What Is Biodiversity?
What Is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of life and the ecological systems, relationships, and evolutionary processes that sustain it. It includes differences among genes, species, biological communities, and ecosystems and can be studied at scales ranging from individual populations to the entire planet. International organizations, scientific institutions, museums, conservation groups, and government agencies commonly describe biodiversity through three interconnected levels: genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Biodiversity is not simply a count of how many species occur in a place. It also includes genetic variation within populations, differences in the abundance and ecological roles of species, interactions among organisms, and the variety of habitats and ecosystems across landscapes and oceans. Biological diversity has developed through billions of years of evolution and continues to change as species evolve, migrate, interact, and respond to environmental conditions.
Genetic, Species, and Ecosystem Diversity
Genetic diversity refers to variation within and among populations of the same species. Genetic differences can affect reproduction, disease resistance, adaptability, evolutionary potential, and the ability of populations to survive environmental change. Maintaining genetic variation is therefore an important component of long-term species conservation.
Species diversity concerns the variety of species within a particular area or ecosystem. Scientists often measure it using species richness, which describes the number of species present, together with measures of abundance, evenness, functional traits, and ecological roles. Species are distributed unevenly across the planet, with some regions containing exceptionally high concentrations of endemic and threatened organisms.
Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of habitats, ecological communities, and environmental systems in which organisms live and interact. Forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, rivers, lakes, oceans, coral reefs, agricultural landscapes, soils, mountains, and coastal environments all support distinctive forms of biological diversity.
Why Biodiversity Matters
Biodiversity contributes to the functioning, productivity, stability, and resilience of ecosystems. Different organisms perform different ecological functions, including pollination, nutrient cycling, decomposition, soil formation, seed dispersal, water purification, carbon storage, pest regulation, and food-web interactions. Greater biological diversity can sometimes provide ecological redundancy, allowing other organisms to continue performing important functions when particular species decline.
Human societies depend heavily on these ecological processes. Biodiversity supports food production, fisheries, agriculture, forestry, medicines, clean water, breathable air, fertile soils, livelihoods, recreation, and many other benefits commonly described as ecosystem services. Healthy ecosystems also contribute to climate regulation, protection from natural hazards, disease regulation, and physical and mental well-being.
The economic importance of biodiversity extends across agriculture, tourism, fisheries, forestry, manufacturing, supply chains, and other sectors. Biodiversity loss can therefore create environmental, social, health, and economic risks rather than affecting wildlife alone.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
Research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning examines how the number, abundance, traits, and interactions of organisms influence ecological processes. Scientific studies have linked biodiversity with ecosystem productivity, nutrient cycling, resilience to disturbance, and the reliability of ecosystem services.
Functional diversity is particularly important because species differ in what they do within ecosystems. Two ecosystems containing the same number of species may function differently if those species perform different ecological roles. Rare species can also make important contributions to ecosystem function, especially when environmental conditions change.
Biodiversity assessment consequently involves more than counting organisms. Researchers examine species richness, abundance, community composition, functional traits, genetic variation, ecological interactions, and changes across landscapes and time.
Forest, Soil, Marine, and Freshwater Biodiversity
Forests contain complex biological communities extending from trees and understory plants to birds, mammals, insects, fungi, microorganisms, and soil organisms. Greater structural and biological diversity can create more ecological niches and support ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage, decomposition, and water regulation. Deforestation and fragmentation can reduce forest biodiversity by destroying or isolating habitats.
Soils also contain enormous biological diversity. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms, plant roots, and other organisms participate in decomposition, nutrient cycling, soil formation, water regulation, carbon storage, and plant growth. Because many of these organisms remain poorly documented, belowground biodiversity represents an important but sometimes overlooked dimension of ecological diversity.
Marine and freshwater ecosystems support biological diversity ranging from microorganisms and plankton to fish, marine mammals, corals, aquatic plants, and deep-ocean organisms. Marine biodiversity contributes to fisheries, food production, carbon cycling, coastal economies, recreation, and other ecosystem services. Monitoring programs increasingly combine field observations, remote sensing, genomics, ecology, and environmental data to track changes in aquatic biodiversity.
