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The global human impact on biodiversity.

François Keck^1,2, Tianna Peller^3,4, Roman Alther^3,4

¹Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. francois.keck@gmail.com.

|March 27, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Human activities impact biodiversity by altering community composition and reducing local diversity globally. However, contrary to expectations, these pressures do not consistently lead to biotic homogenization across ecosystems.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Environmental Science
Conservation Biology

Background:

Human activities cause significant environmental pressures, impacting biodiversity globally.
Generalizations about the extent and nature of human impacts on biodiversity remain unclear.
Previous research shows mixed conclusions on biodiversity trajectories and spatial homogenization.

Purpose of the Study:

To comprehensively assess the global impact of major human pressures on biodiversity.
To investigate how human pressures affect community composition and local diversity.
To determine if human activities lead to biotic homogenization across ecosystems.

Main Methods:

Compiled data from 2,133 publications, analyzing 97,783 sites.
Created a dataset of 3,667 independent comparisons across organism groups, habitats, and human pressures.
Quantified three key biodiversity measures: community composition shifts, local diversity changes, and spatial homogenization.

Main Results:

Human pressures significantly alter community composition and decrease local diversity in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments.
No consistent evidence of general biotic homogenization was found across ecosystems.
Biodiversity changes varied in direction and magnitude depending on the pressure, organism group, and study scale.

Conclusions:

Human pressures have distinct, widespread impacts on biodiversity, altering community structure and reducing local diversity.
The expected outcome of biotic homogenization is not a universal consequence of human activities.
Understanding mediating factors is crucial for effective conservation strategies and policy development.