📚 Why Does Biodiversity Matter? | 生物多样性为何重要？
Biodiversity is the web of life that sustains the natural systems we depend on. It operates at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, and its loss can undermine food security, medicine, climate regulation and the resilience of ecosystems themselves. In this article we explore why biodiversity is not only a measure of nature’s richness but also a critical foundation for human well-being and survival.
生物多样性是维系我们赖以生存的自然系统的生命之网。它在遗传、物种和生态系统三个层面上运行，其丧失会破坏粮食安全、医药资源、气候调节以及生态系统自身的韧性。本文我们将探讨为何生物多样性不仅是衡量自然丰富度的标尺，更是人类福祉与生存的关键基石。
1. Defining Biodiversity | 生物多样性的定义
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth at all levels. It is commonly divided into three components: genetic diversity (variation within species), species diversity (number and relative abundance of species) and ecosystem diversity (range of different habitats and ecological processes).
生物多样性指地球上所有层面生命的多样性。通常分为三个成分：遗传多样性（物种内的变异）、物种多样性（物种数目及其相对丰度）和生态系统多样性（不同生境与生态过程的范围）。
A habitat with high species richness might be a tropical rainforest, while a wheat field maintained as a monoculture has low diversity. Both species richness and evenness contribute to the biodiversity index used in ecology, such as Simpson’s Index of Diversity.
热带雨林是物种丰富度很高的栖息地，而以单一作物种植的小麦田则多样性很低。物种丰富度和均匀度共同影响生态学中使用的生物多样性指数，如辛普森多样性指数。
When we ask why biodiversity matters, we must consider all three levels: genes provide the raw material for adaptation, species drive ecosystem functions, and diverse ecosystems offer a mosaic of services.
当我们追问生物多样性为何重要时，必须考虑这三个层面：基因为适应提供原材料，物种驱动生态系统功能，而多样的生态系统则提供镶嵌式的服务。
2. Ecosystem Services – Provisioning | 生态系统服务——供给服务
Provisioning services are the tangible products obtained from ecosystems. They include food, fresh water, timber, fibre and genetic resources. Wild relatives of crops harbour alleles that breeders use to introduce drought tolerance or pest resistance.
供给服务是指从生态系统获得的有形产品，包括食物、淡水、木材、纤维和遗传资源。农作物的野生近缘种含有育种者用于引入耐旱性或抗虫性的等位基因。
Fisheries depend on marine biodiversity: a diverse food web supports more stable fish stocks. When overfishing removes top predators, trophic cascades can collapse commercially valuable populations.
渔业依赖海洋生物多样性：多样的食物网支撑着更为稳定的鱼类种群。当过度捕捞移除顶级捕食者时，营养级联效应可能使具有商业价值的种群崩溃。
Pharmaceuticals also originate from biodiversity. For example, the rosy periwinkle from Madagascar yields alkaloids used to treat childhood leukaemia, illustrating that a single species can transform human health.
药物同样源自生物多样性。例如，产自马达加斯加的玫瑰长春花含有用于治疗儿童白血病的生物碱，表明单单一物种就能改变人类健康。
3. Ecosystem Services – Regulating | 生态系统服务——调节服务
Regulating services are the benefits obtained from natural processes that control environmental conditions. Pollination by insects is essential for about 75% of global crop species. A decline in wild bee diversity directly threatens agricultural productivity.
调节服务是从控制环境条件的自然过程中获得的惠益。昆虫传粉对全球约75%的作物物种至关重要。野生蜜蜂多样性的下降直接威胁农业生产率。
Wetlands and forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing CO₂ and mitigating climate change. Peat bogs store vast amounts of carbon; draining them releases greenhouse gases, exacerbating global warming.
湿地和森林充当碳汇，吸收CO₂并缓解气候变化。泥炭沼泽储存大量碳；排干它们会释放温室气体，加剧全球变暖。
Other regulating services include flood control by mangroves and water purification by reed beds. Biodiversity underpins these functions because multiple species often provide redundancy, ensuring that if one species declines, others can sustain the service.
其他调节服务包括红树林的防洪作用和芦苇床的水净化功能。生物多样性支撑着这些功能，因为多个物种常常提供功能冗余，确保某一物种数量下降时其他物种能够维持服务。
4. Ecosystem Services – Supporting and Cultural | 生态系统服务——支持与文化服务
Supporting services are those necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, soil formation and primary production. Decomposers like fungi and bacteria mineralise organic matter, releasing nutrients that plants can absorb.
支持服务是产生所有其他生态系统服务所必需的服务，例如养分循环、土壤形成和初级生产。真菌和细菌等分解者将有机物矿化，释放出植物可吸收的养分。
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules of legumes convert atmospheric N₂ into ammonium, illustrating a genetic and species-level contribution to soil fertility that cannot be replaced by industrial fertilisers without environmental cost.
豆科植物根瘤中的固氮细菌将大气中的N₂转化为铵盐，这体现了基因和物种层面对土壤肥力的贡献，这种贡献若用工业肥料替代，则需付出环境代价。
Cultural services include recreation, aesthetic inspiration and spiritual enrichment. Coral reefs and national parks draw tourism that supports local economies; the loss of these ecosystems impoverishes human cultural experience.
