Environment Study shows loss of biodiversity due to human intervention
On average, one fifth fewer plant and animal species occur in areas influenced by humans than in areas uninfluenced by humans. This is the result of a large-scale study by Swiss researchers published in the journal "Nature".
26.03.2025, 17:00
SDA
The researchers compiled data from around 2,100 studies that compared biodiversity at almost 50,000 human-impacted sites with almost 50,000 unimpacted sites. "It is one of the world's largest syntheses ever conducted on the effects of humans on biodiversity," said Florian Altermatt from the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in a press release issued by the two institutions.
The results of the study are clear and leave no doubt as to the devastating impact humans are having on biodiversity worldwide, the research institutes said.
Environmental pollution particularly harmful
According to the study, it is not only the number of species that is decreasing, the composition of species communities is also changing. In high mountain regions, for example, specialized plants are at risk of being displaced by species from lower altitudes due to global warming. The greatest shifts in species communities are occurring among tiny microbes and fungi.
Environmental pollution and habitat changes such as the clearing of forests or the leveling of meadows have a particularly negative impact on the number of species and the composition of species communities. The effects of climate change, invasive species and direct exploitation such as hunting or fishing are somewhat smaller.
This does not mean that climate change is less problematic for biodiversity in comparison, emphasized Altermatt. "But its effects are probably not yet detectable in their full extent."
