ABSTRACT
Ecosystems select the best solutions to grow and develop as much as possible under the prevailing conditions, which vary enormously in time and space. Consequently, there is a need for many solutions to achieve this. It is shown how the wide spectrum of forcing functions, that vary in time and space, can be met by a wide spectrum of diversity in all the levels of the ecological hierarchy. It is discussed how this enormous diversity is important for the sum of bu¢er capacities (resistances) and for the spectrum of available bu¢er capacities. e high diversity in all levels of the ecological hierarchy can also explain that it is possible to ‰nd life in even the most extreme environment.
