ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY

NAME :RITHICK ROSHAN.A

REG NO. :18BLA1070

INTRODUCTION
The existence of a number of differnt kinds of animala and plants which together
makes a good and healthy enviroment .Biodiversity refers to all species and livimg
organisms on earth in a specific ecosystemlike an inticate web to maintain balance
and suipportnlifeBut one of the most beautiful things about biodiversity is its resili-
ence. Ease up on the pressure, manage resources well, give it time, and the ecosys-
tem will adapt. Nature and biodiversity will recover. . We’ve identified the threats
and are addressing them: engaging both local communities and international gov-
ernments to set aside protected lands and end illegal deforestation; working with
companies to ensure the paper, lumber, and food products you use every day are
sourced responsibly; and leading global efforts to stop wildlife crime.

IMPORTANCE
We’re using these same tactics to combat biodiversity loss all over the world – ana-
lyzing the unique threats and finding innovative solutions. To protect the iconic
wildlife we all love, we must rebuild the web of biodiversity that supports it. We do
this by rethinking how we’re using natural resources, easing the pressure and al-
lowing ecosystems to recover. In the process all life benefits: plants, insects, fish,
birds, mammals, and even people.
 Economic—biodiversity provides humans with raw materials for consumption
and production. Many livelihoods, such as those of farmers, fishers and timber
workers, are dependent on biodiversity.
 Ecological life support—biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that sup-
ply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater
treatment and many ecosystem services.
 Recreation—many recreational pursuits rely on our unique biodiversity, such as
birdwatching, hiking, camping and fishing. Our tourism industry also depends
on biodiversity.
 Cultural—the Australian culture is closely connected to biodiversity through the
expression of identity, through spirituality and through aesthetic appreciation.
Indigenous Australians have strong connections and obligations to biod-
 iversity arising from spiritual beliefs about animals and plants.
 Scientific—biodiversity represents a wealth of systematic ecological data that
help us to understand the natural world and its origins.
Any loss or deterioration in the condition of biodiversity can compromise all the
values outlined above and affect human wellbeing. The Millennium Ecosystem As-
sessment in 2005 was the first global effort to examine links between human well-
being and biodiversity. The assessment found benefits to societies from biod-
iversity in material welfare, security of communities, resilience of local economies,
relations among groups in communities, and human health. It also emphasised the
term ‘ecosystem services’ under 4 broad categories
 provisioning services—the production of food, fibre and water
 regulating services—the control of climate and diseases
 supporting services—nutrient cycling and crop pollination
 cultural services—such as spiritual and recreational benefits
 Keeping biodiverse ecosystems intact helps humans stay healthy. 

 Research indicates that there is a close link between disease outbreaks and the
degradation of nature.
Seventy percent of emerging viral diseases have spread from animals to hu-

mans. As the global wildlife trade continues and development projects expand

deeper into tropical forests, humans are increasing their exposure to wild anim-

als — and the diseases they may carry.

Biodiversity is an essential part of the solution to climate change.  

In a landmark study published in 2017, a group of researchers led by Bronson

Griscom, who researches natural climate solutions at Conservation International,

discovered that nature can deliver at least 30 percent of the emissions reductions

needed by 2030 to prevent climate catastrophe. Protecting biodiversity plays a cru-

cial part in achieving these emissions reductions.

The destruction of forest ecosystems is responsible for 11 percent of all global

greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans, so conserving forests would stop the

release of these gases into the atmosphere. Trees and plants also store carbon in

their tissue, making it even more necessary to protect them.

Some ecosystems, such as mangroves, are particularly good at storing carbon and

keeping it out of the atmosphere — where it contributes to climate change. Forests

and wetland ecosystems provide crucial buffers to extreme storms and flooding re-

lated to climate change. These ecosystems are complex, which means they function

best, and are more resilient to the effects of climate change, when all the pieces of

the ecosystem are in place — meaning the biodiversity is intact.

Genetic Diversity
“Genetic diversity is defined as genetic variability present within species.”
Genetic diversity is the product of recombination of genetic material in the process
of inheritance. It changes with time and space.
Sexual reproduction is important in maintaining genetic diversity as it gives unique
offspring by combining genes of parents.
Mutation of genes, genetic drift and gene flow are also responsible for genetic di-
versity.
Importance of Genetic Diversity
 Genetic diversity gives rise to different physical attributes to the individual and
capacity to adapt to stress, diseases and unfavourable environmental conditions.
 Environmental changes that are natural or due to human intervention, lead to the
natural selection and survival of the fittest. Hence, due to genetic diversity, the
varieties that are susceptible, die and the ones who can adapt to changes will sur-
vive.
 Genetic diversity is important for a healthy population by maintaining different
varieties of genes that might be resistant to pests, diseases or other conditions.
 New varieties of plants can be grown by cross-breeding different genetic vari-
ants and produce plants with desirable traits like disease resistance, increased
tolerance to stress.
 Genetic diversity reduces the recurrence of undesirable inherited traits.
 Genetic diversity ensures that at least there are some survivors of a species left.

Genetic Diversity Examples

 Different breeds of dogs. Dogs are selectively bred to get the desired traits.
 Different varieties of rose flower, wheat, etc.
 There are more than 50,000 varieties of rice and more than a thousand varieties
of mangoes found in India.

