The idea that ecosystems carry plenty of back-up, so if a small number of species become extinct there is little harm, has been greatly overestimated according to the largest global study of its kind.
The idea that ecosystems carry plenty of back-up, so if a small number of species become extinct there is little harm, has been greatly overestimated according to the largest global study of its kind.
New research led by King’s College London and Imperial College London, warns a lack of biodiversity could threaten people’s food security and climate protection as diverse ecosystems provide a wide range of benefits that people depend on, including pollination, water purification, carbon storage and natural pest control.
The study, by King’s College London and Imperial College London with the Natural History, has found that ecosystems have far less ‘spare’ capacity than previously thought, with the ocean potentially having the most to lose.
The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, combined 423 published studies and 222,829 data points across land, freshwater, marine and estuarine ecosystems, producing a database more than twice the size of the largest previous effort and the largest of its kind.
Read More: King's College London
