There are three interrelated hierarchical levels of biodiversity namely, genetic diversity, species diversity and community or ecosystem diversity.
Genetic diversity
It describes the variation in the number and types of genes as well as chromosomes present in different species. The magnitude of variation in genes of a species increases with increase in size and environmental parameters of the habitat. The genetic variation arises by gene and chromosome mutation in individuals and in sexually reproducing organisms and it is spread in the population by recombination of genetic materials during cell division after sexual reproduction.
Species diversity
It describes the variety in the number and richness of the spices with in a region. The species richness may be defined as the number of species per unit area. The richness of a species tells about the extent of biodiversity of a site and provides a means for comparing different sites. The species richness depends largely on climatic conditions. The number of individuals of different species with in a region represents species evenness or species equitability. The product species richness and species evenness give species diversity of a region. When a species is confined entirely to a particular area, it is termed as endemic species.
Ecosystem diversity
It describes the assemblage and Interaction of spices living together and the physical environment a given area. It relates varieties of habitats, biotic communities ecological processes in biosphere. It also tells about the diversity within the ecosystem. It is referred as Land escape diversity because it includes placement and size of various ecosystems. For example, the landscapes like grass lands, deserts, mountains etc. show ecosystem diversity. The ecosystem diversity is due to diversity of niches, trophic levels and ecological processes like nutrient cycling, food webs, energy flow, role of dominant species and various related biotic interactions. Such type of diversity can generate more productive and stable ecosystems or communities capable of tolerating various types of stresses e.g. drought, flood etc.