Download or read book Functional Roles of Biodiversity written by Harold A. Mooney and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity refers to the three attributes of living environments: the variety of distinct ecosystems they contain; the number of species within them; and the range of genetic diversity within the populations of each of these species. This book presents a synthesis of ideas emerging from 15 biome-specific workshops exploring our current knowledge of the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes. The contributions offer an assessment of the consequences of human activities at the ecosystem level and provide an appropriate framework for making future policy decisions.