The word "biodiversity" is a shortened version of "biological diversity". In simple terms it means the variety of life. In its broadest sense, biodiversity includes all the different species of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems of which they form a part. Because of the complexity of life, biologists are very precise when they use the word biodiversity. The geographical scale of biodiversity must be defined, for example; global biodiversity - all life on earth national biodiversity - many governments around the world have a National Biodiversity Action Plan to protect the life in their own country habitat biodiversity - for example, the life in a woodland, a desert or a garden pond Go back