Biodiversity and ecosystem health

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life in our province and includes:

• Microorganisms, like bacteria, fungi, and even viruses 
• Plants, like trees, flowers, and grasses 
• Animals, like birds, fish, reptiles, insects, and mammals – including humans 

Biological diversity is vital to maintaining life on Earth and to ensuring a clean, safe and sustainable environment. Biodiversity regulates ecosystems and factors such as:  

• The air we breathe 
• The food we eat 
• Many other factors and benefits that support life   

Protecting biodiversity is essential and only achieved through careful and responsible stewardship for future generations. 

Ecosystems refer to all the organisms within given ecological systems and the interactions between them and their environment.

These systems encompass a variety of living and non-living components that are intrinsically linked through water, nutrients, climate, decay, and predator prey relations and even factors such as fire.

Ecosystems develop in response to different influences such as climate and weather patterns, soil types and topography, and these systems can be found in various forms, from a single tree to an entire river basin.  

What is a healthy ecosystem?

Healthy ecosystems are resilient and sustainable. They can recover from a disturbance like a wildlife or flood to survive, maintain and continue to support life in all its forms. Healthy ecosystems support us all and provide cultural, social and economic benefits. Today, while ecosystem health is under threat from climate change, a province rich in biodiversity will help us build a future where sustainable economies and vibrant ecosystems thrive.

Ecosystem resilience 

The resilience of an ecosystem depends on its diversity of species within it, as well as its structure and function. 

When an ecosystem becomes less diverse through losses or change, it can become less resilient, which reduces its ability to withstand and adapt to disturbances. These could be natural, such as wildfire or flooding. or human-caused, like resource extraction. Maintaining biodiversity is essential for ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of ecosystems. 

Maintaining biodiversity can be seen as an insurance policy to guard against undesirable changes in ecosystem functions, either locally or on a global scale.

Learn more about threats to ecosystems and biodiversity.

Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. 

There are four types of ecosystem services: provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services, and ​supporting services. 

Provisioning services 

Provisioning services provide products such as:  

• Food derived from plants and animals 
• Fresh water 
• Natural medicines and pharmaceuticals 
• Resources (such as those derived from fisheries, forestry, and agriculture) 

Regulating services 

Regulating services maintain environmental conditions that are favourable to life.  

These include critical processes such as:  

• Erosion control 
• Water filtration 
• Carbon storage 
• Habitat that supports biodiversity  

Specific examples of regulating services include: 

• Pollinators for wild plants and field crops  
• Birds and other animals that disperse seeds  
• Water purification through soil and subsoil filtration that removes toxins 
• Wetlands that filter water, mitigate floods, remove pollutants, and store carbon  
• Intact ecosystems that moderate microclimates and temperature  
• Vegetation and intact aquatic systems that act as buffers against floods and storms 
• Vegetation that reduces erosion, retaining soil and preventing landslides 
• Diverse forest composition and natural fire activity that can help mitigate the risk of larger, catastrophic wildfires 
• Trees that improve air quality by trapping particulate matter in their leaves, needles and bark, and that abate the impact of noise in cities 

Cultural services 

Cultural services are non-material benefits that people gain from interactions with ecosystems, including non-material physical, emotional, and mental benefits. 

Examples include:  

• Historically important landscapes and culturally significant species that have spiritual value 
• Inspiration for art, folklore, and architecture  
• Natural landscapes that inspire people to participate in outdoor activities 
• Natural areas that support mental well-being 

Supporting services 

Supporting services are required by all the other services and include processes such as:  

• Biomass production 
• Provision of habitat 
• Soil formation and retention
• Photosynthesis 
• Water cycling 
• Nutrient cycling