Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity

Meelis Pärtel (), Riin Tamme, Carlos P. Carmona, Kersti Riibak, Mari Moora, Jonathan A. Bennett, Alessandro Chiarucci, Milan Chytrý, Francesco Bello, Ove Eriksson, Susan Harrison, Robert John Lewis, Angela T. Moles, Maarja Öpik, Jodi N. Price, Vistorina Amputu, Diana Askarizadeh, Zohreh Atashgahi, Isabelle Aubin, Francisco M. Azcárate, Matthew D. Barrett, Maral Bashirzadeh, Zoltán Bátori, Natalie Beenaerts, Kolja Bergholz, Kristine Birkeli, Idoia Biurrun, José M. Blanco-Moreno, Kathryn J. Bloodworth, Laura Boisvert-Marsh, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Francis Q. Brearley, Charlotte Brown, C. Guillermo Bueno, Gabriella Buffa, James F. Cahill, Juan A. Campos, Giacomo Cangelmi, Michele Carbognani, Christopher Carcaillet, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini, Richard Chevalier, Jan S. Clavel, José M. Costa, Sara A. O. Cousins, Jan Čuda, Mariana Dairel, Michele Dalle Fratte, Alena Danilova, John Davison, Balázs Deák, Silvia Vecchio, Iwona Dembicz, Jürgen Dengler, Jiri Dolezal, Xavier Domene, Miroslav Dvorsky, Hamid Ejtehadi, Lucas Enrico, Dmitrii Epikhin, Anu Eskelinen, Franz Essl, Gaohua Fan, Edy Fantinato, Fatih Fazlioglu, Eduardo Fernández-Pascual, Arianna Ferrara, Alessandra Fidelis, Markus Fischer, Maren Flagmeier, T’ai G. W. Forte, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Junichi Fujinuma, Fernando F. Furquim, Berle Garris, Heath W. Garris, Melisa A. Giorgis, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo, Ana González-Robles, Megan K. Good, Moisès Guardiola, Riccardo Guarino, Irene Guerrero, Joannès Guillemot, Behlül Güler, Yinjie Guo, Stef Haesen, Martin Hejda, Ruben H. Heleno, Toke T. Høye, Richard Hrivnák, Yingxin Huang, John T. Hunter, Dmytro Iakushenko, Ricardo Ibáñez, Nele Ingerpuu, Severin D. H. Irl, Eva Janíková, Florian Jansen, Florian Jeltsch, Anke Jentsch, Borja Jiménez-Alfaro, Madli Jõks, Mohammad H. Jouri, Sahar Karami, Negin Katal, András Kelemen, Bulat I. Khairullin, Anzar A. Khuroo, Kimberly J. Komatsu, Marie Konečná, Ene Kook, Lotte Korell, Natalia Koroleva, Kirill A. Korznikov, Maria V. Kozhevnikova, Łukasz Kozub, Lauri Laanisto, Helena Lager, Vojtech Lanta, Romina G. Lasagno, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Liping Li, Aleš Lisner, Houjia Liu, Kun Liu, Xuhe Liu, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Kristin Ludewig, Katalin Lukács, Jona Luther-Mosebach, Petr Macek, Michela Marignani, Richard Michalet, Tamás Miglécz, Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund, Karlien Moeys, Daniel Montesinos, Eduardo Moreno-Jiménez, Ivan Moysiyenko, Ladislav Mucina, Miriam Muñoz-Rojas, Raytha A. Murillo, Sylvia M. Nambahu, Lena Neuenkamp, Signe Normand, Arkadiusz Nowak, Paloma Nuche, Tatjana Oja, Vladimir G. Onipchenko, Kalina L. Pachedjieva, Bruno Paganeli, Begoña Peco, Ana M. L. Peralta, Aaron Pérez-Haase, Pablo L. Peri, Alessandro Petraglia, Gwendolyn Peyre, Pedro Antonio Plaza-Álvarez, Jan Plue, Honor C. Prentice, Vadim E. Prokhorov, Dajana Radujković, Soroor Rahmanian, Triin Reitalu, Michael Ristow, Agnès A. Robin, Ana Belén Robles, Daniel A. Rodríguez Ginart, Raúl Román, Ruben E. Roos, Leonardo Rosati, Jiří Sádlo, Karina Salimbayeva, Rut Sánchez de Dios, Khaliun Sanchir, Cornelia Sattler, John D. Scasta, Ute Schmiedel, Julian Schrader, Nick L. Schultz, Giacomo Sellan, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Giulia Silan, Hana Skálová, Nadiia Skobel, Judit Sonkoly, Kateřina Štajerová, Ivana Svitková, Sebastian Świerszcz, Andrew J. Tanentzap, Fallon M. Tanentzap, Rubén Tarifa, Pablo Tejero, Dzhamal K. Tekeev, Michael Tholin, Ruben S. Thormodsæter, Yichen Tian, Alla Tokaryuk, Csaba Tölgyesi, Marcello Tomaselli, Enrico Tordoni, Péter Török, Béla Tóthmérész, Aurèle Toussaint, Blaise Touzard, Diego P. F. Trindade, James L. Tsakalos, Sevda Türkiş, Enrique Valencia, Mercedes Valerio, Orsolya Valkó, Koenraad Meerbeek, Vigdis Vandvik, Jesus Villellas, Risto Virtanen, Michaela Vítková, Martin Vojík, Andreas Hessberg, Jonathan Oppen, Viktoria Wagner, Ji-Zhong Wan, Chun-Jing Wang, Sajad A. Wani, Lina Weiss, Tricia Wevill, Sa Xiao, Oscar Zárate Martínez and Martin Zobel
