What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity means the variety of life in a place.

This place can be large, like a forest, meadow, city park or nature reserve. But it can also be small, like your own garden, balcony, courtyard, schoolyard or street. Biodiversity includes animals, plants, fungi, insects, bacteria and all the tiny organisms that live in the soil, water and leaf litter.

Some forms of life are easy to see, such as birds, flowers, butterflies, bees and hedgehogs. Others are much smaller or hidden from view, such as fungi, bacteria, soil mites and microscopic organisms. 

A garden with many different plants, insects, birds, worms, beetles, fungi and small mammals has more biodiversity than a garden with only paving stones, short grasses and a few ornamental plants.

 

Biodiversity is more than ‘more animals’

Biodiversity is not only about how many animals live in a place. It is also about how many different kinds of life are present, how they interact and whether the area gives them what they need to survive.

A wildlife-friendly garden is not just a garden with one hedgehog, one bird feeder, or one insect hotel. It is a living space where many different speices can find food, water, shelter, nesting places and safe routes through the landscape.

 

Species richness

One important part of biodiversity is species richness.

Species richness means the number of different species in one area. A species is one type of living thing, such as a hedgehog, earthworm, blackbird, bumblebee, oak tree, ladybird, beetle or fern.

For example, imagine two gardens.

• Garden A has only short grass and one type of hedge.
• Garden B has long grass, native flowers, shrubs, a tree, a compost heap, fallen leaves, beetles, worms, butterflies, birds and maybe a hedgehog visiting at night.

Garden B has higher species richness because more different species can live there, feed there, shelter there or pass through safely.

 

What is an ecosystem?

Biodiversity is also about ecosystems. An ecosystem is a community of living things and their surroundings. In a garden, the ecosystem includes plants, animals, insects, fungi, soil, water, sunlight, shade, dead leaves, stones, wood and even the way humans manage the space.

A garden is not seperate from nature. It is part of the local ecosystem. What you plant, remove, spray, mow, pace or leave alone can change which spiecies are able to live there.

 

Everything is connected

In an ecosystem, living things depend on each other. Plants provide food, shelter, shade, flowers, seeds, fruit, roots and structure. Insects feed on plants, pollinate flowers, break down dead material and become food for other animals. Earthworms and fungi help recycle leaves and dead plants into nutrients. Birds, frogs, hedgehogs, beetles, spiders and many other animals all play their own part.

A healthy ecosystem does not depend on just one species. It works because many different species uspport each other in different ways.

 

Why diversity keeps nature in balance

Diversity helps keep nature in balance because it gives an ecosystems more options. If one plant suffers during a dry summer, another plant may still survive. If one insect species becomes less common, another may still provide food for birds or hedgehogs. If there are many types of plants, there are usually more types of insects. More insects can then support more birds, mammals, amphibians and other wildlife.

A garden with low biodiversity is more fragile. It may have fewer insects, poorer soil, less shelter and fewer natural food sources. It may also be more vulnerable to pests, disease, drought, heat and heavy rain.

A garden with higher biodiversity is usually more resilient. This means it can recover better from change or stress. It has more layers, more food sources, more hiding places and more natural processes working together.

 

Why biodiversity matters for hedgehogs

For hedgehogs, biodiversity is especially important. Hedgehogs do not only need a hedgehog house or a feeding station. They need a living garden with insects, worms, beetles, caterpillars, slugs, shelter, safe routes, nesting materials and quiet corners.

A tidy, closed off, chemical-treated garden may look neat to humans, but it often offers very little to wildlife. There may be too little food, too few hiding places and no safe way for hedgehogs to move between gardens.

A biodiverse garden is different. It gives life space to exist.

 

Simple ways to support biodiversity

You can support biodiversity by making simple choices in your garden.

You can plant a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees. You can use native plants where possible. You can leave some leaves under hedges, create shelter, avoid pesticides, keep soil health, add safe water and allow wild corners to develop.

These actions may seem small, but together they create more food, shelter and safety for many species.