Biodiversity as I see it & its Importance Locally and Internationally

To me, Biodiversity is the existence of different plants, animals and other micro-organisms that complement each other and provide necessary ecosystem services such as forage, habitat, and soil health to name a few. The key, as I see it, is how different organisms work together in the larger picture. 

For example, having a diverse forest provides benefit to many different animals in terms of forage and habitat. It can also play a role in reducing soil erosion and improving soil health. This is a great look at a benefit that is seen here in Rockingham County. With intensive land uses such as agriculture, it is even more important to have ecosystems that provide services as described above (reducing soil erosion and improving soil health) as many people depend of healthy soils and clean water to make a living. Biodiversity is important across the globe for the same reasons. As the human race continues to grow, urban centers continue to expand and as agriculture must increase to feed the rising populations, we need to look at our ecosystems and make sure we are doing things that support them. 

These are the types of relationships I will diving further into looking specifically at examples here in Rockingham County. 

Picture obtained from the Stockholm International Water Institute.