Additional contact information
Meelis Pärtel: University of Tartu
Riin Tamme: University of Tartu
Carlos P. Carmona: University of Tartu
Kersti Riibak: University of Tartu
Mari Moora: University of Tartu
Jonathan A. Bennett: University of Saskatchewan
Alessandro Chiarucci: Alma Mater Studiorum —University of Bologna
Milan Chytrý: Masaryk University
Francesco Bello: CSIC-UV-GVA
Ove Eriksson: Stockholm University
Susan Harrison: University of California Davis
Robert John Lewis: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
Angela T. Moles: UNSW Sydney
Maarja Öpik: University of Tartu
Jodi N. Price: Charles Sturt University
Vistorina Amputu: University of Tübingen
Diana Askarizadeh: Independent researcher
Zohreh Atashgahi: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Isabelle Aubin: Natural Resources Canada
Francisco M. Azcárate: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Matthew D. Barrett: James Cook University
Maral Bashirzadeh: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Zoltán Bátori: University of Szeged
Natalie Beenaerts: Hasselt University
Kolja Bergholz: University of Potsdam
Kristine Birkeli: University of Bergen
Idoia Biurrun: University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU
José M. Blanco-Moreno: Universitat de Barcelona
Kathryn J. Bloodworth: University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Laura Boisvert-Marsh: Natural Resources Canada
Bazartseren Boldgiv: National University of Mongolia
Pedro H. S. Brancalion: University of São Paulo
Francis Q. Brearley: Manchester Metropolitan University
Charlotte Brown: Université de Sherbrooke
C. Guillermo Bueno: CSIC
Gabriella Buffa: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
James F. Cahill: University of Alberta
Juan A. Campos: University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU
Giacomo Cangelmi: University of L’Aquila, Coppito
Michele Carbognani: University of Parma
Christopher Carcaillet: Paris Sciences Lettres University (EPHE-PSL)
Bruno E. L. Cerabolini: University of Insubria
Richard Chevalier: Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Centre–Val de Loire
Jan S. Clavel: University of Antwerp
José M. Costa: University of Coimbra
Sara A. O. Cousins: Stockholm University
Jan Čuda: Czech Academy of Sciences
Mariana Dairel: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Michele Dalle Fratte: University of Insubria
Alena Danilova: Independent researcher
John Davison: University of Tartu
Balázs Deák: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Silvia Vecchio: Alma Mater Studiorum —University of Bologna
Iwona Dembicz: University of Warsaw
Jürgen Dengler: Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)
Jiri Dolezal: University of South Bohemia
Xavier Domene: CREAF (Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications)
Miroslav Dvorsky: Czech Academy of Sciences
Hamid Ejtehadi: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Lucas Enrico: Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC)
Dmitrii Epikhin: Independent researcher
Anu Eskelinen: University of Oulu
Franz Essl: University of Vienna
Gaohua Fan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Edy Fantinato: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Fatih Fazlioglu: University of Bayreuth
Eduardo Fernández-Pascual: University of Oviedo–CSIC–Principality of Asturias
Arianna Ferrara: Alma Mater Studiorum —University of Bologna
Alessandra Fidelis: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Markus Fischer: University of Bern
Maren Flagmeier: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
T’ai G. W. Forte: University of Parma
Lauchlan H. Fraser: Thompson Rivers University
Junichi Fujinuma: University of Tartu
Fernando F. Furquim: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Berle Garris: Independent researcher
Heath W. Garris: Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies
Melisa A. Giorgis: Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC)
Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo: University of Catania
Ana González-Robles: Universidad de Jaén
Megan K. Good: University of Melbourne
