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{{short description|Extinction of species and local reduction or loss of species in a given habitat}}
{{short description|Extinction of species or loss of species in a given habitat}}
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[[File:Summary of major environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage change (red) relative to baseline - fcosc-01-615419-g001.jpg|thumb|Summary of major biodiversity-related environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue)]]
{{About|the current and recent reduction in biological diversity caused by human activities|biodiversity loss in geologic timeframes|extinction event| extinction or decrease of animals from ecological communities|defaunation}}
'''Biodiversity loss''' includes the [[extinction]] of [[species]] worldwide, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain [[habitat]], resulting in a loss of [[biological diversity]]. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the [[environmental degradation]] that leads to the loss is reversible through [[ecological restoration]]/[[ecological resilience]] or effectively permanent (e.g. through [[land loss]]). Global extinction is being driven by human activities which overreach beyond the [[planetary boundaries]] as part of the [[Anthropocene]] and has so far been proven to be irreversible.
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Summary of major environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage change (red) relative to baseline - fcosc-01-615419-g001.jpg|thumb|Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.<ref name="Bradshaw-2021">{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A. |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Beattie |first3=Andrew |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo |last5=Crist |first5=Eileen |last6=Diamond |first6=Joan |last7=Dirzo |first7=Rodolfo |last8=Ehrlich |first8=Anne H. |last9=Harte |first9=John |last10=Harte |first10=Mary Ellen |last11=Pyke |first11=Graham |last12=Raven |first12=Peter H. |last13=Ripple |first13=William J. |last14=Saltré |first14=Frédérik |last15=Turnbull |first15=Christine |date=2021 |title=Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science |volume=1 |issue= |pages= |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |doi-access=free |last16=Wackernagel |first16=Mathis |last17=Blumstein |first17=Daniel T.}}</ref>]]
'''Biodiversity loss''' happens when plant or animal [[species]] disappear completely from Earth ([[extinction]]) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in [[Biodiversity|biological diversity]] in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through [[ecological restoration]]. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the [[planetary boundaries]] too far.<ref name="Bradshaw-2021" /><ref>{{cite journal |author-link1=William J. Ripple |vauthors=Ripple WJ, Wolf C, Newsome TM, Galetti M, Alamgir M, Crist E, Mahmoud MI, Laurance WF |date=13 November 2017 |title=World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice |journal=[[BioScience]] |volume=67 |issue=12 |pages=1026–1028 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix125 |quote=Moreover, we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century. |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11336/71342}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Cowie RH, Bouchet P, Fontaine B |date=April 2022 |title=The Sixth Mass Extinction: fact, fiction or speculation? |journal=Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=640–663 |doi=10.1111/brv.12816 |pmc=9786292 |pmid=35014169 |s2cid=245889833 |doi-access=free}}</ref> These activities include [[habitat destruction]]<ref name="CBD-2010" /> (for example [[deforestation]]) and [[land use]] intensification (for example [[monoculture]] farming).<ref name="Kehoe-2017">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Kehoe L, Romero-Muñoz A, Polaina E, Estes L, Kreft H, Kuemmerle T |date=August 2017 |title=Biodiversity at risk under future cropland expansion and intensification |url=http://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0234-3 |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=1 |issue=8 |pages=1129–1135 |doi=10.1038/s41559-017-0234-3 |issn=2397-334X |pmid=29046577 |bibcode=2017NatEE...1.1129K |s2cid=3642597 |access-date=March 28, 2022 |archive-date=April 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423232132/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0234-3 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Allan-2015" /> Further problem areas are [[Air pollution|air]] and [[water pollution]] (including [[nutrient pollution]]), [[over-exploitation]], [[Invasive alien species|invasive species]]<ref name="Walsh-2016" /> and [[climate change]].<ref name="CBD-2010" />


Many scientists, along with the ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'', say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a [[Human population growth|growing human population]] because this leads to [[human overpopulation]] and [[Overconsumption (economics)|excessive consumption]].<ref name="Stokstad">{{cite journal |last1=Stokstad |first1=Erik |date=6 May 2019 |title=Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.aax9287 |quote=For the first time at a global scale, the report has ranked the causes of damage. Topping the list, changes in land use—principally agriculture—that have destroyed habitat. Second, hunting and other kinds of exploitation. These are followed by climate change, pollution, and invasive species, which are being spread by trade and other activities. Climate change will likely overtake the other threats in the next decades, the authors note. Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.) |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Pimm2014">{{cite journal |vauthors=Pimm SL, Jenkins CN, Abell R, Brooks TM, Gittleman JL, Joppa LN, Raven PH, Roberts CM, Sexton JO |date=May 2014 |title=The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection |journal=Science |volume=344 |issue=6187 |pages=1246752 |doi=10.1126/science.1246752 |pmid=24876501 |s2cid=206552746 |quote=The overarching driver of species extinction is human population growth and increasing per capita consumption.}}</ref><ref name="Cafaro2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Cafaro |first1=Philip |last2=Hansson |first2=Pernilla |last3=Götmark |first3=Frank |date=August 2022 |title=Overpopulation is a major cause of biodiversity loss and smaller human populations are necessary to preserve what is left |url=https://www.sustainable.soltechdesigns.com/Overpopulation-and-biodiversty-loss(2022).pdf |journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]] |volume=272 |at=109646 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109646 |bibcode=2022BCons.27209646C |issn=0006-3207 |s2cid=250185617 |quote=Conservation biologists standardly list five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss: habitat loss, overexploitation of species, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. The ''Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services'' found that in recent decades habitat loss was the leading cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss, while overexploitation (overfishing) was the most important cause of marine losses (IPBES, 2019). All five direct drivers are important, on land and at sea, and all are made worse by larger and denser human populations. |access-date=December 25, 2022 |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208055537/https://www.sustainable.soltechdesigns.com/Overpopulation-and-biodiversty-loss(2022).pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Crist2017">{{cite journal |last1=Crist |first1=Eileen |last2=Mora |first2=Camilo |last3=Engelman |first3=Robert |date=21 April 2017 |title=The interaction of human population, food production, and biodiversity protection |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316286860 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=356 |issue=6335 |pages=260–264 |doi=10.1126/science.aal2011 |pmid=28428391 |bibcode=2017Sci...356..260C |s2cid=12770178 |access-date=2 January 2023|quote=Research suggests that the scale of human population and the current pace of its growth contribute substantially to the loss of biological diversity. Although technological change and unequal consumption inextricably mingle with demographic impacts on the environment, the needs of all human beings—especially for food—imply that projected population growth will undermine protection of the natural world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ceballos|first1=Gerardo|last2=Ehrlich|first2=Paul R.|date=2023 |title=Mutilation of the tree of life via mass extinction of animal genera|url= |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]|volume=120 |issue=39 |pages=e2306987120|doi=10.1073/pnas.2306987120|pmid=37722053 |pmc=10523489 |bibcode=2023PNAS..12006987C |access-date=|quote=Current generic extinction rates will likely greatly accelerate in the next few decades due to drivers accompanying the growth and consumption of the human enterprise such as habitat destruction, illegal trade, and climate disruption.}}</ref> Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries.<ref name="Hughes-2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=Alice C. |last2=Tougeron |first2=Kévin |last3=Martin |first3=Dominic A. |last4=Menga |first4=Filippo |last5=Rosado |first5=Bruno H. P. |last6=Villasante |first6=Sebastian |last7=Madgulkar |first7=Shweta |last8=Gonçalves |first8=Fernando |last9=Geneletti |first9=Davide |last10=Diele-Viegas |first10=Luisa Maria |last11=Berger |first11=Sebastian |last12=Colla |first12=Sheila R. |last13=de Andrade Kamimura |first13=Vitor |last14=Caggiano |first14=Holly |last15=Melo |first15=Felipe |date=2023-01-01 |title=Smaller human populations are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for biodiversity conservation |journal=Biological Conservation |language=en |volume=277 |pages=109841 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109841 |issn=0006-3207 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023BCons.27709841H |quote=Through examining the drivers of biodiversity loss in highly biodiverse countries, we show that it is not population driving the loss of habitats, but rather the growth of commodities for export, particularly soybean and oil-palm, primarily for livestock feed or biofuel consumption in higher income economies.}}</ref>
Even though permanent [[global biodiversity|global]] [[species loss]] is a more dramatic and tragic phenomenon than regional changes in [[species composition]], even minor changes from a healthy stable state can have dramatic influence on the [[food web]] and the [[food chain]] insofar as reductions in only one species can adversely affect the entire chain ([[coextinction]]), leading to an overall reduction in [[biodiversity]], possible [[alternative stable state]]s of an ecosystem notwithstanding. [[Ecological effects of biodiversity]] are usually counteracted by its loss. Reduced biodiversity in particular leads to reduced [[ecosystem services]] and eventually poses an immediate danger for [[food security]], but also can have more lasting public health consequences for humans.<ref name="cardinale2012" />


Climate change is another threat to [[global biodiversity]].<ref name="IPCC-2005">{{cite web |year=2005 |title=Climate change and biodiversity |url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/technical-papers/climate-changes-biodiversity-en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205010427/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/technical-papers/climate-changes-biodiversity-en.pdf |archive-date=5 February 2018 |access-date=12 June 2012 |publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref><ref name="Kannan2009">{{cite journal |last1=Kannan |first1=R. |last2=James |first2=D. A. |date=2009 |title=Effects of climate change on global biodiversity: a review of key literature |url=http://www.tropecol.com/pdf/open/PDF_50_1/05Kannan.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Tropical Ecology |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=31–39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415065220/http://www.tropecol.com/pdf/open/PDF_50_1/05Kannan.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> For example, [[coral reef]]s—which are [[Biodiversity hotspot|biodiversity hotspots]]—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate.<ref name="wwf">{{Cite web |title=Climate change, reefs and the Coral Triangle |url=http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/coraltriangle/problems/climatechangecoraltriangle/ |access-date=9 November 2015 |website=wwf.panda.org |archive-date=May 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502200544/http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/coraltriangle/problems/climatechangecoraltriangle/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Aldred-2014">{{Cite news |last=Aldred |first=Jessica |date=2 July 2014 |title=Caribbean coral reefs 'will be lost within 20 years' without protection |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/02/caribbean-coral-reef-lost-fishing-pollution-report |access-date=9 November 2015 |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020130421/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/02/caribbean-coral-reef-lost-fishing-pollution-report |url-status=live}}</ref> Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss.<ref name="Ketcham-2022">{{cite news |last=Ketcham |first=Christopher |date=December 3, 2022 |title=Addressing Climate Change Will Not "Save the Planet" |work=[[The Intercept]] |location= |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/climate-biodiversity-green-energy/ |access-date=December 8, 2022 |archive-date=February 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218153423/https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/climate-biodiversity-green-energy/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Caro-2022">{{cite journal |last1=Caro |first1=Tim |last2=Rowe |first2=Zeke |date=2022 |title=An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss |url= |journal=[[Conservation Letters]] |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=e12868 |doi=10.1111/conl.12868 |s2cid=246172852 |access-date=|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022ConL...15E2868C}}</ref> Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems.<ref name="Bank-2022-2">{{Cite book |last=Bank |first=European Investment |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20220173-forests-at-the-heart-of-sustainable-development |title=Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals |date=2022-12-08 |publisher=European Investment Bank |isbn=978-92-861-5403-4 |language=EN |access-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321101636/https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20220173-forests-at-the-heart-of-sustainable-development |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Finch 2021">{{cite book |last1=Finch |first1=Deborah M. |chapter=Effects of Climate Change on Invasive Species |date=2021 |title=Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the United States Forest Sector |pages=57–83 |editor-last=Poland |editor-first=Therese M. |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-45367-1_4 |isbn=978-3-030-45367-1 |s2cid=234260720 |last2=Butler |first2=Jack L. |last3=Runyon |first3=Justin B. |last4=Fettig |first4=Christopher J. |last5=Kilkenny |first5=Francis F. |last6=Jose |first6=Shibu |last7=Frankel |first7=Susan J. |last8=Cushman |first8=Samuel A. |last9=Cobb |first9=Richard C. |editor2-last=Patel-Weynand |editor2-first=Toral |editor3-last=Finch |editor3-first=Deborah M. |editor4-last=Miniat |editor4-first=Chelcy Ford |doi-access=free}}</ref>
International environmental organizations have been campaigning to prevent biodiversity loss for decades, public health officials have integrated it into the [[One Health]] approach to public health practice, and increasingly preservation of biodiversity is part of international policy. For example, the [[Convention on Biological Diversity|UN Convention on Biological Diversity]] is focused on preventing biodiversity loss and proactive conservation of wild areas. The international commitment and goals for this work is currently embodied by [[Sustainable Development Goal 15]] "Life on Land" and [[Sustainable Development Goal 14]] "Life Below Water". However, the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] report on "Making Peace with Nature" released in 2020 found that most of these efforts had failed to meet their international goals.<ref>United Nations Environment Programme (2021). ''Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies''. Nairobi. https://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature</ref>


Groups that care about the environment have been working for many years to stop the decrease in biodiversity. Nowadays, many global policies include activities to stop biodiversity loss. For example, the [[Convention on Biological Diversity|UN Convention on Biological Diversity]] aims to prevent biodiversity loss and to conserve [[wilderness areas]]. However, a 2020 [[United Nations Environment Programme]] report found that most of these efforts had failed to meet their goals.<ref>{{cite book |author=United Nations Environment Programme |date=2021 |title=Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies |location=Nairobi |publisher=United Nations |url=https://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature |access-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-date=March 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323211102/https://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature |url-status=live}}</ref> For example, of the 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the [[Aichi Biodiversity Targets]] in 2010, only six were "partially achieved" by 2020.<ref name="Cohen-2020" /><ref name="Convention on Biological Diversity">{{Cite web |title=Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 |url=https://www.cbd.int/gbo5 |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |language=en |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006094347/https://www.cbd.int/gbo5 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Loss rate==
{{See also|alpha diversity|beta diversity|gamma diversity|Diversity–function debate}}
[[File:Extinction Rebellion-2.jpg|thumb|Demonstrator against biodiversity loss, at [[:en:Extinction Rebellion|Extinction Rebellion]] (2018).]]


This ongoing global extinction is also called the ''[[holocene extinction]]'' or ''sixth mass extinction.''
{{Cquote|quote=You know, when we first set up WWF, our objective was to save [[endangered species]] from extinction. But we have failed completely; we haven’t managed to save a single one. If only we had put all that money into [[condom]]s, we might have done some good.|author=[[Sir Peter Scott]], Founder of the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]]|source=''Cosmos Magazine'', 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.cosmosmagazine.com/opinion/a-plague-people/|title=A plague of people|work=[[Cosmos (magazine)|Cosmos]]|date=13 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106130856/http://archive.cosmosmagazine.com/opinion/a-plague-people/|archive-date=6 November 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}


== Global estimates across all species ==
The current [[Rate (mathematics)|rate]] of ''global'' diversity loss is estimated to be 100 to 1000 times higher than the (naturally occurring) [[background extinction rate]], faster than at any other time in human history,<ref>{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |work= [[The Guardian]]|location= |access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref> and expected to still grow in the upcoming years.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1126/sciadv.1400253 | pmid=26601195 | pmc=4640606 | title=Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction | year=2015 | last1 = Ceballos | first1 = Gerardo| last2 = Ehrlich| first2 = Paul R.| last3 = Barnosky| first3= Anthony D. | last4 = García | first4 = Andrés| last5 = Pringle | first5 = Robert M.| last6 = Palmer| first6 =Todd M. | journal=Science Advances | volume=1 | issue=5| pages=e1400253 | bibcode=2015SciA....1E0253C }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1111/cobi.12380 | pmid=25159086 | title=Estimating the normal background rate of species extinction | year=2015 | last1=De Vos | first1= Jurriaan | journal=Conservation Biology | volume=29 | pages=452–462|issue=2| display-authors=etal| url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/98443/1/Conservation_Biology_2014_early-view.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos|first1=Gerardo|last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R.|last3= Raven|first3=Peter H.|date=June 1, 2020 |title=Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction |journal=[[PNAS]] |volume=117 |issue=24 |pages=13596–13602 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1922686117|doi-access=free|pmid=32482862|pmc=7306750|bibcode=2020PNAS..11713596C}}</ref> These rapidly rising extinction trends impacting numerous animal groups including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and ray-finned fishes have prompted scientists to declare a contemporary biodiversity crisis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Andermann |first1=Tobias |last2=Faurby |first2=Søren |last3=Turvey |first3=Samuel T. |last4=Antonelli |first4=Alexandre |last5=Silvestro |first5=Daniele |title=The past and future human impact on mammalian diversity |journal=[[Science Advances]] |date=1 September 2020 |volume=6 |issue=36 |pages=eabb2313 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abb2313 |pmid=32917612 |pmc=7473673 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.2313A |url=https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/36/eabb2313 |language=en |issn=2375-2548}}</ref>
{{See also|Global biodiversity|Biodiversity hotspot}}
[[File:IUCN Kategorien Rote Liste.svg|thumb|[[IUCN Red List|Red list]] categories of the [[IUCN]]]]
[[File:Extinction Rebellion-2.jpg|thumb|Demonstrator against biodiversity loss, at [[Extinction Rebellion]] (2018).]]The current rate of [[global biodiversity]] loss is estimated to be 100 to 1000 times higher than the (naturally occurring) [[background extinction rate]], faster than at any other time in human history,<ref>{{cite news |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |access-date=February 8, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |vauthors=Carrington D |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524182314/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author-link=Partha Dasgupta |date=2021 |title=The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |access-date=December 16, 2021 |website= |publisher=UK government |page=1 |quote=Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1,000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing. |vauthors=Dasgupta P |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520070152/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> and is expected to grow in the upcoming years.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ceballos G, Ehrlich PR, Barnosky AD, García A, Pringle RM, Palmer TM |date=June 2015 |title=Accelerated modern human-induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction |journal=Science Advances |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=e1400253 |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0253C |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1400253 |pmc=4640606 |pmid=26601195}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=De Vos JM, Joppa LN, Gittleman JL, Stephens PR, Pimm SL |date=April 2015 |title=Estimating the normal background rate of species extinction |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/98443/1/Conservation_Biology_2014_early-view.pdf |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=452–62 |doi=10.1111/cobi.12380 |pmid=25159086 |bibcode=2015ConBi..29..452D |s2cid=19121609 |access-date=December 5, 2019 |archive-date=November 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104111411/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/98443/1/Conservation_Biology_2014_early-view.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ceballos G, Ehrlich PR, Raven PH |date=June 2020 |title=Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=117 |issue=24 |pages=13596–13602 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11713596C |doi=10.1073/pnas.1922686117 |pmc=7306750 |pmid=32482862 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The fast-growing extinction trends of various animal groups like mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have led scientists to declare a current biodiversity crisis in both land and ocean ecosystems.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Andermann T, Faurby S, Turvey ST, Antonelli A, Silvestro D |date=September 2020 |title=The past and future human impact on mammalian diversity |journal=Science Advances |volume=6 |issue=36 |pages=eabb2313 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.2313A |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abb2313 |pmc=7473673 |pmid=32917612}}</ref><ref>CIESM 2013. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271767063_Marine_Extinctions_Patterns_and_Processes_-_Executive_Summary Marine extinctions - patterns and processes]. CIESM Workshop Monograph n° 45 [F. Briand ed.], 188 p., CIESM Publisher, Monaco.</ref>


In 2006, many more species were formally classified as [[rare species|rare]] or [[endangered species|endangered]] or [[threatened species|threatened]]; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk that have not been formally recognized.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cardinale |first1=Bradley J. |last2=Duffy |first2=J. Emmett |last3=Gonzalez |first3=Andrew |last4=Hooper |first4=David U. |last5=Perrings |first5=Charles |last6=Venail |first6=Patrick |last7=Narwani |first7=Anita |last8=Mace |first8=Georgina M. |last9=Tilman |first9=David |last10=Wardle |first10=David A. |last11=Kinzig |first11=Ann P. |date=2012-06-06 |title=Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11148 |journal=Nature |volume=486 |issue=7401 |pages=59–67 |doi=10.1038/nature11148 |pmid=22678280 |bibcode=2012Natur.486...59C |s2cid=4333166 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref>
Locally bounded loss rates can be [[measurement|measured]] using [[species richness]] and its variation [[time series|over time]]. Raw [[Count data|count]]s may not be as ecologically relevant as relative or absolute{{Clarify|reason=how does "absolute abundance" differ from "raw count"?|date=March 2021}} [[Abundance (ecology)|abundances]]. Taking into account the [[relative frequencies]], many [[biodiversity index]]es have been developed. Besides richness, evenness and heterogeneity are considered to be the main dimensions along which diversity can be measured.<ref name=cardinale2012>{{cite journal | doi=10.1038/nature11148 | title=Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity | year=2012 | last1=Cardinale | first1=Bradley | journal=Nature | volume=486 | pages=59–67|bibcode = 2012Natur.486...59C | pmid=22678280 | issue=7401| s2cid=4333166 |display-authors=etal|quote=...at the first [[Earth Summit]], the vast majority of the world’s nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth’s ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. This observation led to the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper.| url=http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/10240/7/wardle_d_etal_130415.pdf }}</ref>


Deforestation also plays a large role in biodiversity loss. More than half of the worlds biodiversity is hosted in tropical rainforest.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Giam |first=Xingli |date=2017-06-06 |title=Global biodiversity loss from tropical deforestation |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=114 |issue=23 |pages=5775–5777 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.5775G |doi=10.1073/pnas.1706264114 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5468656 |pmid=28550105 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Regions that are subjected to exponential loss of biodiversity are referred to as [[Biodiversity hotspot|biodiversity hotspots]]. Since 1988 the hotspots increased from 10 to 34. Of the total 34 hotspots currently present, 16 of them are in tropical regions (as of 2006).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jha |first1=S. |last2=Bawa |first2=K. S. |date=June 2006 |title=Population Growth, Human Development, and Deforestation in Biodiversity Hotspots |url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00398.x |url-status=live |journal=Conservation Biology |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=906–912 |bibcode=2006ConBi..20..906J |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00398.x |issn=0888-8892 |pmid=16909582 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122172953/https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00398.x |archive-date=January 22, 2023 |access-date=March 31, 2024}}</ref> Researchers have noted in 2006 that only 2.3% of the world is covered with biodiversity loss hotspots, and even though only a small percentage of the world is covered in hotspots, it host a large fraction (50%) of [[vascular plant]] species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jha |first1=S. |last2=Bawa |first2=K. S. |date=June 2006 |title=Population Growth, Human Development, and Deforestation in Biodiversity Hotspots |url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00398.x |url-status=live |journal=Conservation Biology |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=906–912 |bibcode=2006ConBi..20..906J |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00398.x |issn=0888-8892 |pmid=16909582 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122172953/https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00398.x |archive-date=January 22, 2023 |access-date=March 31, 2024}}</ref>
As with all diversity measures, it is essential to accurately classify the spatial and temporal scope of the observation. "Definitions tend to become less precise as the complexity of the subject increases and the associated spatial and temporal scales widen."<ref name=tagliapietra>{{cite chapter |chapter=Biological diversity and habitat diversity: a matter of Science and perception |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202123357/http://www.unige.ch/sciences/near/pdf/Tagliapietra%20and%20Sigovini%202010.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2017 |access-date=18 September 2019|first1=Davide |last1=Tagliapietra |first2=Marco |last2=Sigovini |url=http://www.unige.ch/sciences/near/pdf/Tagliapietra%20and%20Sigovini%202010.pdf |volume=88 |pages=147&ndash;155 |title=Terre et Environnement |isbn=2-940153-87-6}}</ref> Biodiversity itself is not a single concept but can be split up into various scales (e.g. [[ecosystem diversity]] vs. [[habitat]] diversity or even biodiversity vs. habitat diversity<ref name=tagliapietra/>) or different subcategories (e.g. [[phylogenetic diversity]], [[species diversity]], [[genetic diversity]], [[nucleotide diversity]]). The question of net loss in confined regions is often a matter of debate but longer observation times are generally thought to be beneficial to loss estimates.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Ecology|year=2016 |volume=97|issue=8|pages=1949–1960|doi=10.1890/15-1759.1|pmid=27859190 |title=Estimating local biodiversity change: a critique of papers claiming no net loss of local diversity.|quote=two recent data meta-analyses have found that species richness is decreasing in some locations and is increasing in others. When these trends are combined, these papers argued there has been no net change in species richness, and suggested this pattern is globally representative of biodiversity change at local scales|last1=Gonzalez |first1=Andrew |last2=Cardinale |first2=Bradley J. |last3=Allington |first3=Ginger R. H. |last4=Byrnes |first4=Jarrett |last5=Arthur Endsley |first5=K. |last6=Brown |first6=Daniel G. |last7=Hooper |first7=David U. |last8=Isbell |first8=Forest |last9=O'Connor |first9=Mary I. |last10=Loreau |first10=Michel |s2cid=5920426 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Overlooked local biodiversity loss (letter and response)|journal=Science|volume=344|issue=6188|pages=1098|author=Bradley Cardinale|doi=10.1126/science.344.6188.1098-a|pmid=24904146|date=2014-06-06}}</ref>


In 2021, about 28 percent of the 134,400 species assessed using the [[IUCN Red List]] criteria are now listed as threatened with [[extinction]]—a total of 37,400 species compared to 16,119 threatened species in 2006.<ref name="iucnredlist.org">{{Cite web|title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/en|access-date=April 30, 2021|website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|archive-date=March 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304172225/https://www.iucnredlist.org/en|url-status=live}}</ref>
To compare rates between different geographic regions [[latitudinal gradients in species diversity]] should also be considered.


