Biodiversity is defined as the variety of all living organisms on Earth at all levels of organisation. It includes organisms that occur on land, in the sea and in fresh water, and includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants, and invertebrate and vertebrate animals. The definition of biodiversity also encompasses the diversity of the genetic material within each species and the diversity of ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the diversity of ecological and evolutionary processes that are performed by genes and species, and the interactions among them.

Topics

Biodiversity

Importance of biodiversity

Biodiversity is important to humans for many reasons. Biodiversity is also considered by many to have intrinsic value—that is, each species has a value and a right to exist, whether or not it is known to have value to humans.
2016
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Biodiversity
Introduction
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Biodiversity

In this report

This report describes the current pressures on biodiversity, and the state and trends of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and organisms in 2016.
2016
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Biodiversity
Introduction
Biodiversity

Biodiversity: 2011–16 in context

Overall, this 2016 report raises many of the same issues that were raised in all the previous SoE reports dating back to 1996, including the 2011 report.
2016
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Biodiversity
Introduction
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Cresswell ID, Murphy H (2016). Biodiversity: Introduction. In: Australia state of the environment 2016, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/biodiversity/framework/introduction, DOI 10.4226/94/58b65ac828812