The Biodiversity and the Ecosystem

What is Biodiversity?
An ecosystem is a geographical region in which plants, animals, and other species, as
well as weather and scenery, interact to produce an ecological bubble. Ecosystems
constitute simultaneously biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) constituents. Plants,
animals, and other species are examples of biotic variables. Minerals, temperature, and
moistness are examples of abiotic variables.

What is Ecosystem?
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with
which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through
nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is
incorporated into plant tissues.

Kinds of Biodiversity
The aggregate amount of organisms situated within a specific area is frequently
used for determining biodiversity. The greatest quantity of biodiversity exists in tropical
climates, which maintain warm throughout the year. Climates that are temperate with
humid summers and frigid winters have fewer biodiversity. Mountaintops and arid
regions, for instance, have a lot fewer biodiversity.
In broad terms, the larger the biodiversity, the closer the location gets to the Equator. The
Amazon Rainforest of South America, regarded as one of the most sustainably ranged
ecosystems on the entire planet, is inhabited by at least 40,000 unique species of plants. The
province of Quebec, Canada, has an estimated population of only approximately 2,800
people.
The warm oceans of the Western Pacific as well as Indian Oceans possess the highest
diversity of marine environments. The Bird's Head Seascape situated in Indonesia is linked
to 1,200 distinct species of fish and 600 distinct kinds of coral. Some corals represent coral
reefs, which are inhabited by hundreds of various species that span from modest seaweeds
to immense sharks.
Certain regions of the world are dedicated to a substantial number of endemic species—
species which are exclusively found there. The Cape Floristic Region of South Africa is
a habitat for approximately 6,200 species of plants that can be discovered nowhere else on
Earth. Biodiversity hotspots are places with an abundance concentration of indigenous
species. Scientists as well as communities are striving diligently to conserve biodiversity in
these areas.
Biodiversity applies as well to an enormous variety of ecosystems, that include communities
of living creatures and their habitats. The arid regions prairies and rainforests are
examples of ecosystems. Tropical rainforests, alpine ranges, and barren deserts may all be
found on the African continent. It has an abundance of biodiversity. Antarctica has a low
biodiversity since it is nearly totally covered by an ice sheet.
Genetic diversity is another technique to assess biodiversity. When living organisms
reproduce, genes are the basic units of biological information that are passed on. Some
species contain up to 400,000 genes. (Humans have around 25,000 genes, whereas rice has
over 56,000.) All individuals within a species share some of these genes—they distinguish a
daisy from a dog. However, certain genes within a species differ. Because of this genetic
variation, some dogs are poodles while others are pit bulls. That is why some people have
brown eyes and others have blue eyes.
More genetic variety in species can make plants and animals more disease resistant. Species
can also adapt to shifting environments thanks to genetic variation.

Importance of Biodiversity
Every species is interrelated. They are mutually dependent. Animals find refuge in
forests. Plants are consumed by animals. Plants require good soil to develop. Fungi aid in
the decomposition of organisms to improve the soil. Bees and other insects transport pollen
from one plant to another, allowing plants to reproduce. As biodiversity declines, these
links weaken and occasionally break, causing damage to all species in the environment.
Ecosystems with a high level of biodiversity are often stronger and more resilient to
disaster than those with fewer species. Some diseases, for example, exclusively harm one
type of tree. In the early 1900s, American chestnut blight wiped out the majority of the
chestnut trees in North America's eastern woods. Because other types of trees grew there,
the forest ecosystem persisted.
People value biodiversity in a variety of ways. Plants, for example, benefit people by
emitting oxygen. They also supply food, shelter, building materials, medications, and fiber
for clothes and paper. Plants' root systems aid in flood prevention. Plants, fungi, and
organisms like worms keep the soil and water clean. These systems suffer as biodiversity
declines.
Plant biodiversity is vital to hundreds of enterprises. Plants are essential to the
development of industries such as agriculture, building, medicine, prescription
medications, fashion, tourism, and entertainment. When an ecosystem's biodiversity is
disrupted or lost, the economic impact on the local community may be substantial.
The medical and pharmaceutical sectors place a high value on biodiversity. Many
compounds found in rainforest plants have been identified by scientists and are now
employed in useful medications. Aspirin, one of the most popular and safe pain medicines,
was initially derived from the bark of willow trees. Some cancer treatments have been
developed using the rose periwinkle, a flower found on the African island of Madagascar.
In their pursuit for remedies, scientists have only researched a small proportion of
rainforest species. However, hundreds of species become extinct or become extinct
altogether each year before scientists can evaluate if they can be beneficial in therapies.

Decreasing Biodiversity
Global biodiversity has declined considerably during the last century. Many species
have died off. Extinction is a natural process in which some species die out while others
evolve. However, human action has altered natural processes like as extinction and
evolution. Scientists believe that species are extinctions are occurring at hundreds of times
the normal pace.
Natural habitat destruction is a key contributor to biodiversity loss. Wild flora and animals
are vanishing from farms, woods, and wetlands. The ground is cleared in order to sow
crops or construct houses and factories. Forests are chopped down to make timber and
firewood. For example, between 1990 and 2005, the area of wooded land in Honduras
decreased by 37%.
Fewer organisms can dwell in shrinking ecosystems. Genetic diversity is decreasing because
the organisms that survive have fewer mating partners, and genetic diversity is decreasing.
Pollution, overfishing, and overhunting have all contributed to the decline in biodiversity.
Global climate change—the most recent rise in average global temperature due to human
activity—is also a contributing factor. Warmer ocean temperatures harm delicate
ecosystems like coral reefs. A single coral reef may support 3,000 different types of fish and
other aquatic critters like clams and sea stars.
Introduced species can also impact biodiversity. When species are introduced from one
region of the world to another, they frequently lack natural predators. These non-native
species thrive in their new home, frequently at the expense of native species. Brown tree
snakes (Boiga irregularis), for example, were mistakenly introduced onto Guam, a South
Pacific island, in the 1950s. Brown tree snakes proliferated swiftly in Guam because there
were no predators. The snakes, which hunt birds, have wiped off nine of the island's eleven
endemic forest-dwelling bird species.
People from all across the world are fighting to keep the planet's biodiversity intact. The
Endangered Species Act in the United States protects over 2,000 creatures that are on the
verge of extinction. Animals and plants are the most well-known endangered species, but
fungi, such as the white ferula mushroom (Pleurotus nebrodensis), can also be endangered.
The white ferula mushroom, a delicacy found exclusively on the Italian island of Sicily, aids
in the decomposition of organic molecules such as plants. Some environmental
organizations are attempting to develop a sustainable mushroom population that will
please both customers and the local ecosystem.
Thousands of wilderness areas have been established across the world to protect plants,
animals, and ecosystems. Local, national, and international groups are working together to
protect the biodiversity of areas under threat from development or natural catastrophes.
The World Heritage Site program of UNESCO acknowledges sites of global significance,
such as the vast wetland region of the Pantanal in South America. Many national parks,
such as Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana, safeguard biodiversity by
limiting extractive industries like mining and drilling within the park.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been set up to conserve sea life. No-fishing zones have
helped fish populations thrive in the marine protected region surrounding Australia's
Great Barrier Reef. People are also attempting to reduce pollution and restore the area's
coral reef ecosystems. The biodiversity of ecosystems grows as they improve.