1. Loss rate

2. Factors

3. Insect loss

4. Food and agriculture

5. See also

6. References

7. Further reading

8. Literature

9. External links

Biodiversity loss is the extinction of species (plant or animal) worldwide, and also the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat.

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 has so far been proven to be irreversible.

Even though permanent global species loss is a more dramatic 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 states 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, also for humankind.^[1]

Loss rate

The current rate of global diversity loss is estimated to be 100 to 1000 times higher than the (naturally occurring) background extinction rate and expected to still grow in the upcoming years.^[1][2]

Locally bounded loss rates can be measured using species richness and its variation over time. Raw counts may not be as ecologically relevant as relative or absolute abundances. Taking into account the relative frequencies, a considerable number of biodiversity indexes has been developed. Besides richness, evenness and heterogeneity are considered to be the main dimensions along which diversity can be measured.^[3]

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.^[4] 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^[4]) 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.^[5][6]

To compare rates between different geographic regions latitudinal gradients in species diversity should also be considered.

Factors

Major factors for biotic stress and the ensuing accelerating loss rate are, amongst other threats:^[7]

1. Habitat loss and 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.^&91;8&93;

2. Climate change through heat stress and drought stress
3. Excessive nutrient load and other forms of pollution
4. Over-exploitation and unsustainable use (e.g. unsustainable fishing methods) we are currently using 25% more natural resources than the planet
5. 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.^&91;9&93;
6. Invasive alien species that effectively compete for a niche, replacing indigenous species^&91;10&93;

Insect loss

In 2017, various publications describe the dramatic reduction in absolute insect biomass and number of species in Germany and North America over a period of 27 years.^[11][12] As possible reasons for the decline, the authors highlight neonicotinoids and other agrochemicals. Writing in the journal PLOS One, authors Hallman, Sorg, et al (2017), conclude that "the widespread insect biomass decline is alarming."^[13]

Food and agriculture

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. This warned that "Many key components of biodiversity for food and agriculture at genetic, species and ecosystem levels are in decline."^[14][15] The 2019 IPBES study asserts that industrial farming is a significant factor in collapsing biodiversity.^[16]

See also

• Biodiversity
  • Global biodiversity
  • Measurement of biodiversity
  • Biodiversity offsetting
• Dark diversity
• Diversity and Distributions
• Defaunation
• Eco-costs
• Ecological extinction
• Mass extinction
  • Holocene extinction
• No net loss
• Resource depletion
• Species reintroduction
• World Scientists' Warning to Humanity

References

• {{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=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}}

Further reading

• {{cite journal | last=Worm | first=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 | issn=0036-8075 | doi=10.1126/science.1132294 | pages=787–790 | ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal | last=Waldron | first=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 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nature24295 | pages=364–367 | ref=harv}}

Literature

• {{cite book|title=Biodiversity Loss: Economic and Ecological Issues|year=2008|author=Charles Perrings|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521588669}}
• {{cite book|title=Biodiversity Loss in the 21st Century|year=2015|editor=Neil Griffin|publisher=Ml Books International - Ips|isbn=978-1632390943}}
• {{cite book|title=The Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss |year=2000|author=Alexander Wood |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1853836992}}

External links

• {{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}}

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