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Introduction Biodiversity is a comprehensive umbrella term for the extent of nature variety or
variation within the natural system; both in number and frequency. It is often understood in
terms of the wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes they contain and the
ecosystem they form. The biodiversity we see today is the result of billions of years of evolution,
shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. It forms the web of
life of which we are an integral part and upon which we so fully depend. So far, about 2.1
million species have been identified, mostly small creatures such as insects. Scientists believe
that there are actually about 13 million species, though as per UNEP estimates there are 9.0 to
52 million species exist on earth. Chromosomes, genes, and DNA-the building blocks of life-
determine the uniqueness of each individual and each species. Yet another feature of
biodiversity is the variety of ecosystems such as those that occur in deserts, forests, wetlands,
mountains, lakes, rivers, and agricultural landscapes. In each ecosystem, living creatures
including human form a community, interacting with one another and with the air, water, and
soil around them. Biodiversity is thus considered at 3 major levels:
Introduction Biodiversity is a comprehensive umbrella term for the extent of

nature variety or variation within the natural system; both in number and
frequency. It is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals
and microorganisms, the genes they contain and the ecosystem they form. The
biodiversity we see today is the result of billions of years of evolution, shaped
by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. It forms the
web of life of which we are an integral part and upon which we so fully depend.
So far, about 2.1 million species have been identified, mostly small creatures
such as insects. Scientists believe that there are actually about 13 million
species, though as per UNEP estimates there are 9.0 to 52 million species exist
on earth. Chromosomes, genes, and DNA-the building blocks of life-determine
the uniqueness of each individual and each species. Yet another feature of
biodiversity is the variety of ecosystems such as those that occur in deserts,
forests, wetlands, mountains, lakes, rivers, and agricultural landscapes. In each
ecosystem, living creatures including human form a community, interacting
with one another and with the air, water, and soil around them. Biodiversity is
thus considered at 3 major levels:
1. Genetic diversity: This is the variety of genetic information contained

in all of the individual plants, animals and microorganisms occurring
within populations of species. Simply it is the variation of genes
within species and populations.
2. Species diversity: This is the variety of species or the living
organisms. It is measured in terms of- Species Richness - This refers
to the total count of species in a defined area. Species Abundance -
This refers to the Environment Conservation Journal, Abstracted and
Indexed Copyright by ASEA All rights of reproduction in any form
reserved 20 Environment Conservation Journal relative numbers
among species. If all the species have the same equal abundance, this
means that the variation is high hence high diversity, however if the
one species is represented by 96 individuals, whilst the rest are
represented by 1 species each, this is low diversity. In nature, not all
species of a community are equally different. It is possible to classify
species on the basis of their functions:-
a) Functional types: Functional types are those species, which

perform different ecological functions.
b) Functional analogues: Functional analogues represent distinct taxa

performing the same or very similar ecological functions.
3. Ecosystem diversity: This relates to the variety of habitats, biotic

communities and ecological processes in the biosphere. Biodiversity is
not distributed evenly on Earth. It is the richest in the tropics.
Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be highest near the equator, which
seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary
productivity. Marine biodiversity tends to be highest along coasts in
the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest and in
the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradient in
species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots,
and has been increasing through time but will be likely to slow in the
future.
4. Genetic diversity: This is the variety of genetic information contained

in all of the individual plants, animals and microorganisms occurring
within populations of species. Simply it is the variation of genes
within species and populations.
5. Species diversity: This is the variety of species or the living

organisms. It is measured in terms of- Species Richness - This refers
to the total count of species in a defined area. Species Abundance -
This refers to the Environment Conservation Journal, Abstracted and
Indexed Copyright by ASEA All rights of reproduction in any form
reserved 20 Environment Conservation Journal relative numbers
among species. If all the species have the same equal abundance, this
means that the variation is high hence high diversity, however if the
one species is represented by 96 individuals, whilst the rest are
represented by 1 species each, this is low diversity. In nature, not all
species of a community are equally different. It is possible to classify
species on the basis of their functions:-
c) Functional types: Functional types are those species, which
perform different ecological functions.
d) Functional analogues: Functional analogues represent distinct taxa
performing the same or very similar ecological functions.
6. Ecosystem diversity: This relates to the variety of habitats, biotic

communities and ecological processes in the biosphere. Biodiversity is
not distributed evenly on Earth. It is the richest in the tropics.
Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be highest near the equator, which
seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary
productivity. Marine biodiversity tends to be highest along coasts in
the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest and in
the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradient in
species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots,
and has been increasing through time but will be likely to slow in the
future.
https://www.utoledo.edu/research/rsp/pdfs/Philpott-NSF-AntsAndAgroecosystem.pdf

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Introduction Biodiversity is a comprehensive umbrella term for the extent of

1. Genetic diversity: This is the variety of genetic information contained

a) Functional types: Functional types are those species, which

b) Functional analogues: Functional analogues represent distinct taxa

3. Ecosystem diversity: This relates to the variety of habitats, biotic

4. Genetic diversity: This is the variety of genetic information contained

5. Species diversity: This is the variety of species or the living

6. Ecosystem diversity: This relates to the variety of habitats, biotic

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