Species Diversity: It refers to the variety and richness of species within a specific region. For example, the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.
Importance in the Ecosystem:
Ecosystem Stability: Communities with more species tend to be more stable than those with fewer species, showing less variation in productivity over time.
Productivity: According to David Tilman’s long-term ecosystem experiments, plots with more species show less year-to-year variation in total biomass.
Resilience: High species diversity makes an ecosystem more resilient to occasional disturbances (natural or man-made) and more resistant to invasions by alien species.