Biodiversity Assessment

Levels, indicators and measures of biodiversity assessments

The biodiversity of a region may include different levels (stages) of diversity, as follows (simplified) sections:

   1st Genetic diversity – on one hand, the genetic diversity of all genes within a species (= genetic variability), the other, the entire genetic diversity of a biological community or ecosystem;
   2nd Species diversity – the variety of species in an ecosystem;
   3rd Ecosystem diversity – the diversity of habitats and ecosystems;
   4th Functional biodiversity – the variety of realized ecological functions and processes in the ecosystem (for example, material degradation capacities).

A characterization of biodiversity should include in principle all four levels. The best defined here is the diversity of biological communities, in particular the respective number of species. Suitable definitions of the other levels are not available, although this work has been performed.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has compiled a set of measurable direct and indirect indicators, especially for biodiversity and their development, including:

    * The abundance and distribution of species,
    * The forest area,
    * The size of protected areas (nature reserves, etc.)
    * The water quality of sea and fresh water (eutrophication, pollution, etc.)
    * Number of carriers of traditional natural science by aborigines.

These are (due to the methodological difficulties), not to measures of biodiversity itself, but better known or more easily measurable surrogate measures (eng.: proxies).

To measure the biodiversity in a wider context than that of the individual community particularly the approach of Whittaker is significant. According to Robert H. Whittaker (1960, 1977) Species diversity in alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon diversity is divided. These lines describe patterns of diversity as a function of the observed surface and surface distribution patterns. [6]

Source : http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversität

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