Rende, Italy

Biodiversity and Natural Ecosystems

Biodiversità e sistemi naturali

Master's
Language: ItalianStudies in Italian
Subject area: biology
University website: www.unical.it
Biodiversity
Biodiversity, a portmanteau of biological (life) and diversity, generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), biodiversity typically measures variation at the genetic, the species, and the ecosystem level. Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be greater near the equator, which seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary productivity. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth, and is richest in the tropics. These tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10 percent of earth's surface, and contain about 90 percent of the world's species. 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 gradients 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.
Biodiversity
The variety of life at every hierarchical level and spatial scale of biological organisations are: genes within populations, populations within species, species within communities, communities within landscapes, landscapes within biomes, and biomes within the biosphere.
Edward O. Wilson (1988) in "Biodiversity. By National Academy Press" quoted in: Biodiversity,terms.biodiversitya-z.org
Biodiversity
The cutting of primeval forest and other disasters, fueled by the demands of growing human populations, are the overriding threat to biological diversity everywhere.
Edward O. Wilson in: The Diversity of Life, Harvard University Press, 1992, p. 259
Biodiversity
Although biodiversity loss continues globally, many countries are significantly slowing the rate of loss by shoring up protected natural areas and the services they provide, and in expanding national park systems with tighter management and more secure funding.
Helen Clark in: Helen Clark: UNDP's Pragmatic Visionary, Forbes, 29 March 2012
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