Biodiversity and human well-being trade-offs and synergies in villages

Péter Batáry (), Róbert Gallé, Dávid Korányi, Tamás Lakatos, Balázs Deák, Nikolett Gallé-Szpisjak, Melinda Kabai, Csaba Koszta, Dorota Kotowska, Riho Marja, Brigitta Palotás, Borbála Szabó, Attila Torma, András Báldi, Erzsébet Hornung, Zoltán László, Zsolt Molnár, Jenő J. Purger, Gábor Seress, István Urák, Dragica Purger, Krisztina Sándor, László Somay, Gabriella Süle, Orsolya Valkó, Andreea Rebeka Zsigmond, Christina Fischer, Lorenzo Marini, Teja Tscharntke, Katalin Szitár and Edina Török
Additional contact information
Péter Batáry: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Róbert Gallé: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Dávid Korányi: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Tamás Lakatos: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Balázs Deák: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Nikolett Gallé-Szpisjak: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Melinda Kabai: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Csaba Koszta: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Dorota Kotowska: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Riho Marja: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Brigitta Palotás: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Borbála Szabó: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Attila Torma: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
András Báldi: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Erzsébet Hornung: University of Veterinary Medicine
Zoltán László: Babeş-Bolyai University
Zsolt Molnár: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Jenő J. Purger: University of Pécs
Gábor Seress: HUN-REN-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group
István Urák: Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania
Dragica Purger: University of Pécs
Krisztina Sándor: Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate
László Somay: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Gabriella Süle: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Orsolya Valkó: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Andreea Rebeka Zsigmond: Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania
Christina Fischer: Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Lorenzo Marini: University of Padua
Teja Tscharntke: University of Göttingen
Katalin Szitár: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Edina Török: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research

Nature Sustainability, 2025, vol. 8, issue 8, 894-904

Abstract: Abstract Europe’s rural landscapes, shaped over millennia, support high biodiversity but often have lower living standards than urban areas, potentially leading to social and environmental injustice. Here we studied biodiversity and socioeconomic settings in Central and Eastern European villages across landscape complexity and urbanization gradients. We surveyed the biodiversity of villages by sampling nine taxonomic groups, including plants, arthropods and birds. We found 15% lower multitrophic diversity in villages in agricultural than in forest-dominated landscapes. City vicinity enhanced human well-being (estimated with Better Life Index) but did not affect biodiversity despite a larger human footprint. In agglomerated villages in forest-dominated landscapes, biodiversity was high, with higher Better Life Index and footprint metrics, suggesting associations between biodiversity, socioeconomic status and, thus, environmental injustice. Our results show the high socioecological value of maintaining or restoring landscape complexity around villages and their green infrastructure, requiring top-down incentives and bottom-up initiatives.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01592-y

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