A study published by an international research team working at UC Santa Barbara's National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) has contributed to the growing weight of evidence on the effect falling biodiversity is having on the world’s most sensitive environments.

Researchers at NCEAS found that loss of biodiversity impacts the environment as significantly as climate change and pollution. Following the release of their study, which was published in this month’s Nature journal, the researchers have called on policy makers to introduce measures to protect biodiversity.

Examining data from over 200 environmental studies, the paper’s authors found that the loss of species from ecosystems is compounding the effects of pollution and reducing the biome’s overall health.

The researchers examined the effects of various environmental stressors on plant growth and decomposition, two crucial processes in any ecosystem. The researchers measured the rate of species loss in different ecosystems, and found that the greater the plant species loss, the higher the negative impact on plant growth. The effects of biodiversity loss on biomass were similar to the effects from other environmental stressors, including global warming and pollution.

Jarrett Byrnes, one of the contributors to the NCEAS research, said, "For the past 15 years, ecologists have built a rich understanding of the consequences of humans driving species extinct. What we didn't know before this paper is whether those impacts of species loss rank up there with those from the major drivers of environmental change."

"Our work shows that, indeed, the impacts of species loss look to be on par with many kinds of human-driven environmental change and, more intriguingly, it suggests that if environmental change also causes loss of species, ecosystem functions like productivity could get hit with a 1-2 punch."

Wider perspective

The study suggests that, as some species decline, ecosystem functions provided by others such as pollination, providing growing matter for food, clean air and water could also suffer as a knock-on result. To combat this scenario, Byrnes and his colleagues have recommended policy makers consider species loss alongside the more prominent forms of environmental change.

The researchers will now look at the specific impacts of biodiversity loss on the provision of ecosystem services. Byrnes said, "One thing this study opens up is the need to better understand the interactions between environmental change and species loss. They're not independent, and may interact in some particularly unexpected ways."

On Monday, the UK government’s Environmental Audit Committee released a report in which it identified falling biodiversity levels as one of the key challenges facing the UK environment and criticised the lack of government action in reducing the damaging impacts of industry on the environment.

The committee said the impacts of business, development and policy decisions on the environment should be given equal, if not greater, consideration than economic factors in the future. The MPs on the EAC called for a more joined up approach to policy making. They said there needs to be a recognition that “The three 'pillars' of sustainable development—the economy, society and the environment—are interconnected,” and advised that “To incorporate these into food policy means that we need to consider environmental and social consequences, as well as the economics of matching supply and demand.”

Falling biodiversity levels are an acute problem in the UK, where, according to Defra's Sustainable Development Indicators, farmland bird populations have fallen by 47 per cent since 1970 and populations of honeybees in hives have fallen by around 50 per cent since 1985. Wild bee populations have also been severely hit, causing deep concern, as many crops rely on bees for pollination.

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