Biological diversity is of fundamental importance for the functioning of all natural and human-engineered ecosystems and, by extension, for the ecosystem services that Nature provides, free of charge, for human society. Biodiversity is most frequently quantified as the number of species. Microbial diversity has driven the evolution of all life on Earth as well as the nutrient cycles, which are key for the operation of the biosphere. The review explains basic concepts of diversity studies such as structural, generic, genetic or functional diversity and describes evolution of taxonomy.
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