The diversity of life is the result of irreversible adaptations of biological systems to variation in environmental conditions, both in time and space. The object of study is the uniqueness of biological adaptations resulting in a complex process of species maintenance and its development, speciation. As living conditions vary in time and space, species continually have to adapt spatially and genetically, implying that ecological optimization theories based on equilibrium assumptions do not apply. In practice this means that species counts or diversity measures give insufficient biological information. As to conservation measures to be taken, it means that large complexes of reserves, each containing variable living conditions, should be preserved rather than a number of small ones interconnected by corridors.