Biodiversity and Agriculture
Agriculture depends on biodiversity both within farms and in surrounding ecosystems. Agricultural biodiversity includes crops, livestock, aquatic organisms, trees, microorganisms, pollinators, soil organisms, wild relatives of domesticated species, and natural enemies of agricultural pests.
Genetic diversity among crops and livestock can improve resilience to disease, pests, drought, and changing environmental conditions. Pollinators support reproduction in many wild plants and crops, while soil organisms contribute to nutrient cycling and soil fertility.
At the same time, agricultural expansion is a major driver of habitat conversion. Deforestation and the transformation of natural landscapes for food production can reduce wildlife habitat and simplify ecological communities. Conservation strategies therefore increasingly seek ways to maintain food production while reducing additional habitat loss and protecting biological diversity within agricultural landscapes.
Biodiversity, Climate, and Environmental Change
Climate and biodiversity are closely connected. Temperature, precipitation, storms, drought, sea-level change, and other environmental conditions influence species distributions and ecosystem structure. Climate change can alter migration patterns, shift vegetation zones, transform habitats, change ecological interactions, and place additional pressure on already vulnerable populations.
Biodiversity can also influence the capacity of ecosystems to respond to environmental change. Diverse ecosystems may contain organisms with different tolerances and ecological functions, increasing the range of possible responses to disturbance.
Satellite observations, environmental DNA, long-term ecological monitoring, genetic analysis, field surveys, and other technologies are increasingly used to track biodiversity across large areas and detect changes that might otherwise be difficult to observe.
Biodiversity Loss and Major Threats
Human activity is causing widespread changes in biodiversity. Major direct drivers include changes in land and sea use, exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species. Habitat destruction, deforestation, agricultural expansion, urban development, overfishing, hunting, resource extraction, and other pressures can reduce populations and alter ecological communities.
Habitat loss and fragmentation can isolate populations and reduce opportunities for migration and reproduction. Overexploitation can reduce wildlife populations faster than they can recover. Pollution can alter terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments, while invasive species can compete with, prey upon, or introduce diseases to native organisms.
Climate change can intensify these pressures by changing habitats and environmental conditions. The effects of biodiversity loss vary across ecosystems, species, and regions, making biodiversity decline a complex process rather than a single uniform global trend.
Biodiversity Loss and Extinction
Extinction is a natural part of evolutionary history, but the fossil record also documents periods of exceptionally rapid biodiversity loss known as mass extinctions. Modern conservation research examines whether current human pressures are accelerating species losses and population declines beyond historical background rates.
Measures such as wildlife-population indices, extinction-risk assessments, habitat indicators, and protected-area coverage provide different perspectives on biodiversity change. These indicators must be interpreted carefully because population decline, species extinction, habitat loss, and overall biodiversity are related but not identical concepts.
Long-term monitoring is therefore essential for determining which species and ecosystems are declining, which are stable or recovering, and which conservation measures are effective.
Measuring Biodiversity
Scientists use numerous methods to measure biological diversity. Traditional techniques include field inventories, species counts, population surveys, habitat mapping, and long-term ecological monitoring. Researchers may examine species richness, relative abundance, evenness, genetic diversity, functional diversity, community composition, and ecosystem characteristics.
New technologies are expanding biodiversity monitoring. Environmental DNA allows scientists to detect organisms from genetic material shed into water, soil, or other environments. Remote sensing and satellite observations can reveal changes in forests, wetlands, vegetation, coastal ecosystems, and other habitats across large geographic regions.
No single indicator can completely describe biodiversity. Reliable assessment generally requires several complementary measurements that capture changes in genes, populations, species, ecological functions, and ecosystems.
Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration
Biodiversity conservation seeks to protect genes, species, habitats, ecological processes, and ecosystems while allowing sustainable use of natural resources. Conservation approaches include protected areas, habitat restoration, sustainable forestry and agriculture, wildlife management, invasive-species control, pollution reduction, ecosystem monitoring, and measures to reduce overexploitation.
Restoration is increasingly important because protecting remaining habitat alone cannot recover ecosystems that have already been severely degraded. Restoration projects can rebuild forests, wetlands, grasslands, soils, rivers, and other ecosystems while improving wildlife habitat, water security, carbon storage, and ecological functioning.
International biodiversity policy is centered partly on the Convention on Biological Diversity, which established three broad objectives: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provides more recent international goals and targets addressing protected areas, ecosystem restoration, species conservation, genetic diversity, invasive species, pollution, sustainable resource use, and other drivers of biodiversity loss.
Biodiversity and Human Well-Being
Biodiversity conservation is increasingly understood as a human-development and public-health issue as well as an environmental objective. Healthy ecosystems contribute to reliable food supplies, clean water, medicines, livelihoods, fertile soils, climate resilience, recreation, and economic activity.
The relationship is particularly important for communities that depend directly on forests, fisheries, agriculture, wildlife, and other natural resources. Biodiversity loss can weaken livelihoods and increase vulnerability when ecosystem services decline.
Protecting biodiversity can consequently produce multiple benefits at the same time. Conservation and restoration can support wildlife while improving water quality, maintaining productive soils, storing carbon, strengthening food systems, and increasing ecological resilience.
Conclusion
Biodiversity encompasses the immense variety of genes, species, ecological communities, and ecosystems that make up life on Earth. Its importance extends far beyond the survival of individual species because biological diversity supports the ecological processes on which ecosystems and human societies depend.
Scientific research increasingly demonstrates that biodiversity, ecosystem function, climate, food systems, human health, and economic well-being are deeply interconnected. At the same time, habitat transformation, exploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change are placing growing pressure on biological systems.
Effective biodiversity conservation therefore requires a combination of scientific monitoring, habitat protection, sustainable resource management, restoration, pollution reduction, climate action, and international cooperation. Protecting biological diversity ultimately means protecting the ecological systems that sustain both wildlife and human societies.
Defining Biodiversity
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | EPA | July 7, 2026
Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life and the habitats and ecological systems that sustain it. This overview explains how biological diversity supports functioning ecosystems and many of the environmental benefits on which people depend.
| National Geographic Society | National Geographic | June 26, 2026
An introduction to terrestrial biodiversity through maps of species richness and rarity. The resource demonstrates that biodiversity varies greatly from one region to another and can be examined at both global and local scales.
| World Health Organization | WHO | February 18, 2025
Defines biodiversity as variability among living organisms, including diversity within species, between species, and among ecosystems. The fact sheet also explains how biodiversity supports human health through food, medicines, clean water, disease regulation, and resilient ecosystems.
| National Geographic Society | National Geographic | May 7, 2025
Explains biodiversity as the variety of living organisms found on Earth, including plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other forms of life. It introduces several levels of biodiversity and describes why biological variety is essential to healthy ecosystems.
Introduces the international Convention on Biological Diversity and its three central objectives: conserving biological diversity, sustainably using its components, and fairly sharing benefits derived from genetic resources.
| National Geographic Society | National Geographic | June 21, 2024
Provides an accessible explanation of biological diversity as the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns formed by living organisms. It also introduces the history of the term biodiversity and its growing importance in science and public policy.
| Australian Museum | Australian Museum | November 8, 2023
Defines biodiversity as the variety of living things, including plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms, their genetic information, and the ecosystems they form. The article offers a concise introduction to the different dimensions of biological diversity.
Explains that biodiversity includes species, genetic differences within species, and the variety of ecosystems in which organisms interact. Forests, wetlands, rivers, agricultural landscapes, mountains, and islands all contribute to Earth's biological diversity.
| Convention on Biological Diversity | United Nations | 1992
Provides the formal international legal definition of biological diversity used by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Biodiversity includes variation within species, between species, and among terrestrial, marine, freshwater, and other ecosystems.
| World Wildlife Fund | WWF | n.d.