A 2022 study that surveyed more than 3,000 experts found that "global biodiversity loss and its impacts may be greater than previously thought", and estimated that roughly 30% of species "have been globally threatened or driven extinct since the year 1500."<ref>{{cite news|last=Melillo|first=Gianna|date=July 19, 2022|title=Threat of global extinction may be greater than previously thought, study finds|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/3565945-threat-of-global-extinction-may-be-greater-than-previously-thought-study-finds/|work=The Hill|location=|access-date=July 20, 2022|archive-date=July 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719180734/https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/3565945-threat-of-global-extinction-may-be-greater-than-previously-thought-study-finds/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Isbell|first1=Forest|last2=Balvanera|first2=Patricia|date=2022 |title=Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment|volume= 21|issue= 2|pages= 94–103|doi=10.1002/fee.2536|s2cid=250659953 |doi-access=free|hdl=10852/101242|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
In 2006, many more species were formally classified as [[rare species|rare]] or [[endangered species|endangered]] or [[threatened species|threatened]]; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the [[IUCN Red List]] criteria are now listed as threatened with [[extinction]]—a total of 16,119.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_endangered.html|title = Endangered Species List Expands to 16,000|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170805153429/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_endangered.html|archive-date = 5 August 2017|work = National Geographic|last = Lovett|first = Richard A.|date = 2 May 2006|df = dmy-all}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=March 2021}}


Research published in 2023 found that, out of 70,000 species, about 48% are facing decreasing populations due to human activities, while only 3% are seeing an increase in populations.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=May 23, 2023 |title=Biodiversity: Almost half of animals in decline, research shows |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65681648 |work=BBC |location= |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-date=July 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717222234/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65681648 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Finn|first1=Catherine|last2=Grattarola|first2=Florencia |last3=Pincheira-Donoso|first3=Daniel |date=2023 |title=More losers than winners: investigating Anthropocene defaunation through the diversity of population trends|url= |journal=Biological Reviews|volume= 98|issue= 5|pages= 1732–1748|doi=10.1111/brv.12974|pmid=37189305 |s2cid=258717720 |access-date=|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Paddison|first=Laura|date=May 22, 2023|title=Global loss of wildlife is 'significantly more alarming' than previously thought, according to a new study|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/22/world/wildlife-crisis-biodiversity-scn-climate-intl/index.html|work=CNN|location=|access-date=May 25, 2023|archive-date=May 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525012839/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/22/world/wildlife-crisis-biodiversity-scn-climate-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Causes ==
Biodiversity is traditionally defined as the variety of life on Earth in all its forms and it comprises the number of species, their genetic variation and the interaction of these lifeforms. However, since the late 20th century human-driven biodiversity loss is causing more severe and longer-lasting impacts.<ref name=eb>[https://www.britannica.com/science/biodiversity-loss Biodiversity loss] (Encyc. Brit.)</ref> Human drivers of biodiversity loss include habitat alteration, [[pollution]], and [[overexploitation]] of resources.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Harfoot|first1=Michael B. J.|last2=Tittensor|first2=Derek P.|last3=Knight|first3=Sarah|last4=Arnell|first4=Andrew P.|last5=Blyth|first5=Simon|last6=Brooks|first6=Sharon|last7=Butchart|first7=Stuart H. M.|last8=Hutton|first8=Jon|last9=Jones|first9=Matthew I.|last10=Kapos|first10=Valerie|last11=Scharlemann|first11=Jӧrn P. W.|date=2018|title=Present and future biodiversity risks from fossil fuel exploitation|url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/conl.12448|journal=Conservation Letters|language=en|volume=11|issue=4|pages=e12448|doi=10.1111/conl.12448|issn=1755-263X|doi-access=free}}</ref>


===Change in land use===
==Methods to quantify loss==
{{See also|Measurement of biodiversity|alpha diversity}}
[[File:Flii globe.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] measures global anthropogenic modification on remaining forests annually. 0 = Most modification; 10= Least.<ref name="flii">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G|doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
Examples of changes in land use include [[deforestation]], intensive [[monoculture]], and [[urbanization]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Oliver|first1=Tom H.|last2=Morecroft|first2=Mike D.|date=2014|title=Interactions between climate change and land use change on biodiversity: attribution problems, risks, and opportunities|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.271|journal=WIREs Climate Change|language=en|volume=5|issue=3|pages=317–335|doi=10.1002/wcc.271|issn=1757-7799|doi-access=free}}</ref>


Biologists define ''biodiversity'' as the "totality of [[Gene|genes]], [[species]] and [[ecosystems]] of a region".<ref name="Larsson2001">{{cite book |author=Tor-Björn Larsson |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=zeTU8QauENcC|page=178}} |title=Biodiversity evaluation tools for European forests |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2001 |isbn=978-87-16-16434-6 |page=178 |access-date=28 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{cite book |author=Davis |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=n0FvYeoHtAIC|page=40}} |title=Intro To Env Engg (Sie), 4E |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-0-07-067117-1 |pages=4 |access-date=28 June 2011}}</ref> To measure biodiversity loss rates for a particular location, scientists record the [[species richness]] and its variation [[time series|over time]] in that area. In [[ecology]], [[Abundance (ecology)|local abundance]] is the relative representation of a species in a particular [[ecosystem]].<ref name="Preston-1948">{{Cite journal |last=Preston |first=F.W. |date=July 1948 |title=The Commonness, and Rarity, of Species |url=http://www.bgu.ac.il/desert_agriculture/Vegecology/Papers/Preston48.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Ecology |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=254–283 |doi=10.2307/1930989 |jstor=1930989 |bibcode=1948Ecol...29..254P |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222030534/http://www.bgu.ac.il/desert_agriculture/Vegecology/Papers/Preston48.pdf |archive-date=2014-12-22 |access-date=2019-02-12 |via=Ben-Gurion University of the Negev}}</ref> It is usually measured as the number of individuals found per [[Sample (statistics)|sample]]. The ratio of abundance of one species to one or multiple other species living in an ecosystem is called [[relative species abundance]].<ref name="Preston-1948" /> Both indicators are relevant for [[Measurement of biodiversity|computing biodiversity]].
The 2019 [[IPBES]] ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' asserts that industrial agriculture is the primary driver collapsing biodiversity.<ref>{{cite news |last= Vidal|first=John|date=March 15, 2019 |title=The Rapid Decline Of The Natural World Is A Crisis Even Bigger Than Climate Change|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nature-destruction-climate-change-world-biodiversity_n_5c49e78ce4b06ba6d3bb2d44|work=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=March 16, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Stokstad">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/landmark-analysis-documents-alarming-global-decline-nature|title=Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature|last=Stokstad|first=Erik|date=5 May 2019|website=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science|AAAS]]|language=en|access-date=8 February 2021|quote="For the first time at a global scale, the report has ranked the causes of damage. Topping the list, changes in land use—principally agriculture—that have destroyed habitat. Second, hunting and other kinds of exploitation. These are followed by climate change, pollution, and invasive species, which are being spread by trade and other activities. Climate change will likely overtake the other threats in the next decades, the authors note. Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.)"}}</ref> The UN's Global Biodiversity Outlook 2014 estimates that 70 percent of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity are [[environmental impact of agriculture|caused by agriculture]] use.{{Update inline|date=March 2021|reason=check https://www.cbd.int/gbo5}} Moreover, more than 1/3 of the planet's land surface is utilised for crops and grazing of livestock.<ref>{{Cite web|title=4. What factors lead to biodiversity loss?|url=https://www.greenfacts.org/en/biodiversity/l-3/4-causes-desertification.htm|access-date=2021-03-27|website=www.greenfacts.org}}</ref>{{Deep link needed|date=March 2021}} Agriculture destroys biodiversity by [[land conversion|converting]] [[natural habitat]]s to intensely managed systems and by releasing [[pollutant]]s, including [[greenhouse gas]]es. Food value chains further amplify impacts including through energy use, transport and waste.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Causes and Consequences of Biodiversity Declines {{!}} Learn Science at Scitable|url=https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/causes-and-consequences-of-biodiversity-declines-16132475/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=www.nature.com}}</ref> The direct effects of urban growth on habitat loss are well understood: building construction often results in habitat destruction and fragmentation. The rise of urbanization greatly reduced biodiversity when large areas of natural habitat are fragmented.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} Small habitat patches are unable to support the same level of genetic or taxonomic diversity as they formerly could while some of the more sensitive species may become locally extinct.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222543034_Genetic_diversity_and_local_population_structure_of_fragmented_populations_of_Trillium_camschatcense_Trilliaceae Trilliaceae]</ref>


There are many different [[biodiversity index]]es.<ref name="cardinale2012">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cardinale BJ, Duffy JE, Gonzalez A, Hooper DU, Perrings C, Venail P, Narwani A, Mace GM, Tilman D, Wardle DA, Kinzig AP, Daily GC, Loreau M, Grace JB, Larigauderie A, Srivastava DS, Naeem S |date=June 2012 |title=Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity |url=https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/10240/7/wardle_d_etal_130415.pdf |journal=Nature |volume=486 |issue=7401 |pages=59–67 |bibcode=2012Natur.486...59C |doi=10.1038/nature11148 |pmid=22678280 |s2cid=4333166 |access-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-date=September 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921233215/http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/10240/7/wardle_d_etal_130415.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> These investigate different scales and time spans.<ref name="tagliapietra">{{cite book |url=http://www.unige.ch/sciences/near/pdf/Tagliapietra%20and%20Sigovini%202010.pdf |title=Terre et Environnement |vauthors=Tagliapietra D, Sigovini M |publisher=Institut Forel, Département de Minéraologie, Département de Géologie et Paléontologie, Section Sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève |year=2010 |isbn=978-2-940153-87-9 |volume=88 |pages=147–155 |chapter=Biological diversity and habitat diversity: a matter of Science and perception |access-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202123357/http://www.unige.ch/sciences/near/pdf/Tagliapietra%20and%20Sigovini%202010.pdf |archive-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> Biodiversity has various scales and subcategories (e.g. [[phylogenetic diversity]], [[species diversity]], [[genetic diversity]], [[nucleotide diversity]]).<ref name="tagliapietra" />
According to a 2020 study published in ''[[Nature Sustainability]]'', more than 17,000 species are at risk of losing habitat by 2050 as agriculture continues to expand in order to meet future food needs. The researchers suggest that greater agricultural efficiency in the developing world and large scale transitions to healthier, [[Plant-based diet|planet-based diets]] could help reduce habitat loss.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dunne |first=Daisy |date=December 22, 2020 |title=More than 17,000 species worldwide to lose part of habitat if agriculture continues to expand |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/species-habitat-loss-agriculture-food-b1777097.html |work=[[The Independent]] |location= |access-date=January 17, 2021}}</ref> Similarly, a [[Chatham House]] report also posited that a global shift towards largely plant-based diets would free up land to allow for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity, because in the 2010s over 80% of all global farmland was used to rear animals.<ref name="Carrington">{{cite news|last=Carrington|first=Damian |date=February 3, 2021 |title=Plant-based diets crucial to saving global wildlife, says report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=February 6, 2021}}</ref>


The question of ''net loss'' in confined regions is often a matter of debate.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Gonzalez A, Cardinale BJ, Allington GR, Byrnes J, Arthur Endsley K, Brown DG, Hooper DU, Isbell F, O'Connor MI, Loreau M |date=August 2016 |title=Estimating local biodiversity change: a critique of papers claiming no net loss of local diversity |journal=Ecology |volume=97 |issue=8 |pages=1949–1960 |doi=10.1890/15-1759.1 |pmid=27859190 |s2cid=5920426 |quote=two recent data meta-analyses have found that species richness is decreasing in some locations and is increasing in others. When these trends are combined, these papers argued there has been no net change in species richness, and suggested this pattern is globally representative of biodiversity change at local scales |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016Ecol...97.1949G |hdl-access=free |hdl=2027.42/133578}}</ref>
===Pollution===


== Observations by type of life ==
==== Air pollution ====
[[File:Air pollution3.jpg|thumb|Industrial processes contributing to [[air pollution]] though the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide.]]
[[Water vapor]], [[carbon dioxide]], [[methane]], and [[nitrous oxide]] are greenhouse gases. In the past 250 years, concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane have increased, along with the introduction of purely anthropogenic emissions such as [[Hydrofluorocarbon|hydrofluorocarbons]], [[Fluorocarbon|perfluorocarbons]], and [[sulfur hexafluoride]] into the atmosphere.<ref name=":72" /> These pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere by the burning [[Fossil fuel|fossil fuels]] and [[biomass]], [[deforestation]], and agricultural practices which amplify the effects of [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dudley|first1=N|last2=Alexander|first2=S|date=2017|title=Agriculture and biodiversity: a review|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14888386.2017.1351892|journal=Biodiversity|volume=18|issue=2–3|pages=45–49|doi=10.1080/14888386.2017.1351892|s2cid=134350972|issn=1488-8386}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rosa|first1=Eugene A.|last2=Dietz|first2=Thomas|date=2012|title=Human drivers of national greenhouse-gas emissions|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate1506|journal=Nature Climate Change|language=en|volume=2|issue=8|pages=581–586|doi=10.1038/nclimate1506|bibcode=2012NatCC...2..581R|issn=1758-6798}}</ref> As larger concentrations of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, this causes the Earth’s surface temperature to increase. This is because greenhouse gases are capable of absorbing, emitting, and trapping heat from the Sun and into the Earth's atmosphere.<ref name=":72">{{Cite book|last=Sabljic|first=Aleksandar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NY2PDAAAQBAJ|title=Environmental and Ecological Chemistry - Volume I|publisher=EOLSS Publications|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84826-186-0|pages=|language=en}}</ref> With the increase in temperature expected from increasing greenhouse gases, there will be higher levels of air pollution, greater variability in weather patterns, intensification of climate change effects, and changes in the distribution of vegetation in the landscape.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Backhaus|first1=Thomas|last2=Snape|first2=Jason|last3=Lazorchak|first3=Jim|date=2012|title=The impact of chemical pollution on biodiversity and ecosystem services: the need for an improved understanding|url=https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ieam.1353|journal=Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management|language=en|volume=8|issue=4|pages=575–576|doi=10.1002/ieam.1353|pmid=22987515|issn=1551-3793}}</ref>


=== Wildlife in general ===
Other pollutants that are released from industrial and agricultural activity are [[sulfur dioxide]] and [[Nitrogen oxide|nitrogen oxides]].<ref name=":72" /> Once sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are introduced into the atmosphere, they can react with cloud droplets ([[cloud condensation nuclei]]), raindrops, or snowflakes, forming [[sulfuric acid]] and [[nitric acid]]. With the interaction between water droplets and sulfuric and nitric acids, [[wet deposition]] occurs and creates [[acid rain]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Singh|first1=A|last2=Agrawal|first2=M|date=2008|title=Acid rain and its ecological consequences|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18831326/|journal=Journal of Environmental Biology|volume=29|issue=1|pages=15–24|issn=0254-8704|pmid=18831326}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Payne|first1=Richard J.|last2=Dise|first2=Nancy B.|last3=Field|first3=Christopher D.|last4=Dore|first4=Anthony J.|last5=Caporn|first5=Simon JM|last6=Stevens|first6=Carly J.|date=2017|title=Nitrogen deposition and plant biodiversity: past, present, and future|url=https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/fee.1528|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment|language=en|volume=15|issue=8|pages=431–436|doi=10.1002/fee.1528|issn=1540-9309}}</ref> As a result, these acids would be displaced into various environments and vegetation during precipitation, having significant aerial distance (hundreds of kilometres) from the emission source. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide can also be displaced onto vegetations through [[dry deposition]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last1=Lovett|first1=Gary M.|last2=Tear|first2=Timothy H.|last3=Evers|first3=David C.|last4=Findlay|first4=Stuart E. G.|last5=Cosby|first5=B. Jack|last6=Dunscomb|first6=Judy K.|last7=Driscoll|first7=Charles T.|last8=Weathers|first8=Kathleen C.|date=2009|title=Effects of air pollution on ecosystems and biological diversity in the eastern United States|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432647/|journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences|volume=1162|issue=1|pages=99–135|doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04153.x|issn=1749-6632|pmid=19432647|bibcode=2009NYASA1162...99L|s2cid=9368346}}</ref>
[[File:1970- Decline in species populations - Living Planet Index.svg |thumb|The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report 2022 found that wildlife populations declined by an average 69% since 1970.<ref name="LivingPlanetIndex_2018">{{cite web |date=13 October 2022 |title=Living Planet Index, World |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-living-planet-index |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008181057/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-living-planet-index |archive-date=8 October 2023 |publisher=Our World in Data |quote=Data source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London}}</ref><ref name="WEforum_20221017">{{cite web |last1=Whiting |first1=Kate |date=17 October 2022 |title=6 charts that show the state of biodiversity and nature loss – and how we can go 'nature positive' |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/nature-loss-biodiversity-wwf/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925025824/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/nature-loss-biodiversity-wwf/ |archive-date=25 September 2023 |publisher=World Economic Forum}}</ref><ref name="LPI_by_Region_1970">Regional data from {{cite web |date=13 October 2022 |title=How does the Living Planet Index vary by region? |url=https://ourworldindata.org/living-planet-index-region |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920042759/https://ourworldindata.org/living-planet-index-region |archive-date=20 September 2023 |publisher=Our World in Data |quote=Data source: Living Planet Report (2022). World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London. -}}</ref>]]{{main|Wildlife#Loss and extinction}}
An October 2020 analysis by [[Swiss Re]] found that one-fifth of all countries are at risk of [[ecosystem collapse]] as the result of anthropogenic habitat destruction and increased [[wildlife]] loss.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 12, 2020 |title=Fifth of countries at risk of ecosystem collapse, analysis finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/12/fifth-of-nations-at-risk-of-ecosystem-collapse-analysis-finds |access-date=October 12, 2020 |work=The Guardian |vauthors=Carrington D |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512155833/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/12/fifth-of-nations-at-risk-of-ecosystem-collapse-analysis-finds |url-status=live}}</ref> If these losses are not reversed, a total ecosystem collapse could ensue.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=February 24, 2023 |title=Ecosystem collapse 'inevitable' unless wildlife losses reversed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/24/ecosystem-collapse-wildlife-losses-permian-triassic-mass-extinction-study |access-date=February 25, 2023 |work=The Guardian |location= |quote=The researchers concluded: 'A biodiversity crash may be the harbinger of a more devastating ecosystem collapse.' |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225022431/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/24/ecosystem-collapse-wildlife-losses-permian-triassic-mass-extinction-study |url-status=live}}</ref>


In 2022, the World Wildlife Fund reported<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Living Planet Report |url=https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-US/ |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=livingplanet.panda.org |language=en-US |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324021103/https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-US/ |url-status=live}}</ref> an average population decline of 68% between 1970 and 2016 for 4,400 animal species worldwide, encompassing nearly 21,000 monitored populations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2020 |title=Animal populations worldwide have declined nearly 70% in just 50 years, new report says |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/endangered-species-animal-population-decline-world-wildlife-fund-new-report/ |first1=Sophie |last1=Lewis |access-date=2023-03-23 |publisher=CBS News |language=en-US |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404055037/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/endangered-species-animal-population-decline-world-wildlife-fund-new-report/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
Sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide concentration has many implication on aquatic ecosystems, including acidity change, increased nitrogen and aluminum content, and altering [[Biogeochemical cycle|biogeochemical processes]].<ref name=":10" /> Typically, sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide do not have direct physiological effects upon exposure; most effects are developed by accumulation and prolonged exposure of these gases in the environment, modifying soil and water chemistry.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nowlan|first1=C. R.|last2=Martin|first2=R. V.|last3=Philip|first3=S.|last4=Lamsal|first4=L. N.|last5=Krotkov|first5=N. A.|last6=Marais|first6=E. A.|last7=Wang|first7=S.|last8=Zhang|first8=Q.|date=2014|title=Global dry deposition of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide inferred from space-based measurements|url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2014GB004805|journal=Global Biogeochemical Cycles|language=en|volume=28|issue=10|pages=1025–1043|doi=10.1002/2014GB004805|bibcode=2014GBioC..28.1025N|issn=1944-9224|doi-access=free}}</ref> Consequently, sulfur largely contributes to lake and [[ocean acidification]], and nitrogen initiates [[eutrophication]] of inland and coastal water bodies that lack nitrogen. Both of these phenomena alter the native aquatic biota composition and influence the original food web with higher acidity level, minimizing aquatic and marine biodiversity.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":10" />


===Terrestrial invertebrates ===
Nitrogen deposition has also affected terrestrial ecosystems, including forests, grasslands, alpine regions, and bogs.<ref name=":10" /> The influx of nitrogen has altered the natural biogeochemical cycle and promoted [[soil acidification]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Jandl|first1=Robert|last2=Smidt|first2=Stefan|last3=Mutsch|first3=Franz|last4=Fürst|first4=Alfred|last5=Zechmeister|first5=Harald|last6=Bauer|first6=Heidi|last7=Dirnböck|first7=Thomas|date=2012|title=Acidification and Nitrogen Eutrophication of Austrian Forest Soils|url=https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2012/632602/|url-status=live|website=Applied and Environmental Soil Science|language=en}}</ref> As a result, it is likely that plant and animal species composition and ecosystem functionality will decline with increased soil sensitivity; contribute to slower forest growth, tree damage at higher elevations, and replacement of native biota with nitrogen-loving species.<ref name="eb" /><ref name=":10" /> Additionally, sulfate and nitrate can be leached from the soil, removing essential nutrients such as calcium and magnesium, and be deposited into freshwater, coastal, and oceanic environments, promoting eutrophication.<ref name=":10" />


==== Noise pollution ====
==== Insects ====
{{main|Decline in insect populations|Insect biodiversity||}}
Noises generated by traffic, ships, vehicles, and aircraft can affect the survivability of wildlife species and can reach undisturbed habitats.<ref name=":82">{{Cite journal|last1=Sordello|first1=Romain|last2=Flamerie De Lachapelle|first2=Frédérique|last3=Livoreil|first3=Barbara|last4=Vanpeene|first4=Sylvie|date=2019|title=Evidence of the environmental impact of noise pollution on biodiversity: a systematic map protocol|journal=Environmental Evidence|volume=8|issue=1|pages=8|doi=10.1186/s13750-019-0146-6|issn=2047-2382|doi-access=free}}</ref> Although sounds are commonly present in the environment, anthropogenic noises are distinguishable due to differences in frequency and amplitude.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal|last1=Francis|first1=Clinton D.|last2=Ortega|first2=Catherine P.|last3=Cruz|first3=Alexander|date=2009|title=Noise Pollution Changes Avian Communities and Species Interactions|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982209013281|journal=Current Biology|language=en|volume=19|issue=16|pages=1415–1419|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.052|pmid=19631542|s2cid=15985432|issn=0960-9822}}</ref> Many animals use sounds to communicate with others of their species, whether that is for reproduction purposes, navigation, or to notify others of prey or predators. However, anthropogenic noises inhibit species from detecting these sounds, affecting overall communication within the population.<ref name=":03" /> Species such as birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, mammals, and invertebrates are examples of biological groups that are impacted by [[noise pollution]].<ref name=":82" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite journal|last1=Kunc|first1=Hansjoerg P.|last2=Schmidt|first2=Rouven|date=2019|title=The effects of anthropogenic noise on animals: a meta-analysis|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31744413/|journal=Biology Letters|volume=15|issue=11|pages=20190649|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2019.0649|issn=1744-957X|pmc=6892517|pmid=31744413}}</ref> If animals cannot communicate with one another, this would result in reproduction to decline (not able to find mates), and higher mortality (lack of communication for predator detection).<ref name=":82" />


