Biodiversity is the abbreviated word for ―biological diversity (bio-life or living organisms, diversityvariety). Thus biodiversity is the total variety of life on our planet, the total number of races, varieties and species. The sum of total of various types of microbes, plants and animals (producers, consumers and decomposers) in a system.It is the most complex and important feature of our planet. Without biodiversity, life would not sustain.
LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
The concept of biodiversity may be analyzed in 3 different levels. They are
1. Ecosystem diversity
2. Species diversity
3. Genetic diversity
Ecosystem diversity
- A set of biotic components (plants, animals and microorganisms) and abiotic components (soil, air, water, etc) interacting with each other is known as an ecosystem.
- Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the plant and animal species living together and connected by food chains and food webs.
- It is the diversity observed among the different ecosystems in a region. Diversity in different ecosystems like deserts, rainforests, mangroves, etc., include ecological diversity.
Species diversity:
- A discrete groups of organisms of the same kind is known as species.
- Species diversity is the diversity between different species.
- 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 microorganism.
- No two individuals of the same species are exactly similar. For example, humans show a lot of diversity among themselves.
Genetic diversity:
- A species with different genetic characteristics is known as a sub-species or "genera".
- Genetic diversity is a measure of the variety of versions of same gene within individual species.
- Within individual species, there are varieties, that are slightly different from one other. These differences are due to differences in the combination of genes.
- Genes are the basic units of hereditary information transmitted from one generation to the other.
Ex: (i) Rice varieties - All rice varieties belong to the species "oryzasativa". However there are thousands of rice varieties that show variation at the genetic level in the form of different size, shape, colour and nutrient content.
(ii) Teak wood varieties: The various teak wood varieties available are - Indian teak, Burma teak, Malaysian teak etc
