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

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Insect Declines in the Anthropocene

Annual Review of Entomology, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 65(1), P. 457 - 480

Published: Oct. 14, 2019

Insect declines are being reported worldwide for flying, ground, and aquatic lineages. Most reports come from western northern Europe, where the insect fauna is well-studied there considerable demographic data many taxonomically disparate Additional cases of faunal losses have been noted Asia, North America, Arctic, Neotropics, elsewhere. While this review addresses both species loss population declines, its emphasis on latter. Declines abundant can be especially worrisome, given that they anchor trophic interactions shoulder essential ecosystem services their respective communities. A factors believed to responsible observed collapses those perceived threatening insects form core treatment. In addition widely recognized threats biodiversity, e.g., habitat destruction, agricultural intensification (including pesticide use), climate change, invasive species, assessment highlights a few less commonly considered such as atmospheric nitrification burning fossil fuels effects droughts changing precipitation patterns. Because geographic extent magnitude largely unknown, an urgent need monitoring efforts, across ecological gradients, which will help identify important causal in declines. This also considers status vertebrate insectivores, reporting bias, challenges inherent collecting interpreting data, increasing abundance.

Language: Английский

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Zoonotic host diversity increases in human-dominated ecosystems

Nature, Journal Year: 2020, Volume and Issue: 584(7821), P. 398 - 402

Published: Aug. 5, 2020

Language: Английский

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Our future in the Anthropocene biosphere

AMBIO, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 50(4), P. 834 - 869

Published: March 14, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed an interconnected and tightly coupled globalized world in rapid change. This article sets the scientific stage for understanding responding to such change global sustainability resilient societies. We provide a systemic overview of current situation where people nature are dynamically intertwined embedded biosphere, placing shocks extreme events as part this dynamic; humanity become major force shaping future Earth system whole; scale pace human dimension have caused climate change, loss biodiversity, growing inequalities, resilience deal with uncertainty surprise. Taken together, actions challenging biosphere foundation prosperous development civilizations. Anthropocene reality-of rising system-wide turbulence-calls transformative towards sustainable futures. Emerging technologies, social innovations, broader shifts cultural repertoires, well diverse portfolio active stewardship support highlighted essential parts transformations.

Language: Английский

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Extinction risk and threats to plants and fungi

Plants People Planet, Journal Year: 2020, Volume and Issue: 2(5), P. 389 - 408

Published: Sept. 1, 2020

Societal Impact Statement There is increasing awareness that plants and fungi, as natural solutions, can play an important role in tackling ongoing global environmental challenges. We illustrate how understanding current projected threats to fungi necessary manage mitigate risks, while building of gaps bias assessment coverage essential adequately prioritize conservation efforts. highlight the state art science point methods future studies needed species extinction. Summary Plant fungal biodiversity underpin life on earth merit careful stewardship increasingly uncertain environment. However, biases documented extinction risks plant impede effective management. Formal risk assessments help avoid extinctions, through engagement, financial, or legal mechanisms, but most lack assessments. Available cover c. 30% (ThreatSearch). Red List overrepresents woody perennials useful plants, underrepresents single‐country endemics. Fungal overrepresent well‐known are too few infer status trends. Proportions assessed vascular considered threatened vary between datasets: 37% (ThreatSearch), 44% (International Union for Conservation Nature Threatened Species). Our predictions, correcting several quantifiable biases, suggest 39% all with other remain unquantified, may affect our estimate. Preliminary trend data show moving toward Quantitative estimates based understate likely loss: they do not fully capture impacts climate change, slow‐acting threats, clustering risk, which could amplify loss evolutionary potential. The importance estimation support existing emerging initiatives grow intensify. This necessitates urgent strategic expansion efforts comprehensive risk.

Language: Английский

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Endemism increases species' climate change risk in areas of global biodiversity importance

Biological Conservation, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 257, P. 109070 - 109070

Published: April 9, 2021

Language: Английский

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Tropical and Mediterranean biodiversity is disproportionately sensitive to land-use and climate change

Nature Ecology & Evolution, Journal Year: 2020, Volume and Issue: 4(12), P. 1630 - 1638

Published: Sept. 14, 2020

Language: Английский

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Global areas of low human impact (‘Low Impact Areas’) and fragmentation of the natural world

Scientific Reports, Journal Year: 2019, Volume and Issue: 9(1)

Published: Oct. 2, 2019

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human activities is the leading cause of biodiversity ecosystem services. Protected areas are primary response this challenge cornerstone conservation efforts. Roughly 15% land currently protected although there momentum dramatically raise area targets towards 50%. But, how much remains in a natural state? We answer critical question by using open-access, frequently updated data sets on terrestrial impacts create new categorical map global influence ('Low Impact Areas') at 1 km2 resolution. found that 56% surface, minus permanent ice snow, has low impact. This suggests increased could be met minimally impacted people, substantial variation across ecoregions biomes. While habitat well documented, differences rates between biomes received little attention. Low Areas uniquely enabled us calculate biomes, we compared these an idealized globe with no human-caused fragmentation. The heavily fragmented, compromised reduced patch size core area, exposed edge effects. Tropical dry forests temperate grasslands world's most demonstrate when considered addition loss, species, ecosystems associated services worse condition than previously reported.

Language: Английский

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Land Use and Ecological Change: A 12,000-Year History

Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 46(1), P. 1 - 33

Published: Oct. 18, 2021

Human use of land has been transforming Earth's ecology for millennia. From hunting and foraging to burning the farming industrial agriculture, increasingly intensive human reshaped global patterns biodiversity, ecosystems, landscapes, climate. This review examines recent evidence from archaeology, paleoecology, environmental history, model-based reconstructions that reveal a planet largely transformed by over more than 10,000 years. Although always sustained societies, its ecological consequences are diverse sometimes opposing, both degrading enriching soils, shrinking wild habitats shaping novel ones, causing extinctions some species while propagating domesticating others, emitting absorbing greenhouse gases cause climate change. By ecology, literally paved way Anthropocene. Now, better future depends on strategies can effectively sustain people together with rest terrestrial nature limited land.

Language: Английский

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Relative effects of land conversion and land-use intensity on terrestrial vertebrate diversity

Nature Communications, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 13(1)

Published: Feb. 1, 2022

Abstract Land-use has transformed ecosystems over three quarters of the terrestrial surface, with massive repercussions on biodiversity. intensity is known to contribute effects land-use biodiversity, but magnitude this contribution remains uncertain. Here, we use a modified countryside species-area model compute global account impending biodiversity loss caused by current patterns, explicitly addressing role based two sets indicators. We find that entails ~15% vertebrate species from average 5 × arcmin-landscape outside remaining wilderness areas and ~14% their native area-of-habitat, risk extinction for 556 individual species. Given large fraction land currently used under low intensity, its be substantial (~25%). While both indicators yield similar results, regional differences between them discuss data gaps. Our results support calls improved sustainable intensification strategies demand-side actions reduce trade-offs food security conservation.

Language: Английский

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