Homogeneous 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

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

. Species richness

Species richness

Species richness is the number of different species in a given area. It is represented in equation form as S.Species richness is the fundamental unit in which to assess the homogeneity of an environment. Typically, species richness is used in conservation studies to determine the sensitivity of...

 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

Examples

• Monocultures

Homogeneity in agriculture and forestry; in particular, industrial agriculture

Industrial agriculture

Industrial farming is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political...

 and forestry use a limited number of species. About 7,000 plants (2.6% of all plant species) have been collected or cultivated for human consumption. Of these, a mere 200 have been domesticated and only a dozen contribute about 75% of the global intake of plant-derived calories.

95% of world consumption of protein derives from a few domesticated species, ie poultry, cattle and pigs. There are about 1,000 commercial fish species, but in aquaculture fewer than 10 species dominate global production. Human food production therefore rests on the tips of pyramids of biodiversity, leaving the majority of species not utilised and not domesticated.

• Species migration

Species naturally migrate and expand their ranges, utilising new habitats and resources, e.g. the cattle egret. These natural invasions, an incursion in the absence of anthropogenic influences, occur “when an intervening barrier is removed, or through the development of biotic or abiotic transportation mechanisms, able to overcome the barrier in question”. Introductions, or human-mediated invasions, have in the last century become more frequent. It is estimated that on an average day more than 3,000 species alone are in transit aboard ocean-going vessels.

Using species richness as the unit for which to assess global homogeneity, it appears that anthropogenic assistance in alien species establishment has done much to reduce the number of endemic species, especially on remote islands. Some ‘species-poor’ habitats may, however, benefit in diversity if an invader can occupy an empty niche. Arguably, that environment becomes more diverse, equally it has also “become more similar to the rest of the world”, though ecological interactions between the invaders and the natives are likely to be unique. Indeed, many species are so well naturalised that they are considered native, yet they were originally introduced; with the best examples probably being the Roman and Norman introduction of the hare and the rabbit respectively to Britain.

Introduction of non-endemic species and subsequent eradication of species can happen remarkably fast; evolutionary tempo is, however, slow and “succession of rapid change [will] result in a great impoverishment”. That impoverishment will indeed equate in a world that is more similar, as there will simply be less species to formulate difference.

See also

• Species gradiants
  Latitudinal gradients in species diversity
  The increase in species richness or biodiversity that occurs from the poles to the tropics, often referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient , is one of the most widely recognized patterns in ecology. Put another way, in the present day localities at lower latitudes generally have more...
  
  
• Habitat destruction
  Habitat destruction
  Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
  
  
• Introduced species
  Introduced species
  An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
  
  
• Over-exploitation
• Habitat fragmentation
  Habitat fragmentation
  Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
  
  
• Degeneracy
  Degeneracy (biology)
  Within biological systems, degeneracy refers to circumstances where structurally dissimilar components/modules/pathways can perform similar functions under certain conditions, but perform distinct functions in other conditions. Degeneracy is thus a relational property that requires comparing the...