Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. Human activities have been posing a serious threat to biodiversity, stressing the Earth’s ecosystems, eliminating species, and impoverishing their genetic diversity at an alarming rate. But what does loss of biodiversity mean to our human life? In this course, we will explore how plant and animal communities are studied to answer ecologically relevant questions such as how biodiversity is related to the functioning of ecosystems and how they are influenced by land management. We will discuss how our scientific knowledge is transferred to policy making to promote sustainable development.