Moisès Guardiola: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Riccardo Guarino: University of Palermo
Irene Guerrero: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Joannès Guillemot: University of São Paulo
Behlül Güler: Dokuz Eylül University
Yinjie Guo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Stef Haesen: KU Leuven
Martin Hejda: Czech Academy of Sciences
Ruben H. Heleno: University of Coimbra
Toke T. Høye: Aarhus University
Richard Hrivnák: Slovak Academy of Sciences
Yingxin Huang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
John T. Hunter: University of New England
Dmytro Iakushenko: University of Zielona Góra
Ricardo Ibáñez: Universidad de Navarra
Nele Ingerpuu: University of Tartu
Severin D. H. Irl: Goethe-University Frankfurt
Eva Janíková: University of South Bohemia
Florian Jansen: University of Rostock
Florian Jeltsch: University of Potsdam
Anke Jentsch: University of Bayreuth
Borja Jiménez-Alfaro: University of Oviedo–CSIC–Principality of Asturias
Madli Jõks: University of Tartu
Mohammad H. Jouri: Islamic Azad University Nour Branch
Sahar Karami: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Negin Katal: University of Freiburg
András Kelemen: University of Szeged
Bulat I. Khairullin: Independent researcher
Anzar A. Khuroo: University of Kashmir
Kimberly J. Komatsu: University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Marie Konečná: University of South Bohemia
Ene Kook: University of Tartu
Lotte Korell: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Natalia Koroleva: Independent researcher
Kirill A. Korznikov: Czech Academy of Sciences
Maria V. Kozhevnikova: Independent researcher
Łukasz Kozub: University of Warsaw
Lauri Laanisto: Estonian University of Life Sciences
Helena Lager: Kalmar County Administrative Board
Vojtech Lanta: Czech Academy of Sciences
Romina G. Lasagno: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)
Jonas J. Lembrechts: University of Antwerp
Liping Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Aleš Lisner: University of South Bohemia
Houjia Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kun Liu: Lanzhou University
Xuhe Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja: Castilla-La Mancha University
Kristin Ludewig: University of Hamburg
Katalin Lukács: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Jona Luther-Mosebach: Netzwerk für Angewandte Ökologie
Petr Macek: Estonian University of Life Sciences
Michela Marignani: University of Cagliari
Richard Michalet: UMR 5805
Tamás Miglécz: ÖMKi—Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund: Aarhus University
Karlien Moeys: KU Leuven
Daniel Montesinos: University of Coimbra
Eduardo Moreno-Jiménez: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Ivan Moysiyenko: Kherson State University
Ladislav Mucina: Murdoch University
Miriam Muñoz-Rojas: CSIC
Raytha A. Murillo: University of Alberta
Sylvia M. Nambahu: Namibia University of Science and Technology
Lena Neuenkamp: University of Bern
Signe Normand: Aarhus University
Arkadiusz Nowak: Polish Academy of Sciences
Paloma Nuche: Greenpeace España
Tatjana Oja: University of Tartu
Vladimir G. Onipchenko: Shenzhen MSU-BIT University
Kalina L. Pachedjieva: Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski
Bruno Paganeli: University of Tartu
Begoña Peco: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Ana M. L. Peralta: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Aaron Pérez-Haase: Universitat de Barcelona
Pablo L. Peri: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)
Alessandro Petraglia: University of Parma
Gwendolyn Peyre: University of the Andes
Pedro Antonio Plaza-Álvarez: Castilla-La Mancha University
Jan Plue: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Honor C. Prentice: Lund University
Vadim E. Prokhorov: Independent researcher
Dajana Radujković: University of Antwerp
Soroor Rahmanian: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Triin Reitalu: University of Tartu
Michael Ristow: University of Potsdam
Agnès A. Robin: UMR Eco&Sols
Ana Belén Robles: Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC)
Daniel A. Rodríguez Ginart: CSIC-UV-GVA
