A recent international study conducted by the Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville (IRNAS-CSIC) has shed light on the growing sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystems to the impacts of global change. The research, published in the prestigious journal Nature Geoscience, reveals that as the number of global change factors rises, the resistance of ecosystems to these changes diminishes significantly. This susceptibility is especially pronounced when environmental stressors persist over time.
The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Laboratory (BioFunLab) at IRNAS-CSIC, in collaboration with 10 international institutions including the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, the University of Alicante, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), analyzed 1,023 global change experiments worldwide. The findings highlight the multitude of climate change and environmental degradation factors that impact terrestrial ecosystems, such as global warming, drought processes, atmospheric pollution, fires, and overgrazing.
The study underscores the crucial role of ecosystems in providing services like carbon sequestration and soil fertility, essential for climate change mitigation and food production. However, the research reveals that an escalation in the number of global change factors erodes the natural resilience of ecosystems to environmental disturbances. Manuel Delgado Baquerizo, leader of BioFunLab, notes that the ability of ecosystems to resist global change weakens with each additional stressor.
Moreover, the study’s analysis of a 15-year U.S.-based experiment involving multiple global change factors demonstrates a decline in ecosystem services such as primary productivity. Emilio Guirado, a co-author of the paper from the University of Alicante, emphasizes how prolonged exposure to factors like increased CO2 and warming diminishes ecosystems’ capacity to sustain vital services like primary production, influencing resources like water and nitrogen availability.
Lead author Guiyao Zhou highlights that increasing global drivers of change significantly diminish the resilience of ecosystems to global change, particularly impacting their ability to provide essential services. However, the study notes that while biodiversity may be less affected, the sustainability of ecosystems hinges on reducing the number of global change factors linked to human activities. Zhou concludes that addressing these factors is crucial for preserving ecosystem stability and long-term sustainability.
The study underscores the urgent need to address the growing impact of global change factors on terrestrial ecosystems. By recognizing the diminishing resilience of ecosystems to environmental stressors, we can take proactive steps to mitigate these effects and safeguard the crucial services they provide. Only through concerted efforts to reduce human-induced environmental pressures can we ensure the sustainability of our planet’s ecosystems for future generations.
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