文化服务包括娱乐、美学灵感和精神充实。珊瑚礁和国家公园吸引旅游业，支撑地方经济；这些生态系统的丧失将使人类文化体验贫瘠化。
5. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability | 生物多样性与生态系统稳定性
Biodiversity increases ecosystem resilience and resistance. Resistance is the ability to withstand a disturbance; resilience is the speed of recovery. Diverse grasslands, for instance, maintain productivity during drought better than species-poor plots.
生物多样性增强生态系统的抵抗力与恢复力。抵抗力指承受干扰的能力，恢复力指恢复速度。例如，物种丰富的草地在干旱期间比物种贫乏的样地更能维持生产力。
The insurance hypothesis suggests that a greater number of functionally similar species ensures that if one fails, others can compensate. This is critical in a changing climate where extreme events are becoming more frequent.
保险假说认为，功能相似的物种数量越多，若一种物种失效，其他物种便可弥补。这在极端事件日益频繁的气候变化背景下至关重要。
Keystone species have a disproportionately large effect on ecosystem structure. Removal of sea otters allows sea urchin populations to explode, destroying kelp forests. Thus, even a single species’ presence intertwines with overall biodiversity value.
关键种对生态系统结构具有不成比例的重大影响。海獭的消失使海胆种群暴增，毁坏海藻林。因此，即使单单一物种的存在也与整体生物多样性价值密不可分。
6. Genetic Diversity and Adaptation | 遗传多样性与适应
Genetic diversity within a species provides the raw material for natural selection. Populations with high heterozygosity are better able to survive disease outbreaks and environmental shifts. The Irish Potato Famine demonstrated the danger of low genetic diversity: reliance on a few potato varieties allowed Phytophthora infestans to destroy the entire crop.
物种内的遗传多样性为自然选择提供原材料。杂合度高的种群更能抵御疾病爆发与环境变化。爱尔兰马铃薯饥荒彰显了低遗传多样性的危险：依赖少数几个马铃薯品种使得致病疫霉摧毁了整个收成。
In conservation, maintaining gene flow between fragmented populations reduces inbreeding depression. Wildlife corridors are designed to connect habitats, preserving the allelic variation essential for long-term survival.
在保护中，维持片段化种群间的基因流动可减少近交衰退。野生动物廊道的设计就是为了连接栖息地，保存长期生存所必需的等位基因变异。
Crop genetic diversity held in seed banks acts as an insurance portfolio against future pests and climate changes. Thus, biodiversity matters not just at the species count but deep into the genome.
种子库中保存的作物遗传多样性就像应对未来病虫害与气候变化的保险组合。因此，生物多样性不仅关乎物种数量，更深入至基因组之中。
7. Human Health and Medicine | 人类健康与医药
Biodiversity directly influences human health by providing medicinal compounds and by regulating disease. Many antibiotics, such as penicillin, were discovered from fungi. Today, researchers continue to screen organisms from biodiverse hotspots for novel anti-cancer and antiviral agents.
生物多样性通过提供药用化合物和调节疾病直接影响人类健康。青霉素等许多抗生素都是从真菌中发现的。如今，研究人员仍在从生物多样性热点地区筛选生物体，以寻找新型抗癌和抗病毒药物。
Zoonotic disease emergence is often linked to biodiversity loss. When natural habitats are destroyed, humans come into closer contact with wildlife, increasing the risk of pathogen spillover. Intact ecosystems can act as a buffer, diluting disease transmission.
人畜共患疾病的出现常与生物多样性丧失相关。自然栖息地遭破坏时，人类与野生动物的接触更加密切，增加病原体外溢的风险。完整的生态系统可作为缓冲，稀释疾病传播。
Moreover, spending time in biodiverse environments has been associated with mental health benefits, reducing stress and improving cognitive function — a link explored by the concept of ‘nature connectedness’.
此外，在生物多样性丰富的环境中活动与心理健康益处相关，可减轻压力并改善认知功能——这一联系正被“自然联结感”概念所探索。
8. Economic Values of Biodiversity | 生物多样性的经济价值
Biodiversity supports industries worth trillions of dollars. Ecotourism, agriculture, forestry and fisheries all depend on healthy ecosystems. Pollination alone has been estimated to contribute over €150 billion per year to global crop production.
生物多样性支撑着价值数万亿的产业。生态旅游、农业、林业和渔业全都依赖健康的生态系统。仅授粉一项每年便为全球农作物生产贡献超过1500亿欧元。
Natural pest control by insect predators reduces the need for chemical pesticides. In coffee plantations, birds and bats save millions of dollars by consuming insect pests. These avoided costs are often invisible in conventional economic models.
昆虫捕食者提供的自然害虫防治减少了化学农药的需求。在咖啡种植园，鸟类和蝙蝠通过捕食害虫节省了数百万美元。这些避免的成本在传统经济模型中往往不可见。
The loss of biodiversity can lead to market failure when ecosystem services are treated as free. Governments are now developing natural capital accounting to value services such as water purification and carbon sequestration.
