Linking the influence and dependence of people on biodiversity across scales

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 546; no. 7656; pp. 65 - 72
• Main Authors: Isbell, Forest, Gonzalez, Andrew, Loreau, Michel, Cowles, Jane, Díaz, Sandra, Hector, Andy, Mace, Georgina M., Wardle, David A., O'Connor, Mary I., Duffy, J. Emmett, Turnbull, Lindsay A., Thompson, Patrick L., Larigauderie, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-06-2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/158; Animals; Aquatic ecosystems; Biodiversity; Biodiversity loss; Climate; Climate change; Conservation; Conservation of Natural Resources; Control; Ecological function; Ecological research; Ecology; Ecosystem services; Ekologi; Endangered & extinct species; Environmental aspects; Environmental Policy; Extinction; Extinction, Biological; Fish; Forage; Forests; Grasslands; Human Activities; Human influences; Human-environment interactions; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; Livestock; Mass extinctions; multidisciplinary; review-article; Science; Spatio-Temporal Analysis; Species extinction; Species Specificity; Stability; People; Biodiversity; Ecosystem
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature22899

Biodiversity enhances many of nature's benefits to people, including the regulation of climate and the production of wood in forests, livestock forage in grasslands and fish in aquatic ecosystems. Yet people are now driving the sixth mass extinction event in Earth's history. Human dependence and influence on biodiversity have mainly been studied separately and at contrasting scales of space and time, but new multiscale knowledge is beginning to link these relationships. Biodiversity loss substantially diminishes several ecosystem services by altering ecosystem functioning and stability, especially at the large temporal and spatial scales that are most relevant for policy and conservation.