The series Biodiversity describes the variety of living things in a particular place or ecosystem. It is essential to the survival of plants and animals, but human activities have upset biodiversity and it is now under threat. This insightful series looks at the biodiversity of habitat types and ecosystems. It examines the threats and efforts to conserve biodiversity, and identifies biodiversity hot spots. Scientists estimate that as many as 50 species become extinct every day, and human activities have sped up the natural rate of extinction by up to 1000 times. The series is very comprehensive with titles including alpine zones, temperate forests, wetland, rivers, grasslands, polar regions, rainforests, coral reefs, deserts and coasts.