WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?

“Bio” means Life, “Diversity” means variety.

Biodiversity is the variety of life forms on earth and essential interdependence of all living things. It describes the diversity and richness of life on the planet. It is our planet’s most complicated and vital feature. Life could not exist without biodiversity.

In 1986, the term biodiversity was coined. It is critical in both natural and man‑made ecosystems. It is concerned with the biosphere, which encompasses all of nature’s diversity. It refers to differences in plant, animal, and microbial species.

The quantity of various creatures and their relative frequencies in an ecosystem are referred to as biodiversity. It also reflects how organisms are organized at various levels.

Biodiversity is important for both ecological and economic reasons. It provides us with food, shelter, fuel, clothing, and a variety of other necessities. It also reaps financial rewards from tourism. As a result, having a thorough understanding of biodiversity is critical for a successful career.

“Biodiversity refers to the diversity of living species from various environments, such as terrestrial, marine, and desert ecosystems, as well as the ecological complexes in which they exist.”

• Biodiversity refers to the amount and variety of plants, animals, and other species that occur in a given ecosystem.
• It is a metric for the diversity of species found in various ecosystems.
• The biodiversity of a region is determined by its environmental conditions and geographic location.
• Biodiversity is the culmination of 3.5 billion years of analysis.

TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY

There are the following three different types of biodiversity:

a) Ecosystem diversity

b) Species diversity

c) Genetic diversity

a) Ecosystem diversity

An ecosystem is made up of both living and non‑living creatures, as well as their interactions. Ecological biodiversity refers to the diversity of plant and animal species that coexist and are linked by food webs and food chains.

It is the diversity observed among a region’s many ecosystems. Ecological diversity can be found in a variety of environments, such as deserts, rainforests, and mangroves.

b) Species diversity :

Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular area. It is the biodiversity at the most basic level. It includes all the species ranging from plants to different microorganisms.

Individuals of the same species are never identical. Humans, for example, exhibit a great deal of variability among themselves.

c) Genetic diversity

It refers to the differences in organisms’ genetic resources. Every member of a species has a genetic makeup that is distinct from that of others. That is why each person has a unique appearance. Similarly, there are different varieties in the same species of rice, wheat, maize, barley, etc.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION:

Biodiversity conservation is the protection and management of biodiversity to obtain resources for sustainable development.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION HAS THREE MAIN OBJECTIVES:

• To preserve the diversity of species.
• Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystem.
• To maintain life‑supporting systems and essential ecological processes.

OBJECTIVES AND ADVANTAGES OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION:

• Conservation of biological diversity leads to conservation of essential ecological diversity to preserve the continuity of food chains.
• The genetic diversity of plants and animals is preserved.
• It ensures the sustainable utilization of life support systems on earth.
• It provides a vast knowledge of potential use to the scientific community.
• A reservoir of wild animals and plants is preserved, thus enabling them to be introduced, if need be, in the surrounding areas.
• Biological diversity provides immediate benefits to the society such as recreation and tourism.
• Biodiversity conservation serves as an insurance policy for the future.
• The preservation of biological diversity leads to the preservation of vital ecological diversity, which is necessary for food chain continuance.
• Plants and animals’ genetic diversity is conserved.
• It ensures the long‑term viability of life support systems on the planet.
• It offers the scientific community with a wealth of information that could be useful.
• A reservoir of natural animals and plants has been kept, allowing them to be introduced into the surrounding areas if necessary.
• The direct benefits of biological diversity to society include recreation and tourism.
• Biodiversity protection acts as a form of future insurance.

TYPES OF CONSERVATION:

Ex situ conservation

Ex situ conservation is the preservation of biodiversity outside of its natural habitat. In places like zoological or botanical parks, animals and plants are kept or cultivated.

Another type of ex situ conservation is the reintroduction of an extinct animal or plant into its native habitat. The Gangetic gharial, for example, has been reintroduced in rivers in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, where it had gone extinct.

Ex situ conservation takes place in seed banks, botanical, horticultural, and recreational gardens.

In situ conservation

In situ conservation refers to the preservation of animals and plants in their natural habitats. This includes the formation of

• National parks and wildlife refuges
• Reserves of the biosphere
• Reserves of natural beauty
• Forests that have been set aside and protected
• Plots for preservation
• Forests that have been set aside

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY:

Biodiversity is essential for ecological balance to be maintained. It also aids human survival as well as the survival of other species in the ecosystem. It also aids in the maintenance of high productivity and human wellness.

