biodiversity

Also known as natural diversity, biological diversity, diversity of life, bio-diversity, biodiverse, biological distinctiveness, biologically diverse, evolutionary diversification

thumb|An example of the biodiversity of fungi in a forest in North Saskatchewan (in this photo, there are also leaf [[lichens and mosses).]]

AI overview

Biodiversity refers to the variety of different living organisms—such as fungi, plants, lichens, and mosses—that exist in a particular environment like a forest. It matters because this diversity of life helps ecosystems function and provide essential services that support all living things, including humans.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

272,051 papers

Enumerating soil biodiversity.ReviewProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Anthony MA, Bender SF, van der Heijden MGADOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304663120
Biodiversity and Health in the Urban Environment.ReviewCurrent environmental health reports · 2021Marselle MR, Lindley SJ, Cook PA et al.DOI: 10.1007/s40572-021-00313-9
A biodiversity hypothesis.ReviewAllergy · 2019Haahtela TDOI: 10.1111/all.13763
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in naturally assembled communities.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2019van der Plas FDOI: 10.1111/brv.12499
Towards an integrative understanding of soil biodiversity.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2020Thakur MP, Phillips HRP, Brose U et al.DOI: 10.1111/brv.12567
Scaling biodiversity responses to hydrological regimes.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2018Rolls RJ, Heino J, Ryder DS et al.DOI: 10.1111/brv.12381
Building mountain biodiversity: Geological and evolutionary processes.ReviewScience (New York, N.Y.) · 2019Rahbek C, Borregaard MK, Antonelli A et al.DOI: 10.1126/science.aax0151
Why European biodiversity reporting is not reliable.ReviewAmbio · 2021Ette JS, Geburek TDOI: 10.1007/s13280-020-01415-8

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Encyclopedic overview

39 sections

Contents

Definitions
Number of species
Current biodiversity loss
Distribution
Latitudinal gradients
Biodiversity Hotspots
Evolution over geologic timeframes
Diversification
Species diversity in geologic time frames
Role and benefits of biodiversity
Ecosystem services
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Agriculture
Human health
Business and industry
Cultural and aesthetic value
Measuring biodiversity
Analytical limits
Biodiversity changes (other than losses)
Natural seasonal variations
Introduced and invasive species
Hybridization and genetic pollution
Conservation
Protection and restoration techniques
Protected areas
National parks and wildlife sanctuaries
Forest protected areas
Role of society
Transformative change
Citizen science
Legal status
International
European Union
National level laws
History of the term
See also
References
External links

thumb|An example of the biodiversity of fungi in a forest in North Saskatchewan (in this photo, there are also leaf [[lichens and mosses).]]

Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels, for example, genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth—it is greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than one-fifth of Earth's terrestrial area and contain about 50% of the world's species. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity for both marine and terrestrial taxa.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “biodiversity” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.