In order to understand what megadiversity is, we must first understand that, although we can find life in almost any corner of the planet, it is not distributed the same by all parts of the world. There are areas that have special ecosystems that make them house a unique and very varied biodiversity. These wonderful territories full of life do not exceed 10% of the geography of our planet, but surprisingly they house up to 70% of the entire biodiversity of this.
From Ecology Verde we want you to understand this term and all that it entails, as the need to keep it. Continue reading this ecology article to know What is megadiversity, its meaning and examples And, thus, learn the places where this phenomenon can be seen.
Megadiversity: definition
The megadiversity It was born as a concept from the environmental environmental organization International (CI) in order to designate those those countries or regions that have a huge diversity of ecosystems and specieswhether animals or plants, in its territory. These regions include around 70% of the diversity of the planet In just total 10% of the earth’s surface, which makes them key points for life on Earth.
Given the singularity and enormous richness of these natural paradisesit is of great importance to conserve and take care of the megadiverse regions for the health of the planet. However, there are numerous threats that endanger their persistence, such as climate change, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources, human occupation, illegal hunting of threatened species, deforestation, invasive species, etc.
With the intention of stopping these threats, conservation programs, programs and initiatives have been created, such as Group of related megadiverse countriescreated in Mexico in 2002 and composed of the following countries:
- Australia
- Brazil
- Mexico
- China
- Colombia
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Kenya
- South Africa
- Venezuela
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- India
- Peru
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
Characteristics of Megadiversity
These regions keep particular characteristics or features that allow them to become megadiverse countries. The main characteristics of megadiversity and megadiverse countries are:
- Geographic location: Megadiverse countries are found in tropical regions or near them.
- Large sizes: The size of these countries allows them to house large extensions of territory and, consequently, a huge biodiversity.
- Wealth in the islands or peninsulas: Some of these territories have islands away from other places with endemic and unique animal and vegetable species of the place. Also, the isolation of certain territories, such as South America and North America, favors the appearance of specific species of each territory.
- Great variety of landscapes: Within these territories there are mountainous areas, forests, jungles, islands, seas, lakes, deserts, etc.
- Evolutionary and Cultural History: The mixture of species of different origins and the domestication of native animals and plants has favored the enormous natural wealth of these places over time.
An example of a megadiverse place could be Mexico. In this country, the largest number of reptile species throughout the planet, the second mammalian, the amphibian room and the fifth of varieties of plant species. In addition, a large part of all the species that live here are endemic to Mexico, which makes it a unique and special place for its enormous biodiversity and its wealth of ecosystems. Learn more about what endemic species there are in Mexico with examples and photos in this other article.
Continents and megadiverse countries
According to him Environmental Conservation Monitoring Centerthere is a list with a total of 17 countries that have been described as megadiverse and that coincide in having a geographical location close to tropics and a great diversity of soils, environments and climates, important aspects for the development of the great variety and wealth of species that exist in these places. Distributed among the continents of America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, the countries are as follows:
America
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- USA
- Mexico
- Peru
- Venezuela
Asia
- China
- Philippines
- Indonesia
- India
- Malaysia
Africa
- South Africa
- Madagascar
- Congo Democratic Republic
Oceania
- Australia
- Papua New Guinea
America is the winning continent in terms of megadiverse countries, followed by Asia. In these two continents are where countries with greater biodiversity, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and China are located.
Brazil is the territory with the highest percentage of Amazon junglewhich makes it directly into a megadiverse place, since the Amazon is known for being the tropical jungle with the greatest biodiversity of the earth. In fact, in this country it is where we can find the largest number of species of amphibians, primates, plants and even some insects, such as butterflies. In this way, Brazil covers approximately 20% of the total biodiversity of the planet. If you want to learn more about the Biodiversity of the Amazon, we recommend reading our articles on animals in dangers of extinction in the Amazon and Amazon plants: characteristics, names and photos.
Followed by the country Carioca, Colombia, China and Mexico comprise, each, about 10% of the total species of the Earth in their territories. In these paradises full of life we can find a Huge variety of ecosystemssuch as tropical jungles, deserts, wetlands, Andean slopes, plains, moors, etc., and, with it, a gigantic diversity of species.
Any of the 17 countries is special for some characteristic. Many, in addition to being megadiverse, are examples of species conservation, such as Ecuador; Others stand out for their enormous diversity both for their fauna and their land and sailor animals, such as Australia, where most of the species are endemic given their island character; And others stand out for their large number of species per square meter, such as Colombia, where we can find approximately 19% of the planet’s animal life. Each megadiverse territory is unique and full of life, so Its conservation becomes a great priority to preserve the health of our planet.
In this other post of ecology, you can expand this information on what a megadiverse country and examples are more.
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