Biodiversity

In a broader sense, it is the sum of life forms that inhabit the planet. Currently, there are two points of view in this definition. 1) the broad concept states that it is the total of living organisms existing, their genetic variation and the ecological complexes inhabited by them; this diversity covers those within species, between species and between ecosystems. 2) A more restricted view states that the multitude of BioForms, in all its taxonomic and ecological categories, which live in the biosphere and the inclusion of abiotic factors is not essential to the formulation of the concept, since what matters is to describe a natural phenomenon, which is not dependent for its view of the inclusion of physical and chemical environment.

Reference and external links

Glossary of Genetic Resources. Embrapa Genetic Resources. Available at: <http://www.cenargen.embrapa.br/recgen/glossario/glossario.html>. Accessed: February 2011.