Biodiversity provides humanity with a significant genetic resource. Because genetic material is the end product of millions of years of evolution, biodiversity preservation is critical.

The amount of biodiversity in the world is a useful indicator of how we interact with other living things. It also signifies each species’ contribution and function in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY FUNCTION:

Biodiversity is vital to the survival of our world. Most societies have acknowledged the necessity of natural resource conservation at some point in their history. Many people still do, while many others do not.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS:

• Ecological Importance
• Economic Importance
• Social Importance
• Ethical Importance
• Scientific Importance

1. Ecological Importance of Biodiversity

Controlling Soil Erosion: Soil organisms provide resistance to erosion by improving the entry and storage of water, which holds soil and roots.

Improvement of Soil Quality: Healthy biodiversity will increase the resilience of the soil to environmental challenges. The biological, physical, and chemical aspects of soil must be in balance. Good soil encourages good agriculture.

Formation of a Healthy Ecosystem: Biodiversity is important to maintain a healthy ecosystem that supplies oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem services. Plants produce oxygen via the process of photosynthesis. Humans breathe oxygen and give off carbon dioxide, which is absorbed by trees. This forms a cycle that shows how all species are connected to each other in this ecosystem.

Protection of Species in the Ecosystem: Biodiversity helps in improving a healthy ecosystem where all forms of species can survive and grow. A large and significant number of plant species can provide a variety of crops. A wide variety of species ensures a smooth implementation of natural processes for a sustainable ecosystem. It also helps in protecting endangered species and their habitats.

Pollution Management: Biodiversity plays a very vital role in controlling pollution. As the trees and other vegetation absorb pollutants such as excessive nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter, it thereby helps to improve air quality.

Nutrient Recycling: Biodiversity plays a significant role in recycling nutrients. For example, plants take nutrients from the soil and the air, and these nutrients can then form the basis of food chains, which is used by a wide range of other life forms.

Source of Knowledge: Biodiversity is very important as a source of knowledge. Many ecologists and scientists do their research about ecosystems based on the structure of biodiversity.

Reduction of risk from Natural Disasters: Healthy biodiversity is very important in risk reduction from a natural disaster. By preventing deforestation and controlling soil erosion, we can reduce the risks from natural disasters and climate shocks.

2. Economic Importance of Biodiversity

Source of Food: Biodiversity is important to provide food to all living organisms in this ecosystem. Agriculture is a source that provides food for human beings, trees, and plants to animals. Other small organisms also get their food from different food sources available in this ecosystem.

Source of Fuel: Biodiversity helps in getting fossil fuel, petrol, natural gas. It also helps in the sustainable growth of wood by increasing forests which is a common form of wood fuel used in day‑to‑day life.

Protection of natural resources: High biodiversity is rich in biological wealth. It is also an indicator of high levels of natural resources. It ensures clean air, water, fertile soil, and a healthy ecosystem.

Development of Medicine: Our scientists have developed many medicines through plants and other living organisms found in this ecosystem which has helped to make medicine for many incurable diseases.

Economic growth and poverty reduction: Biodiversity is necessary for economic development and poverty alleviation. Biodiversity is a major source of raw resources for industry, and food and herbs are critical to the economy’s development. It also helps farmers, fishermen, and the needy in rural areas by offering work possibilities that help to alleviate poverty.

Tourism comes from: Biodiversity is critical to the tourism industry’s growth. Wildlife watching, scuba diving, walking, hiking, bird watching, and camping are all examples of natural tourist attractions.

3. Social Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity has a critical role in providing social advantages such as improved employment and social services for vulnerable rural communities in order to help them develop.

4. Ethical Importance of Biodiversity

The ethical importance of maintaining a healthy biodiversity is to safeguard all forms of life. Every living creature has the right to exist on this planet. Morality and ethics instruct us not to do unnecessary harm to any organism, however some individuals like shooting animals.

5. Scientific Importance of Biodiversity

The scientific value of biodiversity is that it allows scientists to conduct trials and study on plants and organism genes in order to develop new crops and treatments. It also aids scientists in uncovering information on the evolution of life in specific species. Humans expand their knowledge by doing scientific studies on many species and plants. It is a collection of ecological data that aids in our understanding of the natural world and its origins.