Biodiversity refers to all the different kinds of life occurring in an area, from animals and plants to fungi and microscopic organisms. The explainer stresses that these organisms interact to create the natural systems on which life depends.
| Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.
Introduces biodiversity as the extraordinary variety of life on Earth, extending from genetic variation to species and whole ecosystems. It emphasizes that biodiversity also includes the ecological functions performed by living organisms.
| American Museum of Natural History | American Museum of Natural History | n.d.
Defines biodiversity as life's variety at every level, from genes to ecosystems. The article broadens the concept beyond simply counting species by emphasizing the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that maintain biological diversity.
Genetic, Species, and Ecosystem Diversity
| Our World in Data | Our World in Data | January 5, 2026
Presents current data on the number of scientifically described species across major taxonomic groups. The resource illustrates both the enormous known diversity of life and the considerable uncertainty surrounding species that have not yet been identified.
| National Geographic Society | National Geographic | June 18, 2025
Explains biodiversity hotspots—regions containing exceptional concentrations of species and endemic organisms while also facing severe habitat loss. The article shows why biodiversity is distributed unevenly across Earth.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | 2022
Examines scientists' attempts to determine how many species exist on Earth. It distinguishes between species that have already been formally described and the much larger estimated number that may exist but remain unknown to science.
| National Park Service | U.S. National Park Service | January 28, 2022
Discusses the biodiversity legacy of biologist E. O. Wilson and explains that biological diversity operates at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. It connects these different forms of diversity with food, water, medicines, and ecological stability.
Describes biodiversity as the living fabric of the planet and emphasizes the connections among species, ecosystems, human societies, and cultural knowledge.
| National Wildlife Federation | National Wildlife Federation | n.d.
Introduces biodiversity as the variety of life that can be studied at scales ranging from a neighborhood pond to the entire planet.
| International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN | n.d.
Provides an overview of biodiversity and international conservation efforts, connecting species conservation with the protection and restoration of ecosystems.
Why Biodiversity Matters
| UNESCO | UNESCO | February 10, 2026
Examines biodiversity as an economic and social foundation rather than simply an environmental concern. Biodiversity loss can affect human well-being, economic production, financial stability, and global supply chains.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | January 26, 2025
Introduces the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity initiative, which examines the often overlooked economic value of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
| Danielle Buttke et al. | U.S. National Park Service | 2014
Reviews evidence connecting biodiversity with human health and well-being, including ecological resilience, disease regulation, livelihoods, physical health, and mental well-being.
| Bradley J. Cardinale et al. | Nature | June 2012
A major scientific review examining how biodiversity influences ecosystem functioning and human welfare.
| United Nations | United Nations | n.d.
Explains biodiversity as the variety of life ranging from genes and microorganisms to forests, coral reefs, and other ecosystems and emphasizes its close relationship with climate.
| International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN | n.d.
Explores the relationship between biodiversity and human health, including clean water and air, food supplies, livelihoods, medicines, and ecological conditions supporting human communities.
Biodiversity Loss and Human Pressures
| Florian Keck et al. | Nature | March 2025
A large scientific synthesis examining the effects of human activity on biodiversity around the world, including land-use change, exploitation, pollution, climate change, and invasive species.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | September 5, 2023
Explains five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss: changes in land and sea use, exploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species.
| Nature Education | Nature Education Knowledge | n.d.
Reviews major causes and ecological consequences of biodiversity decline.
| Hannah Ritchie and Our World in Data | Our World in Data | n.d.
A broad collection of research, data, and visualizations covering biodiversity, extinction, wildlife populations, threatened species, conservation, protected areas, and human pressures.
Measuring and Understanding Biodiversity
| Trey Simmons, Damian Menning and Sandra Talbot | U.S. National Park Service | May 29, 2024
Explains environmental DNA, or eDNA, as a rapidly developing method for detecting organisms and studying biodiversity.
| International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN | March 26, 2024
Discusses the methods and principles used to measure biodiversity accurately.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | October 2024
Explains how the Living Planet Index and its underlying wildlife-population database can be used to study biodiversity change.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | October 2024
Examines the 2024 Living Planet Index and explains what changes in monitored wildlife populations do—and do not—tell us about global biodiversity.
| Glenn E. Plumb | U.S. National Park Service | 2014
Discusses biodiversity discovery in national parks and the importance of documenting species.
Biodiversity Conservation
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | December 19, 2022
Introduces the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the international agreement designed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
| Convention on Biological Diversity | United Nations | n.d.
Provides an overview of the principal global treaty governing biodiversity conservation.
| International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN | n.d.
Explains the Convention on Biological Diversity and IUCN's role in its implementation.
| National Geographic Society | National Geographic | n.d.
Introduces conservation as the protection and sustainable management of Earth's natural resources.
Biodiversity: Definitions and Basic Concepts
| National Park Service | U.S. National Park Service | March 4, 2019
Biodiversity means the variety of life on Earth and includes organisms living across terrestrial, aquatic, aerial, subterranean, desert, thermal, and glacial environments.
| Katie Pavid | Natural History Museum | n.d.
Biodiversity describes the variety of all life on Earth and the interactions among organisms and their environments.
| The Royal Society | The Royal Society | n.d.
Biodiversity encompasses all living things, from microscopic bacteria to the world's largest plants and animals.
The Three Levels of Biodiversity
| Smithsonian Ocean | Smithsonian Institution | August 2011
Biodiversity can be understood at multiple levels, including ecosystems, species, and genes.
| American Museum of Natural History | American Museum of Natural History | n.d.
This educational introduction explains biodiversity through three fundamental dimensions: variation among genes, variation among species, and variation among ecosystems.
| Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | FAO | n.d.
FAO defines biodiversity as variation among living organisms, including diversity within species, between species, and among ecosystems.
Genetic Diversity
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | December 6, 2024
Genetic diversity is a foundational component of biodiversity because variation within populations affects species adaptability, survival, and resilience.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | May 23, 2024
Researchers evaluate indicators designed to measure genetic diversity under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | February 8, 2023
Genetic diversity affects extinction risk, evolutionary potential, and the ability of species to adapt to environmental change.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | January 16, 2023
Genetic variation within and among populations allows organisms to adapt to environmental changes.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | July 8, 2021
Genetic diversity underlies adaptation, ecological resilience, and long-term species survival.
| Sean Hoban et al. | U.S. Forest Service Research | 2021
This study evaluates how governments report genetic diversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
| Sean Hoban et al. | U.S. Geological Survey | 2020
The authors examine international targets and indicators for genetic diversity.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | April 26, 2016
Genetic differences within populations can buffer species against changing environmental conditions.
| Constance I. Millar | U.S. Forest Service Research | 1999
Genes are the fundamental units underlying biological variation and evolution.
| U.S. Forest Service | USDA Forest Service | n.d.
Pollination contributes to biodiversity by enabling sexual reproduction among flowering plants and maintaining genetic diversity within plant populations.
Species Diversity and Measurement
| H. F. Yan et al. | Nature Communications | 2025
Research into biodiversity-ecosystem relationships shows that both the diversity and abundance of species can influence ecosystem functioning.
| Fernando T. Maestre et al. | Nature Reviews Biodiversity | 2024
Decades of biodiversity research have demonstrated relationships between species richness, functional diversity, productivity, and other ecosystem functions.
| Nico Eisenhauer et al. | Nature Reviews Biodiversity | 2023
Research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning indicates that biological diversity often enhances both the magnitude and stability of ecological processes.
| Marco Basile et al. | Scientific Reports | 2022
Functional diversity measures differences in the ecological traits and roles of organisms rather than simply counting species.
| Christian I. B. Wallis et al. | Scientific Reports | 2021
Researchers investigate relationships among environmental variation, species diversity, and ecosystem processes in tropical mountain forests.
