How is biodiversity related to ecosystem functions or services?

The importance of biodiversity is quite often pointed out. However, it is not clear how the diversity is related to ecosytem functions or to ecosystem services. Most scientists working on diversities are not always working on their functional aspects or not always aware of the importance to integrate them into a whole ecosystem. However, without such scientific explanations, people won’t be convinced to preserve biodiversities. It is surely not an easy question, but scientists should collaborate together to answer it.

What are the consequences of land cover and land use change for human societies and the sustainability of ecosystems?

The environment of the Earth has many close connections and relationships with human activity. It is also now more widely recognized that a profound transformation of the Earth’s environment is taking place and that many of these changes are the result of human action. Growing world population and increasing wealth are driving demands for more food production. Croplands and pastures occupies today roughly 40% of the land surface and global land cover and is according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) the main modification humanity makes to land cover, and therefore a main driver of ecological change, and biodiversity loss at the global scale.

Current trends in land use allow humans to appropriate an ever-larger fraction of the biosphere’s goods and services while simultaneously diminishing the capacity of global ecosystems to sustain food production, maintain freshwater and forest resources, regulate climate and air quality, and mediate infectious diseases…
Modern landuse practices, while increasing the short-term supplies of material goods, may undermine many ecosystem services in the long run, even on regional and global scales. Confronting the global environmental challenges of land use will require assessing and managing inherent trade-offs between meeting immediate human needs and maintaining the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services in the future. Assessments of trade-offs must recognize that land use provides crucial social and economic benefits, even while leading to possible long-term declines in human welfare through altered ecosystem functioning.
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How do the dual effects of greenhouse gases on the ocean (warming and acidification) interact with local stressors (overfishing and pollution) to reduce ecosystem services and cause extinctions?

The ocean covers 70% of the planet, yet the dual impacts of greenhouse gases are typically ignored – e.g. solutions designed to reduce heating without reducing CO2 concentrations ignore the threat posed by acidification. Moreover, we know little about the synergies between local and global stressors, and how reducing the former might buy us time to deal with the latter.

Can equitable access to ecosystem services be reached for the inhabitants of Earth within one decade?

All assessments indicate that the biological carrying capacity of the planet goes up to 9 billion people and more – but the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has demonstrated that access to ecosystem services is not improving for many people. Reasons cited are social, economic and ecological.

What are the effects of urban development and land-use change on biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery? How are different socio-economic groups affected by environmental changes in urban regions?

How do existing institutions, jurisdictions and legal systems in the urban areas impact on the delivery of, and access to, ecosystem services such as drinking water, clean air, recreation, etc.?

Urbanization represents an enormous challenge when it comes to resilience and equitable supply of resources