The variety of species and habitats within an ecosystem and the genetic variability within a species or population.

In its most general sense, biodiversity refers to all aspects of variety in the living world. Specifically, the term may be used to describe the number of species, the amount of genetic variation or the number of community types present in an area.

The variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems.

The variation in life on Earth reflected at all levels from various ecosystems and species to the genetic variation within a species.

In an environments created solely by nature, there is a variety of plant and animal life, ranging from the very small to the very large. Nature has created a natural system for post and disease control. However, when we only incorporate limited variety in our landscapes, the system of checks and balances breaks down. In general, the more diverse we can make our gardens, the healthier they will be.

the sum of all the plants, animals and other organisms living on Earth.

A collective term used to denote the variety and variability in nature. It encompasses three basic levels of organization in living systems: the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

Convention on Biological Diversity

A term referring to the number, variety and variability of living organisms. It is commonly defined in terms of genes, species and ecosystems, corresponding to three fundamental levels of biological organization. (Source: United Nations Development Programme, Global Environment Facility, Glossary of Terms)

the variety of plant and animal species found in a given area. In general, the more species that are found in an environment, the healthier it is.

The genetic diversity of natural organisms. Collections of millions of microbial genomes harvested from global ecosystems are the starting point for developing new processes and molecules.

No concensus or singular definition exists but it is included within more than 20 laws and regulations. It has various denotations and connotations. Its use is usually limited to animals, though plants and intermediate forms are "life". Microscopic forms are usually excluded and insects are rarely included. Distributions of faunalmass and phytomass have been implied by some workers. Most texts use species richness (the count and list of species) as a synonym. Some use indices of proportionate occurrence or rareness (Shannon and related indices) as a specific meaning. Whether constant abundance of plants (or animals) over many years (great evenness) is desirable or required by the definition is debated. Rapidly changing modern taxonomy, inclusion of migrants, sampling intensities, descriptions of patterns occupied in nature, appropriate levels of statistical confidence, and even the categories of life to be included are also debated and thus collectively result in a general word almost without meaning.

(Biological diversity) – the variety of life forms at the level of ecosystems, species, and gene pools

the entire variety of life on earth

A variety of different species, genetic variability among individuals with in each species, and variety of ecosystems

The variety of plants and animals that exist in nature

The variety of genes, organisms and ecosystems.

The number of different species that exist at a given time.

The level of abundance of life forms co-existing in a given environment.

The range of soils, climate, water, plants and animals that make up the worlds of life and landscape.

The variety of living organisms considered at all levels, from genetics through species, to higher taxonomic levels, and including the variety of habitats and ecosystems.

The variety of life and its processes, including living organisms, their genetic diversity, and habitats and ecosystems in which they occur. For the purposes of this website, biodiversity refers primarily to native species and natural ecological processes.

Short for biological diversity, means the diversity of species, the diversity of the habitats in which they live, and genetic diversity within species.

The variety of forms - the different plants, animals and micro-organisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems of which they form a part

Refers to the variety of life on earth: the number of plants and animals and other organisms that exist on our planet and the variety within these species and the ecosystems they inhabit.

the variety of life on Earth, reflected in the variety of ecosystems and species, their processes and interactions and the genetic variation within and among species.

The variety of all biological life (plants, animals, insects, fish, birds, invertebrates and micro-organisms), the genes they contain and the ecosystems and habitats in which they live.

The variety of life forms – plants, animals and micro-organisms, their habitats and the ecosystems on which they depend – that make up biological diversity of an environment.

The variety of life in all its forms and the processes that link them.

We think we have followed the definition used in the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy but inter alia aren't certain that Strategy truly embraces imported biodiversity. In our case we have considered all living things that are here to constitute our biodiversity regardless of when, or how, they got here. We have regarded indigenous (or baseline) biodiversity as anything here before Cook commenced his biological colonisation programme, in 1769.

The range of plant and animal species and communities associated with terrestrial, aquatic and marine habitats.

the variety of biological life on Earth or within a region

Biodiversity is the term used to describe the existence of a wide variety of species in a particular area or during a specific period of time.

Biodiversity means that there are many different types of species and that there is large-scale genetic variation within each of them.

This means the variety of life on earth and is short for biological diversity.

In general, the variety and variation among plants, animals, and microorganisms, and among their ecosystems. It has 3 levels: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic (within species) diversity. The concept of maintaining biodiversity holds that civilization should preserve the greatest possible number of existing species so that a highly diverse genetic pool, which can be tapped for useful and beneficial characteristics, will be available into the future. Genetic diversity provides resources for genetic resistance to pests and diseases. In agriculture, biodiversity is a production system characterized by the presence of multiple plant and/or animal species, as contrasted with the genetic specialization of monoculture.

Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is generally accepted to include genetic diversity within species, species diversity, and a full range of biological community types. The concept is that a landscape is healthy when it includes stable populations of native species that are well distributed across the landscape.

two kinds: species and genetic diversity, species diversity refers to the differences between species, while genetic diversity refers to differences within species

Biological diversity relating to all life forms.

The variability of genetic resources, species, ecosystems and landscapes

the variety of living things - the different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes they contain and the ecosystems they form

the presence of many species of organisms, plant and animal.

the total variety of all living things on the planet Any major loss of habitat is a threat to the biodiversity of the earth.

The variety of life in all forms, levels and combinations. The term biodiversity includes genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity.

The coexistence of different species and life forms in a habitat, each occupying its own niche, while forming an interdependent food web, and recycling biological wastes. Ecosystems are robust when their biodiversity is high.

The number and variety of different organisms in the ecological complexes in which they naturally occur; encompasses the different ecosystems, species and genes needed for a healthy environment.

The variability among living organisms; this includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species and of ecosystems.

The variety of life, including the variety in genes, species, and ecosystems, and the ecological processes that connect everything within a common environment.

The variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequencies. The term encompasses three basic levels of biodiversity: ecosystems, species, and genes.

Pertaining to the diversity and frequency of organisms in a given area.

Number and variety of living organisms; includes genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecological diversity.

The variety of life on earth embracing all species, communities, habitats and ecosystems associated with the terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments.

variety, complexity and relative abundance of species (plant and animal) present and interacting in an ecosystem.

The total variety of life on Earth, including the diversity of genes, species and ecosystems.

the number and variety of living things in the world or the area being studied.

(also known as biological diversity) The variety of living organisms. Biodiversity encompasses variation at all levels, from the genetic diversity within a species to the variation between higher level evolutionary groupings such as families and classes. It also includes the variety of ecosystems, habitats and the natural interactions of species in the wild.

the maintenance of many different interrelated species in an ecological community.

The tendency in ecosystems, when undisturbed, to have a great variety of species forming a complex web of interactions.

the array, or wealth, of species on the planet

a variety of wildlife in an area

the presence of multiple species, so as to balance the needs of all species.

Biodiversity has been seen as the total (and irreducible) complexity of all life, including not only the great variety of organisms but also their varying behaviour and interactions. More definitions

The variety of plant and animal life. Also known as biological diversity, is an umbrella term used to describe the number, variety and variability of living organisms in a given assemblage. Biodiversity may be described in terms of genes, species and ecosystems, relating to the three fundamental and hierarchically related levels of biological organization. It therefore embraces the whole of ‘Life on Earth’. Declines in biodiversity include all those changes, which will reduce or simplify biological heterogeneity, from individuals or regions.

(See BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY).

the range of plants and animals in an ecosystem or community.

The total variety of life includes both species and habitats.