Earth is on its way to its sixth mass extinction

According to a new report, the sixth mass extinction of biodiversity on planet Earth is underway study Published in Biological Reviews.

During the five previous mass extinctions that hit Earth, research has shown that about 75 percent of all species disappeared in about three million years.

Since 1900, one-fifth of the animals on Earth have been eliminate it.

right Now Scientists estimate that up to a million species You may die in a few decades.

They sound the alarm that ecosystems may collapse. This could lead to further shortages of natural resources and exacerbate the climate crisis. Within a few centuries, researchers fear, 75 percent of all species could become extinct.

10 percent extinct

When the Earth experienced its fifth mass extinction 65 million years ago, it was caused by an asteroid impacting what is today Mexico.

It had dire consequences for all life on Earth. The catastrophic event is best known for leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

According to the researchers, the sixth mass extinction we are facing is different from the previous mass extinction: because it was man-made.

Today, about ten percent of the world’s known animal species are extinct. Over the past five hundred years, the world has witnessed great man-made changes.

A lot of nature went in favor of cities and agriculture. This alone cost many animal species their lives.

The human footprint in nature is also undermining the ecosystems that provide clean air, drinking water, food, medicine, and raw materials that humans need to survive.

consequences

Human resource needs, global warming and population growth are accelerating the ongoing loss of biodiversity.

In the past five centuries, between 150,000 and 260,000 animal species have gone extinct, according to the researchers behind it. studies.

When so many animal species become extinct, this has far-reaching consequences.

The researchers behind a study published in the scientific journal Science have mapped how the loss of animals and birds, among other things, affects plants’ ability to adapt to a warmer climate.

Animals can spread seeds in a number of ways. Either by eating the seeds and spreading them as fertilizer, or by carrying on them, for example in the fur.

One of the most important ways in which plant species deal with climate change is by spreading to new areas with suitable climatic conditions, says Professor Jens Christian Svening from the Department of Biology at Aarhus University. Videnskab.dk.

exacerbates pressure

When we limit the ability of plants to spread by eliminating animal species that are important seed spreaders, we are exacerbating the great stress that comes from ongoing climatic changes.

According to the study, the tropics are particularly at risk, because many animal species that once worked in seed dispersal there are already extinct.

If animals such as tapirs or monkeys die in the future, many large trees will lose important distributors.

Hence forests can become less dense, resulting in less efficient carbon dioxide uptake.

Well-functioning ecosystems are the interaction of plants and animals and create fertile ground for the existence of the global community. But if animals die, ecosystems do the same.

According to researchers, it is important to preserve as much nature as possible.

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Reason for optimism

Despite the bleak outlook, there are some reasons for optimism.

If humanity does anything.

It is as if there are impossible possibilities for sustaining life on Earth. But on the other hand, there are also many inspiring success stories. Where people were able to reverse evolution and perform actions that allow curves to bend or trends to go in the right direction, says Thomas Brooks.

He works as a Principal Investigator for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and refers to it Research This indicates that repair work is in progress.

Food is destroying the planet – and we are

Because the situation could have been much darker. A recent study revealed that without conservation interventions, losses would have been three to four times worse since 1993.

Before Christmas, 195 countries agreed to an agreement at a United Nations summit in China to protect the Earth’s ecosystems and combat the destruction of nature.

In the Kunming Declaration adopted, many countries demand protection of 30 percent of land and sea areas by 2030.

Pollution, destruction of ecosystems and mass extinction of species are among the things that pose an existential threat to our society, culture, prosperity and planet, the statement said.