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"When we try to pick anything out by itself, we find it hitched to everything else." - John Muir
Biological diversity, or the shorter "biodiversity," (bio-di-ver-si-ty) simply means the diversity, or variety, of plants, animals and other living things in a particular area or region. For instance, the species that inhabit Southern California are different from those in Northern California, and desert plants and animals have different characteristics and needs than those in the mountains, even though some of the same species can be found in all of those areas.
In practice, "biodiversity" suggests sustaining the diversity of species in each ecosystem as we plan human activities that affect the use of the land and natural resources.
Why is Biodiversity Important?
Everything that lives in an ecosystem is part of the web of life, including humans. Each species of vegetation and each creature has a place on the earth and plays a vital role in the circle of life. Plant, animal, and insect species interact and depend upon one another for what each offers, such as food, shelter, oxygen, and soil enrichment.
Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve the web of life that sustains all living things. In his 1992 best-seller, "The Diversity of Life," famed Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson -- known as the "father of biodiversity" -- said, "It is reckless to suppose that biodiversity can be diminished indefinitely without threatening humanity itself."
Fun Facts about California's Biodiversity
Forest soils are one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth.
- Every time you take a step in a forest, you step on 1,000 tiny insects, mites, and spiders.
- In an old-growth forest there are more than 56 times as many insects and bugs below the ground in the soil as there are animals that live above the ground.
Each year some 14 million wild ducks and geese funnel down the Pacific Flyway where 65 percent of them (over 9 million birds) winter in the wetlands of California’s Central Valley.
There are 961 native vertebrates in California: 540 birds, 77 reptiles, 47 amphibians, 214 mammals and 83 freshwater fish. Sixty-five percent of these animals are found only in California!
More than 5,000 plants in California are native. This is more than you will find in the northeastern United States and Canada combined, an area 10 times larger than California! At least one-third of these 5,000 plants are found nowhere else in the world.
The state’s official reptile, the desert tortoise, has been the Mojave Desert’s most enduring resident for about two million years. Urban expansion and loss of habitat have resulted in the tortoise being placed on the federal list of threatened and endangered species.
Geologically speaking, San Francisco Bay is a mere babe, having been formed only about 2,000 years ago.
Wetlands in California once covered more than 5 million acres (7,812 mi2); today that number is approximately 529,000 acres (827 mi2).
- Since 1993, when the State of California began actively restoring wetlands, some 78,000 acres (122 mi2) have been restored or enhanced, reversing a decades long trend.
- The 4,300-acre (6.7 mi2) Yolo Basin Wetlands project near Sacramento is the West’s largest wetlands restoration project.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta waters support 28 native and 28 non-native fishes, in addition to salmon and steelhead. The Delta supplies almost two-thirds of the water used in California, including 40 percent of its drinking water.
At a depth of 1,643 feet, Lake Tahoe is the largest, deepest lake in California and, at 122,000 acres (191 mi2) with a 72-mile shoreline, is the largest mountain lake in North America. Only Crater Lake in Oregon is deeper.
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act has placed more than 1,900 river miles in California under federal or state protection. California rivers in the system are the Smith, Klamath and Eel Rivers, as well as parts of the American, Tuolumne, Kings, and Kern rivers.
Banana slugs may someday be California’s official mollusk. These bright yellow detritus feeders found on the floors of Northwest forests are important processors of organic material.
The California redwood – coast redwood and giant sequoia – are the tallest and largest living organism in the world.
- The coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens (that means "always living" in Latin), often reach heights of 300-350 feet and diameters of 12-16 feet.
- The giant sequoias, found in the Sierra Nevada, are squatter and live longer. (Some of the giants in the Sequoia National Forest are thought to be from 3,500 to 4,000 years old.)
Birds save farmers and timber owners an estimated $44 million in losses annually by eating damaging insects.
The Pacific yew, a small tree under 25 feet high, is playing a big role in the fight against cancer. Its bark produces taxol, a substance that has successfully inhibited the growth of certain tumors.
Over 135 species of birds are completely dependent on streamside woodlands or need them at one stage in their life cycle.
The California condor, an endangered species, is the largest living bird in North America. It has come as close to extinction as any animal alive.
- Condors are now raised in captive breeding programs at the Los Angeles and San Diego zoos, and are later released in the Los Padres National Forest.
- The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles include the remains of California Condors that lived up to 40,000 years ago.
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