| Camilo Mora et al. | Scientific Reports | 2014
This study examines different explanations for relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
| M. Merola-Zwartjes | U.S. Forest Service Research | 2004
Modern concepts of biodiversity extend beyond counting species to include genetic structure, ecological interactions, ecosystem composition, landscape diversity, and ecosystem processes.
| William L. Gaines et al. | U.S. Forest Service Research | 1999
Biodiversity monitoring can occur at landscape, ecosystem, community, species, population, and genetic levels.
| Shahid Naeem | Nature Education Knowledge | n.d.
Species diversity can influence ecosystem productivity and stability because different species use resources differently and respond differently to disturbances.
| Nature Index | Nature | n.d.
Functional diversity describes the range and distribution of biological traits within ecological communities.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
| Smithsonian Institution | Smithsonian Institution | 2017
A synthesis of dozens of field studies found strong links between biological diversity and ecosystem productivity.
| Natural History Museum | Natural History Museum | 2017
Biodiversity helps ecosystems function effectively and increases their capacity to provide ecosystem services.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | January 15, 2016
Research comparing ecosystems demonstrates that biologically diverse communities can be more productive and healthier than species-poor systems.
| Cameron Duncan et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | 2015
Reviews relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services across landscapes.
| Uffe N. Nielsen et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | 2015
Soil biodiversity contributes to ecosystem processes, resistance to disturbance, and ecological resilience.
| Mike Christie et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | 2012
Biodiversity conservation can yield multiple ecosystem-service benefits.
| Luigi Ciccarese et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | 2012
Forest degradation can simultaneously reduce biodiversity and ecosystem services.
| Berta Martín-López et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | 2009
The authors develop a framework connecting biological diversity, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, and human values.
| Felix Eigenbrod et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | 2009
Conservation strategies can produce different outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
| Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.
Scientists assess biodiversity by examining characteristics such as species richness and relative abundance.
| Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.
Research has demonstrated strong relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functions including biological productivity, nutrient cycling, and resistance to environmental disturbances.
| Benis Egoh et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | n.d.
Ecosystem services sustain human populations, but relationships between biodiversity and individual ecosystem services can vary.
| Ole Mertz et al. | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency HERO | n.d.
Biodiversity can influence ecosystem services important to livelihoods, particularly in developing regions.
Forest Biodiversity
| Xiaojuan Liu et al. | Nature Reviews Biodiversity | 2026
Three decades of forest biodiversity experiments provide evidence concerning how tree-species diversity affects forest productivity and ecosystem functioning.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | March 30, 2026
Maintaining varied forest structures can provide niches for numerous species and strengthen local biodiversity.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | November 19, 2025
Bird communities can provide information about broader forest ecosystem health.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | March 24, 2025
Forest biodiversity increases the variety of organisms performing ecological functions.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | October 8, 2024
Forest soils contain diverse biological communities that cycle nutrients, regulate water, decompose organic material, and support plant growth.
| Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser | Our World in Data | 2021
Forest conversion destroys and fragments habitats, making deforestation an important driver of biodiversity decline.
| Conservation International | Conservation News | September 5, 2019
Tropical forests contain exceptionally rich biological communities while also providing carbon storage and ecosystem services.
| Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute | U.S. Forest Service Research | 2010
Examines forest biodiversity in relation to ecosystem goods and services, forestry, fisheries, and agroforestry.
| Curtis H. Flather et al. | U.S. Forest Service Research | 2000
Biodiversity indicators for forests and rangelands include measures of ecosystem composition, spatial patterns, species diversity, and genetic diversity.
| Linda Langner and Curtis Flather | U.S. Forest Service Research | 1994
Biological diversity in forests and other environments can be examined through genetic diversity, species diversity, and community or ecosystem diversity.
Soil and Belowground Biodiversity
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | 2020
The State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity synthesizes global research on organisms inhabiting soils, their ecological roles, threats, and conservation.
