Thinking about how I defined biodiversity in my previous post, referencing the stability of systems and functionality of ecosystem services, biodiversity can be viewed as having important features locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally (Batchelder, 2024).
Biodiversity Locally
At a local level, biodiversity can have an impact on the way humans live in their particular area. For example, maybe their career is dependent on growing crops or raising animals. Ecosystem characteristics make these things possible, so changes in biodiversity could shift this. They may also rely on certain ecosystem services, such as tree shade, for daily living, convenience, and comfort.
Biodiversity Regionally
When I think of regional biodiversity, I think of tourism. Many regions have their own set of ecosystems and species within them. For example, I live in New England, and people come to this area expecting trees with changing leaves, moose, bears, and lobsters. We also have popular mountains for hiking and skiing. Someone from the south, where there is never snow, would travel up here to see the snow or specific animals, which contributes to our economy and is a direct result of our specific ecosystems and biodiversity of species.
Biodiversity Nationally
At a national level, biodiversity allows for a complete set of economic factors from the environment as well as cultural significances surrounding specific plants, animals, or habitats. Biodiversity in the US varies from that of other countries, serving as a unique point of interest in terms of tourism, services, and products.
Biodiversity Internationally
At an international level, biodiversity can be described at its broadest, as we are looking around the world. Every ecosystem is very different and specific to certain factors. You cannot accomplish the same things in an artic climate that you would in the desert or in a tropical forest. The same species would not be able to live in these varying areas. By maintaining biodiversity, humans have access to the broadest ranges of ecosystem services across the globe, which we use to maintain our current living standards and to create products with diverse materials.
Blog photo source:
Mel Caines. 2020. Free use under Unsplash License. https://unsplash.com/photos/green-trees-on-seashore-during-daytime-fJRgSfqrXQc
Source:
Batchelder (2024). Retrieved from https://kelsgradnotes.wixsite.com/bermuda-biodiversity/post/my-definition-of-biodiversity on May 28, 2024.
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