What are flora and fauna?

We explain what are the flora and fauna and the elements that involve each of them. In addition, what are the native flora and fauna.

What are flora and fauna?

Both flora and fauna are types of biotic elements of a given ecosystem , that is, they are living elements that integrate and in many cases constitute a specific biome of our planet.

These terms, separately or together, are used to refer to the specific type of life of a specific geographical region or country : when we refer to flora, we refer to plant life (trees, shrubs, fungi, photosynthetic bacteria , etc. .); and when we refer to wildlife, then the animal (reptiles, mammals, birds, protozoa, insects, etc.). In both cases, these are life forms adapted to the particular conditions of the environment to which we refer.

The relationships between flora and fauna are key to determining how

life operates in a given place, be it an underwater habitat , an Amazon rainforest or the intestinal bowels of a complex organism, such as the human body. In general, the flora involves the producing organisms, whether photosynthetic or not, and the fauna on the other hand to the consumers in their different levels of trophic organization: herbivores, predators and decomposers.

Both categories are useful for studying from different perspectives and disciplines of a given region, since

life is one of the elements that most chemically and physically modify the environment , along with erosion and other natural phenomena of the planet.

Native flora and fauna

The native flora and fauna refers to the animal and plant life of a specific place.

On the other hand, we speak of native flora and / or native fauna when it is desired to refer to plant and animal life, respectively, which is exclusive to a geographical region.

Since life migrates and spreads, and also changes over time , the categories of the native try to define the “native” species , that is, unique to one place, often to understand their kinship ties with other better known ones, or to draw attention to its unique character in terms of preserving the planet’s biodiversity .

Thus, a region can have a rich or poor native flora or fauna, depending on whether it is high or low, the level of diversity of the species that make life in their spaces.

The general impoverishment of biodiversity, as species become extinct due to pollution or destruction of their habitat, is one of the main ecological problems facing the post-industrial world, and for which human beings are largely responsible.