- published: 23 Nov 2015
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Homogeneous (adjective) means consisting of parts or people which are similar to each other or are of the same type. Homogeneity (noun) means all of the same or similar kind or nature. In ecological terms it can also be expressed as a lack of, or reduction in biodiversity. Species richness is the fundamental unit in which to assess the homogeneity of an environment. Therefore, any reduction in species richness, especially endemic species, could be argued as advocating the production of a homogenous environment.
Compare: heterogeneous
Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity or lack thereof in a substance. A material that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character; one that is heterogeneous lacks uniformity in one of these qualities.
The concepts are applicable to every level of complexity, from atoms to populations of animals or people, to galaxies[clarification needed]. Hence, a substance may be homogeneous on a larger scale, compared to being heterogeneous on a smaller scale within the same substance. This is known as an effective medium approach, or effective medium approximations.
Heterogeneity is the state of being heterogeneous. It is the nature of opposition, or contrariety of qualities. Pertaining to the sciences, it is a substance that is diverse in kind or nature; composed of diverse parts. In other words, it is composed of dissimilar parts, hence the constituents are of a different kind. The parts (or constituents) are connected, and of a conglomerate mass, and viewed in respect to the parts of which it is made up.
Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house"; -λογία, "study of") is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount (biomass), number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems. Ecosystems are hierarchical systems that are organized into a graded series of regularly interacting and semi-independent parts (e.g., species) that aggregate into higher orders of complex integrated wholes (e.g., communities). Ecosystems are sustained by the biodiversity within them. Biodiversity is the full-scale of life and its processes, including genes, species and ecosystems forming lineages that integrate into a complex and regenerative spatial arrangement of types, forms, and interactions. Ecosystems create biophysical feedback mechanisms between living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components of the planet. These feedback loops regulate and sustain local communities, continental climate systems, and global biogeochemical cycles.