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | 2015
Soil biodiversity includes the enormous variety of organisms living beneath Earth's surface.
| Soil and Water Conservation Society | USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service | 2000
The Soil Biology Primer describes complex underground food webs involving microorganisms, arthropods, earthworms, plants, and predators.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | n.d.
Soil contains extraordinarily diverse communities of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, mites, insects, worms, plant roots, and other organisms.
| Nature Education | Nature | n.d.
Soil ecosystems often contain extremely high species diversity.
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | n.d.
Soil biodiversity encompasses organisms ranging from microscopic bacteria and fungi to insects, earthworms, and larger animals.
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | n.d.
Soil biological diversity plays a major role in terrestrial ecosystem functioning and agricultural sustainability.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | n.d.
Diverse soil communities contribute to nutrient cycling, organic-matter decomposition, plant growth, and ecosystem resilience.
| U.S. Department of Agriculture | USDA | n.d.
Healthy soils are biologically active ecosystems.
| Natural Resources Conservation Service | USDA | n.d.
Soil health depends in part on biologically diverse underground communities.
Marine and Freshwater Biodiversity
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA | August 18, 2025
Marine biodiversity contributes to healthy and resilient ecosystems while supporting fisheries, recreation, coastal economies, food production, and other ecosystem services.
| Frank E. Muller-Karger et al. | NOAA Repository | 2025
Marine biodiversity includes variation in composition, abundance, productivity, distribution, and ecological interactions among ocean organisms.
| Francisco Chavez et al. | NOAA Repository | 2021
The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network coordinates observations of ocean life.
| Henry Ruhl et al. | NOAA Repository | 2021
Integrating biological observations with environmental monitoring allows researchers to assess species distributions and ecosystem changes.
| Gabrielle Canonico et al. | NOAA Repository | 2019
Marine biodiversity is being altered by environmental changes and human activities.
| Summer L. Martin, Lisa T. Ballance and Theodore Groves | NOAA Repository | April 27, 2016
Research in the eastern tropical Pacific examines biodiversity alongside fisheries, carbon storage, and recreation.
| National Ocean Service | NOAA | April 2016
The U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network combines remote sensing, genomics, ecology, biogeochemistry, and data science.
| Carlo Heip et al. | NOAA / Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning | 2009
Marine biodiversity contributes to climate regulation, carbon storage, organic-matter cycling, food production, and nutrient processing.
| NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries | NOAA | n.d.
Biodiversity is a fundamental characteristic of marine ecosystem condition.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | n.d.
Marine biodiversity encompasses the enormous variety of organisms and habitats found in oceans and coastal ecosystems.
Biodiversity and Agriculture
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | July 11, 2023
Biodiversity for food and agriculture includes crops, livestock, aquatic organisms, trees, microorganisms, pollinators, and wild species supporting food production.
| U.S. Department of Agriculture | USDA | 2022
Pollinators contribute directly to crop production while supporting broader wildlife diversity and healthy ecosystems.
| Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser | Our World in Data | 2022
Agriculture occupies a large portion of Earth's habitable land and has transformed many natural ecosystems.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | September 13, 2021
Agricultural expansion is a major cause of habitat loss.
| Jason M. Tylianakis et al. | USDA Agricultural Research Service / PLOS Biology | May 2008
Experimental research examines interactions between biological diversity and habitat heterogeneity.
| Food and Agriculture Organization / USDA NRCS | USDA | 2006
Pollinator biodiversity includes numerous insects, birds, mammals, and other organisms contributing to reproduction in wild plants and crops.
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | 2003
Organic and diversified farming systems can support agricultural biodiversity.
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | n.d.
Agricultural modernization has reduced the variety of many traditional crop varieties and livestock breeds.
| Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO | n.d.
Managing biodiversity within agricultural systems can enhance ecological functions while supporting crop production.
| USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture | USDA NIFA | n.d.
Plant selection and genetic diversity can influence the ability of urban and managed landscapes to provide wildlife habitat.
