What is biodiversity?
Put simply, the term biodiversity can be translated to “diversity of life”. The term was developed to provide a way to evaluate the diversity of animals, plants and mushrooms in an ecosystem. The more species an area has, the larger the area’s diversity is.
An ecosystem’s biodiversity is, to a large extent, based on the number of different habitats in addition to the accessibility of resources within the system.
Cities often have a relatively low biodiversity, as these areas are primarily made to ensure a habitat for us human beings. Moreover, keeping the city nice and clean must be an easy task, which means that many of the habitats, which birds, mammals and insects need are no longer there.
But it does not need to be like this. By rethinking the city as a living space, we can create a greener and more alive city without this occurring at the expense of our own presence. The cities can therefore function as refuges for some of the country's hard-pressed species and thus be an active part of the management of the Danish biodiversity instead of merely appearing as black holes on the map.
Read more about biodiversity in the city in Natur og Museum. The magazine can be purchased at the Natural History Museum or in the web shop.