Biodiversity: The what, why, and how it can benefit you

October 13, 2023

Garden Biodiversity

A biodiverse garden is created by multiple layers of diversity found in your garden that include genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity which is covered more extensively in my blog Biodiversity: An Introduction. This blog is specifically designed to address what biodiversity can add to your garden and the benefits it can bring you over the short and long term.

The Specifics

  A garden that’s biodiverse exhibits a variety of life including plants, animals, insects, fungi, and microbes that are inhabiting the soil. In essence, a biodiverse garden acts as the local oasis it was designed to be, becoming a safe space where various lifeforms can flourish.

Biodiversity as a Backbone

Biodiversity in gardens is important because it helps support and maintain local, regional, and global ecosystems by designating a space for balanced biological abundance. It’s important to have places that encourage native wildlife to flourish, especially in areas they’ve adapted to and do the most good in. Biodiversity in plant life encourages species diversity by attracting local pollinators such as birds, bees, and other insects that are essential for the dispersal of seeds and provide mobile fertility that helps expand variety in ecosystems. Being that many insects, fungi, and microorganisms are specialists in their environment, species biodiversity ensures your garden’s receiving the environmental support it needs to thrive. The different species that inhabit your garden work together as a network of productivity. Each member performs a particular role that contributes to the strength and stability of the entire community, fortifying your gardens ecosystem. A garden ecosystem utilizes nutrient cycling, a convenient biological process that can be promoted from cultivating a biodiverse garden. Nutrient cycling occurs when organisms such as earthworms break down decaying plant matter and return the nutrients back to the earth, improving soil quality. Nutrient cycling is also cultivated by microorganisms such as mycorrhizal fungi and certain bacteria that support root health by providing nutrient and water retention as well as structural root support.

Ease into Variety

The level of convenience associated with biodiverse gardens is higher than a garden created for purely aesthetic reasons. As a biodiverse ecosystem is cultivated and maintained, it starts to develop a personalized stability, requiring less effort over time with substantial results. Biodiverse gardens encourage natural pest control as native predators within a healthy ecosystem feed on the things that would, without remorse, be feeding on your plants. Once this system is established, you’ll find yourself reaching for the pesticides and herbicides less, resulting in a healthier garden and a healthier you. In addition, a biodiverse system will contribute more to itself over time with the addition of varying microbes, fungi, and essential garden life like earthworms.

Local ecosystems for the win!

Native species are important to protect as they enforce the ecological balance of the region they inhabit. For example, native plant life provides nectar for local pollinators such as butterflies, hummingbirds, and native bee species. Landscaping with native plant life can also combat climate change due to native species evolving in selective ways to perfectly adapt to their specific environment, like the oak tree who is particularly effective in storing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Because these plants have adapted to a specific environment, they provide superior water retention when compared to non-native plants that have adapted better to other environments. Native animal life provides a balance by controlling populations of prey species that would otherwise overwhelm and devastate us along with any active gardening efforts. If any one of these species were lost, the impact on the affected ecosystem would be great and would likely result in the decrease of biodiversity in that area due to changes in the food cycle and lead to an increased susceptibility to invasive species. Native species are durable in their specific environments having been exposed to extreme regional conditions over time and are more likely to survive extreme weather disturbances, climate change, or disease. This makes them reliable hosts within the system, allowing it to endure.

Bring in Abundance

Imagine walking through your garden just to see a hummingbird hawkmoth for the first time, it’s stunning, and a little confusing but without a doubt something to behold!

Biodiversity in gardens is cool simply because it offers so much variety. It offers variety in what vegetables your garden produces and the opportunity to grow and eat different foods. It offers variety in the medicinal potential of your garden, an addition that can contribute to organic health and proactive wellbeing. It can offer variety in the wildlife you see while walking through your garden, and through that, enhance your daily experiences. It can offer practical convenience by the strategic placement of plants that create shade sanctuaries around your home, contributing to lower energy cost and higher energy conservation. Gardening also offers increased mental health. Operating through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is a professor by the name of Charles Hall who extensively researched the psychological benefits of gardening, later publishing an article describing his experience. The article explores gardening as it relates to heightened memory retention, increased creativity, driven productivity, enhanced attentiveness, decreased depression, and the promotion of attention deficit recovery. The article also describes how gardening can promote increased life satisfaction, anxiety reduction, stress reduction, and increased self-esteem. In short, your garden doesn’t just nourish your body, it also works in nourishing your soul.

 References

Schattenberg, P. April, 25, 2022, The Positive Effects of Gardening on Mental Health. Agrilife Today. https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2022/04/25/the-positive-effects-of-gardening-on-mental-health/.

Mayers. K. April 28, 2023. Gardening Statistics in 2023 (Incl. Covid & Millennials). Garden Pals. https://gardenpals.com/gardening-statistics/.

Ingham, E. 2014. Soil Biology Primer. Natural Resource Conservation Service. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/education-and-teaching-materials/soil-biology-primer.

Audubon. N.d. Why Native Plants Matter. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter.