The term Biodiversity is defined by two words, Bio which means life and diversity means variety. Biodiversity is the occurrence of different types of organisms and their species, genetic characteristics and their adaptation environment along with their processes and interactions.
According to the World Resources Institute, Biodiversity is the variety of the world’s organisms, including their genetic diversity and the assemblage they form. It represents the total sum of various life – forms such as unicellular fungi, bacteria, protozoa and multicellular organisms such as vegetation, aquatic animals, mammals and all other animals including their genes, species, habitats and their ecosystem.
| Table of Contents 1. Importance of Biodiversity Fundamental Levels of Biodiversity 2.1 Species Diversity 2.2 Genetic Diversity 2.3 Ecosystem Diversity Conservation of Biodiversity 3.1 Objectives 3.2 Methods of Biodiversity |
Species is the main aspect of biodiversity. At present at least 10 to 80 million species exist on the earth and only about 1.5 million could be assessed and found so far. The term biodiversity was popularised by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson who studied the existence of various species and their ecosystem for survival.
Importance of Biodiversity
- Biodiversity is important to maintain the ecological system.
- It has economical importance also. It provides some raw materials by which finished products can be prepared by further processing.
- Vegetation should be preserved to make biodiversity safe.
- It is important for recreational activities.
- It is important for medicines also. Neem, Tulsi, Turmeric, Babool etc have medicinal properties and are used as medicine to cure many diseases.
- Biodiversity helps to fulfil the needs of human beings by providing food, medicines, clothes and raw materials for various industrial and domestic purposes.
Fundamental Levels of Biodiversity
Biodiversity can be generally described in terms of its three fundamental levels of biological organizations. These are:
- Species
- Genetics
- Ecosystem biodiversity
Fundamental Levels of Biodiversity: Species Diversity
Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular geographical region. Biodiversity at its most basic level includes all the variety of species that exist on the earth, from the microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, etc. and the multicellular kingdom of plants, animals, and fungi.
The number of species of the plants and animals present in a particular region constitutes its species diversity. All the systems’ natural and agricultural systems have a diversity of species. There are millions of species on the earth with their diversity. Natural tropical forests have a much greater species diversity compared to other geographical regions.
Fundamental Levels of Biodiversity: Genetic Diversity
Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genetic resources among organisms. The genetic Constitution is different for all individuals of the same species. Every human looks different in various aspects from other humans due to genetic variation.
Genes are responsible for diversity in an organism. Genes are the life building blocks that give special characters to a certain kind of species. Due to these genetic characteristics, humans can survive in an adverse environment also.
Genetic biodiversity makes a region rich in biological resources. It’s a valuable resource. The hybridization of plants and animals are formed by incorporating several useful genes from several species.
The hybridized species have a longer life, good productivity and better resistance to common diseases. The conservation of these genetic resources is necessary. To conserve the genetic resources Gene banks or Germplasm banks are established.
Such Gene banks include gardens, animal zoos, genetic resources etc. To conserve species of plants pollen grains, vegetative propagative parts like corm, bulb, tuber, tissues are collected and kept stored in these banks.
Fundamental Levels of Biodiversity: Ecosystem biodiversity
The ecosystem biodiversity refers to the variation of biological communities of animals and vegetations living in an ecosystem and their interaction with each other.
According to the type of ecosystem, the biological species varies. In a forest ecosystem, there are many varieties of trees, shrubs, climbers etc are present in it having a community of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals.
On the other hand in a grassland ecosystem, there exists only a limited variety of herbs, Forbes, and grasses. Several species of insects, birds and animals evolved in these particular regions.
Conservation
Conservation of Biodiversity
The conservation of biodiversity is important for the protection and management of the resources for the sustainable development of present and future generations
Objectives of Biodiversity Conservation
There are three main objectives of the conservation of biodiversity –
- To conserve the endangered species.
- For sustainable development of the species and their ecosystem.
- To maintain the ecological balance.
Method of Biodiversity Conservation
There are two methods to conserve biodiversity –
a) In-situ conservation:
In this method conservation of species in their natural ecosystem or even in man-made ecosystems. This refers to the conservation of flora and fauna and not to domesticated plants and animals because conservation is possible by protecting the population in nature.
For this, the area can be declared as a protected area to conserve the species. According to the World conservation union, a protected area is defined as, “an area of land or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and cultural resources manager through effective means’.
This very advantageous method to conserve endangered species. It is a cost-effective and convenient method. The protected area where In – situ conservation is to be followed is National parks, Sanctuaries, biosphere reserves etc.
b) Ex-Situ conservation:
Ex – Situ conservation means the conservation of species in man-made ecosystems like zoos, gardens, nurseries, Gene banks etc away from their natural habitats. The genetic technique can be used to conserve endangered species. This method is better suited for the conservation of plants than the conservation of animals.
