Geodiversity and Biodiversity

Abstract

Non-living and living nature are inherently connected. Geodiversity, which consists of the variation in geology, soils, topography, geomorphology and hydrology, is seen as the foundation and stage for biodiversity. Underlying theory suggests that the increasing variation in the abiotic foundation creates and maintains available niche space for different organisms to thrive, resulting in higher biodiversity. Emerging scientific observations support this premise, indicating a positive influence of geodiversity on biodiversity across different environments, regions and spatial scales. Inclusion of geodiversity into biodiversity research and conservation therefore has capacity to improve our understanding of biodiversity patterns and dynamics. Current challenges that need to be overcome in this relatively new field of science are related to defining and measuring geodiversity and gaining more empirical evidence on the link between geodiversity and biodiversity. Despite these challenges, connecting these two concepts and embracing the interdisciplinary cooperation have great potential in advancing our understanding of diversity of nature and integrating geodiversity in conservation assessments across scales.