Nature maintains biodiversity: ecosystems

Natural ecosystems react to low biodiversity levels by exploiting unused or poorly used resources to increase biodiversity.

Biomimicry Taxonomy

	Maintain community >
	Provide ecosystem services >
	Maintain biodiversity

Biomimetic Application Ideas

Managing and preventing invasive species.

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[Collapse all sections] Summary

"In the case of skeleton weed biodiversity was inadvertently increased by the accidental introduction and then deliberately increased in the hope of achieving an effective biological control. In one sense the foregoing are simply weeds or pests in another they are modern examples of the response of nature to reduced biodiversity or the availability of unexploited or poorly exploited resources. MacArthur (1972) argued that when production is left unused, the system is open to invasion. In the present case I am viewing resources in a wider context but the principle is the same. In terms of biodiversity, nature is doing what it has always done, namely restoration following a decline. The mimicry is two sided. We may be mimicking nature, but nature sees cultivated crops as mimics of resource rich, species poor environments resulting from extinctions and reacts as it has done to these events in the past. This conclusion offers little hope that a permanent or universal solution can be found to the question of how much biodiversity is enough to prevent invasions, pests and diseases and that manipulation by the farmer will always be necessary." (Main 1999:35)

Bioinspired products and application ideas

Application Ideas: Managing and preventing invasive species.

Industrial Sector(s) interested in this strategy: Agriculture, ecosystem restoration, ecosystem protection

References

Main, A. R. 1999. How much biodiversity is enough?. Agroforestry Systems. 45(1): 23-41.

MacArthur, RH. 1972. Geographical Ecology. New York: Harper and Rowe.

Nature maintains biodiversity: ecosystems

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