem are interlinked and interdependent, the value of
biodiversity in the life of all the organisms including humans is enormous.
1. Environmental Value:
The environmental value of biodiversity can be found by examining each ecosystem process and identifying the ecosystem services that result. For instance, in wetlands the vegetation captures water- carried sediment and the soil organisms break down a range of nutrients and pollutants washed into the area.
2. Social Value:
The social value of biodiversity includes aesthetic, recreational, cultural and spiritual values. To this can be added health benefits resulting from recreational and other activities. While traditional societies which had a small population and required less resources had preserved their biodiversity as a life supporting resource, modern man has rapidly depleted it even to the extent of leading to the irrecoverable loss due to extinction of several species.
Thus apart from the local use or sale of products of biodiversity there is the social aspect in which more and more resources are used by affluent societies. The
biodiversity has to a great extent been preserved by traditional societies that valued it as a resource and appreciated that its depletion would be a great loss to their society.
There can be marked differences in landscape and biodiversity preferences according to age, socioeconomic factors and cultural influences. The lifestyle of the ancient people was closely interwoven with their surroundings.
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The life of the indigenous people in many parts of the world still revolves around the forests and environment, even in these modern times, many of them still live in the forests and meet their daily requirements from their surroundings.
The biodiversity in different parts of the world has been largely preserved by the traditional societies. Since the indigenous people always protect the forests for their own benefit. In ancient times, especially in India, the environment in totally i.e., flora, fauna, etc., were held in high esteem.
Trees like Peepal, Banyan and Tulsi are still worshipped. Ladies offering water to Tulsi daily is considered good and there are festivals when ladies tie sacred threads around Peepal and Banyan trees and pray for the welfare of their families.
3. Ecosystem Services:
These services also support human needs and activities such as intensely managed production ecosystems.
Ecosystem service includes:
a. The production of oxygen by land based plants and marine algae;
b. The maintenance of fresh water quality by vegetation slowing run off, trapping sediment and removing nutrients and by soil organisms breaking down pollutants;
c. The production and maintenance of fertile soil as a result of many interacting processes;
d. The provision of foods such as fish, pastures for cattle and sheep, timber, fire wood and harvested wildlife such as kangaroos and native cut flowers;
e. The provision of native species and genes used in industry research and
development, for instance, in traditional breeding and biotechnology applications in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, mariculture, pharmacy, chemicals production and bioremediation;
f. Pollination of agricultural crops, forest trees and native flowering plants by native insects, birds and other creatures;
g. Pest control in agricultural land by beneficial native predators;
h. Flood mitigation by vegetation slowing run off and trapping sediment;
i. Breakdown of pollutants by micro-organisms in soil and aquatic ecosystems and sequestration of heavy metals in marine and fresh water sediments;
j. Greenhouse gas reduction by, for instance, sequestering atmospheric carbon in wood and marine calcium carbonate deposits;
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k. Maintenance of habitats for native plants and animals; and
l. Maintenance of habitats that are attractive to humans for recreation, tourism and cultural activities and that has spiritual importance.
4. Economic Value:
The economic potential of biodiversity is immense in terms of food, fodder, medicinal, ethical and social values. Biodiversity forms the major resource for different industries, which govern the world economy.
The salient features regarding the economical potential of biodiversity are given below:
1. The major fuel sources of the world including wood and fossil fuels have their origin due to biodiversity.
2. It is the source of food for all animals and humans.
3. Many important chemicals have their origin from the diverse flora and fauna, used in various industries.
4. Diverse group of animals are used for medical research during the testing of new drugs.
5. Consumptive use value:
This is related to natural products that are used directly for food, fodder, timber, fuel wood etc. Humans use at least 40,000 species of plants and animals on a daily basis.
Many people around the world still depend on wild species for most of their needs like food, shelter and clothing. The tribal people are completely dependent on the forests for their daily needs.
6. Productive Use Value:
This is assigned to products that are commercially harvested and marketed. Almost all the present date agricultural crops have originated from wild varieties. The
biotechnologists continuously use the wild species of plants for developing new, better yielding and disease resistant varieties. Biodiversity represents the original stock from which new varieties are being developed.
7. Ethical and Moral Value:
It is based on the principle of ‘live and let others live’. Ethical values related to biodiversity conservation are based on the importance of protecting all forms of life.
All forms of life have the right to exist on earth. Man is only a small part of the Earth’s great family of species.
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Don’t plants and animals have an equal right to live and exist on our planet which is like an inhabited spaceship? Morality and ethics teach us to preserve all forms of life and not to harm any organism unnecessarily.
Some people take pleasure in the hunting of animals. People also sometimes degrade and pollute the environment by their unethical actions. Through proper education and awareness, the people’s conscience against such practices must be raised.
8. Aesthetic Value:
The beauty of our planet is because of biodiversity, which otherwise would have resembled other barren planets dotted around the universe. Biological diversity adds to the quality of life and provides some of the most beautiful aspects of our existence.
Biodiversity is responsible for the beauty of a landscape.
People go far off places to enjoy the natural surroundings and wildlife. This type of tourism is referred to as eco-tourism, which has now become a major source of income in many countries. In many societies, the diversity of flora and fauna has become a part of the traditions and culture of the region and has added to the aesthetic values of the place.
