Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change

Science, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 366(6471)

Published: Dec. 13, 2019

The human impact on life Earth has increased sharply since the 1970s, driven by demands of a growing population with rising average per capita income. Nature is currently supplying more materials than ever before, but this come at high cost unprecedented global declines in extent and integrity ecosystems, distinctness local ecological communities, abundance number wild species, domesticated varieties. Such changes reduce vital benefits that people receive from nature threaten quality future generations. Both an expanding economy costs reducing nature's are unequally distributed. fabric which we all depend-nature its contributions to people-is unravelling rapidly. Despite severity threats lack enough progress tackling them date, opportunities exist change trajectories through transformative action. action must begin immediately, however, address root economic, social, technological causes deterioration.

Language: Английский

---

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 17(9), P. 569 - 586

Published: June 18, 2019

In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting most life on Earth. Microorganisms support existence of all higher trophic forms. To understand how humans and other forms Earth (including those are yet to discover) can withstand anthropogenic change, it vital incorporate knowledge microbial 'unseen majority'. We must learn not just microorganisms affect production consumption greenhouse gases) but also they will be affected by human activities. This Consensus Statement documents central role global importance biology. It puts humanity notice that impact depend heavily responses microorganisms, essential for achieving an environmentally sustainable future. The majority with share often goes unnoticed despite underlying major biogeochemical cycles food webs, thereby taking a key change. highlights microbiology issues call action microbiologists.

Language: Английский

---

Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries

Science Advances, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 9(37)

Published: Sept. 13, 2023

This planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine are transgressed, suggesting Earth is now well outside safe operating space for humanity. Ocean acidification close to being breached, while aerosol loading regionally exceeds boundary. Stratospheric ozone levels have slightly recovered. The transgression level has increased all earlier identified as overstepped. As primary production drives system biosphere functions, human appropriation net proposed a control variable functional integrity. boundary also transgressed. modeling different climate and land change illustrates these anthropogenic impacts on must be considered in systemic context.

Language: Английский

---

Bacteria and archaea on Earth and their abundance in biofilms

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 17(4), P. 247 - 260

Published: Feb. 13, 2019

Language: Английский

---

Soil nematode abundance and functional group composition at a global scale

Nature, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 572(7768), P. 194 - 198

Published: July 24, 2019

Language: Английский

---

The global soil community and its influence on biogeochemistry

Science, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 365(6455)

Published: Aug. 23, 2019

Soil organisms represent the most biologically diverse community on land and govern turnover of largest organic matter pool in terrestrial biosphere. The highly complex nature these communities at local scales has traditionally obscured efforts to identify unifying patterns global soil biodiversity biogeochemistry. As a result, environmental covariates have generally been used as proxy variation activity biogeochemical models. Yet over past decade, broad-scale studies begun see this heterogeneity biomass, diversity, composition certain groups across globe. These provide new insights into fundamental distribution dynamics land.

Language: Английский

---

Trade-offs between multifunctionality and profit in tropical smallholder landscapes

Nature Communications, Journal Year: 2020, Volume and Issue: 11(1)

Published: March 4, 2020

Abstract Land-use transitions can enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farmers but potential economic-ecological trade-offs remain poorly understood. Here, we present an interdisciplinary study environmental, social and economic consequences land-use in a tropical landscape on Sumatra, Indonesia. We find widespread biodiversity-profit resulting from forest agroforestry systems to rubber oil palm monocultures, for 26,894 aboveground belowground species whole-ecosystem multidiversity. Despite variation between ecosystem functions, profit gains come at expense multifunctionality, indicating far-reaching deterioration. identify compositions that mitigate under optimal allocation also show intensive monocultures always lead higher profits. These findings suggest that, reduce losses biodiversity functioning, changes incentive structures through well-designed policies are urgently needed.

Language: Английский

---

Marine DNA Viral Macro- and Microdiversity from Pole to Pole

Cell, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 177(5), P. 1109 - 1123.e14

Published: April 25, 2019

Language: Английский

---

Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2020, Volume and Issue: 117(24), P. 13596 - 13602

Published: June 1, 2020

Significance The ongoing sixth mass extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to persistence of civilization, because it is irreversible. Thousands populations critically endangered vertebrate animal species have been lost in a century, indicating that human caused and accelerating. acceleration crisis certain still fast growth numbers consumption rates. In addition, are links ecosystems, and, as they fall out, interact with likely go also. regions where disappearing concentrated, regional biodiversity collapses occurring. Our results reemphasize extreme urgency taking massive global actions save humanity’s crucial life-support systems.

Language: Английский

---

Scientists’ warning to humanity on the freshwater biodiversity crisis

AMBIO, Journal Year: 2020, Volume and Issue: 50(1), P. 85 - 94

Published: Feb. 10, 2020

Language: Английский

---