biodiversity

Research has now shown that the availability of nutrients is an important factor that limits the number of plant species that can live in one place. For example, grasslands that are polluted with nitrogen and phosphorous (usually from agriculture) have fewer species.

This nutrient-diversity relationship depends on the complexity of interactions between competing species and is directly related to the number of limiting factors (such as soil moisture, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and water) present in the system.

New Keys to Keeping a Diverse Planet

Diversity within a species is necessary to maintain diversity among species, and at the same time, diversity among species is necessary to maintain diversity within a species. And if any one type is removed from the system, the cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species.