Raúl Román: University of Almería
Ruben E. Roos: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
Leonardo Rosati: Università della Basilicata
Jiří Sádlo: Czech Academy of Sciences
Karina Salimbayeva: University of Alberta
Rut Sánchez de Dios: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Khaliun Sanchir: National University of Mongolia
Cornelia Sattler: Macquarie University
John D. Scasta: University of Wyoming
Ute Schmiedel: University of Hamburg
Julian Schrader: Macquarie University
Nick L. Schultz: Ballarat
Giacomo Sellan: CIRAD-UMR EcoFoG
Josep M. Serra-Diaz: Botanical Institute of Barcelona (CSIC-CMCNB)
Giulia Silan: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Hana Skálová: Czech Academy of Sciences
Nadiia Skobel: University of Warsaw
Judit Sonkoly: University of Debrecen
Kateřina Štajerová: Czech Academy of Sciences
Ivana Svitková: Slovak Academy of Sciences
Sebastian Świerszcz: Polish Academy of Sciences
Andrew J. Tanentzap: Trent University
Fallon M. Tanentzap: University of Cambridge
Rubén Tarifa: Universidad de Jaén
Pablo Tejero: CSIC
Dzhamal K. Tekeev: Independent reseacher
Michael Tholin: Kalmar County Administrative Board
Ruben S. Thormodsæter: University of Bergen
Yichen Tian: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Alla Tokaryuk: Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
Csaba Tölgyesi: University of Szeged
Marcello Tomaselli: University of Parma
Enrico Tordoni: University of Tartu
Péter Török: University of Debrecen
Béla Tóthmérész: University of Debrecen
Aurèle Toussaint: Université Paul Sabatier–Toulouse 3
Blaise Touzard: UMR 5805
Diego P. F. Trindade: University of Tartu
James L. Tsakalos: Murdoch University
Sevda Türkiş: Ordu University
Enrique Valencia: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Mercedes Valerio: University of South Bohemia
Orsolya Valkó: HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research
Koenraad Meerbeek: KU Leuven
Vigdis Vandvik: University of Bergen
Jesus Villellas: Universidad de Alcalá
Risto Virtanen: University of Oulu
Michaela Vítková: Czech Academy of Sciences
Martin Vojík: Czech Academy of Sciences
Andreas Hessberg: University of Bayreuth
Jonathan Oppen: Aarhus University
Viktoria Wagner: University of Alberta
Ji-Zhong Wan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chun-Jing Wang: Sichuan Academy of Forestry
Sajad A. Wani: University of Kashmir
Lina Weiss: University of Potsdam
Tricia Wevill: Deakin University
Sa Xiao: Lanzhou University
Oscar Zárate Martínez: University of Tartu
Martin Zobel: University of Tartu

Nature, 2025, vol. 641, issue 8064, 917-924

Abstract: Abstract Anthropogenic biodiversity decline threatens the functioning of ecosystems and the many benefits they provide to humanity1. As well as causing species losses in directly affected locations, human influence might also reduce biodiversity in relatively unmodified vegetation if far-reaching anthropogenic effects trigger local extinctions and hinder recolonization. Here we show that local plant diversity is globally negatively related to the level of anthropogenic activity in the surrounding region. Impoverishment of natural vegetation was evident only when we considered community completeness: the proportion of all suitable species in the region that are present at a site. To estimate community completeness, we compared the number of recorded species with the dark diversity—ecologically suitable species that are absent from a site but present in the surrounding region2. In the sampled regions with a minimal human footprint index, an average of 35% of suitable plant species were present locally, compared with less than 20% in highly affected regions. Besides having the potential to uncover overlooked threats to biodiversity, dark diversity also provides guidance for nature conservation. Species in the dark diversity remain regionally present, and their local populations might be restored through measures that improve connectivity between natural vegetation fragments and reduce threats to population persistence.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08814-5

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