{{excerpt|Decline in insect populations|paragraphs=1-2}}
Noise pollution is common in marine ecosystems, affecting at least 55 marine species.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Weilgart|first=Linda S.|date=2008|title=The Impact of Ocean Noise Pollution on Marine Biodiversity|url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Impact-of-Ocean-Noise-Pollution-on-Marine-Weilgart/593daf2a8025c2cea9cbafa805456000f107b3da|access-date=2021-02-21|website=www.semanticscholar.org|s2cid=13176067|language=en}}</ref> For many marine populations, sound is their primary sense used for their survival; able to detect sound hundreds to thousands kilometers away from a source, while vision is limited to tens of meters underwater.<ref name=":12" /> As anthropogenic noises continue to increase, doubling every decade, this compromises the survivability of marine species.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jovicic|first1=Slobodan T.|last2=Saric|first2=Zoran M.|last3=Turajlic|first3=Srbijanka R.|date=2005|title=Application of the maximum signal to interference ratio criterion to the adaptive microphone array|url=https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1989785|journal=Acoustics Research Letters Online|volume=6|issue=4|pages=232–237|doi=10.1121/1.1989785}}</ref> One study discovered that as [[Seismic noise|seismic noises]] and [[Sonar|naval sonar]] increases in marine ecosystems, [[Cetacea|cetacean]], such as whales and dolphins, diversity decreases.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fernández|first1=A.|last2=Edwards|first2=J.|last3=Rodríguez|first3=F.|last4=Monteros|first4=A. E. de los|last5=Herráez|first5=P.|last6=Castro|first6=P.|last7=Jaber|first7=J. R.|last8=Martin|first8=V.|last9=Arbelo|first9=M.|date=2005|title="Gas and Fat Embolic Syndrome" Involving a Mass Stranding of Beaked Whales (Family Ziphiidae) Exposed to Anthropogenic Sonar Signals|url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/%E2%80%9CGas-and-Fat-Embolic-Syndrome%E2%80%9D-Involving-a-Mass-of-Fern%C3%A1ndez-Edwards/1e5a2678cb8de1ed68c225c25f8fdfddb32688a7|journal=Veterinary Pathology|volume=42|issue=4|pages=446–457|doi=10.1354/vp.42-4-446|pmid=16006604|s2cid=43571676}}</ref> Noise pollution has also impaired fish hearing, killed and isolated whale populations, intensified stress response in marine species, and changed species’ physiology. Because marine species are sensitive to noise, most marine wildlife are located in undisturbed habitats or areas not exposed to significant anthropogenic noise, limiting suitable habitats to forage and mate. Whales have changed their migration route to avoid anthropogenic noise, as well as altering their calls.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Richardson|first=W. John|title=Marine Mammals and Noise|publisher=Academic Press|year=1995|location=San Diego}}</ref> Noise pollution also impacts human livelihood. Multiple studies have noticed that fewer fishes, such as cod, haddock, rockfish, herring, sand seal, and blue whiting, have been spotted in areas with seismic noises, with catch rates declining by 40-80%.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Engås|first1=Arill|last2=Løkkeborg|first2=Svein|last3=Ona|first3=Egil|last4=Soldal|first4=Aud Vold|date=2011|title=Effects of seismic shooting on local abundance and catch rates of cod ((Gadus morhua) and haddock )(Melanogrammus aeglefinus)|url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/f96-177|journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences|language=en|volume=53|issue=10|pages=2238–2249|doi=10.1139/f96-177|hdl=11250/108647|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Skalski|first1=John R.|last2=Pearson|first2=Walter H.|last3=Malme|first3=Charles I.|date=2011|title=Effects of Sounds from a Geophysical Survey Device on Catch-per-Unit-Effort in a Hook-and-Line Fishery for Rockfish (Sebastes spp.)|url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/f92-151|journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences|language=en|volume=49|issue=7|pages=1357–1365|doi=10.1139/f92-151}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Slotte|first1=Aril|last2=Hansen|first2=Kaare|last3=Dalen|first3=John|last4=Ona|first4=Egil|date=2004|title=Acoustic mapping of pelagic fish distribution and abundance in relation to a seismic shooting area off the Norwegian west coast|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016578360300290X|journal=Fisheries Research|language=en|volume=67|issue=2|pages=143–150|doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2003.09.046|issn=0165-7836}}</ref>


==== Earthworms ====
Noise pollution has also altered avian communities and diversity. Anthropogenic noises have a similar effect on bird population as seen in marine ecosystems, where noises reduce reproductive success; cannot detect predators due to interferences of anthropogenic noises, minimize nesting areas, increase stress response, and species abundances and richness declining.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":12" /> Certain avian species are more sensitive to noises compared to others, resulting in highly-sensitive birds migrating to less disturbed habitats. There has also been evidence of indirect positive effects of anthropogenic noises on avian populations. In a study conducted by Francis and his colleagues, nesting bird predators, such as the western scrub-jay (''[[California scrub jay|Aphelocoma californica]]''), were uncommon in noisy environments (western scrub-jay are sensitive to noise). Therefore, reproductive success for nesting prey communities was higher due to the lack of predators.<ref name=":03" />
[[File:Earthworm on plant.jpg|alt=image of Earthworm on plant|thumb|Earthworm on plant]]
Scientists have studied loss of [[Earthworm|earthworms]] from several long-term agronomic trials. They found that relative biomass losses of minus 50–100% (with a mean of minus 83 %) match or exceed those reported for other faunal groups.<ref name="Blakemore-2018" /> Thus it is clear that earthworms are similarly depleted in the soils of fields used for intensive agriculture.<ref name="Blakemore-2018">{{cite journal |vauthors=Blakemore RJ |date=2018 |title=Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture |journal=Soil Systems |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=33 |doi=10.3390/soilsystems2020033 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018SoiSy...2...33B}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].</ref> Earthworms play an important role in ecosystem function,<ref name="Blakemore-2018" /> helping with biological processing in soil, water, and even greenhouse gas balancing.<ref name="Dewi-2015">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dewi WS, Senge M |date=2015 |title=Earthworm diversity and ecosystem services under threat. |journal=Reviews in Agricultural Science |volume=3 |pages=25–35 |doi=10.7831/ras.3.0_25 |doi-access=free |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ras/3/0/3_25/_article |via=J-STAGE |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202121848/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ras/3/0/3_25/_pdf/-char/en |archive-date= 2024-02-02}}</ref> There are five reasons for the decline of earthworm diversity: "(1) [[soil degradation]] and habitat loss, (2) climate change, (3) excessive nutrient and other forms of contamination load, (4) over-exploitation and unsustainable management of soil, and (5) invasive species".<ref name="Dewi-2015"/>{{rp|26}} Factors like tillage practices and intensive land use decimate the soil and plant roots that earthworms use to create their biomass.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Briones |first1=María Jesús I. |last2=Schmidt |first2=Olaf |date=October 2017 |title=Conventional tillage decreases the abundance and biomass of earthworms and alters their community structure in a global meta-analysis |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28464547/ |journal=Global Change Biology |volume=23 |issue=10 |pages=4396–4419 |doi=10.1111/gcb.13744 |issn=1365-2486 |pmid=28464547|bibcode=2017GCBio..23.4396B}}</ref> This interferes with [[Carbon cycle|carbon]] and [[Nitrogen cycle|nitrogen cycles]].


Knowledge of earthworm species diversity is quite limited as not even 50% of them have been described.<ref name="Dewi-2015" /> [[Sustainable agriculture]] methods could help prevent earthworm diversity decline, for example reduced tillage.<ref name="Dewi-2015" />{{rp|32}} The Secretariat of the [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] is trying to take action and promote the restoration and maintenance of the many diverse species of earthworms.<ref name="Dewi-2015" />
=== Invasive species ===

[[Invasive species]] have major implications on biodiversity loss and have degraded various ecosystems worldwide. Invasive species are migrant species that have outcompeted and displaced native species, altered species richness and [[Food web|food webs]], and changed ecosystems’ functions.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Molnar|first1=Jennifer L.|last2=Gamboa|first2=Rebecca L.|last3=Revenga|first3=Carmen|last4=Spalding|first4=Mark D.|date=2008|title=Assessing the global threat of invasive species to marine biodiversity|url=https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/070064|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment|language=en|volume=6|issue=9|pages=485–492|doi=10.1890/070064|issn=1540-9309}}</ref> According to the [[Millennium Ecosystem Assessment]], invasive species are considered one of the top five factors which result in biodiversity loss. In the past half century, biological invasions have increased immensely worldwide, resulting in biodiversity loss. Ecosystems that are vulnerable to biological invasions include coastal areas, freshwater ecosystems, islands, and places with a [[Mediterranean climate]]. One study conducted a meta-analysis on the impacts of invasive species on Mediterranean-type ecosystems, and observed a significant loss in native species richness.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Pyšek|first1=Petr|last2=Richardson|first2=David M.|date=2010|title=Invasive Species, Environmental Change and Management, and Health|url=http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-environ-033009-095548|journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources|language=en|volume=35|issue=1|pages=25–55|doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-033009-095548|issn=1543-5938|doi-access=free}}</ref> Invasive species are introduced to new habitat, either intentionally or unintentionally, by human activities. The most common methods for the introduction of aquatic invasive species are by [[ballast water]], on the hulls of ships, and attached to equipment such as fishing nets.<ref>{{Cite web|last=US Department of Commerce|first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|title=What is an invasive species?|url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/invasive.html|url-status=live|access-date=|website=oceanservice.noaa.gov|language=EN-US}}</ref>
===Amphibians===
{{excerpt|Decline in amphibian populations|paragraphs=1-2}}

===Wild mammals===
{{excerpt|Decline in wild mammal populations|paragraphs=1-2}}

=== Birds ===
{{main|Bird conservation#Threats to birds}}
Some [[Pesticide|pesticides]], like [[Insecticide|insecticides]], likely play a role in reducing the populations of specific bird species.<ref>{{cite web |author-link=Elizabeth Pennisi |date=September 12, 2019 |title=Common pesticide makes migrating birds anorexic |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/common-pesticide-makes-migrating-birds-anorexic |access-date=September 19, 2019 |website=Science |vauthors=Pennisi E |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411044129/https://www.science.org/content/article/common-pesticide-makes-migrating-birds-anorexic |url-status=live}}</ref> According to a study funded by [[BirdLife International]], 51 bird species are critically endangered and eight could be classified as extinct or in danger of extinction. Nearly 30% of extinction is due to hunting and trapping for the exotic pet trade. [[Deforestation]], caused by unsustainable logging and agriculture, could be the next extinction driver, because birds lose their habitat and their food.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 5, 2018 |title=These 8 Bird Species Have Disappeared This Decade |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/news-macaw-extinct-bird-species-deforestation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905225909/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/news-macaw-extinct-bird-species-deforestation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |access-date=September 25, 2020 |website=Environment}}</ref><ref name="de Moraes-2020">{{cite journal |vauthors=de Moraes KF, Santos MP, Gonçalves GS, de Oliveira GL, Gomes LB, Lima MG |date=July 17, 2020 |title=Climate change and bird extinctions in the Amazon |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=15 |issue=7 |pages=e0236103 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1536103D |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0236103 |pmc=7367466 |pmid=32678834 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Plants===
{{See also|Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity}}
====Trees====
While plants are essential for human survival, they have not received the same attention as the conservation of animals.<ref name="Corlett-2016">{{cite journal |vauthors=Corlett RT |date=February 2016 |title=Plant diversity in a changing world: Status, trends, and conservation needs |journal=Plant Diversity |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=10–16 |doi=10.1016/j.pld.2016.01.001 |pmc=6112092 |pmid=30159445|bibcode=2016PlDiv..38...10C}}</ref> It is estimated that a third of all land plant species are at risk of extinction and 94% have yet to be evaluated in terms of their conservation status.<ref name="Corlett-2016" /> Plants existing at the lowest trophic level require increased conservation to reduce negative impacts at higher trophic levels.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Krauss J, Bommarco R, Guardiola M, Heikkinen RK, Helm A, Kuussaari M, Lindborg R, Ockinger E, Pärtel M, Pino J, Pöyry J, Raatikainen KM, Sang A, Stefanescu C, Teder T, Zobel M, Steffan-Dewenter I |date=May 2010 |title=Habitat fragmentation causes immediate and time-delayed biodiversity loss at different trophic levels |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=597–605 |doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01457.x |pmc=2871172 |pmid=20337698|bibcode=2010EcolL..13..597K}}</ref>

In 2022, scientists warned that a third of tree species are threatened with extinction. This will significantly alter the world's ecosystems because their carbon, water and [[nutrient cycle]]s will be affected.<ref>{{cite news |date=2 September 2022 |title=Prevent tree extinctions or face global ecological catastrophe, scientists warn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/02/tree-extinctions-species-wildlife-ecosystems-scientists-aoe |access-date=15 September 2022 |work=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108223449/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/02/tree-extinctions-species-wildlife-ecosystems-scientists-aoe |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rivers-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Rivers |first1=Malin |last2=Newton |first2=Adrian C. |last3=Oldfield |first3=Sara |author4=((Global Tree Assessment Contributors)) |date=2022-08-31 |title=Scientists' warning to humanity on tree extinctions |journal=Plants, People, Planet |language=en |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=466–482 |doi=10.1002/ppp3.10314 |issn=2572-2611 |s2cid=251991010 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Forest areas are degraded due to common factors such as logging, fire, and firewood harvesting.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Corlett |first=Richard T. |date=February 2016 |title=Plant diversity in a changing world: Status, trends, and conservation needs |journal=Plant Diversity |language=en |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=10–16 |doi=10.1016/j.pld.2016.01.001 |pmc=6112092 |pmid=30159445|bibcode=2016PlDiv..38...10C}}</ref> The GTA (global tree assessment) has determined that "17,510 (29.9%) tree species are considered threatened with extinction. In addition, there are 142 tree species recorded as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild."<ref name="Rivers-2022" />

Possible solutions can be found in some [[Silviculture|silvicultural]] methods of [[forest management]] that promote tree biodiversity, such as selective logging, [[thinning]] or crop tree management, and [[Clearcutting|clear cutting]] and [[coppicing]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Latterini |first1=Francesco |last2=Mederski |first2=Piotr |last3=Jaeger |first3=Dirk |last4=Venanzi |first4=Rachele |last5=Tavankar |first5=Farzam |last6=Picchio |first6=Rodolfo |date=2023-02-28 |title=The Influence of Various Silvicultural Treatments and Forest Operations on Tree Species Biodiversity |url=https://rdcu.be/da0n9 |journal=Current Forestry Reports |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=59–71 |doi=10.1007/s40725-023-00179-0 |s2cid=257320452 |access-date=2023-04-29 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023CForR...9...59L}}</ref> Without solutions, [[Secondary forest|secondary forests]] recovery in [[species richness]] can take 50 years to recover the same amount as the primary forest, or 20 years to recover 80% of species richness.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rozendaal |first1=Danaë M. A. |last2=Bongers |first2=Frans |last3=Aide |first3=T. Mitchell |last4=Alvarez-Dávila |first4=Esteban |last5=Ascarrunz |first5=Nataly |last6=Balvanera |first6=Patricia |last7=Becknell |first7=Justin M. |last8=Bentos |first8=Tony V. |last9=Brancalion |first9=Pedro H. S. |last10=Cabral |first10=George A. L. |last11=Calvo-Rodriguez |first11=Sofia |last12=Chave |first12=Jerome |last13=César |first13=Ricardo G. |last14=Chazdon |first14=Robin L. |last15=Condit |first15=Richard |date=March 2019 |title=Biodiversity recovery of Neotropical secondary forests |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=eaau3114 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aau3114 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=6402850 |pmid=30854424|bibcode=2019SciA....5.3114R}}</ref>

====Flowering plants====
{{excerpt|Flowering plants#Conservation|paragraphs=1-2}}

===Freshwater species===
{{main|Freshwater ecosystem#Threats}}

[[Freshwater ecosystem|Freshwater ecosystems]] such as swamps, deltas, and rivers make up 1% of earth's surface. They are important because they are home to approximately one third of [[vertebrate]] species.<ref name="Tickner-2020">{{cite journal |vauthors=Tickner D, Opperman JJ, Abell R, Acreman M, Arthington AH, Bunn SE, Cooke SJ, Dalton J, Darwall W, Edwards G, Harrison I, Hughes K, Jones T, Leclère D, Lynch AJ, Leonard P, McClain ME, Muruven D, Olden JD, Ormerod SJ, Robinson J, Tharme RE, Thieme M, Tockner K, Wright M, Young L |date=April 2020 |title=Bending the Curve of Global Freshwater Biodiversity Loss: An Emergency Recovery Plan |journal=BioScience |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=330–342 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biaa002 |pmc=7138689 |pmid=32284631}}</ref> Freshwater species are beginning to decline at twice the rate of species that live on land or in the ocean. This rapid loss has already placed 27% of 29,500 species dependent on fresh water on the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="Tickner-2020" />

Global populations of freshwater fish are collapsing due to [[water pollution]] and [[overfishing]]. Migratory fish populations have declined by 76% since 1970, and large "megafish" populations have fallen by 94% with 16 species declared extinct in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 23, 2021 |title=Global freshwater fish populations at risk of extinction, study finds |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/23/global-freshwater-fish-populations-at-risk-of-extinction-study-finds |access-date=February 24, 2021 |vauthors=Harvey F |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192231/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/23/global-freshwater-fish-populations-at-risk-of-extinction-study-finds |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Marine species ===
{{main|Human impact on marine life|Marine life#Biodiversity and extinction events}}

[[Marine life|Marine biodiversity]] encompasses any living organism that resides in the ocean or in [[Estuary|estuaries]].<ref name="Sala-2006">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Sala E, Knowlton N |date=2006 |title=Global Marine Biodiversity Trends |journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=93–122 |doi=10.1146/annurev.energy.31.020105.100235 |doi-access=free}}</ref> By 2018, approximately 240,000 marine species had been documented.<ref name="Luypaert-2020" /> But many marine species—estimates range between 178,000 and 10&nbsp;million oceanic species—remain to be described.<ref name="Sala-2006" /> It is therefore likely that a number of rare species (not seen for decades in the wild) have already disappeared or are on the brink of extinction, unnoticed.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Briand |first1=F. |date=October 2012 |title=Species Missing in Action – Rare or Already Extinct? |work=National Geographic |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233408388}}</ref>

Human activities have a strong and detrimental influence on marine biodiversity. The main drivers of marine species extinction are habitat loss, pollution, [[invasive species]], and overexploitation.<ref name="Worm-2006">{{cite journal |vauthors=Worm B, Barbier EB, Beaumont N, Duffy JE, Folke C, Halpern BS, Jackson JB, Lotze HK, Micheli F, Palumbi SR, Sala E, Selkoe KA, Stachowicz JJ, Watson R |date=November 2006 |title=Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services |journal=Science |volume=314 |issue=5800 |pages=787–90 |bibcode=2006Sci...314..787W |doi=10.1126/science.1132294 |jstor=20031683 |pmid=17082450 |s2cid=37235806}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Gamfeldt L, Lefcheck JS, Byrnes JE, Cardinale BJ, Duffy JE, Griffin JN |date=2015 |title=Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: what's known and what's next? |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/849 |journal=Oikos |volume=124 |issue=3 |pages=252–265 |doi=10.1111/oik.01549 |bibcode=2015Oikos.124..252G |access-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614053025/https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/849/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Greater pressure is placed on marine ecosystems near coastal areas because of the human settlements in those areas.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Halpern BS, Frazier M, Potapenko J, Casey KS, Koenig K, Longo C, Lowndes JS, Rockwood RC, Selig ER, Selkoe KA, Walbridge S |date=July 2015 |title=Spatial and temporal changes in cumulative human impacts on the world's ocean |journal=Nature Communications |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=7615 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.7615H |doi=10.1038/ncomms8615 |pmc=4510691 |pmid=26172980 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Overexploitation has resulted in the extinction of over 25 marine species. This includes [[Seabird|seabirds]], [[Marine mammal|marine mammals]], [[algae]], and [[fish]].<ref name="Sala-2006" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Georgian |first1=Samuel |last2=Hameed |first2=Sarah |last3=Morgan |first3=Lance |last4=Amon |first4=Diva J. |last5=Sumaila |first5=U. Rashid |last6=Johns |first6=David |last7=Ripple |first7=William J. |author-link7=William J. Ripple |date=2022 |title=Scientists' warning of an imperiled ocean |url= |journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]] |volume=272 |issue= |page=109595 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109595 |bibcode=2022BCons.27209595G |s2cid=249142365}}</ref> Examples of extinct marine species include [[Steller's sea cow]] (''Hydrodamalis gigas'') and the [[Caribbean monk seal]] (''Monachus tropicalis''). Not all extinctions are because of humans. For example, in the 1930s, the eelgrass limpet (''[[Lottia alveus]]'') became extinct in the Atlantic once the ''[[Zostera marina]]'' [[seagrass]] population declined upon exposure to a disease.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carlton |first1=J. T. |last2=Vermeij |first2=G. J. |last3=Lindberg |first3=D. R. |last4=Carlton |first4=D. A. |last5=Dubley |first5=E. C. |date=1991 |title=The First Historical Extinction of a Marine Invertebrate in an Ocean Basin: The Demise of the Eelgrass Limpet Lottia alveus |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1542430 |journal=The Biological Bulletin |language=en |volume=180 |issue=1 |pages=72–80 |doi=10.2307/1542430 |jstor=1542430 |pmid=29303643 |issn=0006-3185 |access-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323214932/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1542430 |url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Lottia alveus'' were greatly impacted because the ''Zostera marina'' were their sole habitats.<ref name="Sala-2006" />

== Causes ==
The main causes of current biodiversity loss are:
# [[Habitat loss]], fragmentation and [[habitat degradation|degradation]];<ref name="CBD-2010">{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 |url=https://www.cbd.int/gbo3/ |publisher=[[Convention on Biological Diversity]] |access-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519223227/https://www.cbd.int/gbo3/ |url-status=live}}</ref> for example [[habitat fragmentation]] for commercial and agricultural uses (specifically [[monoculture]] farming)<ref name="Kehoe-2017" />
#[[Land use]] intensification (and ensuing [[land loss]]/habitat loss); a significant factor in loss of ecological services due to direct effects as well as biodiversity loss<ref name="Allan-2015">{{cite journal |vauthors=Allan E, Manning P, Alt F, Binkenstein J, Blaser S, Blüthgen N, Böhm S, Grassein F, Hölzel N, Klaus VH, Kleinebecker T, Morris EK, Oelmann Y, Prati D, Renner SC, Rillig MC, Schaefer M, Schloter M, Schmitt B, Schöning I, Schrumpf M, Solly E, Sorkau E, Steckel J, Steffen-Dewenter I, Stempfhuber B, Tschapka M, Weiner CN, Weisser WW, Werner M, Westphal C, Wilcke W, Fischer M |date=August 2015 |title=Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=834–843 |doi=10.1111/ele.12469 |pmc=4744976 |pmid=26096863|bibcode=2015EcolL..18..834A}}</ref>
# [[Nutrient pollution]] and other forms of pollution ([[Air pollution|air]] and [[water pollution]])
# [[Over-exploitation|Overexploitation]] and unsustainable use (for example [[unsustainable fishing methods]], [[overfishing]], [[Overconsumption (economics)|overconsumption]] and [[human overpopulation]])
# [[Invasive alien species|Invasive species]] that effectively [[Competition (biology)|compete]] for a niche, replacing [[indigenous species]]<ref name="Walsh-2016">{{cite journal |vauthors=Walsh JR, Carpenter SR, Vander Zanden MJ |date=April 2016 |title=Invasive species triggers a massive loss of ecosystem services through a trophic cascade |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=113 |issue=15 |pages=4081–5 |bibcode=2016PNAS..113.4081W |doi=10.1073/pnas.1600366113 |pmc=4839401 |pmid=27001838 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
# [[Climate change]] (e.g. [[extinction risk from climate change]], [[effects of climate change on plant biodiversity]])<ref name="CBD-2010" />
[[Jared Diamond]] describes an "Evil Quartet" of [[habitat destruction]], [[Overhunting|overkill]], [[introduced species]] and [[secondary extinction]]s.<ref name="MoultonSanderson1998">{{cite book |last1=Moulton |first1=Michael P. |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=or6sngEACAAJ}} |title=Wildlife Issues in a Changing World |last2=Sanderson |first2=James |date=1 September 1998 |publisher=CRC-Press |isbn=978-1-56670-351-2}}</ref> [[Edward O. Wilson]] suggested the [[acronym]] HIPPO for the main causes of biodiversity loss: '''H'''abitat destruction, '''I'''nvasive species, '''P'''ollution, [[Human overpopulation|human over-'''P'''opulation]] and [[Overharvesting|'''O'''ver-harvesting]].<ref name="Chen20032">{{cite book |last=Chen |first=Jim |title=The Jurisdynamics of Environmental Protection: Change and the Pragmatic Voice in Environmental Law |publisher=Environmental Law Institute |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-58576-071-8 |page=197 |chapter=Across the Apocalypse on Horseback: Imperfect Legal Responses to Biodiversity Loss |chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=8vCkSM1auwIC|page=197}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Windows on the Wild |publisher=New Africa Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-86928-380-3 |chapter=Hippo dilemma |chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=1rzqxEVsMO8C}}}}</ref>

=== Habitat destruction ===
[[File:Biodiversity Hotspots Map.jpg|thumb|Earth's 25 terrestrial hot spots of [[biodiversity]]. These regions contain a high number of plant and animal species and have been subjected to high levels of [[habitat destruction]] by human activity, leading to biodiversity loss.]]
[[File:Sugarcane_Deforestation,_Bolivia,_2016-06-15_by_Planet_Labs.jpg|thumb|[[Deforestation]] and increased road-building in the [[Amazon Rainforest]] in [[Bolivia]] cause significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.]]
{{excerpt|Habitat destruction|paragraphs=1-2|file=no}}For example, habitat loss is one of the causes in the decline of insect populations (see [[#Insects|the section below on insects]]).

==== Urban growth and habitat fragmentation ====
{{Further|Habitat fragmentation}}

The direct effects of urban growth on habitat loss are well understood: building construction often results in habitat destruction and fragmentation.<ref name="Haddad-2015">{{cite journal |vauthors=Haddad NM, Brudvig LA, Clobert J, Davies KF, Gonzalez A, Holt RD, Lovejoy TE, Sexton JO, Austin MP, Collins CD, Cook WM, Damschen EI, Ewers RM, Foster BL, Jenkins CN, King AJ, Laurance WF, Levey DJ, Margules CR, Melbourne BA, Nicholls AO, Orrock JL, Song DX, Townshend JR |date=March 2015 |title=Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth's ecosystems |journal=Science Advances |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=e1500052 |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0052H |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500052 |pmc=4643828 |pmid=26601154}}</ref> This leads to selection for species that are adapted to urban environments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Otto |first=Sarah P. |date=2018-11-21 |title=Adaptation, speciation and extinction in the Anthropocene |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=285 |issue=1891 |pages=20182047 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2018.2047 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=6253383 |pmid=30429309}}</ref> Small habitat patches cannot support the level of genetic or taxonomic diversity they formerly could while some more sensitive species may become locally extinct.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Tomimatsu H, Ohara M |date=2003 |title=Genetic diversity and local population structure of fragmented populations of Trillium camschatcense (Trilliaceae) |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=109 |issue=2 |pages=249–258 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00153-2|bibcode=2003BCons.109..249T}}</ref> [[Species abundance]] populations are reduced due to the reduced fragmented area of habitat. This causes an increase of species isolation and forces species toward edge habitats and to adapt to foraging elsewhere.<ref name="Haddad-2015" />

[[Infrastructure]] development in [[Key Biodiversity Areas]] (KBA) is a major driver of biodiversity loss, with infrastructure present in roughly 80% of KBAs.<ref name="Simkins-2023">{{cite journal |last1=Simkins |first1=Ashley T. |last2=Beresford |first2=Alison E. |date=March 23, 2023 |title=A global assessment of the prevalence of current and potential future infrastructure in Key Biodiversity Areas |url= |journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]] |volume=281 |issue= |page=109953 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109953 |s2cid=257735200 |quote= |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023BCons.28109953S}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=October 16, 2017}}</ref> Infrastructure development leads to conversion and fragmentation of natural habitat, pollution and disturbance. There can also be direct harm to animals through collisions with vehicles and structures. This can have impacts beyond the infrastructure site.<ref name="Simkins-2023" />

=== Land use intensification ===
{{See also|Land use, land-use change, and forestry|Nature conservation}}

Humans are changing the uses of land in various ways, and each can lead to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. The 2019 ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' found that industrial agriculture is the primary driver of biodiversity collapse.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 15, 2019 |title=The Rapid Decline Of The Natural World Is A Crisis Even Bigger Than Climate Change |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nature-destruction-climate-change-world-biodiversity_n_5c49e78ce4b06ba6d3bb2d44 |access-date=March 16, 2019 |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |vauthors=Vidal J |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124023239/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nature-destruction-climate-change-world-biodiversity_n_5c49e78ce4b06ba6d3bb2d44 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stokstad" /> The UN's Global Biodiversity Outlook 2014 estimated that 70% of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity is [[environmental impact of agriculture|caused by agriculture]] use.{{Update inline|date=March 2021|reason=check https://www.cbd.int/gbo5}} According to a 2005 publication, "Cultivated systems [...] cover 24% of Earth's surface".<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-2005" />{{rp|51}} The publication defined ''cultivated areas'' as "areas in which at least 30% of the landscape is in croplands, shifting cultivation, confined livestock production, or freshwater aquaculture in any particular year".<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-2005" />{{rp|51}}

More than 17,000 species are at risk of losing habitat by 2050 as agriculture continues to expand to meet future food needs (as of 2020).<ref name="Dunne-2020">{{cite news |date=December 22, 2020 |title=More than 17,000 species worldwide to lose part of habitat if agriculture continues to expand |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/species-habitat-loss-agriculture-food-b1777097.html |access-date=January 17, 2021 |work=[[The Independent]] |location= |vauthors=Dunne D |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121052842/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/species-habitat-loss-agriculture-food-b1777097.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A global shift toward largely [[Plant-based diet|plant-based diets]] would free up land to allow for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity.<ref name="Carrington" /> In the 2010s over 80% of all global farmland was used to rear animals.<ref name="Carrington">{{cite news |date=February 3, 2021 |title=Plant-based diets crucial to saving global wildlife, says report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report |access-date=February 6, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |vauthors=Carrington D |archive-date=December 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218134247/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report |url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2022, 44% of Earth's land area required conservation attention, which may include declaring [[protected area]]s and following [[Land-use planning|land-use policies]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Allan |first1=James R. |last2=Possingham |first2=Hugh P. |last3=Atkinson |first3=Scott C. |last4=Waldron |first4=Anthony |last5=Di Marco |first5=Moreno |last6=Butchart |first6=Stuart H. M. |last7=Adams |first7=Vanessa M. |last8=Kissling |first8=W. Daniel |last9=Worsdell |first9=Thomas |last10=Sandbrook |first10=Chris |last11=Gibbon |first11=Gwili |last12=Kumar |first12=Kundan |last13=Mehta |first13=Piyush |last14=Maron |first14=Martine |last15=Williams |first15=Brooke A. |date=2022 |title=The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl9127 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=376 |issue=6597 |pages=1094–1101 |doi=10.1126/science.abl9127 |pmid=35653463 |bibcode=2022Sci...376.1094A |issn=0036-8075 |hdl=11573/1640006 |s2cid=233423065 |hdl-access=free |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=November 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115213416/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl9127 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Nutrient pollution and other forms of pollution ===
{{Further|Nutrient pollution}}

==== Air pollution ====
[[File:Air pollution3.jpg|thumb|Industrial processes contributing to air pollution through the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide.]]
[[Air pollution]] adversely affects biodiversity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barker |first=Jerry R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/840285207 |title=Air Pollution Effects on Biodiversity |date=1992 |publisher=Springer US |others=David T. Tingey |isbn=978-1-4615-3538-6 |location=Boston, MA |oclc=840285207}}</ref> Pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere by the burning of [[fossil fuel]]s and [[biomass]], for example. Industrial and agricultural activity releases the pollutants [[sulfur dioxide]] and [[nitrogen oxide]]s.<ref name="Sabljic-2009">{{cite book |title=Environmental and Ecological Chemistry – Volume I |vauthors=Sabljic A |date=2009 |publisher=EOLSS Publications |isbn=978-1-84826-186-0}}{{page needed|date=November 2021}}</ref> Once sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are introduced into the atmosphere, they can react with cloud droplets ([[cloud condensation nuclei]]), raindrops, or snowflakes, forming [[sulfuric acid]] and [[nitric acid]]. With the interaction between water droplets and sulfuric and nitric acids, [[wet deposition]] occurs and creates [[acid rain]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Singh A, Agrawal M |title=Acid rain and its ecological consequences |journal=Journal of Environmental Biology |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=15–24 |date=January 2008 |pmid=18831326}}</ref><ref name="Payne-2017">{{cite journal |vauthors=Payne RJ, Dise NB, Field CD, Dore AJ, Caporn SJ, Stevens CJ |title=Nitrogen deposition and plant biodiversity: past, present, and future |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |date=October 2017 |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=431–436 |doi=10.1002/fee.1528 |bibcode=2017FrEE...15..431P |s2cid=54972418 |url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/619669/1/Payne%20et%20al.%20Nitrogen%20Pollution%20%281%29.pdf |access-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121145750/https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/619669/1/Payne%20et%20al.%20Nitrogen%20Pollution%20(1).pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2009 review studied four air pollutants (sulfur, nitrogen, ozone, and mercury) and several types of ecosystems.<ref name="Lovett-2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Lovett |first1=Gary M. |last2=Tear |first2=Timothy H. |last3=Evers |first3=David C. |last4=Findlay |first4=Stuart E.G. |last5=Cosby |first5=B. Jack |last6=Dunscomb |first6=Judy K. |last7=Driscoll |first7=Charles T. |last8=Weathers |first8=Kathleen C. |date=2009 |title=Effects of Air Pollution on Ecosystems and Biological Diversity in the Eastern United States |url=https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04153.x |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=1162 |issue=1 |pages=99–135 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04153.x |pmid=19432647 |bibcode=2009NYASA1162...99L |s2cid=9368346 |issn=0077-8923 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206155218/https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04153.x |url-status=live}}</ref> Air pollution affects the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems.<ref name="Lovett-2009" /> For example, "air pollution causes or contributes to acidification of lakes, [[eutrophication]] of estuaries and coastal waters, and mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic food webs".<ref name="Lovett-2009" />

==== Noise pollution ====
{{Further|Noise pollution#Impacts}}


Noise generated by traffic, ships, vehicles, and aircraft can affect the survivability of wildlife species and can reach undisturbed habitats.<ref name="Sordello-2019">{{Cite journal| vauthors=Sordello R, De Lachapelle FF, Livoreil B, Vanpeene S |date=2019|title=Evidence of the environmental impact of noise pollution on biodiversity: a systematic map protocol|journal=Environmental Evidence|volume=8|issue=1|pages=8|doi=10.1186/s13750-019-0146-6 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2019EnvEv...8....8S}}</ref> [[Noise pollution]] is common in marine ecosystems, affecting at least 55 marine species.<ref name="Weilgart-2008">{{cite thesis |vauthors=Weilgart LS |title=The Impact of Ocean Noise Pollution on Marine Biodiversity |date=2008 |url=https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/Weilgart_Biodiversity_2008-1238105851-10133.pdf |citeseerx=10.1.1.542.534 |s2cid=13176067 |access-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101133214/https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/Weilgart_Biodiversity_2008-1238105851-10133.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> One study found that as [[seismic noise]]s and [[Sonar|naval sonar]] increases in marine ecosystems, [[cetacea]]n diversity decreases (including whales and dolphins).<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fernández A, Edwards JF, Rodríguez F, Espinosa de los Monteros A, Herráez P, Castro P, Jaber JR, Martín V, Arbelo M |title='Gas and fat embolic syndrome' involving a mass stranding of beaked whales (family Ziphiidae) exposed to anthropogenic sonar signals |journal=Veterinary Pathology |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=446–57 |date=July 2005 |pmid=16006604 |doi=10.1354/vp.42-4-446 |s2cid=43571676 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Multiple studies have found that fewer fishes, such as [[cod]], [[haddock]], [[rockfish]], [[herring]], sand seal, and [[blue whiting]], have been spotted in areas with seismic noises, with catch rates declining by 40–80%.<ref name="Weilgart-2008" /><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors=Engås A, Løkkeborg S, Ona E, Soldal AV |date=2011|title=Effects of seismic shooting on local abundance and catch rates of cod ((Gadus morhua) and haddock )(Melanogrammus aeglefinus) |journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |volume=53|issue=10|pages=2238–2249|doi=10.1139/f96-177|hdl=11250/108647|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors=Skalski JR, Pearson WH, Malme CI |date=2011|title=Effects of Sounds from a Geophysical Survey Device on Catch-per-Unit-Effort in a Hook-and-Line Fishery for Rockfish (Sebastes spp.) |journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |volume=49|issue=7|pages=1357–1365|doi=10.1139/f92-151}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors=Slotte A, Hansen K, Dalen J, Ona E |date=2004|title=Acoustic mapping of pelagic fish distribution and abundance in relation to a seismic shooting area off the Norwegian west coast |journal=Fisheries Research |volume=67|issue=2|pages=143–150|doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2003.09.046 |bibcode=2004FishR..67..143S}}</ref>
Furthermore, [[global warming]] has changed typical conditions in various environments, allowing greater migration and distribution of species dependent on warm climate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bellard|first1=Céline|last2=Bertelsmeier|first2=Cleo|last3=Leadley|first3=Paul|last4=Thuiller|first4=Wilfried|last5=Courchamp|first5=Franck|date=2012|title=Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01736.x|journal=Ecology Letters|language=en|volume=15|issue=4|pages=365–377|doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01736.x|issn=1461-0248|pmc=3880584|pmid=22257223}}</ref> This phenomenon could either result in greater biodiversity (new species being introduced to new environments), or reduce biodiversity (promotion of invasive species). A biological invasion is deemed successful if the invasive species can adapt and survive in the new environment, reproduce, disperse, and compete with native communities.<ref name=":2" /> Some invasive species are known to have high dispersal rates and have major implications on a regional scale. For example, in 2010, [[muskrat]], [[raccoon dog]], [[thrips]], and [[Chinese mitten crab]] were identified to have affected 20 to 50 regions in Europe.<ref name=":2" />


Noise pollution has also altered avian communities and diversity. Noise can reduce reproductive success, minimize nesting areas, increase stress response, and reduce species abundance.<ref name="Francis-2009">{{cite journal |vauthors=Francis CD, Ortega CP, Cruz A |date=August 2009 |title=Noise pollution changes avian communities and species interactions |journal=Current Biology |volume=19 |issue=16 |pages=1415–9 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.052 |pmid=19631542 |s2cid=15985432 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2009CBio...19.1415F}}</ref><ref name="Weilgart-2008" /> Noise pollution can alter the distribution and abundance of prey species, which can then impact predator populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barber |first1=Jesse R. |last2=Crooks |first2=Kevin R. |last3=Fristrup |first3=Kurt M. |date=2010-03-01 |title=The costs of chronic noise exposure for terrestrial organisms |url=https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(09)00261-4 |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=English |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=180–189 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2009.08.002 |issn=0169-5347 |pmid=19762112 |bibcode=2010TEcoE..25..180B |access-date=February 24, 2023 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012013959/http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(09)00261-4 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Invasive species can become financial burdens for many countries. Due to ecological degradation caused by invasive species, this can alter the functionality and reduce the services that ecosystems provide. Additional costs are also expected in order to control the spread of biological invasion, to mitigate further impacts, and to restore ecosystems. For example, the cost of damage caused by 79 invasive species between 1906-1991 in the United States has been estimated at about US$120 billion.<ref name=":2" /> In [[China]], invasive species have reduced the country's [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) by 1.36% per year.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Xu|first1=Haigen|last2=Ding|first2=Hui|last3=Li|first3=Mingyan|last4=Qiang|first4=Sheng|last5=Guo|first5=Jianying|last6=Han|first6=Zhengmin|last7=Huang|first7=Zongguo|last8=Sun|first8=Hongying|last9=He|first9=Shunping|last10=Wu|first10=Hairong|last11=Wan|first11=Fanghao|date=2006|title=The distribution and economic losses of alien species invasion to China|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-005-5841-2|journal=Biological Invasions|language=en|volume=8|issue=7|pages=1495–1500|doi=10.1007/s10530-005-5841-2|s2cid=25890246|issn=1573-1464}}</ref> Management of biological invasion can also be costly. In [[Australia]], the expense to monitor, control, manage, and research invasive weed species was approximately AU$116.4 million per year, with costs only directed to central and local government. In some situations, invasive species may have benefits, such as economic returns. For instance, invasive trees can be logged for commercial forestry. However, in most cases, the economic returns are far less than the cost caused by biological invasion.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />


==== Pollution from fossil fuel extraction ====
Not only have invasive species caused ecological damage and economical losses, but they can also affect human health. With the alteration in ecosystem functionality (due to homogenization of biota communities), invasive species have resulted in negative effects on human well-being, which includes reduced resource availability, unrestrained spread of human diseases, recreational and educational activities, and tourism. With regard to human health, alien species have resulted in allergies and skin damage to arise. Other similar diseases that invasive species have caused include [[HIV|human immunodeficiency virus]] (HIV), [[Monkeypox|monkey pox]], and [[severe acute respiratory syndrome]] (SARS).<ref name=":2" />
[[File:Locations and proportions of oil and gas fields overlapping IUCN Protected Areas.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Potential for biodiversity loss from future fossil fuel extraction: Proportions of oil and gas field area overlapping with [[Protected area|Protected Areas]] (PAs) (gray polygons) of different IUCN Protected Area management categories by UN regions: North America (a), Europe (b), West Asia (c), LAC (d), Africa (e), and Asia Pacific (f). Absolute area of overlap across all IUCN management categories is shown above histograms. Location of fields overlapping with PAs are shown in (g). Shading is used so that points can be visualized even where their spatial locations coincide, so darker points indicate higher densities of fields overlapping PAs.<ref name="Harfoot-2018" />]]
[[Fossil fuel]] extraction and associated oil and gas pipelines have major impacts on the biodiversity of many [[Biome|biomes]] due to land conversion, [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]] and degradation, and pollution. An example is the Western [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] region.<ref name="Butt-2013">{{cite journal |vauthors=Butt N, Beyer HL, Bennett JR, Biggs D, Maggini R, Mills M, Renwick AR, Seabrook LM, Possingham HP |date=October 2013 |title=Conservation. Biodiversity risks from fossil fuel extraction |url=https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:314798/UQ314798_OA.pdf |journal=Science |volume=342 |issue=6157 |pages=425–6 |bibcode=2013Sci...342..425B |doi=10.1126/science.1237261 |jstor=42619941 |pmid=24159031 |s2cid=206548697}}</ref> Exploitation of [[fossil fuels]] there has had significant impacts on biodiversity.<ref name="Harfoot-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Harfoot |first1=Michael B. J. |last2=Tittensor |first2=Derek P. |last3=Knight |first3=Sarah |last4=Arnell |first4=Andrew P. |last5=Blyth |first5=Simon |last6=Brooks |first6=Sharon |last7=Butchart |first7=Stuart H. M. |last8=Hutton |first8=Jon |last9=Jones |first9=Matthew I. |last10=Kapos |first10=Valerie |last11=Scharlemann |first11=Jӧrn P.W. |last12=Burgess |first12=Neil D. |date=2018 |title=Present and future biodiversity risks from fossil fuel exploitation |journal=Conservation Letters |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=e12448 |doi=10.1111/conl.12448|s2cid=74872049 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018ConL...11E2448H}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=October 16, 2017}}</ref> As of 2018, many of the [[Protected area|protected areas]] with rich biodiversity were in areas containing unexploited [[fossil fuel reserves]] worth between $3 and $15 trillion.<ref name="Harfoot-2018" /> The protected areas may be under threat in future.


