Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management

Plant and Animal Biodiversity

Plants define the habitat of a site, providing structure, shelter and food as well as contributing to the overall biodiversity. Plants are a kingdom of life forms that includes familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns and mosses. Through photosynthesis, they convert water and carbon dioxide into the oxygen we breathe and the sugars that provide the primary fuel for life. Plants were instrumental to evolution as a whole in that they produced the oxygen that made life on Earth possible — not only by "breathing" it into the atmosphere and transforming it, but also by crushing rocks with their roots, which created soils and released nutrients on a large scale. Plant diversity is well represented in rural areas, development pressures have reduced the amount of green space in urban and peri-urban areas, resulting in a poorer diversity of plant communities. However, there are still many small pockets of green space within the built environment with a rich diversity of plant species, and other areas where improvements to green space could encourage the establishment of plants. Management of urban green space directly influences the micro-environment and can create conditions favorable to a range of plants, which in turn can increase habitats for, and therefore the diversity of, other species groups. How animals have adapted to survive and thrive in their environmental riches? is one of the most fascinating aspects of biology. Farm animal biodiversity is important for maintaining genetically diverse and healthy livestock. However, this diversity is being threatened by industrial farming operations that depend on a small number of farm animal breeds that can thrive in an intensive livestock environment. Because of this, farm animal breeds that don't thrive in factory farming operations are becoming more rare. Variability is essential for the evolution and adaptation of living organisms, including animals be they wild or domestic, and constitutes a vast field of research. Such research will lead a better understanding of the ecosystemsand the discovery of various molecules with potential benefits to the humanity. biodiversity Protection is therefore crucial both for animals and humans, in particular at a time when global challenges are posed by growing human population; increasing movement of goods, animals and people, together with pathogens and invasive species; and climate changes, to name a few.