Prof. Andy Purvis from the Natural History Museum in London, and one of the authors of the article. "Decision makers are mostly worried about an economic recession, but an ecological recession can have even worse consequences. Unless we can artificially increase biodiversity, we are playing ecological roulette."
The loss of global biodiversity could negatively affect ecosystem functioning and even the existence of human societies, according to research led by University College London (UCL).
"This is the first time that an attempt has been made to quantify the impact of habitat loss on the world's biodiversity in such detail. Our research shows that the loss of species diversity in most ecological environments is already below the threshold defined by ecologists as 'safe'." explains lead researcher Dr. Tim Newbold from UCL.
"We know that the loss of biodiversity affects the functioning of ecosystems, but how it does this is still not entirely clear. What we do know is that in many parts of the world, we are approaching a situation where human intervention may be required to sustain the functioning of ecosystems."
The team found that pastures, savannahs and lands covered by bushes were most affected by the loss of biodiversity, and in their wake also forests and woodlands in the world. According to them, the loss of biodiversity in these areas disrupts the functioning of important ecosystems such as the growth/growth of living creatures and the food cycle." (nutrient cycling)
The study, published in the journal Science, found that the rate of biodiversity loss is so high that, if not addressed, it will undermine efforts for sustainable development in the long term.
For 58.1% of the world's land area, which is home to 71.4% of the world's population, the level of biodiversity loss is significant enough to disrupt these ecosystems from supporting human societies. The decline is due to changes in land use to such an extent that biodiversity has fallen below the safe limit recently proposed by planetary boundaries, an international framework that defines a safe space of action for humanity.
"This is worrying because changes in land use have already pushed biodiversity below the level recommended as a safe limit," said Prof. Andy Purvis of the Natural History Museum in London, and one of the authors of the paper. "Decision makers are mostly worried about an economic recession, but an ecological recession can have even worse consequences. Unless we can artificially increase biodiversity, we are playing ecological roulette."
Team members analyzed 2.38 million records covering 39,123 species in 18. Data from studies and observations of hundreds of thousands of scientists around the world. The result of the analyzes was an assessment of how biodiversity in each square kilometer has changed since humans changed the habitat.
They found that biodiversity hotspots - which have experienced habitat loss in the past and contain unique species - show high levels of biodiversity decline. In areas with high biological diversity, such as the Amazon, where the rate of land use change was high, proactive conservation is necessary.
"The big changes happened in the places where most people live, which may affect their physical and psychological well-being. To solve this problem, we need to preserve the remaining areas of natural vegetation, and return lands that are in human use, for the benefit of nature." added Dr. Newbold.
The team members hope that the results of the research will be used for conservation studies at the state and international levels. To facilitate this, they have opened the database to the public.
to the notice of the researchers
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Comments
It is not clear how damage to biodiversity will negatively affect humans.
It is worth paying attention to the main thing:
" The decline is due to changes in land use to such an extent that biological diversity
fell below the safe limit recently proposed by planetary boundaries,
An international framework that defines a safe operating space for humanity.
"This is worrying because changes in land use have already pushed biodiversity
below the level recommended as a safe limit,"
"The decision-makers are mainly worried about an economic recession,
But ecological decline can have even worse consequences.
Unless we can artificially increase biodiversity,
We are playing ecological roulette." "