Relative effects of land conversion and land-use intensity on terrestrial vertebrate diversity

Philipp Semenchuk (), Christoph Plutzar, Thomas Kastner, Sarah Matej, Giorgio Bidoglio, Karl-Heinz Erb, Franz Essl, Helmut Haberl, Johannes Wessely, Fridolin Krausmann and Stefan Dullinger
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Philipp Semenchuk: University of Vienna
Christoph Plutzar: University of Vienna
Thomas Kastner: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre
Sarah Matej: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
Giorgio Bidoglio: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre
Karl-Heinz Erb: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
Franz Essl: University of Vienna
Helmut Haberl: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
Johannes Wessely: University of Vienna
Fridolin Krausmann: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
Stefan Dullinger: University of Vienna

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Land-use has transformed ecosystems over three quarters of the terrestrial surface, with massive repercussions on biodiversity. Land-use intensity is known to contribute to the effects of land-use on biodiversity, but the magnitude of this contribution remains uncertain. Here, we use a modified countryside species-area model to compute a global account of the impending biodiversity loss caused by current land-use patterns, explicitly addressing the role of land-use intensity based on two sets of intensity indicators. We find that land-use entails the loss of ~15% of terrestrial vertebrate species from the average 5 × 5 arcmin-landscape outside remaining wilderness areas and ~14% of their average native area-of-habitat, with a risk of global extinction for 556 individual species. Given the large fraction of global land currently used under low land-use intensity, we find its contribution to biodiversity loss to be substantial (~25%). While both sets of intensity indicators yield similar global average results, we find regional differences between them and discuss data gaps. Our results support calls for improved sustainable intensification strategies and demand-side actions to reduce trade-offs between food security and biodiversity conservation.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28245-4

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