Scientists: two-thirds of the Earth’s ecosystems are in a critical condition – RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, July 15 – RIA Novosti . Preservation of ecosystems and species diversity have fallen to a critical level of 58% of key ecoregions of the Earth, said the threat of the beginning of the mass extinction and a sharp reduction in the number of animals, say scientists in a paper published in the journal Science.

Today there is no certainty as to how much change or loss of species can survive this or that ecosystem to the point where it is catastrophically collapse and lose its ability to maintain itself among ecologists and biologists. For this reason, the reduction in species diversity of all living things – from bacteria to mammals, related to climate change and human activities, causing great concern among scientists

Tim Newbold (Tim Newbold) from University College London (United Kingdom. ) and his colleagues tried to find the answer to this question, making the most extensive database of species on Earth, which includes nearly 40 thousand different life forms living on all continents, and two million evaluations of their species diversity.

The data the researchers used to assess the status of so-called biomes – the largest components of the entire biosphere of the Earth, which includes hundreds of connected with each other Ecocity and ecological communities located within the same climatic zone. Total scholars have identified 14 such zones on land in accordance with the criteria developed by the renowned biologist Robert Bailey (Robert Bailey) in the mid 70′s of the last century

Analysis of Newbold and his colleagues led to the disappointing conclusion -. 58% of these biomes today is in critical condition. They died more than 20% of the species of animals, microbes and other creatures that lived in them before the start of the mass exploitation of the land, deforestation and mining. Reduction of species diversity for more than 10-20%, as the scientists explain, leads to irreversible and catastrophic consequences. Most of these effects will manifest itself only in the future, which is why we do not feel all scale of the disaster.

Most of such a collapse of ecosystems affected central regions of the United States and Canada, the Himalayas, Australia, the southern regions of Europe and Russia, Central Africa and southern South America. The last thing they touched or touch the northern Russia and Canada, the equatorial regions of Latin America, Indochina and tropical Africa

If you look at biomes, only three of them -. Tundra, taiga and subtropical broadleaf forests – are in relative security. All other types of biomes are the mark of 20% of extinct species, and they are now in danger of a sharp reduction in species diversity.

These changes, according to environmentalists, not only deprive us of the beauties of nature, but also cost a pretty penny – for example, the disappearance of key species of pollinators and natural enemies of pests leading to an increase in pesticide costs. In addition, the imbalance in the biomes and their destruction also causes exotic until recently, phenomena such as algal blooms or other ekokatastrofy, the elimination of which requires hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

As this can be combated? According to Newbold, to restore the biomes and keeping them from collapsing is necessary not only to protect the key centers of biodiversity, but also to reduce the area of ​​land, which are now used in agriculture. Economic losses from this may initially be high, but further degradation of ecosystems will lead to more “expensive” consequences, the scientists conclude.