Biodiversity loss reduces global terrestrial carbon storage

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Climate Science
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Natural ecosystems are vital carbon sinks, with carbon sequestration potential linked to biological diversity.
• Current carbon sequestration models often overlook the critical role of biodiversity.
• Understanding biodiversity's impact on carbon storage is essential for accurate climate change projections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the consequences of plant biodiversity loss on carbon storage under various climate and land-use change scenarios.
• To quantify potential carbon loss due to projected declines in plant richness.
• To explore the feedback loop between climate change, biodiversity loss, and carbon emissions.

Main Methods:

• Linked a macroecological model projecting vascular plant richness changes with empirical data on biodiversity-biomass relationships.
• Analyzed impacts across different climate and land-use change scenarios.
• Quantified potential global carbon loss in petagrams of carbon (PgC).

Main Results:

• Biodiversity declines could result in substantial global carbon loss, ranging from 7.44-103.14 PgC (sustainability scenario) to 10.87-145.95 PgC (fossil-fueled scenario).
• Identified a self-reinforcing feedback loop: increased climate change drives biodiversity loss, exacerbating carbon emissions and further climate change.
• Demonstrated that biodiversity conservation and restoration can aid climate change mitigation.

Conclusions:

• Plant biodiversity loss poses a significant threat to ecosystem carbon storage capacity.
• Conservation and restoration of biodiversity are essential strategies for climate change mitigation.
• Integrating biodiversity into climate models is critical for accurate future carbon sequestration predictions.