The mission of the Section for Biodiversity is to acquire and apply information pertaining to the diversity of life in order to protect, manage, and develop the biotic resources of Illinois in accordance with long-term environmental goals. Major research programs in the Center are statewide inventories of native and introduced organisms, long-term monitoring of natural and disturbed communities, studies on exotic species, and systematic studies of organisms for which we have taxonomic expertise.

The Section of Biodiversity was established in 2006 after a Survey-wide reorganization.  Previously, the Section was known as the Center for Biodiversity, and was formed in 1989 with the merger of the Section of Botany and Plant Pathology and the Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification. The Section of Botany and Plant Pathology dates to 1921, and focused throughout its history on surveys of the Illinois flora and studies on plant pathology, particularly fungal diseases of fruit trees and row crops. The emphasis on plant pathology began waning in the 1980s and no longer is part of the Section's mission. The Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification was founded in 1935. Initially it focused on surveys of Illinois insects, but within about 10 years of its founding began surveying other animals, too. The merger of the two sections brought together ecologists and systematists working to document the state's flora and fauna and understand their evolution and ecology within a global context.