What is Biodiversity and Why Does it Matter?

Understanding Biodiversity in Harriman State Park and Beyond

    Biodiversity refers to the variety of life at multiple levels of biological organization, including genetic diversity within species, species diversity within communities, and ecosystem diversity across landscapes (Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992; Cardinale et al., 2012). Rather than simply counting different species, biodiversity goes further to include the interactions among organisms and the ecological processes that sustain ecosystems.

    In the context of this project, biodiversity provides the framework for understanding Harriman State Park as an interconnected ecological system. Studying biodiversity in the park means examining how forests, wetlands, lakes, streams, and wildlife communities interact and contribute to ecosystem function. It also means considering how human activities and environmental changes influence those relationships over time.

    At the local scale, biodiversity contributes to ecosystem resilience and stability. Ecosystems with greater biodiversity are generally more productive, more resistant to disturbances, and better able to maintain ecological functions like nutrient cycling, pollination, and carbon storage (Cardinale et al., 2012). In Harriman State Park, these functions support both wildlife populations and the millions of people who rely on healthy ecosystems for recreation, water resources, and other ecosystem services.

    At the regional scale, biodiversity conservation helps maintain ecological connectivity across the Hudson Highlands and broader northeastern United States. Large protected areas like Harriman serve as habitat refuges, migration corridors, and reservoirs of ecological diversity within increasingly fragmented landscapes. Maintaining biodiversity in one protected area can therefore contribute to the resilience of larger ecological networks across the region. Nationally, biodiversity supports economic productivity, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, recreation, and public health. Biodiversity underpins many of the ecosystem services human communities rely on for things like food production, climate regulation, and water purification (IPBES, 2019). 

    The importance of biodiversity also extends beyond national boundaries. Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate as a result of habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation of natural resources (IPBES, 2019). Because ecological systems are interconnected through climate processes, migratory species, and global trade networks, biodiversity has become an international concern requiring collaboration and cooperation across political boundaries and jurisdictions.

    As this project progresses, biodiversity will serve as both the subject of study and the lens through which Harriman State Park is examined. Understanding the diversity of life within the park and the ecological relationships that support it can provide insight into broader conservation challenges occurring across New York and the larger northeast region as a whole.

References:

Cardinale, B. J., Duffy, J. E., Gonzalez, A., Hooper, D. U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., ... Naeem, S. (2012). Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature, 486(7401), 59–67. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11148

Convention on Biological Diversity. (1992). Convention on Biological Diversity. United Nations. https://www.cbd.int/convention/text/

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). (2019). Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Bonn, Germany.