It is defined as the number of species and population of species that live in that
particular environment. The population of species of that particular location is
called species richness. There are approximately 1.8 million different species clas-
sified on Earth. Of all the total species, about one million belong to insects. New
species are being discovered each year. Scientists estimate that there may be
between 5 to 30 million species that actually live on Earth. Due to this wide di-
versity, there are different species diversity in different locations as different spe-
cies are present in different locations depending upon their ability to adapt in that
particular environment.
There are teo types of species biodiversity

Inter species
Intra species
Importance of Species Diversity

There are so many positive reasons behind species diversity. Each species has a
crucial role in ecosystem management.
Example: Saprophytes act as decomposers, imagine if these saprophytes are not
present in the ecosystem there will be no composting which will lead to several en-
vironmental problems like disruption of various ecosystem chains. Some of the
major importance are listed below:
Various species are helpful in the purification of water, purification of air, en-
hanced fertility of soils, maintaining climatic stability, and various other environ-
mental factors.
It contributes to a healthy ecosystem. As each species has a specific link with a
wealthy ecosystem. 
Good biodiversity is necessary for the survival of mankind.
Apart from these, there are other benefits such as recreation and tourism, educa-
tion, and research.
 get various products like fruits, cereals, meat, wood, fiber, etc.

 The Amazon forest contributes approximately 20 percent of the total oxygen in

the earth’s atmosphere.

 They maintain the soil fertility of ecosystems.

 Pollination, symbiotic relationship, decomposition play a very unique role in the

ecosystem.

ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
Ecosystem diversity deals with the study of different ecosystems in a certain
location and their overall effects on humans and the environment as a whole. It
is one of the types of biodiversity along with species diversity, genetic diversity,
and functional diversity. Ecosystem diversity focuses on both ter-
restrial and aquatic ecosystems. Also, it includes the variation of a biological
community such as the number of levels of ecosystem diversity and different
niches or habitat diversity, and other ecological processes. Ecosystem diversity
 has a great deal on both genetic and species diversity, thus it is coined as the
“largest scale of biodiversity”. Grasslands, tundras, deserts, rainforests, ter-
restrial and marine ecosystems, are some examples of ecosystems that are di-
verse and contribute a lot to creating a well-balanced environment.
Impacts of Ecosystem Diversity
Why is ecosystem diversity important? A diverse environment can constantly hold
environmental consequences. When a complex ecosystem is highly affected by the
activities of humans and other environmental problems, there could be still a
chance that the interactions among organisms can continue to exist despite the im-
pact.
Human activities in changing ecosystem diversity
Humans are changing the original structure of ecological communities by various
activities that increase the rates of species extinctions and invasions locally and
globally. These modifications in Earth’s ecological communities cause a compel-
ling concern for ecosystem diversity loss. The ecosystem’s diversity loss may be
man-made or naturally-induced that can greatly affect the environment.

MEGA BIODIVERSITY
One of the patterns that dictate where extreme biodiversity occurs is the distance
from the equator to the poles of the earth. Therefore, most of the Megadiverse
countries are found in the tropics: the areas that surround the Earth's equator. Why
are the tropics the most biodiverse areas in the world? The factors that influence
biodiversity include temperature, rainfall, soil, and altitude, among others. The
warm, moist, stable environments of the ecosystems in tropical rainforests in par-
ticular allow floral and fauna to thrive. A country like the United States qualifies
mainly due to its size; it is big enough to holds various ecosystems.
Plant and animal habitats are also not distributed evenly within a country, so one
may wonder why the nation is the unit of Megadiversity. While somewhat arbit-
rary, the nation unit is logical in the context of conservation policy; national gov-
ernments are often the most responsible for conservation practices within the coun-
try.

Mega Biodiversity of India

ndia is one of the 12 mega biodiversity countries in the world. The country is di-
vided into 10 biogeographic regions. The diverse physical features and climatic
situations have formed ecological habitats like forests, grasslands, wetlands,
coastal and marine ecosystems and desert ecosystems, which harbour and sustain
immense biodiversity. Biogeographically, India is situated at the tri-junction of
three realms - Afro-tropical, Indo-Malayan and Paleo-Arctic realms, and therefore,
has characteristic elements from each of them. This assemblage of three distinct
realms makes the country rich and unique in biological diversity. The country is
also one of the 12 primary centres of origin of cultivated plants and domesticated
animals. It is considered to be the homeland of 167 important plant species of cer-
eals, millets, fruits, condiments, vegetables, pulses, fibre crops and oilseeds, and
114 breeds of domesticated animals. About 4,900 species of flowering plants are
endemic to the country. These are distributed among 141 genera belonging to 47
families. These are concentrated in the floristically rich areas of North-East India,
the Western Ghats, North-West Himalayas and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
These areas constitute two of the 18 hot spots identified in the world. It is estim-
ated that 62 per cent of the known amphibian species are endemic to India of
which a majority is found in Western Ghats. Approximately 65 per cent of the total
geographical area has been surveyed so far. Based on this, over 46,000 species of
plants and 81,000 species of animals have been described by the Botanical Survey
of India (BSI) established in 1890 and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) estab-
lished in 1916, respectively. This list is being constantly upgraded, especially in
lower plants and invertebrate animals. The Forest Survey of India established in
1981 assesses the forest cover with a view to develop an accurate database for
planning and monitoring purposes. Conservation and sustainable use of biological
resources based on local knowledge systems and practices is ingrained in Indian
ethos. The country has a number of alternative medicines, like Ayurveda, Unani,
Siddha and Homeopathic systems which are predominantly based on plant based
raw materials in most of their preparations and formulations. Herbal preparations
for various purposes including pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes form part of
the traditional biodiversity uses in India. The strategies for conservation and sus-
tainable utilization of biodiversity have comprised providing special status and
protection to biodiversity - rich areas by declaring them as national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, ecologically fragile and sensitive areas. Other
strategies include offloading pressure from reserve forests by alternative measures
of fuel wood and fodder need satisfaction by afforestation of degraded areas and
wastelands and creation of ]ex-situ conservation facilities such as gene banks.