Remarks on the Misunderstood Use of the Term Biodiversity

Authors: Fontana P and Massa B

DOI: 10.23880/izab-16000537

Volume 6, Issue 6

Abstract

The term diversity is intended to denote species richness understood as the number of species and individuals; it was explicitly discussed at length by Hutchinson in 1959 and by many other scientists in the following decades. The term biodiversity, certainly derived from diversity, was born in the 1980s. The difference between the two terms is substantial, diversity is a part of the whole, as biodiversity is understood as diversity of organisms at the level of species, individuals, genes, interactions and ecological processes among them and at the level of ecosystems. Thus, it is correct to write ‘plant diversity’ or ‘animal diversity’, but not ‘plant biodiversity’ or ‘animal biodiversity’. Biodiversity is unique, it includes all living things, it is equal to a fundamental law of life, the maintenance of adequate levels of biodiversity is a necessity for the very life of our Planet. An illustration of biodiversity seen in the form of mosaic tesserae is tentatively presented.

Keywords: Diversity; G.H. Hutchinson; Biological Diversity; Definitions; Conservation; Mosaic

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