IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
- Diversity is the beauty of nature.
- Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability among the living organism on the earth. It refers to the variety of living organism on the earth including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystem and ecological complexes in which they occur.
- Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species have an important role to play.
WHY IS BIODIVERSITY IMPORTANT?
Biodiversity is the source of food, medicines, pharmaceutical drugs, fiber, rubber, timber and many more things. A healthy biodiversity provides a number of natural services for everyone.
Biodiversity is important to the survival and welfare of human populations because it has impacts on our health and our ability to feed ourselves through agriculture and harvesting populations of wild animals.
It has three major importance-
- Agricultural Importance– biodiversity serves as huge natural resources of agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries.
In agriculture, the ability to create new crop varieties relies on the diversity of varieties available and the availability of wild forms related to the crop plant. These wild forms are often the source of new gene variants that can be bred with existing varieties to create varieties with new attributes. Loss of wild species related to a crop will mean the loss of potential in crop improvement. Thus, maintaining the genetic diversity of wild species ensures our continued supply of food.
Besides, biodiversity also provides natural services like Nutrient storage and recycling, Soils formation and protection, Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs, Breeding stocks, population reservoirs etc. - Healthy Ecosystem & Human Health- biodiversity is essential for stable and healthy ecosystem. Both Biotic and Abiotic components of an ecosystem, especially biotic components (plants and animals) thoroughly dependent on healthy ecosystem.
Diversity provides alternatives to maintain the stable ecosystem where all living and nonliving factors interact with each other with their own components. - Aesthetic & Cultural Values or Social benefits- biodiversity provides Research, education and monitoring like social benefits. We also get Recreation or aesthetic values such as ecotourism, bird watching, wildlife, pet keeping, gardening etc.from biological diversity.
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BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN INDIA
WHAT IS ATMOSPHERE- STRUCTURE & LAYERS
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLIMATE & WEATHER
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE-DEFINITION & IMPORTANCE