EIGHT MAJOR CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Over‑exploitation for Commercialization
• Invasive Species
• Pollution
• Global Climate Change
• Population Growth and Over‑consumption
• Illegal Wildlife Trade
• Species extinction

1. Habitat Loss and Fragmentation:

A habitat is the natural environment of a plant or animal. For 85% of all vulnerable or endangered species, habitat loss is the most serious hazard. Deforestation, fire, overuse, and urbanization are all factors that contribute to this.

2. Over-exploitation for Commercialization:

Over-exploitation of natural resources has resulted in more environmental damage than profit. Shrimp farming, for example, destroys wetlands, pollutes coastal waters, and degrades coastal fisheries in India, Thailand, Ecuador, and Indonesia. According to scientific studies, the cost of environmental degradation caused by shrimp farming is more than the revenue generated from shrimp exports.

3. Invasive Species:

Invasive species are ‘alien’ or ‘exotic’ species which are introduced accidentally or intentionally by human. These species become established in their new environment and spread unchecked, threatening the local biodiversity. These invasive alien species have been identified as the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss.

4. Pollution:

Pollution is a serious danger to biodiversity and one of the most difficult issues to solve; pollutants have no regard for international borders. Agricultural run‑off, for example, may seep into groundwater and rivers before ending up in the ocean, including a variety of fertilizers and pesticides. Pollutants in the atmosphere float with the currents of the atmosphere and are deposited far from their source.

5. Global Climate Change:

Many climatologists believe that the greenhouse effect is likely to raise world temperatures by about 2°C by 2030, meaning that sea levels will rise by around 30‑50 cm by this time. Global warming, coupled with human population growth and accelerating rates of resource use will bring further losses in biological diversity. Vast areas of the world will be inundated causing loss of human life as well as ecosystems.

6. Population Growth and Over-consumption:

Our species has grown from a population of one billion at the turn of the 19th century to more than six billion now. Rapid population growth has resulted in increased exploitation of natural resources such as water, food, and minerals. Although there are signs that our population growth rate is slowing, it is apparent that the current level of natural resource extraction is unsustainable. This is compounded by the fact that 25% of the world’s population utilizes around 75% of the world’s natural resources. This issue of overconsumption is part of a larger problem of unsustainable use.

7. Illegal Wildlife Trade:

The international trade in wild plants and animals is enormous. Live animals are taken for the pet trade, or their parts exported for medicines or food. Plants are also taken from the wild for their horticultural or medicinal value.

8. Species extinction:

Extinction is a normal part of life. Hundreds of thousands of plant and animal species have vanished throughout the periods due to their failure to adapt to changing environments, according to the geological record. Recent data, on the other hand, suggest that the current rate of extinction is at least a hundred to a thousand times faster than the natural rate.

BIODIVERSITY AND BALANCE OF NATURE:-

Tropic Level: – Elimination of species from tropic Level can cause destruction of ecosystem as well as biodiversity.

Complex Ecosystem:-

In a complicated ecosystem having several tropic levels loss of one or more spices do not cause any serious problem because the alternative available.

Keystone species:-

Loss or addition of species causes detectable changes in ecosystem rates i.e. species make unique contribution to ecosystem functioning.

Portfolio effect:-

Species richness increases the temporal stability of the entire community while the biomass is stabilized.

Insurance Hypothesis: – Biodiversity buffers ecosystem against environmental changes such as global warming.

CONCLUSION:

Biodiversity is our life. If the Biodiversity gets lost at this rate, then in near future the survival of human beings will be threatened. So, it is our moral duty to conserve Biodiversity as well our Environment. Long-term maintenance of species and their management requires cooperative efforts across the entire landscape. Biodiversity should be dealt with at the level of habitats or the ecosystem rather than at specious levels.

BY- ANUPAMA SAHOO

MBA in Rural Management, 1^st Division

Utkal University, Chandikhole Campus

REFERENCES

https://www.slideshare.net/SURYAKANTVERMA2/biodiversity-123288945

https://www.embibe.com/exams/importance-of-biodiversity/

https://www.amnh.org/research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/what-is-biodiversity

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/biodiversity/