Functional Roles of Biodiversity

This wide-ranging text presents a synthesis of ideas emerging from 15 biome-specific workshops, each charged with the task of assessing our current knowledge of the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes. In all chapters the authors apply a broad definition of biodiversity, ranging from genetic to landscape diversity, thus providing a comprehensive assessment of the current situation. This assessment of the consequences of human activities at the ecosystem level is intended to assist in the development of an appropriate framework that can be used for making future policy decisions.