当生态系统服务被视为免费时，生物多样性丧失可能导致市场失灵。各国政府正发展自然资本核算，以评估水净化与碳固存等服务的价值。
9. Ethical and Aesthetic Reasons | 伦理与美学原因
Many argue that species have an intrinsic right to exist, regardless of their utility to humans. This ethical stance is reflected in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the work of philosophers who advocate for biocentrism.
许多人认为，物种具有内在的生存权利，不论其对人类的用途如何。这一伦理立场体现在《生物多样性公约》以及主张生命中心主义的哲学家的工作中。
Aesthetically, biodiversity enriches our lives. The seasonal migrations of wildebeest, the chorus of songbirds at dawn and the intricate patterns of a butterfly’s wing evoke wonder and inspire art, literature and science.
在美学上，生物多样性丰富我们的生活。角马的大迁徙、黎明的鸟鸣合唱以及蝴蝶翅膀上精美的图案，都唤起惊叹，激发艺术、文学与科学。
Future generations have the right to inherit a planet as rich as the one we enjoy today. Intergenerational equity demands that we act as stewards, not exploiters, of biological resources.
后代有权继承一个与我们今日所享同样丰富的星球。代际公平要求我们作为生物资源的管理者而非掠夺者行事。
10. Consequences of Biodiversity Loss | 生物多样性丧失的后果
The current extinction rate is estimated to be 100–1000 times higher than the background rate. Habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species and climate change are the main drivers. Losing biodiversity disrupts ecosystem services and triggers feedback loops that accelerate degradation.
目前的物种灭绝速率估计比背景速率高出100–1000倍。栖息地破坏、污染、入侵物种和气候变化是主要驱动因素。生物多样性丧失会破坏生态系统服务，并引发加速退化的反馈循环。
Monocultures are vulnerable to catastrophic failure, as seen in the banana industry threatened by Panama disease. Reduced genetic diversity leaves both wild and agricultural systems dangerously exposed to novel pathogens.
单一作物极易发生灾难性失败，正如香蕉产业受到巴拿马病的威胁。遗传多样性降低使得野生和农业系统危险地暴露于新型病原体面前。
Loss of top predators can lead to mesopredator release, altering entire landscapes. The decline of vultures in India led to an explosion in feral dog populations and a spike in human rabies cases, demonstrating an unexpected chain of consequences.
顶级捕食者的丧失可导致中级捕食者释放，改变整个景观。印度秃鹫数量的下降导致野狗种群暴增以及人类狂犬病案例飙升，展示了难以预料的连锁后果。
11. Measuring Biodiversity to Appreciate Its Importance | 衡量生物多样性以理解其重要性
To argue why biodiversity matters, we must be able to measure it. Species richness is the simplest metric, but ecologists also use indices like Simpson’s Diversity Index (D = 1 – Σ(n/N)²) and Shannon-Wiener Index to account for abundance and evenness.
论证生物多样性为何重要，我们必须能够加以衡量。物种丰富度是最简单的指标，但生态学家也使用辛普森多样性指数（D = 1 – Σ(n/N)²）和香农-维纳指数来考虑丰度与均匀度。
Genetic diversity can be measured by heterozygosity and allelic richness. Ecosystem diversity is often assessed through remote sensing and habitat mapping. These metrics allow scientists to track changes and communicate the urgency of conservation to policymakers.
遗传多样性可通过杂合度和等位基因丰富度衡量。生态系统多样性通常借助遥感与栖息地制图评估。这些指标使科学家能够追踪变化，并向决策者传达保护的紧迫性。
When biodiversity metrics show a decline, ecosystem service delivery often diminishes, confirming that the numbers indeed reflect the life-support capacity of the planet.
当生物多样性指标显示下降时，生态系统服务的供给往往随之减弱，这证实了数据确实反映着地球的生命支撑能力。
12. Conservation and Sustainable Use | 保护与可持续利用
Recognising the importance of biodiversity drives conservation strategies. In-situ conservation (protected areas, national parks) maintains species in their natural habitats, preserving ongoing evolutionary processes. Ex-situ measures such as seed banks and captive breeding act as back-ups.
认识到生物多样性的重要性推动着保护策略。就地保护（保护区、国家公园）使物种在其自然栖息地中得以维持，保存正在进行的进化过程。种子库和圈养繁殖等迁地措施则作为后备。
International agreements like CITES regulate trade in endangered species, while the IUCN Red List assesses extinction risk. These frameworks are built upon the fundamental premise that biodiversity matters for ecological, economic and ethical reasons.
《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》等国际协议监管濒危物种贸易，IUCN红色名录则评估灭绝风险。这些框架建立在一个基本前提之上：生物多样性因生态、经济和伦理原因而至关重要。
Sustainable resource use, such as selective logging and quota-managed fisheries, aims to balance human needs with the long-term maintenance of biodiversity. Education and ecotourism further reinforce the value of intact ecosystems.
可持续资源利用，例如选择性伐木和配额管理的渔业，旨在平衡人类需求与生物多样性的长期维持。教育和生态旅游则进一步强化了完整生态系统的价值。
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