=== Overexploitation ===
=== Overexploitation ===
{{Further|Overexploitation}}
==== Fossil fuel ====
Due to human dependency and demands, fossil fuel remains the dominant energy source globally. Extraction, processing, and burning of fossil fuels indirectly impacts biodiversity loss by contributing to climate change, while directly causing [[habitat destruction]] and [[pollution]].<ref name=":1" /> At fossil fuel extraction sites, land conversion, [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]] and degradation, contamination, and pollution impacts biodiversity beyond terrestrial ecosystems; it impacts freshwater, coastal, and marine environments. Once fossil fuels have been extracted, they are transported, processed, and refined, which also impacts biodiversity as infrastructure development requires removal of habitats, and further pollution is emitted into the environment.<ref name=":1" />


Continued [[overexploitation]] can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term applies to [[Natural resource|natural resources]] such as [[Aquifer|water aquifers]], [[Pasture|grazing pastures]] and [[forests]], wild [[Medicinal plant|medicinal plants]], [[fish stocks]] and other [[wildlife]].
Fossil fuel exploitation tends to occur in areas with high species richness and abundances, usually located in coastal and terrestrial environments. In one study, Harfoot and his colleagues identified 181 possible “high-risk” areas for fossil fuel exploitation, which were areas that also supported high levels of biodiversity. Out of the 181 identified locations, 156 of these high-risk fields were not protected areas, indicating that further biodiversity could be lost with fossil fuel exploitation.<ref name=":1" /> It is predicted that future exploration for fossil fuel will occur in areas with low species richness and rarity, such as the oceans and in the Arctic.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021|reason=Arctic? Who? The Russians?}} However, this prediction does not apply to [[Western Asia]], [[Asia-Pacific]], [[Africa]], [[South America]], and the [[Caribbean]], where fossil fuel and coal exploitation is expected to occur in areas with high species richness.<ref name=":1" />{{Update inline|date=March 2021}} For example, the Western [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] (located in Brazil) is known to have high biodiversity. However, this region is also threatened by exploitation due to the large quantity of oil and natural gas reservoirs.<ref name=":4" /> Typically, areas with large fossil fuel reservoirs have a greater likelihood of being extracted (based on the country's priorities). This is of concern as tropical environments contain high levels of biodiversity, which will indirectly result in greater deforestation for agricultural purposes and financial gains (e.g., exporting timber).<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Butt|first1=N.|last2=Beyer|first2=H. L.|last3=Bennett|first3=J. R.|last4=Biggs|first4=D.|last5=Maggini|first5=R.|last6=Mills|first6=M.|last7=Renwick|first7=A. R.|last8=Seabrook|first8=L. M.|last9=Possingham|first9=H. P.|date=2013|title=Biodiversity Risks from Fossil Fuel Extraction|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42619941|journal=Science|volume=342|issue=6157|pages=425–426|doi=10.1126/science.1237261|jstor=42619941|pmid=24159031|bibcode=2013Sci...342..425B|s2cid=206548697|issn=0036-8075}}</ref>


==== Overfishing ====
==== Overfishing ====
{{Main|Overfishing}}
{{Main|Overfishing}}
[[File:Trawlers overfishing cod.jpg|thumb|Mass fishing of [[Pacific jack mackerel]] (with possible bycatch) with a Chilean [[Seine fishing|purse seiner]].]]
[[File:Trawlers overfishing cod.jpg|thumb|Mass fishing of [[Pacific jack mackerel]] (with possible bycatch) with a Chilean [[Seine fishing|purse seiner]].]]
Human demands and consumption have resulted in overfishing, which leads to a loss in biodiversity with reduction to fish species richness and abundances.<ref>{{Cite web|title=biodiversity loss causes effects and facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/biodiversity-loss}}</ref> Reduction in global fish populations were first noticed during the 1990s. Currently, many commercial fishes have been overharvested; approximately 27% of exploited fish stocks in the United States are classified overfished.<ref name=":5" /> In [[Tasmania]], it was observed that over 50% of major fisheries species, such as the eastern gemfish, southern rock lobster, southern bulkefin tuna, jack mackerel, and trumpeter, have declined over the past 75 years due to overfishing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Edgar|first1=Graham J.|last2=Samson|first2=Cath R.|last3=Barrett|first3=Neville S.|date=2005|title=Species Extinction in the Marine Environment: Tasmania as a Regional Example of Overlooked Losses in Biodiversity|url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00159.x|journal=Conservation Biology|language=en|volume=19|issue=4|pages=1294–1300|doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00159.x|issn=1523-1739}}</ref> Globally, fish abundances have reduced by 38% since 1970.<ref name=":14">{{Citation|last=Luypaert|first=Thomas|title=Status of Marine Biodiversity in the Anthropocene|date=2020|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20389-4_4|work=YOUMARES 9 - The Oceans: Our Research, Our Future: Proceedings of the 2018 conference for YOUng MArine RESearcher in Oldenburg, Germany|pages=57–82|editor-last=Jungblut|editor-first=Simon|place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-20389-4_4|isbn=978-3-030-20389-4|last2=Hagan|first2=James G.|last3=McCarthy|first3=Morgan L.|last4=Poti|first4=Meenakshi|editor2-last=Liebich|editor2-first=Viola|editor3-last=Bode-Dalby|editor3-first=Maya}}</ref>


[[File:Surexploitation_morue_surpêcheEn.jpg|right|thumb|[[Atlantic cod]] stocks were severely overexploited in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to their [[Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery|abrupt collapse in 1992]].<ref name="Frank">{{cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=Kenneth T. |last2=Petrie |first2=Brian |last3=Choi |first3=Jae S. |last4=Leggett |first4=William C. |year=2005 |title=Trophic Cascades in a Formerly Cod-Dominated Ecosystem |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=308 |issue=5728 |pages=1621–1623 |bibcode=2005Sci...308.1621F |doi=10.1126/science.1113075 |pmid=15947186 |s2cid=45088691}}</ref>]]
Fishery methods, such as bottom trawling, have caused habitat destruction, resulting spatial diversity and regional species richness to decline.<ref name=":14" /> Some studies, including the 2019 [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] [[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services|report]], found that overfishing is the main driver of mass species extinction in the oceans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pacoureau|first1=Nathan|last2=Rigby|first2=Cassandra L.|last3=Kyne|first3=Peter M.|last4=Sherley|first4=Richard B.|last5=Winker|first5=Henning|last6=Carlson|first6=John K.|last7=Fordham|first7=Sonja V.|last8=Barreto|first8=Rodrigo|last9=Fernando|first9=Daniel|last10=Francis|first10=Malcolm P.|last11=Jabado|first11=Rima W.|date=January 2021|title=Half a century of global decline in oceanic sharks and rays|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03173-9|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=589|issue=7843|pages=567–571|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03173-9|pmid=33505035|s2cid=231723355|issn=1476-4687}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/aaf1091c5aae40b0a110daaf04950672|title=UN report: Humans accelerating extinction of other species|last=Borenstein|first=Seth|date=6 May 2019|website=AP News|access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref>


A 2019 [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] [[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services|report]] found that overfishing is the main driver of mass species extinction in oceans.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Pacoureau N, Rigby CL, Kyne PM, Sherley RB, Winker H, Carlson JK, Fordham SV, Barreto R, Fernando D, Francis MP, Jabado RW, Herman KB, Liu KM, Marshall AD, Pollom RA, Romanov EV, Simpfendorfer CA, Yin JS, Kindsvater HK, Dulvy NK |date=January 2021 |title=Half a century of global decline in oceanic sharks and rays |journal=Nature |volume=589 |issue=7843 |pages=567–571 |bibcode=2021Natur.589..567P |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03173-9 |pmid=33505035 |s2cid=231723355 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10871/124531}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 6, 2019 |title=UN report: Humans accelerating extinction of other species |url=https://apnews.com/aaf1091c5aae40b0a110daaf04950672 |access-date=March 17, 2021 |publisher=Associated Press |vauthors=Borenstein S |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301192840/https://apnews.com/aaf1091c5aae40b0a110daaf04950672/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Overfishing has reduced fish and marine mammal [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] by 60% since the 1800s.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hatton IA, Heneghan RF, Bar-On YM, Galbraith ED |date=November 2021 |title=The global ocean size spectrum from bacteria to whales |journal=Science Advances |volume=7 |issue=46 |pages=eabh3732 |bibcode=2021SciA....7.3732H |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abh3732 |pmc=8580314 |pmid=34757796}}</ref> It is currently pushing over one-third of [[shark]]s and [[Batoidea|rays]] toward extinction.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Dulvy NK, Pacoureau N, Rigby CL, Pollom RA, Jabado RW, Ebert DA, Finucci B, Pollock CM, Cheok J, Derrick DH, Herman KB, Sherman CS, VanderWright WJ, Lawson JM, Walls RH, Carlson JK, Charvet P, Bineesh KK, Fernando D, Ralph GM, Matsushiba JH, Hilton-Taylor C, Fordham SV, Simpfendorfer CA |date=November 2021 |title=Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis |journal=Current Biology |volume=31 |issue=21 |pages=4773–4787.e8 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.062 |pmid=34492229 |s2cid=237443284 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021CBio...31E4773D}}</ref>
=== Climate change ===
{{Excerpt|Climate change and biodiversity}}


Many commercial fishes have been overharvested: a 2020 [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] report classified as overfished 34% of the fish stocks of the world's marine fisheries.<ref name="FAO-2020">{{Cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca9229en|title=The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020|date=2020|publisher=FAO|isbn=978-92-5-132692-3|language=en|doi=10.4060/ca9229en|hdl=10535/3776|s2cid=242949831|access-date=November 30, 2022|archive-date=October 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007122503/http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca9229en|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2020, global fish populations had declined 38% since 1970.<ref name="Luypaert-2020">{{cite book |vauthors=Luypaert T, Hagan JG, McCarthy ML, Poti M |chapter=Status of Marine Biodiversity in the Anthropocene|date=2020 |title=YOUMARES 9 – The Oceans: Our Research, Our Future: Proceedings of the 2018 conference for YOUng MArine RESearcher in Oldenburg, Germany|pages=57–82| veditors=Jungblut S, Liebich V, Bode-Dalby M |place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-20389-4_4|isbn=978-3-030-20389-4 |s2cid=210304421}}</ref>
==== Effect on plants ====
{{Excerpt|Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity}}


Many regulatory measures are available for controlling overfishing. These include [[Fishing quota|fishing quotas]], [[bag limits]], licensing, [[Closed season|closed seasons]], size limits, and the creation of [[Marine reserve|marine reserves]] and other [[marine protected areas]].
=== Other factors ===
[[File:DPSIR.svg|thumb|[[DPSIR]]: drivers, pressures, state, impact and response model of intervention]]


==== Human overpopulation and overconsumption ====
Major factors for [[biotic stress]] and the ensuing accelerating loss rate are, [[Biodiversity#Threats|amongst other threats]]:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbd.int/gbo3/|title=Global Biodiversity Outlook 3|publisher=[[Convention on Biological Diversity]] |year=2010}}</ref>
[[File:Decline-of-the-worlds-wild-mammals.png|thumb|upright=1.5|The changing distribution of the world's land mammals in tonnes of carbon. The [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] of wild land mammals has declined by 85% since the emergence of humans.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ritchie |first=Hannah |author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |date=April 20, 2021 |title=Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans, but there is a possible future where they flourish |url=https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=[[Our World in Data]] |publisher= |quote= |archive-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216013950/https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline |url-status=live}}</ref> ]]


The world's population numbered nearly 7.6&nbsp;billion as of mid-2017 and is forecast to peak toward the end of the 21st century at 10–12&nbsp;billion people.<ref name="UNDESA">{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=World Population Prospects 2022, Graphs / Profiles |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/TOT/900 |access-date= |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211083505/https://population.un.org/wpp/Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/TOT/900 |url-status=live}}</ref> Scholars have argued that population size and growth, along with [[overconsumption]], are significant factors in biodiversity loss and soil degradation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R |last3=Dirzo |first3=Rodolfo |date=23 May 2017 |title=Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]] |volume=114 |issue=30 |pages=E6089–E6096 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114E6089C |doi=10.1073/pnas.1704949114 |pmc=5544311 |pmid=28696295 |quote=Much less frequently mentioned are, however, the ultimate drivers of those immediate causes of biotic destruction, namely, human overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich. These drivers, all of which trace to the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet, are themselves increasing rapidly. |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Weston-2021">{{cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=13 January 2021 |title=Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113050606/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe |archive-date=13 January 2021 |access-date=4 August 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=}}</ref><ref name="Bradshaw-2021" /><ref name="Crist2017" /> Review articles, including the 2019 [[IPBES]] [[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services|report]], have also noted that [[human population growth]] and overconsumption are significant drivers of species decline.<ref name="Stokstad" /><ref name="Pimm2014" /> A 2022 study warned that conservation efforts will continue to fail if the primary drivers of biodiversity loss continue to be ignored, including population size and growth.<ref name="Cafaro2022" />
# [[Habitat loss]] and [[habitat degradation|degradation]]
#:[[Land use]] intensification (and ensuing [[land loss]]/habitat loss) has been identified to be a significant factor in loss of ecological services due to direct effects as well as biodiversity loss.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Ecol. Lett. |volume=18|issue=8|pages=834–843|year=2015|doi=10.1111/ele.12469|pmid=26096863|pmc=4744976|title=Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition|last1=Allan|first1=Eric|last2=Manning|first2=Pete|last3=Alt|first3=Fabian|last4=Binkenstein|first4=Julia|last5=Blaser|first5=Stefan|last6=Blüthgen|first6=Nico|last7=Böhm|first7=Stefan|last8=Grassein|first8=Fabrice|last9=Hölzel|first9=Norbert|last10=Klaus|first10=Valentin H.|last11=Kleinebecker|first11=Till|last12=Morris|first12=E. Kathryn|last13=Oelmann|first13=Yvonne|last14=Prati|first14=Daniel|last15=Renner|first15=Swen C.|last16=Rillig|first16=Matthias C.|last17=Schaefer|first17=Martin|last18=Schloter|first18=Michael|last19=Schmitt|first19=Barbara|last20=Schöning|first20=Ingo|last21=Schrumpf|first21=Marion|last22=Solly|first22=Emily|last23=Sorkau|first23=Elisabeth|last24=Steckel|first24=Juliane|last25=Steffen-Dewenter|first25=Ingolf|last26=Stempfhuber|first26=Barbara|last27=Tschapka|first27=Marco|last28=Weiner|first28=Christiane N.|last29=Weisser|first29=Wolfgang W.|last30=Werner|first30=Michael|display-authors=29}}</ref>
# [[Climate change]] through [[heat stress]] and [[drought stress]]
# [[Eutrophication|Excessive nutrient load]] and other forms of [[pollution]]
# [[Over-exploitation]] and unsustainable use (e.g. [[unsustainable fishing methods]]) we are currently using 25% more natural resources than the planet{{Clarify|reason=sentence is hard to understand|date=March 2021}}
# [[Armed conflict]], which disrupts human livelihoods and institutions, contributes to [[habitat loss]], and intensifies [[over-exploitation]] of economically valuable species, leading to population declines and local extinctions.<ref name="Daskin">{{cite journal|last1=Daskin|first1=Joshua H.|last2=Pringle |first2=Robert M. |title=Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas| journal=Nature |volume=553 |issue=7688|pages=328–332 |year=2018 |pmid=29320475 |doi=10.1038/nature25194|bibcode=2018Natur.553..328D|s2cid=4464877}}</ref>
# [[Invasive alien species]] that effectively [[Competition (biology)|compete]] for a niche, replacing [[indigenous species]]<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A|year=2016 |volume=13|issue=15|pages=4081–5|doi=10.1073/pnas.1600366113|pmid=27001838 |pmc=4839401|title=Invasive species triggers a massive loss of ecosystem services through a trophic cascade.|vauthors=Walsh JR, Carpenter SR, Vander Zanden MJ |bibcode=2016PNAS..113.4081W }}</ref>
# Human activity has left the Earth struggling to sustain life, due to the demands humans have. As well as leaving around 30% of mammal, amphibian, and bird species endangered.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shah |first1=Anup |title=Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions |url=http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions#MassiveExtinctionsFromHumanActivity |website=Global Issues |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>


Other scientists have criticized the assertion that population growth is a key driver for biodiversity loss.<ref name="Hughes-2023" /> They argue that the main driver is the loss of habitat, caused by "the growth of commodities for export, particularly soybean and oil-palm, primarily for livestock feed or [[biofuel]] consumption in higher income economies."<ref name="Hughes-2023" /> Because of the wealth disparities between countries, there is a negative correlation between a country's total population and its per capita footprint. On the other hand, the correlation between a country's GDP and its footprint is strong.<ref name="Hughes-2023" /> The study argues that population as a metric is unhelpful and counterproductive for tackling environmental challenges.<ref name="Hughes-2023" />
== Types of loss ==


===Insect loss===
=== Invasive species ===
{{Main|Invasive species}}
{{main|Decline in insect populations|Insect biodiversity|Pollinator decline|The Windshield Phenomenon}}
In 2017, various publications described the dramatic reduction in absolute insect biomass and number of species in Germany and North America over a period of 27 years.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Dicks | first1=Lynn V. | last2=Viana | first2=Blandina | last3=Bommarco | first3=Riccardo | last4=Brosi | first4=Berry | last5=Arizmendi | first5=María del Coro | last6=Cunningham | first6=Saul A. | last7=Galetto | first7=Leonardo | last8=Hill | first8=Rosemary | last9=Lopes | first9=Ariadna V. | last10=Pires | first10=Carmen | last11=Taki | first11=Hisatomo | last12=Potts | first12=Simon G. | title=Ten policies for pollinators | journal=Science | volume=354 | issue=6315 | date=2016-11-25 | pmid=27884996 | doi=10.1126/science.aai9226 | pages=975–976 | bibcode=2016Sci...354..975D | s2cid=26844944 | url=http://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/155338/1/Science-Lynn-et-al-20161.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Science | AAAS 2017">{{cite web | title=Where have all the insects gone? | website=Science &#124; AAAS | date=2017-05-09 | url=http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone | access-date=2017-10-20}}</ref> As possible reasons for the decline, the authors highlight [[neonicotinoid]]s and other [[agrochemical]]s. Writing in the journal ''[[PLOS One]]'', Hallman et al. (2017) conclude that "the widespread insect biomass decline is alarming."<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Hallmann | first1=Caspar A. | last2=Sorg | first2=Martin | last3=Jongejans | first3=Eelke | last4=Siepel | first4=Henk | last5=Hofland | first5=Nick | last6=Schwan | first6=Heinz | last7=Stenmans | first7=Werner | last8=Müller | first8=Andreas | last9=Sumser | first9=Hubert | last10=Hörren | first10=Thomas | last11=Goulson | first11=Dave | last12=de Kroon | first12=Hans | editor-last=Lamb | editor-first=Eric Gordon | title=More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas | journal=PLOS ONE | publisher=Public Library of Science (PLoS) | volume=12 | issue=10 | date=2017-10-18 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809 | pmid=29045418 | pmc=5646769 | page=e0185809 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1285809H }}</ref>


The term ''invasive'' is poorly defined and often very subjective.<ref name="neutral">{{cite journal |last1=Colautti |first1=Robert I. |last2=MacIsaac |first2=Hugh J. |date=24 February 2004 |title=A neutral terminology to define 'invasive' species: Defining invasive species |journal=Diversity and Distributions |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=135–141 |doi=10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00061.x |s2cid=18971654 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The European Union defines ''[[invasive alien species]]'' as those outside their natural distribution area that threaten [[biological diversity]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Communication From The Commission To The Council, The European Parliament, The European Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions Towards An EU Strategy On Invasive Species |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/invasivealien/docs/1_EN_resume_impact_assesment_part1_v3.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033628/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/invasivealien/docs/1_EN_resume_impact_assesment_part1_v3.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lakicevic |first1=Milena |last2=Mladenovic |first2=Emina |year=2018 |title=Non-native and invasive tree species – their impact on biodiversity loss |journal=[[Zbornik Matice Srpske Za Prirodne Nauke]] |issue=134 |pages=19–26 |doi=10.2298/ZMSPN1834019L |doi-access=free}}</ref> Biotic invasion is considered one of the five top drivers of global biodiversity loss and is increasing because of tourism and [[globalization]].<ref>{{Cite book |author1=National Research Council (US) Committee on the Scientific Basis for Predicting the Invasive Potential of Nonindigenous Plants Plant Pests in the United States |url=https://www.nap.edu/read/10259/chapter/1 |title=Predicting Invasions of Nonindigenous Plants and Plant Pests |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-309-08264-8 |doi=10.17226/10259 |pmid=25032288 |access-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117204337/https://www.nap.edu/read/10259/chapter/1 |archive-date=November 17, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Simon L. |last2=Maslin |first2=Mark A. |year=2015 |title=Defining the Anthropocene |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=519 |issue=7542 |pages=171–180 |bibcode=2015Natur.519..171L |doi=10.1038/nature14258 |pmid=25762280 |s2cid=205242896}}</ref> This may be particularly true in poorly regulated [[fresh water]] systems, though [[Quarantine|quarantines]] and [[ballast water]] rules have improved the situation.<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-2005">{{cite web |author=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |author-link=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |year=2005 |title=Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis |url=http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.354.aspx.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014033601/http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.354.aspx.pdf |archive-date=October 14, 2019 |access-date=September 18, 2007 |publisher=[[World Resources Institute]]}}</ref>
=== Birds loss ===
Certain types of [[pesticide]]s named [[Neonicotinoid]]s probably contribute to the decline of certain bird species.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pennisi |first1=Elizabeth |title=Common pesticide makes migrating birds anorexic |url=https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/09/common-pesticide-makes-migrating-birds-anorexic |website=Science |access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref> A study funded by [[BirdLife International]] confirms that 51 species of birds are critically endangered and 8 could be classified as extinct or in danger of extinction. Nearly 30% of extinction is due to hunting and trapping for the exotic pet trade. Deforestation, caused by unsustainable logging and agriculture, could be the next extinction driver, because birds lose their habitat and their food. The biologist Luisa Arnedo said: "as soon as the habitat is gone, they're gone too".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-05|title=These 8 Bird Species Have Disappeared This Decade|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/news-macaw-extinct-bird-species-deforestation/|access-date=2020-09-25|website=Environment|language=en}}</ref>


Invasive species may drive local native species to extinction via [[Competition (biology)|competitive]] exclusion, [[Ecological niche|niche]] displacement, or [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridisation]] with related native species. Therefore, alien invasions may result in extensive changes in the structure, composition and global distribution of the biota at sites of introduction. This leads to the homogenisation of the world's fauna and flora and biodiversity loss.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Olden |first2=Julian D. |last3=Record |first3=Sydne |last4=Lockwood |first4=Julie L. |last5=McKinney |first5=Michael L. |year=2012 |title=Pattern and process of biotic homogenization in the New Pangaea |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences]] |volume=279 |issue=1748 |pages=4772–4777 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.1651 |pmc=3497087 |pmid=23055062}}</ref><ref name="Odendaal 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Odendaal |first1=L. J. |last2=Haupt |first2=T. M. |last3=Griffiths |first3=C. L. |year=2008 |title=The alien invasive land snail ''Theba pisana'' in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern? |journal=[[Koedoe]] |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=93–98 |doi=10.4102/koedoe.v50i1.153 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
=== Earthworm loss ===
The critical decline of [[earthworm]]s (over 80% on average) has been recorded under non-ecological agricultural practices.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Blakemore |first=R.J. |title=Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture |journal= Soil Systems|date=2018|volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=33 |doi=10.3390/soilsystems2020033 |doi-access=free }}</ref>


===Freshwater fish loss===
=== Climate change ===
[[File:Song_2021_rate_relationship.png|thumb|The relationship between the ''magnitude'' of [[climate variability and change]] (including both large increases and decreases in global temperature) and the extinction rate, over the past 450 million years.<ref name="Song2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Song |first1=Haijun |last2=Kemp |first2=David B. |last3=Tian |first3=Li |last4=Chu |first4=Daoliang |last5=Song |first5=Huyue |last6=Dai |first6=Xu |date=August 4, 2021 |title=Thresholds of temperature change for mass extinctions |journal=Nature Communications |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=4694 |language=en |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-25019-2 |pmid=34349121 |pmc=8338942 |bibcode=2021NatCo..12.4694S}}</ref> This graph does not include the recent human made [[climate change]].]]
A study by 16 global conservation organizations found that the biodiversity crisis is most acute in freshwater ecosystems, with a rate of decline double that of oceans and forests. Global populations of freshwater fish are collapsing from [[Human impact on the environment|anthropogenic impacts]] such as [[pollution]] and [[overfishing]]. Migratory fish populations have declined by 76% since 1970, and large "megafish" populations have fallen by 94% with 16 species declared extinct in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harvey |first=Fiona |date=February 23, 2021 |title=Global freshwater fish populations at risk of extinction, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/23/global-freshwater-fish-populations-at-risk-of-extinction-study-finds |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=February 24, 2021}}</ref>
Climate change is another threat to [[global biodiversity]].<ref name="IPCC-2005" /><ref name="Kannan2009" /> But habitat destruction, e.g., for the expansion of agriculture, is currently a more significant driver of biodiversity loss.<ref name="Ketcham-2022" /><ref name="Caro-2022" />
=== Native species richness loss===

Humans have altered plant richness in regional landscapes worldwide, transforming more than 75% of the terrestrial biomes to "anthropogenic biomes." This is seen through loss of native species being replaced and out competed by agriculture. Models indicate that about half of the biosphere has seen a "substantial net anthropogenic change" in species richness.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ellis|first1=Erle C.|last2=Antill|first2=Erica C.|last3=Kreft|first3=Holger|date=January 17, 2012|title=All Is Not Loss: Plant Biodiversity in the Anthropocene|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=7|issue=1|pages=e30535|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0030535|pmc=3260302|pmid=22272360|bibcode=2012PLoSO...730535E}}</ref>
A 2021 collaborative report by scientists from the [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services|IPBES]] and the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] found that biodiversity loss and climate change must be addressed simultaneously, as they are inextricably linked and have similar effects on human well-being.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 10, 2021 |title=Climate change and biodiversity loss must be tackled together – report |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-change-biodiversity-loss-must-be-tackled-together-report-2021-06-10/ |access-date=June 12, 2021 |work=[[Reuters]] |location= |vauthors=Kapoor K |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-change-biodiversity-loss-must-be-tackled-together-report-2021-06-10/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, [[Frans Timmermans]], [[Vice-President of the European Commission]], said that people are less aware of the threat of biodiversity loss than they are of the threat of climate change.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rankin |first1=Jennifer |last2=Harvey |first2=Fiona |date=July 21, 2022 |title=Destruction of nature as threatening as climate crisis, EU deputy warns |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/21/destruction-nature-as-threatening-climate-crisis-eu-deputy-warns-frans-timmerman |access-date=August 1, 2022 |work=The Guardian |location= |archive-date=August 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802205257/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/21/destruction-nature-as-threatening-climate-crisis-eu-deputy-warns-frans-timmerman |url-status=live}}</ref>

The interaction between [[climate change and invasive species]] is complex and not easy to assess. Climate change is likely to favour some invasive species and harm others,<ref name="Dukes-1999">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dukes JS, Mooney HA |date=April 1999 |title=Does global change increase the success of biological invaders? |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=135–139 |doi=10.1016/s0169-5347(98)01554-7 |pmid=10322518 |doi-access=free}}</ref> but few authors have identified specific consequences of climate change for invasive species.<ref name="Hellmann_2008">{{cite journal |vauthors=Hellmann JJ, Byers JE, Bierwagen BG, Dukes JS |date=June 2008 |title=Five potential consequences of climate change for invasive species |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=534–543 |bibcode=2008ConBi..22..534H |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00951.x |pmid=18577082 |s2cid=16026020}}</ref>


Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in [[Forest|forests]] in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and have negative consequences for forest ecosystems.<ref name="Bank-2022-2" /><ref name="Finch 2021" />
=== Marine species richness loss ===
[[Marine life|Marine biodiversity]] encompasses any living organism which resides in the ocean, and describes various complex relationships within marine ecosystems.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Sala|first1=Enric|last2=Knowlton|first2=Nancy|date=2006|title=Global Marine Biodiversity Trends|url=http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.energy.31.020105.100235|journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources|language=en|volume=31|issue=1|pages=93–122|doi=10.1146/annurev.energy.31.020105.100235|issn=1543-5938|doi-access=free}}</ref> On a local and regional scale, marine communities are better understood compared to marine ecosystems on a global scale. In 2006, it was estimated that approximately 300,000 marine species have been documented.{{Update inline|date=March 2021}} However, the number of described marine species remains low compared to terrestrial species due to various factors, which includes the assignment of different names for the same species, and insufficient taxa classification.<ref name=":5" /> It is likely that many undocumented species has already disappeared. Because not all marine species have been described, it is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of global extinction in marine ecosystems. As a result, abundances of marine species remain uncertain, with estimates ranging between 178,000 to 10 million oceanic species.<ref name=":5" />


{{excerpt|Habitat destruction#Climate change|file=no}}
With anthropogenic pressure, this results in human activities having the strongest influences on marine biodiversity, with main drivers of global extinction being habitat loss, pollution, and overexploitation. Other indirect factors that have resulted in marine species to decline include climate change and change to oceanic biochemistry.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Worm|first1=Boris|last2=Barbier|first2=Edward B.|last3=Beaumont|first3=Nicola|last4=Duffy|first4=J. Emmett|last5=Folke|first5=Carl|last6=Halpern|first6=Benjamin S.|last7=Jackson|first7=Jeremy B. C.|last8=Lotze|first8=Heike K.|last9=Micheli|first9=Fiorenza|last10=Palumbi|first10=Stephen R.|last11=Sala|first11=Enric|date=2006|title=Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20031683|journal=Science|volume=314|issue=5800|pages=787–790|doi=10.1126/science.1132294|jstor=20031683|pmid=17082450|bibcode=2006Sci...314..787W|s2cid=37235806|issn=0036-8075}}</ref>


==== Extinction risks ====
Overexploitation has resulted in the extinction of over 20 described marine species, which includes seabirds, marine mammals, algae, and fishes. Examples of extinct marine species include the [[Steller's sea cow|Steller’s sea cow]] (''Hydrodamalis gigas'') and the [[Caribbean monk seal]] (''Monachus tropicalis''). However, not all extinctions are because of humans. For example, in 1930, the eelgrass limpet (''[[Lottia alveus]]'') became extinct once the ''[[Zostera marina]]'' [[seagrass]] population declined upon exposure to a disease. The ''Lottia alveus'' were greatly impacted as the ''Zostera marina'' were their sole habitats.<ref name=":5" />
{{Excerpt|Extinction risk from climate change|paragraph=1-2}}


== Impacts ==
== Impacts ==


===On ecosystems===
===Ecological effects of biodiversity loss===
{{See also|Ecological effects of biodiversity}}
Biodiversity loss has bad effects on the functioning of [[ecosystem]]s. This in turn affects humans,<ref name="cardinale2012" /> because affected ecosystems can no longer provide the same quality of [[Ecosystem service|ecosystem services]], such as crop [[pollination]], cleaning air and water, [[Decomposition|decomposing]] waste, and providing [[Forest product|forest products]] as well as areas for [[recreation]] and [[tourism]].<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-2005" />


Two key statements of a 2012 comprehensive review of the previous 20 years of research include:<ref name="cardinale2012" />
Biodiversity loss also threatens the structure and proper functioning of the [[ecosystem]]. Although all ecosystems are able to adapt to the stresses associated with reductions in biodiversity to some degree, biodiversity loss reduces an ecosystem's complexity, as roles once played by multiple interacting species or multiple interacting individuals are played by fewer or none.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|last1=Backhaus|first1=Thomas|last2=Snape|first2=Jason|last3=Lazorchak|first3=Jim|year=2012|title=The impact of chemical pollution on biodiversity and ecosystem services: The need for an improved understanding|journal=Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management|volume=8|issue=4|pages=575–576|doi=10.1002/ieam.1353|pmid=22987515}}</ref> The effects of species loss or changes in composition, and the mechanisms by which the effects manifest themselves, can differ among ecosystem properties, ecosystem types, and pathways of potential community change. At higher levels of extinction (40 to 60 percent of species), the effects of species loss ranked with those of many other major drivers of environmental change, such as ozone pollution, acid deposition on forests and nutrient pollution.<ref>[https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/ecosystem-effects-biodiversity-loss-could-rival-impacts-climate-change-and-pollution-2 Ecosystem effects]</ref> Finally, the effects are also seen on human needs such [[water quality|clean water]], [[air quality|air]] and food production over-time. For example, studies over the last two decades{{When|date=March 2021}} have demonstrated that more biologically diverse ecosystems are more productive.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} As a result, there has been growing concern that the very high rates of modern extinctions – due to habitat loss, [[overharvesting]] and other human-caused environmental changes – could reduce nature's ability to provide goods and services like food, clean water and a stable climate.<ref>[https://www.environmental-awareness.com/causes-effects-solutions-for-biodiversity-loss/ Causes, effects, solutions]</ref>


* "There is now unequivocal evidence that biodiversity loss reduces the efficiency by which ecological communities capture biologically essential resources, produce biomass, decompose and recycle biologically essential nutrients"; and 
An October 2020 analysis by [[Swiss Re]] found that one-fifth of all countries are at risk of [[ecosystem collapse]] as the result of anthropogenic habitat destruction and increased [[wildlife]] loss.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carrington|first=Damian|date=October 12, 2020|title=Fifth of countries at risk of ecosystem collapse, analysis finds|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/12/fifth-of-nations-at-risk-of-ecosystem-collapse-analysis-finds|access-date=October 12, 2020}}</ref>
* "Impacts of diversity loss on ecological processes might be sufficiently large to rival the impacts of many other global drivers of environmental change"
===Impact on food and agriculture===
Permanent [[global biodiversity|global]] [[species loss]] ([[extinction]]) is a more dramatic phenomenon than regional changes in [[species composition]]. But even minor changes from a healthy stable state can have a dramatic influence on the [[food web]] and the [[food chain]], because reductions in one species can adversely affect the entire chain ([[coextinction]]). This can lead to an overall reduction in biodiversity, unless [[alternative stable state]]s of the ecosystem are possible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dirzo |first1=Rodolfo |last2=Raven |first2=Peter H. |date=November 2003 |title=Global State of Biodiversity and Loss |journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=137–167 |doi=10.1146/annurev.energy.28.050302.105532 |issn=1543-5938|doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Global state and trends figures for key elements of biodiversity important to food and agriculture.svg|thumb|427x427px|An infographic describing the relationship between biodiversity and food. ]]
In 2019, the UN's [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] produced its first report on ''The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture,'' which warned that "Many key components of biodiversity for food and agriculture at genetic, species and ecosystem levels are in decline."<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.fao.org/state-of-biodiversity-for-food-agriculture/en/ |publisher=FAO [[Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture]] |year=2019 |editor=Bélanger, J. |editor2=Pilling, D. |location=Rome |title=The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47308235 |publisher=BBC |title=UN: Growing threat to food from decline in biodiversity |author=McGrath, Matt |date=22 February 2019}}</ref> The report states that this is being caused by “a variety of drivers operating at a range of levels” and more specifically that “major global trends such as changes in climate, international markets and demography give rise to more immediate drivers such as land-use change, pollution and overuse of external inputs, overharvesting and the proliferation of [[invasive species]]. Interactions between drivers often exacerbate their effects on biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA). Demographic changes, urbanization, markets, trade and consumer preferences are reported [by the countries that provided inputs to the report] to have a strong influence on food systems, frequently with negative consequences for BFA and the ecosystem services it provides. However, such drivers are also reported to open opportunities to make food systems more sustainable, for example through the development of markets for biodiversity-friendly products.”<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/3/ca3229en/ca3229en.pdf|title=In brief – The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture|publisher=FAO|year=2019|location=Rome|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004065605/http://www.fao.org/3/ca3229en/ca3229en.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2019}} [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_State_of_the_World%27s_Biodiversity_for_Food_and_Agriculture_%E2%88%92_In_Brief_(FAO).pdf Alt URL]</ref> It further states that “the driver mentioned by the highest number of countries as having negative effects on regulating and supporting ecosystem services [in food and agricultural production systems] is changes in [[land use|land]] and [[water use]] and management” and that  “loss and degradation of forest and aquatic ecosystems and, in many production systems, transition to intensive production of a reduced number of species, breeds and varieties, remain major drivers of loss of BFA and [[ecosystem services]].”<ref name=":0" />


For example, a study on [[Grassland|grasslands]] used manipulated grassland plant diversity and found that ecosystems with higher biodiversity show more resistance of their productivity to climate extremes.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Isbell F, Craven D, Connolly J, Loreau M, Schmid B, Beierkuhnlein C, Bezemer TM, Bonin C, Bruelheide H, de Luca E, Ebeling A, Griffin JN, Guo Q, Hautier Y, Hector A, Jentsch A, Kreyling J, Lanta V, Manning P, Meyer ST, Mori AS, Naeem S, Niklaus PA, Polley HW, Reich PB, Roscher C, Seabloom EW, Smith MD, Thakur MP, Tilman D, Tracy BF, van der Putten WH, van Ruijven J, Weigelt A, Weisser WW, Wilsey B, Eisenhauer N |date=2015 |title=Biodiversity increases the resistance of ecosystem productivity to climate extremes |journal=Nature |volume=526 |issue=7574 |pages=574–577 |bibcode=2015Natur.526..574I |doi=10.1038/nature15374 |pmid=26466564 |s2cid=4465811 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11299/184546}}</ref>
The health of humans is largely dependent on the product of an ecosystem. With biodiversity loss, a huge impact on human health comes as well. Biodiversity makes it possible for humans to have a sustainable level of soils and the means to have the genetic factors in order to have food.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biodiversity |url=https://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/biodiversity/en/ |website=World Health Organization |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>


===On food and agriculture ===
Many activists and scholars have suggested that there is a connection between plant patent protection and the loss of crop biodiversity,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Mooney|first1= Pay Roy|date= 1979|title= Seeds of the Earth: A private or public resource?|publisher= Inter Pares for the Canadian Council for International Co-operation and the International Coalition for Development Action|page= 71|isbn=0969014937}}</ref> although such claims are contested.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Heald|first1= Paul J.|last2= Chapman|first2= Susannah|date= 2012|title= Veggie Tales: Pernicious Myths about Patents, Innovation, and Crop Diversity in the Twentieth Century|url= https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/unilllr2012&div=38&g_sent=1&casa_token=&collection=journals|journal= University of Illinois Law Review|pages= 1051–1102}}</ref>
[[File:Global state and trends figures for key elements of biodiversity important to food and agriculture.svg|thumb|427x427px|An infographic describing the relationship between biodiversity and food.]]
In 2019, the UN's [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) produced its first report on ''The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.'' It warned that "Many key components of biodiversity for food and agriculture at genetic, species and ecosystem levels are in decline."<ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.fao.org/state-of-biodiversity-for-food-agriculture/en/ |publisher=FAO [[Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture]] |year=2019 |veditors=Bélanger J, Pilling D |location=Rome |title=The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture |access-date=February 22, 2019 |archive-date=May 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528030404/http://www.fao.org/state-of-biodiversity-for-food-agriculture/en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47308235 |work=[[BBC News]] |title=UN: Growing threat to food from decline in biodiversity |vauthors=McGrath M |date=February 22, 2019 |access-date=February 22, 2019 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47308235 |url-status=live}}</ref>


The report also said, "Many of the drivers that have negative impacts on BFA (biodiversity for food and agriculture), including overexploitation, overharvesting, pollution, overuse of external inputs, and changes in land and water management, are at least partially caused by inappropriate agricultural practices"<ref name="FAO-2019">{{Cite book |url=http://www.fao.org/3/ca3229en/ca3229en.pdf |title=In brief – The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture |publisher=FAO |year=2019 |location=Rome |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004065605/http://www.fao.org/3/ca3229en/ca3229en.pdf |archive-date=October 4, 2019}} [[c:File:The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture − In Brief (FAO).pdf|Alt URL]], text has been copied from this publication and a Wikipedia-specific [[c:File:The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture − In Brief (FAO).pdf|license statement]] is available.</ref>{{rp|6}} and "transition to intensive production of a reduced number of species, breeds and varieties, remain major drivers of loss of BFA and ecosystem services."<ref name="FAO-2019" />{{rp|6}}
=== Human health ===

{{See also|One Health}}
To reduce biodiversity loss related to agricultural practices, FAO encourages the use of "biodiversity-friendly management practices in crop and livestock production, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture".<ref name="FAO-2019" />{{rp|13}}
{{Excerpt|Biodiversity hypothesis of health}}

=== On health and medicines ===
The WHO has analyzed how biodiversity and human health are connected: "Biodiversity and human health, and the respective policies and activities, are interlinked in various ways. First, biodiversity gives rise to health benefits. For example, the variety of species and genotypes provide nutrients and medicines."<ref name="WHO-2015">{{Cite book |last1=World Health Organization |url=https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/174012 |title=Connecting global priorities: biodiversity and human health: a state of knowledge review |last2=Convention on Biological Diversity |date=2015 |publisher=World Health Organization |isbn=978-92-4-150853-7 |location=Geneva |language=en |access-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206233147/https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/174012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The ongoing drivers and effects of biodiversity loss has the potential to lead to future [[Zoonosis|zoonotic disease]] outbreaks like the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lawler |first1=Odette K |last2=Allan |first2=Hannah L |last3=Baxter |first3=Peter W J |last4=Castagnino |first4=Romi |last5=Tor |first5=Marina Corella |last6=Dann |first6=Leah E |last7=Hungerford |first7=Joshua |last8=Karmacharya |first8=Dibesh |last9=Lloyd |first9=Thomas J |last10=López-Jara |first10=María José |last11=Massie |first11=Gloeta N |last12=Novera |first12=Junior |last13=Rogers |first13=Andrew M |last14=Kark |first14=Salit |date=2021 |title=The COVID-19 pandemic is intricately linked to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00258-8 |journal=The Lancet Planetary Health |volume=5 |issue=11 |pages=e840–e850 |doi=10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00258-8 |issn=2542-5196 |pmc=8580505 |pmid=34774124}}</ref>

Medicinal and [[aromatic plants]] are widely used in [[traditional medicine]] as well as in cosmetic and food industries.<ref name="WHO-2015" />{{rp|12}} The WHO estimated in 2015 that about "60,000 species are used for their medicinal, nutritional and aromatic properties".<ref name="WHO-2015" />{{rp|12}} There is a global trade in plants for medicinal purposes.<ref name="WHO-2015" />{{rp|12}}

Biodiversity contributes to the development of [[pharmaceuticals]]. A significant proportion of [[Medication|medicines]] are derived from [[Natural product|natural products]], either directly or indirectly. Many of these natural products come from marine ecosystems.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Roopesh |first=J. |year=2008 |title=Marine organisms: Potential Source for Drug Discovery |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/feb102008/292a.pdf |journal=Current Science |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=292 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111145626/https://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/feb102008/292a.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> However, unregulated and inappropriate over-harvesting ([[bioprospecting]]) could potentially lead to overexploitation, ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity.<ref name="Dhillion">{{cite journal |last1=Dhillion |first1=S. S. |last2=Svarstad |first2=H. |last3=Amundsen |first3=C. |last4=Bugge |first4=H. C. |date=September 2002 |title=Bioprospecting: Effects on Environment and Development |journal=[[Ambio]] |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=491–493 |doi=10.1639/0044-7447(2002)031[0491:beoead]2.0.co;2 |jstor=4315292 |pmid=12436849}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cole |first=Andrew |year=2005 |title=Looking for new compounds in sea is endangering ecosystem |journal=[[British Medical Journal|BMJ]] |volume=330 |issue=7504 |pages=1350 |doi=10.1136/bmj.330.7504.1350-d |pmc=558324 |pmid=15947392}}</ref> Users and traders harvest plants for traditional medicine either by planting them or by collecting them in the wild. In both cases, sustainable medicinal resource management is important.<ref name="WHO-2015" />{{rp|13}}


== Proposed solutions ==
== Proposed solutions ==
{{Further|Conservation movement|Environmental protection|Wildlife conservation}}
There are so many conservation challenges when dealing with biodiversity loss that a joint effort needs to be made through public policies, economic solutions, monitoring and education by governments, NGOs, [[Conservation movement|conservationist]]s etc.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ehrlich|first1=Paul R.|last2=Pringle|first2=Robert M.|date=2008-08-12|title=Where does biodiversity go from here? A grim business-as-usual forecast and a hopeful portfolio of partial solutions|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=105|issue=Supplement 1|pages=11579–11586|doi=10.1073/pnas.0801911105|issn=0027-8424|pmid=18695214|pmc=2556413|doi-access=free}}</ref> Incentives are required to protect species and conserve their natural habitat and disincentivize habitat loss and degradation (e.g. implementing [[sustainable development]] including targets of [[Sustainable Development Goal 15|SDG 15]]). Other ways to achieve this goal are enforcing laws that prevent poaching wildlife, protect species from [[overhunting]] and [[overfishing]] and keep the ecosystems they rely on intact and secure from species invasions and land use conversion.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/biodiversity-loss|title=Biodiversity loss - Ecological effects|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-03-23}}</ref> Furthermore, and more specifically, conservation based models like the Global Safety Net are continuously being developed to consider the ecological connections that need to be addressed in order to effectively mitigate biodiversity loss.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=E.|last2=Joshi|first2=A. R.|last3=Vynne|first3=C.|last4=Lee|first4=A. T. L.|last5=Pharand-Deschênes|first5=F.|last6=França|first6=M.|last7=Fernando|first7=S.|last8=Birch|first8=T.|last9=Burkart|first9=K.|last10=Asner|first10=G. P.|last11=Olson|first11=D.|date=2020-09-01|title=A "Global Safety Net" to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth's climate|journal=Science Advances|language=en|volume=6|issue=36|pages=eabb2824|doi=10.1126/sciadv.abb2824|issn=2375-2548|pmid=32917614|pmc=7473742|bibcode=2020SciA....6.2824D|doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Red_List_Index,_OWID.svg|thumb|[[Red List Index]] (2019): The Red List Index (RLI) defines the conservation status of major species groups, and measures trends in the proportion of species expected to remain extant in the near future without additional conservation action. An RLI value of 1.0 equates to all species being categorised as 'Least Concern', and hence that none are expected to go extinct in the near future. A value of 0 indicates that all species have gone extinct.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red List Index |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/red-list-index |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=Our World in Data |archive-date=February 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207231505/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/red-list-index |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Scientists are investigating what can be done to address biodiversity loss and climate change together. For both of these crises, there is a need to "conserve enough nature and in the right places".<ref name="Dinerstein-2020">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dinerstein E, Joshi AR, Vynne C, Lee AT, Pharand-Deschênes F, França M, Fernando S, Birch T, Burkart K, Asner GP, Olson D |date=September 2020 |title=A "Global Safety Net" to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth's climate |journal=Science Advances |volume=6 |issue=36 |pages=eabb2824 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.2824D |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abb2824 |pmc=7473742 |pmid=32917614 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2020 study found that "beyond the 15% land area currently protected, 35% of land area is needed to conserve additional sites of particular importance for biodiversity and stabilize the climate."<ref name="Dinerstein-2020" />


Additional measures for protecting biodiversity, beyond just environmental protection, are important. Such measures include addressing drivers of [[Land use, land-use change, and forestry|land use change]], increasing efficiency in agriculture, and reducing the need for [[Environmental impacts of animal agriculture|animal agriculture]]. The latter could be achieved by increasing the shares of [[plant-based diet]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bending the curve of biodiversity loss |language=en |work=phys.org |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-09-biodiversity-loss.html |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=October 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021040956/https://phys.org/news/2020-09-biodiversity-loss.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leclère |first1=David |last2=Obersteiner |first2=Michael |last3=Barrett |first3=Mike |last4=Butchart |first4=Stuart H. M. |last5=Chaudhary |first5=Abhishek |last6=De Palma |first6=Adriana |last7=DeClerck |first7=Fabrice A. J. |last8=Di Marco |first8=Moreno |last9=Doelman |first9=Jonathan C. |last10=Dürauer |first10=Martina |last11=Freeman |first11=Robin |last12=Harfoot |first12=Michael |last13=Hasegawa |first13=Tomoko |last14=Hellweg |first14=Stefanie |last15=Hilbers |first15=Jelle P. |date=September 2020 |title=Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy |url=http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/16699/1/Leclere_et_al_ms_R3_CommentsAccepted.pdf |journal=Nature |volume=585 |issue=7826 |pages=551–556 |bibcode=2020Natur.585..551L |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2705-y |pmid=32908312 |last16=Hill |first16=Samantha L. L. |last17=Humpenöder |first17=Florian |last18=Jennings |first18=Nancy |last19=Krisztin |first19=Tamás |last20=Mace |first20=Georgina M. |last21=Ohashi |first21=Haruka |last22=Popp |first22=Alexander |last23=Purvis |first23=Andy |last24=Schipper |first24=Aafke M. |last25=Tabeau |first25=Andrzej |last26=Valin |first26=Hugo |last27=van Meijl |first27=Hans |last28=van Zeist |first28=Willem-Jan |last29=Visconti |first29=Piero |last30=Alkemade |first30=Rob |last31=Almond |first31=Rosamunde |last32=Bunting |first32=Gill |last33=Burgess |first33=Neil D. |last34=Cornell |first34=Sarah E. |last35=Di Fulvio |first35=Fulvio |last36=Ferrier |first36=Simon |last37=Fritz |first37=Steffen |last38=Fujimori |first38=Shinichiro |last39=Grooten |first39=Monique |last40=Harwood |first40=Thomas |last41=Havlík |first41=Petr |last42=Herrero |first42=Mario |last43=Hoskins |first43=Andrew J. |last44=Jung |first44=Martin |last45=Kram |first45=Tom |last46=Lotze-Campen |first46=Hermann |last47=Matsui |first47=Tetsuya |last48=Meyer |first48=Carsten |last49=Nel |first49=Deon |last50=Newbold |first50=Tim |last51=Schmidt-Traub |first51=Guido |last52=Stehfest |first52=Elke |last53=Strassburg |first53=Bernardo B. N. |last54=van Vuuren |first54=Detlef P. |last55=Ware |first55=Chris |last56=Watson |first56=James E. M. |last57=Wu |first57=Wenchao |last58=Young |first58=Lucy |hdl=2066/228862 |s2cid=221624255 |access-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307095231/https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/16699/1/Leclere_et_al_ms_R3_CommentsAccepted.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
== International action ==
[[File:Biodiversity Hotspots Map.jpg|thumb|Earth's 25 terrestrial hot spots of biodiversity. These regions contain a number of plant and animal species and have been subjected to high levels of habitat destruction by human activity.]]
There are many organizations devoted to the cause of prioritizing conservation efforts such as the [[Red List of Threatened Species]] from the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)]] and the [[United States Endangered Species Act]]. British environmental scientist [[Norman Myers]] and his colleagues have identified 25 terrestrial [[biodiversity hotspot]]s that could serve as priorities for habitat protection.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Myers|first1=Norman|last2=Mittermeier|first2=Russell A.|last3=Mittermeier|first3=Cristina G.|last4=da Fonseca|first4=Gustavo A. B.|last5=Kent|first5=Jennifer|date=2000|title=Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/35002501|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=403|issue=6772|pages=853–858|doi=10.1038/35002501|pmid=10706275|bibcode=2000Natur.403..853M|s2cid=4414279|issn=1476-4687|via=}}</ref>


