Planet Biodiversity is in danger.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Recent research has shown that the planet biodiversity has suffered a severe impact because of human ignorance over the past century.
A team of scientists from the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the Natural History Museum in London, and the University College London, has conducted a study to establish the impact of all human activities on the world’s ecosystem.
The statistics showed that around 58 percent of Earth’s land surface is inhabited by more than 70 percent of the entire human population. In these areas, the level of biodiversity loss is critically high, meaning that the ecosystems will no longer be able to support human societies if active measures are not taken immediately.
Shrublands, savannas, and grasslands have suffered the most severe impact, based on the researchers report. Worse, the woodlands and forests occupy the second place on this tragic top that concerns everyone.
Nutrient cycling and the growth of living organisms are the two key parts that make up of the resources needed by humans to survive. For example, bees pollinate around 70 percent of the world’s crops which consist of 90 percent of human food resources, meaning that if honey bees become extinct, we will all starve to death in a couple of years.
The team analyzed information gathered from 2.38 million records of 39.123 distinct species from 18.659 sites, to establish how far human excess has affected our world’s ecosystem. The algorithm was based on what changes had suffered every square kilometer land even before human started to live in those areas.
This way, the experts were able to find out the damage caused by people in every part of the world. According to Dr. Tim Newbold, lead author from the University College London, it is the first time when someone attempts to establish the cause-and-effect link between habitat loss and world’s biodiversity.
Based on the results, in almost every part of the world, biodiversity loss exceeds the safe limits set by ecologists and environmentalists.
This drop-off originates from deforestation, land use for other purposes, and pollution. Many species of animals, plants, and insects have suffered because of these changes. Worse, biodiversity loss has affected water flows and the cycle of key elements including phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon.
According to Professor Andy Purvis, co-author of the study from the Natural History Museum, many efforts have to be made fast in order to protect the world’s biodiversity, or human societies will have to deal with the consequences.
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Melissa Gansler
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