Species diversity

Species diversity is interspecific diversity -- the number of different species of plants and animals found in a given region. It has two components: species richness, which is simply the variety (number) of species present, and species evenness, which is how evenly individuals are distributed among those different species in the area under study. Some regions are naturally richer in species than others; for instance, amphibian diversity is markedly greater in the Western Ghats than in the Eastern Ghats, and an undisturbed natural tropical forest holds far more species than a monoculture timber plantation raised on similar land. A structurally complex habitat -- such as a multi-layered forest canopy offering many distinct light, temperature and food niches -- tends to support noticeably higher species diversity than a simple, uniform habitat, because it creates more ways for differ …