Final answer:
The lowest possible value of the Shannon index is 0, which signifies low species diversity, as it means only one species is present.
Step-by-step explanation:
The lowest possible value of the Shannon index is 0. Low values indicate low species diversity. The Shannon index is a biodiversity index used to measure the diversity in a community. It incorporates both the number of species and the evenness of species abundances.
A value of 0 indicates that there is only one species present in the area, which means no diversity. The index increases as both the number of species and the evenness of the species abundances increase, indicating a more diverse and balanced ecosystem.