Breeding of Vegetable, Spice and Tuber crops (2+1)

Ecological role of biodiversity

• All species provide some kind of function to an ecosystem. They can capture and store energy, produce organic material, decompose organic material, help to cycle water and nutrients throughout the ecosystem, control erosion or pests, fix atmospheric gases, or help regulate climate.
 
• Ecosystems also provide us various supports of production (soil fertility, pollinators of plants, predators, decomposition of wastes) and services such as purification of the air and water, stabilization and moderation of the climate, decrease of flooding, drought and other environmental disasters. These functions are important to an ecosystem, and to human survival.


• Research show that the more diverse an ecosystem, the better it can withstand environmental stress and eventually the more productive it is. The loss of a species thus decreases the ability of the system to maintain itself or to recover in case of damage. The mechanisms underlying these effects are complex and hotly contested. In recent years, however, it has become clear that these ecological effects of biodiversity do indeed exist.