中国生态文明建设（中英对照）连载之五
多样的生物是人类的朋友
本书由北京语言大学出版社，2014（教学课件光盘版） 作者 蒋高明
1.3多样的生物是人类的朋友
1.3 Biodiversity is friend of humans
了解了中国海陆的生态系统，现在让我们从另一个角度来看看生态系统中的生物——生物多样性。简单说，生物多样性就是地球上所有的植物、动物和微生物，加上它们之间以及它们与环境之间的关系[1]。
Having gained a basic understanding of China’s ecosystems on land and sea, let us now take a look at the biology in the ecosystem from another angle—biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to all the plants, animals and microorganisms, and their relationship with each other and with the environment.
前面我们讲到，中国拥有全球所有的10类陆地生态系统。不仅如此，各类生态系统的类型也很丰富，包含多种气候型和土壤型。[2]丰富的生态类型，孕育了丰富的生物多样性。中国是世界上12个生物多样性最丰富的国家之一，是北半球生物多样性最丰富的国家。
As mentioned earlier, China has all the 10 categories of terrestrial ecosystems found on earth. Moreover, the types of ecosystems in each category are very rich, encompassing a variety of climatic and soil types. Biodiversity is fostered by those rich ecological types. China is among the 12 countries with the richest biodiversity in the world and certainly the richest in the northern hemisphere.
中国的植物种类世界第一。根据最新的研究成果，全球陆地植物物种的名称共有385233种，中国拥有34984种，占世界总数的9.1%[3]。中国拥有温带的全部木本属，是世界上裸子植物最丰富的国家[4]。中国动物物种非常丰富[5]。其中，哺乳动物有564种，占世界总种数的13.1%；鸟类有1269种，占世界总种数的13.9%，是世界鸟类种类最丰富的国家之一。
China has the most plant species in the world. According to the latest research, the total number of plants on land is 385,233, of which China has 34,984, accounting for 9.1% of the world’s total. China has all the woody plants grown in the temperate zone, and is the country with the richest gymnosperms. China is also abundant in animal species. Among them, there are 564 kinds of mammals, accounting for 13.1% of the world total; 1,269 kinds of birds (13.9% of the world total). China is one of the countries with the most numerous bird species in the world.
更值得一提的是，其中很多物种都是中国特有的。47.5%的蕨类植物，51.2%的种子植物，10%的脊椎动物，都是中国特有种。特有比例之高，在全世界罕见。可以说，中国在保护自己生物多样性的同时，就是在保护世界的生物多样性。
It is particularly worth mentioning that many of the species are peculiar to China: 47.5% of ferns, 51.2% of spermatophyte, and 10% of the vertebrates. Such a country with so many unique species is rare in the world. We might say that China’s protection of its biodiversity is at the same time a means of protecting the world’s biodiversity.
生物多样性越丰富，生物之间以及生物与环境之间的关系越复杂，生态系统也就越稳定。因此保护生物多样性，就是在保护人类赖以生存的环境。另一方面，生物所拥有的多样性基因，是人类先进的技术无法创造的，是大自然赋予这个世界的宝藏。一种生物一旦灭绝，这个宝藏就无法重现了。
The richer the biodiversity, the more complex the relationships between organisms and the environment, and the more stable the ecosystem. Therefore, the conservation of biodiversity means the protection of the environment for human survival. Genetic diversity cannot be created by advanced technology; it is a treasure inherited from nature. Once an organism becomes extinct, this particular form of treasure cannot be reproduced.
人类的生存离不开其它生命。构成人类身体的元素，是经过生态过程，由其他生物以食物的形式赋予我们的；人类正常代谢的废物，也通过生态循环过程为生态系统中其他生物利用，从而消除了废物对人类的不良影响。
Human survival is inseparable from other forms of life on earth. Elements contained in the human body are provided by other organisms in the form of food through ecological process; human metabolic waste is, in turn, utilized by other organisms through the ecological cycle, thus eliminating the negative effects of waste to humans.
因此，所有的生命都是人类的朋友。没有了生物多样性，人类不但是寂寞的，而且也是无法生存的。
Therefore, all forms of life are dear and near to humans. People feel lonely and cannot live without biodiversity.
[1] 生物多样性指的是所有来源的各种生物体，以及生物所拥有的基因，再加上各物种之间、物种与生存环境之间相互作用所构成的生态过程。生物多样性包括物种内部、物种之间和生态系统的多样性，“所有来源”包括陆地、海洋和其他水生生态系统所构成的生态综合体。
[1] Biodiversity refers to the ecological process involving varieties of organisms from all sources and their genes, to the interaction between different species, and to the interaction between species and the environment. Biodiversity covers the diversity within species, the diversity among species, and the diversity of ecosystems. “All sources” means an ecosystem synthesis containing terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems.
10按群系分，中国有森林212类，竹林36类，灌丛113类，草丛约13类，草甸77类，草原55类，荒漠52类；冻原、高山垫状植被和高山流石滩植被主要有17类。自然湿地包括沼泽19类，草本沼泽约14类，木本沼泽4类，泥炭沼泽1类。
10 In terms of formation, China has 212 classes of forests, 36 classes of bamboo, 113 classes of scrub, 13 classes of bush, 77 classes of meadow, 55 classes of grassland, and 52 classes of desert; tundra, alpine cushion-like vegetation and alpine scree vegetation amount to 17 classes. Natural wetlands include 19 classes of swamps, 14 classes of herbaceous swamps, 4 classes of woody swamps, and 1 class of peat bog.
11其中，苔藓植物有117科、506属、2541种，种数约占全世界总种数的11.7%；蕨类植物有63科、221属、2270种，约占世界蕨类总种数的19.2％。[4]有12科、42属、245种，分别为世界现存裸子植物科、属、种总数的80.0%、51.2%和28.8%。
11 Among them, bryophytes form 117 families, 506 genera and 2,541 species, accounting for 11.7% of the world total; ferns consist of 63 families, 221 genera and 2,270 species, accounting for 19.2% of the world total.
12有12科、42属、245种，分别为世界现存裸子植物科、属、种总数的80.0%、51.2%和28.8%。
12 There are 12 families, 42 genera and 245 species, accounting for 80.0%, 51.2% and 28.8% of world’s total for gymnosperm respectively.
[5]现已记载脊椎动物共6445种，约占世界总种数的13.7％；哺乳动物564种，约占世界总种数的13.1%；鸟类1269种，约占世界总种数的13.9%，是世界鸟类种类最丰富的国家之一；爬行动物403种，约占世界总种数的4.1%；两栖类347种，约占世界总种数的6.3%；鱼类3862种，约占世界鱼类总种数的17.5%；无脊椎动物、真菌、细菌、放线菌等种类也极为繁多，仅昆虫就有7.5万种。
[5] Total recorded vertebrates are 6,445 species, accounting for 13.7% of the world total; mammals 564, accounting for 13.1% of the world total; birds 1,269, accounting for 13.9% of the world total (China is among the countries with the most abundant bird species); reptiles 403 species, accounting for 4.1% of the world total; amphibians 347 species, accounting for 6.3% of the world total; fishes 3,862 species, about 17.5% of the world total; and invertebrates, fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes are also extremely numerous in species, and insects have as many as 75,000 species.