=== Convention on Biological Diversity ===
Many governments in the world have conserved portions of their territories under the [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] (CBD), a multilateral treaty signed in 1992–3. The 20 [[Aichi Biodiversity Targets]], part of the CBD's ''Strategic Plan 2011–2020'', were published in 2010.<ref name=aichitargets>{{cite web | title=Aichi Biodiversity Targets | website= Convention on Biological Diversity | date=11 May 2018 | url=https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/ | access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref> Since 2010, approximately 164 countries have developed plans to reach their conservation targets, including the protection of 17 percent of terrestrial and inland waters and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
{{See also|2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference}}
Many governments have conserved portions of their territories under the [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] (CBD), a multilateral treaty signed in 1992–3. The 20 [[Convention on Biological Diversity#Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020|Aichi Biodiversity Targets]] are part of the CBD's ''Strategic Plan 2011–2020'' and were published in 2010.<ref name="aichitargets">{{cite web |title=Aichi Biodiversity Targets |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |date=May 11, 2018 |url=https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/ |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917072158/https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Aichi Target Number 11 aimed to protect 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020 .<ref>{{Cite web |title=Convention on Biological Diversity |url=https://www.cbd.int/aichi-targets/target/11#:~:text=By%202020,%20at%20least%2017,well%20connected%20systems%20of%20protected |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |language=en |archive-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131185311/https://www.cbd.int/aichi-targets/target/11#:~:text=By%202020,%20at%20least%2017,well%20connected%20systems%20of%20protected |url-status=live}}</ref>


Of the 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, only six were ''partially achieved'' by 2020.<ref name="Cohen-2020">{{cite news |vauthors=Cohen L |date=September 15, 2020 |title=More than 150 countries made a plan to preserve biodiversity a decade ago. A new report says they mostly failed. |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-150-countries-made-a-plan-to-save-the-worlds-species-and-ecosystems-a-decade-ago-a-new-report-says-they-mostly-failed/ |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=September 16, 2020 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-150-countries-made-a-plan-to-save-the-worlds-species-and-ecosystems-a-decade-ago-a-new-report-says-they-mostly-failed/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Convention on Biological Diversity" /> The 2020 CBD report highlighted that if the status quo does not change, biodiversity will continue to decline due to "currently unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, population growth and technological developments".<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Yeung J |date=September 16, 2020 |title=The world set a 2020 deadline to save nature but not a single target was met, UN report says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/world/un-biodiversity-report-intl-hnk-scli-scn/ |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=September 16, 2020 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/world/un-biodiversity-report-intl-hnk-scli-scn/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2020) [https://www.cbd.int/gbo/gbo5/publication/gbo-5-en.pdf Global Biodiversity Outlook 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210151833/https://www.cbd.int/gbo/gbo5/publication/gbo-5-en.pdf |date=February 10, 2021}}. Montreal.</ref> The report also singled out Australia, Brazil, Cameroon and the [[Galapagos Islands]] (Ecuador) for having had one of its animals lost to extinction in the previous ten years.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Kilvert N|date=September 16, 2020|title=Australia singled out for mammal extinction in UN's dire global biodiversity report|url=https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12668356|access-date=September 16, 2020 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407101951/https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12668356|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2019 the [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] (IPBES), an international organization, published the ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' which said that up to a million plant and animal species are facing extinction because of human activities.<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref name="Stokstad"/> An October 2020 report by IPBES stated that the same human activities which are the underlying drivers of [[climate change]] and biodiversity loss, such as the destruction of [[wildlife]] and wild habitats, are also the same drivers of [[pandemics]], including the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mcelwee |first=Pamela |date=November 2, 2020 |title=COVID-19 and the biodiversity crisis |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/523944-covid-19-and-the-biodiversity-crisis |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |access-date=November 3, 2020}}</ref>


Following this, the leaders of 64 nations and the European Union pledged to halt [[environmental degradation]] and restore the natural world. The pledge was not signed by leaders from some of the world's biggest polluters, namely China, India, Russia, Brazil and the United States.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Niranjan A |date=September 28, 2020 |title=Countries pledge to reverse destruction of nature after missing biodiversity targets |url=https://www.dw.com/en/global-biodiversity-outlook-targets-extinction-summit-new-york-pledge/a-54932895 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |access-date=October 4, 2020 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://www.dw.com/en/global-biodiversity-outlook-targets-extinction-summit-new-york-pledge/a-54932895 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some experts contend that the United States' refusal to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity is harming global efforts to halt the extinction crisis.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Jones B |date=May 20, 2021 |title=Why the US won't join the single most important treaty to protect nature |url=https://www.vox.com/22434172/us-cbd-treaty-biological-diversity-nature-conservation |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |location= |access-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119120755/https://www.vox.com/22434172/us-cbd-treaty-biological-diversity-nature-conservation |url-status=live}}</ref>
According to the 2020 [[United Nations]]' ''Global Biodiversity Outlook'' report, of the 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, only 6 were "partially achieved" by the deadline of 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cohen |first= Li|date=September 15, 2020 |title=More than 150 countries made a plan to preserve biodiversity a decade ago. A new report says they mostly failed.|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-150-countries-made-a-plan-to-save-the-worlds-species-and-ecosystems-a-decade-ago-a-new-report-says-they-mostly-failed/ |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=September 16, 2020}}</ref> The report highlighted that if the status quo is not changed, biodiversity will continue to decline due to "currently unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, population growth and technological developments".<ref>{{cite news |last= Yeung |first=Jessie |date=September 16, 2020 |title=The world set a 2020 deadline to save nature but not a single target was met, UN report says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/world/un-biodiversity-report-intl-hnk-scli-scn/|work=[[CNN]] |access-date=September 16, 2020}}</ref> The report also singled out Australia, Brazil and Cameroon and the [[Galapagos Islands]] (Ecuador) for having had one of its animals lost to extinction in the past 10 years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kilvert|first=Nick|date=2020-09-16|title=Australia singled out for mammal extinction in UN's dire global biodiversity report |url=https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12668356|access-date=16 Sep 2020|website=ABC News|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> Following this, the leaders of 64 nations and the European Union pledged to halt [[environmental degradation]] and restore the natural world. Leaders from some of the world's biggest polluters, namely China, India, Russia, Brazil and the United States, were not among them.<ref>{{cite news |last=Niranjan |first=Ajit |date=September 28, 2020 |title=Countries pledge to reverse destruction of nature after missing biodiversity targets |url=https://www.dw.com/en/global-biodiversity-outlook-targets-extinction-summit-new-york-pledge/a-54932895 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |access-date=October 4, 2020}}</ref> Some top scientists say that even if the targets had been met, it likely would not have resulted in any substantive reductions of current extinction rates.<ref>{{cite news |last= Weston |first=Phoebe |date=January 13, 2021 |title=Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=January 19, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A. |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Beattie |first3=Andrew |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo |last5=Crist |first5=Eileen |last6=Diamond |first6=Joan |last7=Dirzo |first7=Rodolfo |last8=Ehrlich |first8=Anne H. |last9=Harte |first9=John |last10=Harte |first10=Mary Ellen |last11=Pyke |first11=Graham |last12=Raven |first12=Peter H. |last13=Ripple |first13=William J. |last14=Saltré |first14=Frédérik |last15=Turnbull |first15=Christine |last16=Wackernagel |first16=Mathis |last17=Blumstein |first17=Daniel T. |date=2021 |title=Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future |url=https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science |volume=1 |issue= |pages= |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |access-date=|doi-access=free }}</ref>


Scientists say that even if the targets for 2020 had been met, no substantial reduction of extinction rates would likely have resulted.<ref name="Weston-2021" /><ref name="Bradshaw-2021" /> Others have raised concerns that the Convention on Biological Diversity does not go far enough, and argue the goal should be zero extinctions by 2050, along with cutting the impact of unsustainable food production on nature by half. That the targets are not [[Contract|legally binding]] has also been subject to criticism.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Cox L |date=July 23, 2021 |title=Nature's Paris moment: does the global bid to stem wildlife decline go far enough? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/24/natures-paris-moment-does-the-global-bid-to-stem-wildlife-decline-go-far-enough |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=July 24, 2021 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/24/natures-paris-moment-does-the-global-bid-to-stem-wildlife-decline-go-far-enough |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2020, with passing of the 2020 target date for the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, scientists proposed a measurable, near-term biodiversity target - comparable to the below 2°C global warming target - of keeping described species extinctions to well below 20 per year over the next 100 years across all major groups ([[Fungus|fungi]], plants, [[Invertebrate|invertebrates]], and vertebrates) and across all ecosystem types (marine, freshwater, and terrestrial).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rounsevell|first1=Mark D. A.|last2=Harfoot|first2=Mike|last3=Harrison|first3=Paula A.|last4=Newbold|first4=Tim|last5=Gregory|first5=Richard D.|last6=Mace|first6=Georgina M.|date=2020-06-12|title=A biodiversity target based on species extinctions|url=https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6496/1193|journal=Science|language=en|volume=368|issue=6496|pages=1193–1195|doi=10.1126/science.aba6592|issn=0036-8075|pmid=32527821|bibcode=2020Sci...368.1193R|s2cid=219585428}}</ref>


In December 2022, every country except the [[United States]] and the [[Holy See]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Einhorn|first=Catrin|date=December 19, 2022|title=Nearly Every Country Signs On to a Sweeping Deal to Protect Nature|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/climate/biodiversity-cop15-montreal-30x30.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=|access-date=December 27, 2022|quote=The United States is just one of two countries in the world that are not party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, largely because Republicans, who are typically opposed to joining treaties, have blocked United States membership. That means the American delegation was required to participate from the sidelines. (The only other country that has not joined the treaty is the Holy See.)|archive-date=December 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219234121/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/climate/biodiversity-cop15-montreal-30x30.html|url-status=live}}</ref> signed onto the [[Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework]] at the [[2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference]]. This framework calls for protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030 ([[30 by 30]]). It also has 22 other targets intended to reduce biodiversity loss. At the time of signing the agreement, only 17% of land territory and 10% of ocean territory were protected. The agreement includes protecting the rights of [[Indigenous peoples]] and changing the current subsidy policy to one better for biodiversity protection, but it takes a step backward in protecting species from extinction in comparison to the Aichi Targets.<ref name="Paddison">{{cite news|last=Paddison|first=Laura|date=December 19, 2022|title=More than 190 countries sign landmark agreement to halt the biodiversity crisis|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/world/cop15-biodiversity-agreement-montreal-climate-scn-intl/index.html|work=CNN|location=|access-date=December 20, 2022|archive-date=December 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220015200/https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/world/cop15-biodiversity-agreement-montreal-climate-scn-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Curry|first=Tierra|date=December 24, 2022|title=COP15 biodiversity summit: Paving the road to extinction with good intentions|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3787000-cop15-biodiversity-summit-paving-the-road-to-extinction-with-good-intentions/|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|location=|access-date=December 27, 2022|archive-date=December 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227054903/https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3787000-cop15-biodiversity-summit-paving-the-road-to-extinction-with-good-intentions/|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics said the agreement does not go far enough to protect biodiversity, and that the process was rushed.<ref name="Paddison"/>
== See also ==


=== Other international and national action ===
* [[2020s in environmental history]]
In 2019 the [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] (IPBES) published the ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]].'' This report said that up to a million plant and animal species are facing extinction because of human activity.<ref name="Stokstad" /> The IPBES is an international organization that has a similar role to the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC),<ref>{{cite web |date=January 20, 2012 |title=Biodiversity crisis is worse than climate change, experts say |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120010357.htm |access-date=May 21, 2021 |website=[[ScienceDaily]] |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229035952/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120010357.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> except that it focuses on biodiversity and [[Ecosystem service|ecosystem services]], not climate change.
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Biodiversity]]
*[[Global biodiversity]]
*[[Measurement of biodiversity]]
*[[Biodiversity offsetting]]
*[[Dark diversity]]
*[[Diversity and Distributions]]
*[[Defaunation]]
*[[Eco-costs]]
*[[Ecological extinction]]
*[[Human overpopulation]]
*[[Mass extinction]]
*[[Holocene extinction]]
*[[No net loss]]
*[[Resource depletion]]
*[[Species reintroduction]]
*[[Ecological collapse]]
* ''[[The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History]]'' (2014 book)
*[[World Scientists' Warning to Humanity]]
{{div col end}}


The United Nations' [[Sustainable Development Goal 15]] (SDG 15), "Life on Land", includes biodiversity targets. Its fifth target is: "Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of [[biodiversity]] and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of [[threatened species]]."<ref name="United Nations-2017">{{cite report |url=https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 |title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017 |date=2017 |publisher=[[United Nations]] |chapter=[[:File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] |access-date=February 1, 2024 |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023121826/https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 |url-status=live}}</ref> This target has one indicator: the [[Red List Index]].<ref name="Our World in Data">{{Cite web |title=Goal 15: Life on Land – SDG Tracker |url=https://sdg-tracker.org/biodiversity |access-date=2020-09-05 |website=Our World in Data |language=en |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006203803/https://sdg-tracker.org/biodiversity |url-status=live}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref>
== Sources ==
{{Free-content attribution
| title = The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture − In Brief
| author = FAO
| publisher = FAO
| page numbers =
| source =
| documentURL = http://www.fao.org/3/CA3129EN/CA3129EN.pdf
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_State_of_the_World%27s_Biodiversity_for_Food_and_Agriculture_%E2%88%92_In_Brief_(FAO).pdf
| license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
}}


Nearly three-quarters of [[bird]] species, two thirds of [[mammal]]s and more than half of [[Hard Corals|hard corals]] have been recorded at [[World Heritage Site]]s, even though they cover less than 1% of the planet. Countries with World Heritage Sites can include them in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greenfield |first=Patrick |date=2023-08-31 |title=Fifth of known species on Earth found in Unesco world heritage sites – survey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/31/fifth-of-known-life-on-earth-found-in-unesco-world-heritage-sites-survey-finds-aoe |access-date=2023-09-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907102443/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/31/fifth-of-known-life-on-earth-found-in-unesco-world-heritage-sites-survey-finds-aoe |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=New research underscores the vital role played by the World Heritage Convention in protecting biodiversity |publisher=UNESCO |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/new-research-underscores-vital-role-played-world-heritage-convention-protecting-biodiversity |access-date=2023-09-07 |language=en |archive-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907102443/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/new-research-underscores-vital-role-played-world-heritage-convention-protecting-biodiversity |url-status=live}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
== See also ==


* [[Biodiversity offsetting]]
* {{cite journal | last1=Worm | first1=B. | last2=Barbier | first2=E. B. | last3=Beaumont | first3=N. | last4=Duffy | first4=J. E. | last5=Folke | first5=C. | last6=Halpern | first6=B. S. | last7=Jackson | first7=J. B. C. | last8=Lotze | first8=H. K. | last9=Micheli | first9=F. | last10=Palumbi | first10=S. R. | last11=Sala | first11=E. | last12=Selkoe | first12=K. A. | last13=Stachowicz | first13=J. J. | last14=Watson | first14=R. | title=Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services | journal=Science | publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | volume=314 | issue=5800 | date=2006-11-03 | doi=10.1126/science.1132294 | pmid=17082450 | pages=787–790 | bibcode=2006Sci...314..787W | s2cid=37235806 }}
* [[Defaunation]]
* {{cite journal | last1=Waldron | first1=Anthony | last2=Miller | first2=Daniel C. | last3=Redding | first3=Dave | last4=Mooers | first4=Arne | last5=Kuhn | first5=Tyler S. | last6=Nibbelink | first6=Nate | last7=Roberts | first7=J. Timmons | last8=Tobias | first8=Joseph A. | last9=Gittleman | first9=John L. | title=Reductions in global biodiversity loss predicted from conservation spending | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Nature | volume=551 | issue=7680 | date=2017-10-25 | doi=10.1038/nature24295 | pmid=29072294 | pages=364–367 | bibcode=2017Natur.551..364W | url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10044095/1/Nature%20Reductions%20in%20global%20biodiversity%20loss%20predicted%20from%20conservation%20spending%20%28hi%20res%20pdf%29.pdf | hdl=10044/1/52628 | s2cid=205261276 }}
* [[Ecological collapse]]
*{{cite book|title=Biodiversity Loss: Economic and Ecological Issues|year=2008|author=Charles Perrings|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521588669}}
* [[Ecological extinction]]
*{{cite book|title=Biodiversity Loss in the 21st Century|year=2015|editor=Neil Griffin|publisher=Ml Books International - Ips|isbn=978-1632390943}}
*[[Effects of climate change on biomes]]
*{{cite book |title=The Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss |year=2000 |author=Alexander Wood |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1853836992 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rootcausesofbiod0000unse }}
*[[Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity]]
*Wilson EO, Peter FM, editors. Biodiversity. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1988. Chapter 2, The Loss of Diversity Causes and Consequences. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK219310/
* [[Species reintroduction]]
*{{cite journal |date=June 30, 2020 |title=Fewer than 20 extinctions a year: does the world need a single target for biodiversity? |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=583 |issue= 7814|pages=7–8 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01936-y |pmid= 32606472|bibcode=2020Natur.583....7. |doi-access=free}}
* [[Triple planetary crisis]]


==External links==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions|publisher=globalissues.org|title=Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions|year=2014|author=Anup Shah}}
*{{cite web|url=https://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/biodiversity_and_you/|title=How does Biodiversity loss affect me and everyone else?|publisher=[[World Wide Fund for Nature|panda.org]]}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.priweb.org/globalchange/bioloss/bl_03.html|title=TOPICS IN BIODIVERSITY LOSS|publisher=Global Change Project of the [[Paleontological Research Institution]]|access-date=2017-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219180144/http://www.priweb.org/globalchange/bioloss/bl_03.html|archive-date=2016-12-19|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web | title=Forests, desertification and biodiversity | website=United Nations Sustainable Development | url=http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/ | ref={{sfnref | United Nations Sustainable Development}} | access-date=2018-03-05}}
* {{cite web | title=Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss | website=Center for Health and the Global Environment | date=2017-07-19 | url=https://chge.hsph.harvard.edu/climate-change-and-biodiversity-loss | ref={{sfnref | Center for Health and the Global Environment | 2017}} | access-date=2018-03-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306023133/https://chge.hsph.harvard.edu/climate-change-and-biodiversity-loss | archive-date=2018-03-06 | url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web|url=http://fubini.swarthmore.edu/~ENVS2/max/essay4.html|title=How Overpopulation Leads to Habitat Loss and Mass Extinction|work=Max Katz-Balmes}}
* {{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-loss-could-be-making-us-sick-heres-why-143627 |title=Biodiversity loss could be making us sick – here's why |date=August 4, 2020 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}
*[https://www.cbd.int/gbo/ Global Biodiversity Outlook] Convention on Biological Diversity
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54357899 Biodiversity: Why the nature crisis matters, in five graphics]. BBC, September 30, 2020
*[https://phys.org/news/2021-03-scientists-hidden-biodiversity-crisis-variation.html Scientists describe 'hidden biodiversity crisis' as variation within species is lost]. [[Phys.org]], March 1, 2021.


== External links ==
{{Human impact on the environment}}
* [https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity Biodiversity] at [[Our World in Data]]
* {{cite web |title=Forests, desertification and biodiversity |website=United Nations Sustainable Development |url=http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/ |ref={{sfnref |United Nations Sustainable Development}} |access-date=March 5, 2018}}
* [https://www.cbd.int/gbo/ Global Biodiversity Outlook] Convention on Biological Diversity
* [https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/biodiversity-and-health Biodiversity and Health] WHO website
{{Biodiversity Worldwide}}{{Human impact on the environment}}
{{Global catastrophic risks}}
{{Portal bar|Environment|Ecology}}
{{Portal bar|Environment|Ecology}}



Latest revision as of 06:41, 26 December 2024

Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.[1]

Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far.[1][2][3] These activities include habitat destruction[4] (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming).[5][6] Further problem areas are air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, invasive species[7] and climate change.[4]

Many scientists, along with the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a growing human population because this leads to human overpopulation and excessive consumption.[8][9][10][11][12] Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries.[13]

Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity.[14][15] For example, coral reefs—which are biodiversity hotspots—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate.[16][17] Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss.[18][19] Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems.[20][21]

Groups that care about the environment have been working for many years to stop the decrease in biodiversity. Nowadays, many global policies include activities to stop biodiversity loss. For example, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity aims to prevent biodiversity loss and to conserve wilderness areas. However, a 2020 United Nations Environment Programme report found that most of these efforts had failed to meet their goals.[22] For example, of the 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, only six were "partially achieved" by 2020.[23][24]

This ongoing global extinction is also called the holocene extinction or sixth mass extinction.

Global estimates across all species

[edit]
Red list categories of the IUCN
Demonstrator against biodiversity loss, at Extinction Rebellion (2018).

The current rate of global biodiversity loss is estimated to be 100 to 1000 times higher than the (naturally occurring) background extinction rate, faster than at any other time in human history,[25][26] and is expected to grow in the upcoming years.[27][28][29] The fast-growing extinction trends of various animal groups like mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have led scientists to declare a current biodiversity crisis in both land and ocean ecosystems.[30][31]

In 2006, many more species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk that have not been formally recognized.[32]

Deforestation also plays a large role in biodiversity loss. More than half of the worlds biodiversity is hosted in tropical rainforest.[33] Regions that are subjected to exponential loss of biodiversity are referred to as biodiversity hotspots. Since 1988 the hotspots increased from 10 to 34. Of the total 34 hotspots currently present, 16 of them are in tropical regions (as of 2006).[34] Researchers have noted in 2006 that only 2.3% of the world is covered with biodiversity loss hotspots, and even though only a small percentage of the world is covered in hotspots, it host a large fraction (50%) of vascular plant species.[35]

In 2021, about 28 percent of the 134,400 species assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction—a total of 37,400 species compared to 16,119 threatened species in 2006.[36]

A 2022 study that surveyed more than 3,000 experts found that "global biodiversity loss and its impacts may be greater than previously thought", and estimated that roughly 30% of species "have been globally threatened or driven extinct since the year 1500."[37][38]

Research published in 2023 found that, out of 70,000 species, about 48% are facing decreasing populations due to human activities, while only 3% are seeing an increase in populations.[39][40][41]

Methods to quantify loss

[edit]

Biologists define biodiversity as the "totality of genes, species and ecosystems of a region".[42][43] To measure biodiversity loss rates for a particular location, scientists record the species richness and its variation over time in that area. In ecology, local abundance is the relative representation of a species in a particular ecosystem.[44] It is usually measured as the number of individuals found per sample. The ratio of abundance of one species to one or multiple other species living in an ecosystem is called relative species abundance.[44] Both indicators are relevant for computing biodiversity.

There are many different biodiversity indexes.[45] These investigate different scales and time spans.[46] Biodiversity has various scales and subcategories (e.g. phylogenetic diversity, species diversity, genetic diversity, nucleotide diversity).[46]

The question of net loss in confined regions is often a matter of debate.[47]

Observations by type of life

[edit]

Wildlife in general

[edit]
The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report 2022 found that wildlife populations declined by an average 69% since 1970.[48][49][50]

An October 2020 analysis by Swiss Re found that one-fifth of all countries are at risk of ecosystem collapse as the result of anthropogenic habitat destruction and increased wildlife loss.[51] If these losses are not reversed, a total ecosystem collapse could ensue.[52]

In 2022, the World Wildlife Fund reported[53] an average population decline of 68% between 1970 and 2016 for 4,400 animal species worldwide, encompassing nearly 21,000 monitored populations.[54]

Terrestrial invertebrates

[edit]

Insects

[edit]
An annual decline of 5.2% in flying insect biomass found in nature reserves in Germany – about 75% loss in 26 years[55]

Insects are the most numerous and widespread class in the animal kingdom, accounting for up to 90% of all animal species.[56][57] In the 2010s, reports emerged about the widespread decline in insect populations across multiple insect orders. The reported severity shocked many observers, even though there had been earlier findings of pollinator decline. There has also been anecdotal reports of greater insect abundance earlier in the 20th century. Many car drivers know this anecdotal evidence through the windscreen phenomenon, for example.[58][59] Causes for the decline in insect population are similar to those driving other biodiversity loss. They include habitat destruction, such as intensive agriculture, the use of pesticides (particularly insecticides), introduced species, and – to a lesser degree and only for some regions – the effects of climate change.[60] An additional cause that may be specific to insects is light pollution (research in that area is ongoing).[61][62][63]

Most commonly, the declines involve reductions in abundance, though in some cases entire species are going extinct. The declines are far from uniform. In some localities, there have been reports of increases in overall insect population, and some types of insects appear to be increasing in abundance across the world.[64] Not all insect orders are affected in the same way; most affected are bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, dragonflies and damselflies. Many of the remaining insect groups have received less research to date. Also, comparative figures from earlier decades are often not available.[64] In the few major global studies, estimates of the total number of insect species at risk of extinction range between 10% and 40%,[65][60][66][67] though all of these estimates have been fraught with controversy.[68][69][70][71]

Earthworms

[edit]
image of Earthworm on plant
Earthworm on plant

Scientists have studied loss of earthworms from several long-term agronomic trials. They found that relative biomass losses of minus 50–100% (with a mean of minus 83 %) match or exceed those reported for other faunal groups.[72] Thus it is clear that earthworms are similarly depleted in the soils of fields used for intensive agriculture.[72] Earthworms play an important role in ecosystem function,[72] helping with biological processing in soil, water, and even greenhouse gas balancing.[73] There are five reasons for the decline of earthworm diversity: "(1) soil degradation and habitat loss, (2) climate change, (3) excessive nutrient and other forms of contamination load, (4) over-exploitation and unsustainable management of soil, and (5) invasive species".[73]: 26  Factors like tillage practices and intensive land use decimate the soil and plant roots that earthworms use to create their biomass.[74] This interferes with carbon and nitrogen cycles.

