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Mass extinctions are characterized by the loss of at least 75% of species within a geologically short period of time (i.e., less than 2 million years). [18] [51] The Holocene extinction is also known as the "sixth extinction", as it is possibly the sixth mass extinction event, after the Ordovician–Silurian extinction events, the Late Devonian extinction, the Permian–Triassic extinction ...
Demographic drivers include the expanding human population; rate of population increase over time; spatial distribution of people in a given area (urban versus rural), ecosystem type, and country; and the combined effects of poverty, age, family planning, gender, and education status of people in certain areas. [16]
A schematic image illustrating the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being and poverty. [202] The illustration shows where conservation action, strategies, and plans can influence the drivers of the current biodiversity crisis at local, regional, to global scales.
Deforestation is a cause of human-induced habitat action destruction, by cutting down habitats of different species in the process of removing trees. Deforestation is often done for several reasons, often for either agricultural purposes or for logging , which is the obtainment of timber and wood for use in construction or fuel. [ 7 ]
Overexploiting sea otters resulted in cascade effects which destroyed kelp forest ecosystems. Overexploitation of species can result in knock-on or cascade effects. This can particularly apply if, through overexploitation, a habitat loses its apex predator. Because of the loss of the top predator, a dramatic increase in their prey species can ...
Biodiversity loss has bad effects on the functioning of ecosystems. This in turn affects humans, [ 45 ] because affected ecosystems can no longer provide the same quality of ecosystem services , such as crop pollination , cleaning air and water, decomposing waste, and providing forest products as well as areas for recreation and tourism .
Paul Martin at Rampart Cave, home of the Shasta ground sloth in Grand Canyon, ca. 1975. Paul Schultz Martin (born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1928, died in Tucson, Arizona September 13, 2010) [1] [2] was an American geoscientist at the University of Arizona who developed the theory that the Pleistocene extinction of large mammals worldwide was caused by overhunting by humans. [3]
The forest is a natural system that can supply different products and services. Forests supply water, mitigate climate change, provide habitats for wildlife including many pollinators which are essential for sustainable food production, provide timber and fuelwood, serve as a source of non-wood forest products including food and medicine, and contribute to rural livelihoods.