<
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/humans-have-altered-97-percent-earths-land-through-habitat-and-species-loss-180977542/>
"A study published on April 15 in the journal
Frontiers in Forests and Global
Change presents evidence that only about three percent of Earth’s land
ecosystems remain untouched by human activity.
The analysis focuses on large swaths of land, about 3,860 square miles each, to
account for the amount of habitat required by wide-ranging species. The study
takes into account three measures of ecological integrity: habitat intactness,
which is how human activity has affected the land; faunal intactness, which
looks at species loss; and functional intactness, which focuses on species loss
among animals that contribute to the health of an ecosystem.
The latter two points measure on-the-ground impacts that couldn’t be assessed
with satellite images and demographic data alone, which is how previous studies
had looked at human impact, Jonathan Lambert reports for
Science News. The
new study also shows up to 20 percent of affected ecosystems could be restored
to their pre-industrial health with the reintroduction of five or fewer
important species."
Via Ted Kahn.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
