Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species of organisms on Earth, or within a particular ecosystem. A woodland containing many species of trees, other plants, fungi, animals and microorganisms has greater biodiversity than a habitat containing only a few species.

Altered populations and food webs could affect biodiversity, so GM crops require testing and monitoring rather than an assumption that they are either entirely safe or inevitably harmful.

A seedbank cannot conserve animals or an entire functioning ecosystem, and storage is not a substitute for protecting habitats, but it provides an important reserve of plant biodiversity.

The loss of widespread trees or wild plants can also change habitats and reduce biodiversity.