Biodiversity, Climate, and Environmental Change
| Kathryn Cawdrey | NASA | May 22, 2023
Climate change interacts with habitat loss and other pressures to alter biodiversity worldwide.
| NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | NASA | May 7, 2012
Imaging spectroscopy provides information about vegetation traits and species distributions.
| NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | NASA | December 14, 2011
Climate change can reorganize ecological communities by shifting vegetation zones and species distributions.
| University of California Museum of Paleontology | UC Berkeley | 2008
Environmental change creates evolutionary pressures that can alter populations, species distributions, ecological interactions, and biodiversity.
| NASA Earthdata / Millennium Ecosystem Assessment | NASA | May 29, 2005
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment treats biodiversity as variation among organisms from terrestrial, marine, freshwater, and other ecosystems.
| Anthony D. Barnosky and Alan B. Shabel | University of California Museum of Paleontology | 2005
Paleontological records provide long-term perspectives on how biodiversity changes naturally.
| NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission | NASA | n.d.
Changes in precipitation and temperature influence ecosystems, species distributions, community interactions, and biodiversity.
| NASA Earthdata | NASA | n.d.
Earth-observation data help scientists study biodiversity through species distributions, vegetation structure, forest health, habitats, and water availability.
Landsat observations enable scientists to map forests, wetlands, grasslands, coral reefs, coastal areas, and other ecosystems.
| NASA Biological Diversity Program | NASA | n.d.
NASA's biological diversity research uses Earth-observation technologies to investigate species distributions and ecosystem characteristics.
Biodiversity Loss and Extinction
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | 2024
Wildlife-population trends reveal substantial changes in biodiversity, but population indices must be interpreted carefully.
| Our World in Data | Our World in Data | July 18, 2023
Indicators associated with Sustainable Development Goal 15 track forests, protected areas, species extinction risk, habitat degradation, and invasive species.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | November 30, 2022
Hundreds of large-animal species disappeared during late Quaternary extinction events.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | November 30, 2022
Earth's fossil record contains five widely recognized mass-extinction events.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | 2022
The Living Planet Index tracks trends in monitored vertebrate populations but should not be interpreted simply as the percentage of all animals or species that have disappeared.
| Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data | April 20, 2021
Human hunting and habitat conversion have dramatically reduced wild mammal biomass over long periods of history.
| Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | IPBES | 2019
The Global Assessment synthesizes evidence concerning worldwide changes in nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human drivers.
| IPBES | Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | 2019
The assessment concludes that nature and many of its contributions to people are declining globally.
| IPBES | Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | 2018
Land degradation involves persistent reductions in biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services.
Biodiversity, Human Well-Being, and Conservation
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | June 27, 2025
Protected-area coverage of sites important for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity is used as an international indicator of conservation progress.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | June 27, 2025
Mountain ecosystems contain distinctive biological communities and provide important ecosystem services.
| Conservation International | Conservation News | October 15, 2024
Biodiversity supports healthy ecosystems that provide freshwater, fertile soils, pollination, food, medicines, climate regulation, and other benefits.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | September 17, 2024
Healthy ecosystems provide clean water, clean air, nutritious foods, medicines, and other environmental conditions essential to human health.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | February 12, 2024
Africa's terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biodiversity supports livelihoods, food production, economies, climate resilience, and human well-being.
| Conservation International | Conservation News | n.d.
Biological diversity contributes to medicines, nutrition, disease regulation, mental well-being, clean water, and other determinants of human health.
| Conservation International | Conservation International | n.d.
Restoring degraded ecosystems can simultaneously protect biodiversity, improve water security, increase carbon storage, support livelihoods, and rebuild ecological processes.
| Conservation International | Conservation International | n.d.
Ecological restoration complements habitat protection by rebuilding degraded forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other ecosystems.
| United Nations Environment Programme | UNEP | n.d.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework establishes international goals and targets concerning ecosystems, species, genetic diversity, protected areas, restoration, invasive species, pollution, and sustainable use.