Knowledge of earthworm species diversity is quite limited as not even 50% of them have been described.[73] Sustainable agriculture methods could help prevent earthworm diversity decline, for example reduced tillage.[73]: 32  The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is trying to take action and promote the restoration and maintenance of the many diverse species of earthworms.[73]

Amphibians

[edit]
The golden toad of Monteverde, Costa Rica, was among the first casualties of amphibian declines. Formerly abundant, it was last seen in 1989.

Since the 1980s, decreases in amphibian populations, including population decline and localized mass extinctions, have been observed in locations all over the world. This type of biodiversity loss is known as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity. The possible causes include habitat destruction and modification, diseases, exploitation, pollution, pesticide use, introduced species, and ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B). However, many of the causes of amphibian declines are still poorly understood, and the topic is currently a subject of ongoing research.

Modeling results found that the current extinction rate of amphibians could be 211 times greater than the background extinction rate. This estimate even goes up to 25,000–45,000 times if endangered species are also included in the computation.[75]

Wild mammals

[edit]

Biomass of mammals on Earth as of 2018[76][77]

  Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs (60%)
  Humans (36%)
  Wild mammals (4%)

The decline of wild mammal populations globally has been an occurrence spanning over the past 50,000 years, at the same time as the populations of humans and livestock have increased. Nowadays, the total biomass of wild mammals on land is believed to be seven times lower than its prehistoric values, while the biomass of marine mammals had declined fivefold. At the same time, the biomass of humans is "an order of magnitude higher than that of all wild mammals", and the biomass of livestock mammals like pigs and cattle is even larger than that. Even as wild mammals had declined, the growth in the numbers of humans and livestock had increased total mammal biomass fourfold. Only 4% of that increased number are wild mammals, while livestock and humans amount to 60% and 36%. Alongside the simultaneous halving of plant biomass, these striking declines are considered part of the prehistoric phase of the Holocene extinction.[77][76]

Since the second half of the 20th century, a range of protected areas and other wildlife conservation efforts (such as the Repopulation of wolves in Midwestern United States) have been implemented. These have had some impact on preserving wild mammal numbers.[78] There is still some debate over the total extent of recent declines in wild mammals and other vertebrate species.[79][80] In any case, many species are now in a worse state than decades ago.[81] Hundreds of species are critically endangered.[82][83] Climate change also has negative impacts on land mammal populations.[78]

Birds

[edit]

Some pesticides, like insecticides, likely play a role in reducing the populations of specific bird species.[84] According to a study funded by BirdLife International, 51 bird species are critically endangered and eight could be classified as extinct or in danger of extinction. Nearly 30% of extinction is due to hunting and trapping for the exotic pet trade. Deforestation, caused by unsustainable logging and agriculture, could be the next extinction driver, because birds lose their habitat and their food.[85][86]

Plants

[edit]

Trees

[edit]

While plants are essential for human survival, they have not received the same attention as the conservation of animals.[87] It is estimated that a third of all land plant species are at risk of extinction and 94% have yet to be evaluated in terms of their conservation status.[87] Plants existing at the lowest trophic level require increased conservation to reduce negative impacts at higher trophic levels.[88]

In 2022, scientists warned that a third of tree species are threatened with extinction. This will significantly alter the world's ecosystems because their carbon, water and nutrient cycles will be affected.[89][90] Forest areas are degraded due to common factors such as logging, fire, and firewood harvesting.[91] The GTA (global tree assessment) has determined that "17,510 (29.9%) tree species are considered threatened with extinction. In addition, there are 142 tree species recorded as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild."[90]

Possible solutions can be found in some silvicultural methods of forest management that promote tree biodiversity, such as selective logging, thinning or crop tree management, and clear cutting and coppicing.[92] Without solutions, secondary forests recovery in species richness can take 50 years to recover the same amount as the primary forest, or 20 years to recover 80% of species richness.[93]

Flowering plants

[edit]
Viola calcarata, a species highly vulnerable to climate change.[94]

Human impact on the environment has driven a range of species extinct and is threatening even more today. Multiple organizations such as IUCN and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew suggest that around 40% of plant species are threatened with extinction.[95] The majority are threatened by habitat loss, but activities such as logging of wild timber trees and collection of medicinal plants, or the introduction of non-native invasive species, also play a role.[96][97][98]

Relatively few plant diversity assessments currently consider climate change,[95] yet it is starting to impact plants as well. About 3% of flowering plants are very likely to be driven extinct within a century at 2 °C (3.6 °F) of global warming, and 10% at 3.2 °C (5.8 °F).[99] In worst-case scenarios, half of all tree species may be driven extinct by climate change over that timeframe.[95]

Freshwater species

[edit]

Freshwater ecosystems such as swamps, deltas, and rivers make up 1% of earth's surface. They are important because they are home to approximately one third of vertebrate species.[100] Freshwater species are beginning to decline at twice the rate of species that live on land or in the ocean. This rapid loss has already placed 27% of 29,500 species dependent on fresh water on the IUCN Red List.[100]

Global populations of freshwater fish are collapsing due to water pollution and overfishing. Migratory fish populations have declined by 76% since 1970, and large "megafish" populations have fallen by 94% with 16 species declared extinct in 2020.[101]

Marine species

[edit]

Marine biodiversity encompasses any living organism that resides in the ocean or in estuaries.[102] By 2018, approximately 240,000 marine species had been documented.[103] But many marine species—estimates range between 178,000 and 10 million oceanic species—remain to be described.[102] It is therefore likely that a number of rare species (not seen for decades in the wild) have already disappeared or are on the brink of extinction, unnoticed.[104]

Human activities have a strong and detrimental influence on marine biodiversity. The main drivers of marine species extinction are habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and overexploitation.[105][106] Greater pressure is placed on marine ecosystems near coastal areas because of the human settlements in those areas.[107]

Overexploitation has resulted in the extinction of over 25 marine species. This includes seabirds, marine mammals, algae, and fish.[102][108] Examples of extinct marine species include Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) and the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis). Not all extinctions are because of humans. For example, in the 1930s, the eelgrass limpet (Lottia alveus) became extinct in the Atlantic once the Zostera marina seagrass population declined upon exposure to a disease.[109] The Lottia alveus were greatly impacted because the Zostera marina were their sole habitats.[102]

Causes

[edit]

The main causes of current biodiversity loss are:

  1. Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation;[4] for example habitat fragmentation for commercial and agricultural uses (specifically monoculture farming)[5]
  2. Land use intensification (and ensuing land loss/habitat loss); a significant factor in loss of ecological services due to direct effects as well as biodiversity loss[6]
  3. Nutrient pollution and other forms of pollution (air and water pollution)
  4. Overexploitation and unsustainable use (for example unsustainable fishing methods, overfishing, overconsumption and human overpopulation)
  5. Invasive species that effectively compete for a niche, replacing indigenous species[7]
  6. Climate change (e.g. extinction risk from climate change, effects of climate change on plant biodiversity)[4]

Jared Diamond describes an "Evil Quartet" of habitat destruction, overkill, introduced species and secondary extinctions.[110] Edward O. Wilson suggested the acronym HIPPO for the main causes of biodiversity loss: Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, human over-Population and Over-harvesting.[111][112]

Habitat destruction

[edit]
Earth's 25 terrestrial hot spots of biodiversity. These regions contain a high number of plant and animal species and have been subjected to high levels of habitat destruction by human activity, leading to biodiversity loss.
Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest in Bolivia cause significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.

Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved to elsewhere or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers.[113][114] Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide.[115]

Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change,[114] introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species.[116]

For example, habitat loss is one of the causes in the decline of insect populations (see the section below on insects).

Urban growth and habitat fragmentation

[edit]

The direct effects of urban growth on habitat loss are well understood: building construction often results in habitat destruction and fragmentation.[117] This leads to selection for species that are adapted to urban environments.[118] Small habitat patches cannot support the level of genetic or taxonomic diversity they formerly could while some more sensitive species may become locally extinct.[119] Species abundance populations are reduced due to the reduced fragmented area of habitat. This causes an increase of species isolation and forces species toward edge habitats and to adapt to foraging elsewhere.[117]

Infrastructure development in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) is a major driver of biodiversity loss, with infrastructure present in roughly 80% of KBAs.[120] Infrastructure development leads to conversion and fragmentation of natural habitat, pollution and disturbance. There can also be direct harm to animals through collisions with vehicles and structures. This can have impacts beyond the infrastructure site.[120]

Land use intensification

[edit]

Humans are changing the uses of land in various ways, and each can lead to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. The 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that industrial agriculture is the primary driver of biodiversity collapse.[121][8] The UN's Global Biodiversity Outlook 2014 estimated that 70% of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity is caused by agriculture use.[needs update] According to a 2005 publication, "Cultivated systems [...] cover 24% of Earth's surface".[122]: 51  The publication defined cultivated areas as "areas in which at least 30% of the landscape is in croplands, shifting cultivation, confined livestock production, or freshwater aquaculture in any particular year".[122]: 51 

More than 17,000 species are at risk of losing habitat by 2050 as agriculture continues to expand to meet future food needs (as of 2020).[123] A global shift toward largely plant-based diets would free up land to allow for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity.[124] In the 2010s over 80% of all global farmland was used to rear animals.[124]

As of 2022, 44% of Earth's land area required conservation attention, which may include declaring protected areas and following land-use policies.[125]

Nutrient pollution and other forms of pollution

[edit]

Air pollution

[edit]
Industrial processes contributing to air pollution through the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide.

Air pollution adversely affects biodiversity.[126] Pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels and biomass, for example. Industrial and agricultural activity releases the pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.[127] Once sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are introduced into the atmosphere, they can react with cloud droplets (cloud condensation nuclei), raindrops, or snowflakes, forming sulfuric acid and nitric acid. With the interaction between water droplets and sulfuric and nitric acids, wet deposition occurs and creates acid rain.[128][129]

A 2009 review studied four air pollutants (sulfur, nitrogen, ozone, and mercury) and several types of ecosystems.[130] Air pollution affects the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems.[130] For example, "air pollution causes or contributes to acidification of lakes, eutrophication of estuaries and coastal waters, and mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic food webs".[130]

Noise pollution

[edit]

Noise generated by traffic, ships, vehicles, and aircraft can affect the survivability of wildlife species and can reach undisturbed habitats.[131] Noise pollution is common in marine ecosystems, affecting at least 55 marine species.[132] One study found that as seismic noises and naval sonar increases in marine ecosystems, cetacean diversity decreases (including whales and dolphins).[133] Multiple studies have found that fewer fishes, such as cod, haddock, rockfish, herring, sand seal, and blue whiting, have been spotted in areas with seismic noises, with catch rates declining by 40–80%.[132][134][135][136]

Noise pollution has also altered avian communities and diversity. Noise can reduce reproductive success, minimize nesting areas, increase stress response, and reduce species abundance.[137][132] Noise pollution can alter the distribution and abundance of prey species, which can then impact predator populations.[138]

Pollution from fossil fuel extraction

[edit]
Potential for biodiversity loss from future fossil fuel extraction: Proportions of oil and gas field area overlapping with Protected Areas (PAs) (gray polygons) of different IUCN Protected Area management categories by UN regions: North America (a), Europe (b), West Asia (c), LAC (d), Africa (e), and Asia Pacific (f). Absolute area of overlap across all IUCN management categories is shown above histograms. Location of fields overlapping with PAs are shown in (g). Shading is used so that points can be visualized even where their spatial locations coincide, so darker points indicate higher densities of fields overlapping PAs.[139]

Fossil fuel extraction and associated oil and gas pipelines have major impacts on the biodiversity of many biomes due to land conversion, habitat loss and degradation, and pollution. An example is the Western Amazon region.[140] Exploitation of fossil fuels there has had significant impacts on biodiversity.[139] As of 2018, many of the protected areas with rich biodiversity were in areas containing unexploited fossil fuel reserves worth between $3 and $15 trillion.[139] The protected areas may be under threat in future.

Overexploitation

[edit]

Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term applies to natural resources such as water aquifers, grazing pastures and forests, wild medicinal plants, fish stocks and other wildlife.

Overfishing

[edit]
Mass fishing of Pacific jack mackerel (with possible bycatch) with a Chilean purse seiner.
Atlantic cod stocks were severely overexploited in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to their abrupt collapse in 1992.[141]

A 2019 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report found that overfishing is the main driver of mass species extinction in oceans.[142][143] Overfishing has reduced fish and marine mammal biomass by 60% since the 1800s.[144] It is currently pushing over one-third of sharks and rays toward extinction.[145]

Many commercial fishes have been overharvested: a 2020 FAO report classified as overfished 34% of the fish stocks of the world's marine fisheries.[146] By 2020, global fish populations had declined 38% since 1970.[103]

Many regulatory measures are available for controlling overfishing. These include fishing quotas, bag limits, licensing, closed seasons, size limits, and the creation of marine reserves and other marine protected areas.

Human overpopulation and overconsumption

[edit]
The changing distribution of the world's land mammals in tonnes of carbon. The biomass of wild land mammals has declined by 85% since the emergence of humans.[147]

The world's population numbered nearly 7.6 billion as of mid-2017 and is forecast to peak toward the end of the 21st century at 10–12 billion people.[148] Scholars have argued that population size and growth, along with overconsumption, are significant factors in biodiversity loss and soil degradation.[149][150][1][11] Review articles, including the 2019 IPBES report, have also noted that human population growth and overconsumption are significant drivers of species decline.[8][9] A 2022 study warned that conservation efforts will continue to fail if the primary drivers of biodiversity loss continue to be ignored, including population size and growth.[10]

Other scientists have criticized the assertion that population growth is a key driver for biodiversity loss.[13] They argue that the main driver is the loss of habitat, caused by "the growth of commodities for export, particularly soybean and oil-palm, primarily for livestock feed or biofuel consumption in higher income economies."[13] Because of the wealth disparities between countries, there is a negative correlation between a country's total population and its per capita footprint. On the other hand, the correlation between a country's GDP and its footprint is strong.[13] The study argues that population as a metric is unhelpful and counterproductive for tackling environmental challenges.[13]

Invasive species

[edit]

The term invasive is poorly defined and often very subjective.[151] The European Union defines invasive alien species as those outside their natural distribution area that threaten biological diversity.[152][153] Biotic invasion is considered one of the five top drivers of global biodiversity loss and is increasing because of tourism and globalization.[154][155] This may be particularly true in poorly regulated fresh water systems, though quarantines and ballast water rules have improved the situation.[122]

Invasive species may drive local native species to extinction via competitive exclusion, niche displacement, or hybridisation with related native species. Therefore, alien invasions may result in extensive changes in the structure, composition and global distribution of the biota at sites of introduction. This leads to the homogenisation of the world's fauna and flora and biodiversity loss.[156][157]

Climate change

[edit]
The relationship between the magnitude of climate variability and change (including both large increases and decreases in global temperature) and the extinction rate, over the past 450 million years.[158] This graph does not include the recent human made climate change.

Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity.[14][15] But habitat destruction, e.g., for the expansion of agriculture, is currently a more significant driver of biodiversity loss.[18][19]

A 2021 collaborative report by scientists from the IPBES and the IPCC found that biodiversity loss and climate change must be addressed simultaneously, as they are inextricably linked and have similar effects on human well-being.[159] In 2022, Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission, said that people are less aware of the threat of biodiversity loss than they are of the threat of climate change.[160]

The interaction between climate change and invasive species is complex and not easy to assess. Climate change is likely to favour some invasive species and harm others,[161] but few authors have identified specific consequences of climate change for invasive species.[162]

Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and have negative consequences for forest ecosystems.[20][21]

Decline in arctic sea ice extent (area) from 1979 to 2022
Decline in arctic sea ice volume from 1979 to 2022

Climate change contributes to destruction of some habitats, endangering various species. For example:

Extinction risks

[edit]
The impact of three different climate change scenarios on local biodiversity and risk of extinction of vertebrate species[173]

There are several plausible pathways that could lead to an increased extinction risk from climate change. Every plant and animal species has evolved to exist within a certain ecological niche.[174] But climate change leads to changes of temperature and average weather patterns.[175][176] These changes can push climatic conditions outside of the species' niche, and ultimately render it extinct.[177] Normally, species faced with changing conditions can either adapt in place through microevolution or move to another habitat with suitable conditions. However, the speed of recent climate change is very fast. Due to this rapid change, for example Ectotherm cold-blooded animals (a category which includes amphibians, reptiles and all invertebrates) may struggle to find a suitable habitat within 50 km of their current location at the end of this century (for a mid-range scenario of future global warming).[178]

Climate change also increases both the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events,[179] which can directly wipe out regional populations of species.[180] Those species occupying coastal and low-lying island habitats can also become extinct by sea level rise. This has already happened with Bramble Cay melomys in Australia.[181] Finally, climate change has been linked with the increased prevalence and global spread of certain diseases affecting wildlife. This includes Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus that is one of the main drivers of the worldwide decline in amphibian populations.[182]

Impacts

[edit]

On ecosystems

[edit]

Biodiversity loss has bad effects on the functioning of ecosystems. This in turn affects humans,[45] because affected ecosystems can no longer provide the same quality of ecosystem services, such as crop pollination, cleaning air and water, decomposing waste, and providing forest products as well as areas for recreation and tourism.[122]

Two key statements of a 2012 comprehensive review of the previous 20 years of research include:[45]

  • "There is now unequivocal evidence that biodiversity loss reduces the efficiency by which ecological communities capture biologically essential resources, produce biomass, decompose and recycle biologically essential nutrients"; and 
  • "Impacts of diversity loss on ecological processes might be sufficiently large to rival the impacts of many other global drivers of environmental change"

Permanent global species loss (extinction) is a more dramatic phenomenon than regional changes in species composition. But even minor changes from a healthy stable state can have a dramatic influence on the food web and the food chain, because reductions in one species can adversely affect the entire chain (coextinction). This can lead to an overall reduction in biodiversity, unless alternative stable states of the ecosystem are possible.[183]

For example, a study on grasslands used manipulated grassland plant diversity and found that ecosystems with higher biodiversity show more resistance of their productivity to climate extremes.[184]

On food and agriculture

[edit]
An infographic describing the relationship between biodiversity and food.

In 2019, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced its first report on The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. It warned that "Many key components of biodiversity for food and agriculture at genetic, species and ecosystem levels are in decline."[185][186]

The report also said, "Many of the drivers that have negative impacts on BFA (biodiversity for food and agriculture), including overexploitation, overharvesting, pollution, overuse of external inputs, and changes in land and water management, are at least partially caused by inappropriate agricultural practices"[187]: 6  and "transition to intensive production of a reduced number of species, breeds and varieties, remain major drivers of loss of BFA and ecosystem services."[187]: 6 

To reduce biodiversity loss related to agricultural practices, FAO encourages the use of "biodiversity-friendly management practices in crop and livestock production, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture".[187]: 13 

On health and medicines

[edit]

The WHO has analyzed how biodiversity and human health are connected: "Biodiversity and human health, and the respective policies and activities, are interlinked in various ways. First, biodiversity gives rise to health benefits. For example, the variety of species and genotypes provide nutrients and medicines."[188] The ongoing drivers and effects of biodiversity loss has the potential to lead to future zoonotic disease outbreaks like the COVID-19 pandemic.[189]

Medicinal and aromatic plants are widely used in traditional medicine as well as in cosmetic and food industries.[188]: 12  The WHO estimated in 2015 that about "60,000 species are used for their medicinal, nutritional and aromatic properties".[188]: 12  There is a global trade in plants for medicinal purposes.[188]: 12 

Biodiversity contributes to the development of pharmaceuticals. A significant proportion of medicines are derived from natural products, either directly or indirectly. Many of these natural products come from marine ecosystems.[190] However, unregulated and inappropriate over-harvesting (bioprospecting) could potentially lead to overexploitation, ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity.[191][192] Users and traders harvest plants for traditional medicine either by planting them or by collecting them in the wild. In both cases, sustainable medicinal resource management is important.[188]: 13 

Proposed solutions

[edit]
Red List Index (2019): The Red List Index (RLI) defines the conservation status of major species groups, and measures trends in the proportion of species expected to remain extant in the near future without additional conservation action. An RLI value of 1.0 equates to all species being categorised as 'Least Concern', and hence that none are expected to go extinct in the near future. A value of 0 indicates that all species have gone extinct.[193]

Scientists are investigating what can be done to address biodiversity loss and climate change together. For both of these crises, there is a need to "conserve enough nature and in the right places".[194] A 2020 study found that "beyond the 15% land area currently protected, 35% of land area is needed to conserve additional sites of particular importance for biodiversity and stabilize the climate."[194]

Additional measures for protecting biodiversity, beyond just environmental protection, are important. Such measures include addressing drivers of land use change, increasing efficiency in agriculture, and reducing the need for animal agriculture. The latter could be achieved by increasing the shares of plant-based diets.[195][196]

Convention on Biological Diversity

[edit]

Many governments have conserved portions of their territories under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a multilateral treaty signed in 1992–3. The 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets are part of the CBD's Strategic Plan 2011–2020 and were published in 2010.[197] Aichi Target Number 11 aimed to protect 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020 .[198]

Of the 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, only six were partially achieved by 2020.[23][24] The 2020 CBD report highlighted that if the status quo does not change, biodiversity will continue to decline due to "currently unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, population growth and technological developments".[199][200] The report also singled out Australia, Brazil, Cameroon and the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) for having had one of its animals lost to extinction in the previous ten years.[201]

Following this, the leaders of 64 nations and the European Union pledged to halt environmental degradation and restore the natural world. The pledge was not signed by leaders from some of the world's biggest polluters, namely China, India, Russia, Brazil and the United States.[202] Some experts contend that the United States' refusal to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity is harming global efforts to halt the extinction crisis.[203]

Scientists say that even if the targets for 2020 had been met, no substantial reduction of extinction rates would likely have resulted.[150][1] Others have raised concerns that the Convention on Biological Diversity does not go far enough, and argue the goal should be zero extinctions by 2050, along with cutting the impact of unsustainable food production on nature by half. That the targets are not legally binding has also been subject to criticism.[204]

In December 2022, every country except the United States and the Holy See[205] signed onto the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference. This framework calls for protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030 (30 by 30). It also has 22 other targets intended to reduce biodiversity loss. At the time of signing the agreement, only 17% of land territory and 10% of ocean territory were protected. The agreement includes protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and changing the current subsidy policy to one better for biodiversity protection, but it takes a step backward in protecting species from extinction in comparison to the Aichi Targets.[206][207] Critics said the agreement does not go far enough to protect biodiversity, and that the process was rushed.[206]

Other international and national action

[edit]

In 2019 the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. This report said that up to a million plant and animal species are facing extinction because of human activity.[8] The IPBES is an international organization that has a similar role to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),[208] except that it focuses on biodiversity and ecosystem services, not climate change.

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15), "Life on Land", includes biodiversity targets. Its fifth target is: "Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species."[209] This target has one indicator: the Red List Index.[210]

Nearly three-quarters of bird species, two thirds of mammals and more than half of hard corals have been recorded at World Heritage Sites, even though they cover less than 1% of the planet. Countries with World Heritage Sites can include them in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans.[211][212]

See also

[edit]

References

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