Nematodes: important players in biosecurity planning

Abstract

Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to maintaining and sustaining the living networks and systems that provide humanity with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services that life depends upon. The year 2010 was celebrated as the International Year of Biodiversity with the aim of achieving a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. The rate of biodiversity loss is an ongoing problem and many of the underlying factors have not been given due attention. One of the sub-terrestrial factors that needs to be addressed during the post-2010 period is the biodiversity of nematodes, an important component of the food web and carbon cycle. The diversity of nematodes in agro-ecosystems, agro-forestry, animal husbandry, oceans/ponds/rivers, and their relationship to soil processes suggests that nematodes are important players in the maintenance of ecosystem biodiversity.