A study in which the University of Alcalá participated confirms the effects of human activities on the biodiversity of plants. It is a large -scale report published in the Nature Magazine and that has already revealed something that was already known and is the change of such human effects on Even apparently natural areas.
The research, in which 200 scientists from all over the world have participated, analyzes what is known as ‘dark diversity’. This refers to those plant species that can inhabit a natural environment, but they are absent due to human presenceExplained the UAH in a statement.
The results are, as expected, fairly clear: in the regions where the transformation has been noticed, ecosystems only contain one fifth of the potentially adequate species that should be. A condition that is mainly due to factors such as Mass urbanization, intensive agriculture, infrastructure and other problems such as pollution, logging or generation of enormous waste.
The human effects on biodiversity contrasted with an investigation
A researcher at the University of Alcalá (UAH) participated in a large -scale study published in the ‘Nature’ magazine that reveals how Human activities Very Alte the Biodiversity Vegetables worldwide, even in apparently natural areas.
The study, in which the researcher of the Department of Life Sciences of the UAH Jesús Villellas participated, has been coordinated by the University of Tartu (Estonia) and developed by more than 200 scientists around the world. The research analyzes the call ‘Dark diversity“That is, those plant species that can inhabit a natural environment, but that are absent because of the human presence, the UAH stated in a statement.
Through the DarkDivnet International Research NetworkThey were collected Data in nearly 5500 sites divided by 119 regionsIncluding important contributions from Spain thanks to the work of researchers such as Villellas.
The results show that in the regions highly transformed by humans, ecosystems only contain one fifth of the potentially adequate species. This imbalance is attributed to massive urbanization, intensive agriculture, infrastructure and other forms of human pressure, such as pollution, caps or waste.
In addition, the study used the Human Footprint Index to quantify this impactshowing that the influence of human activity can extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the original change focus. Jesús Villellas has positively appreciated the findings, because this work enables us to understand exactly which types are absent and why, what is essential for Improving the strategies for the preservation and restoration of ecosystem ».
The concrete task of this researcher was to analyze the biodiversity of the vegetation of the dunes in the province of Cádiz after the Darkdivnet joint protocol.
As added of the UAH, the research also underlines the need to maintain at least one third of each region in a natural state to limit the negative effects and to maintain the long -term biodiversity. EFE / ECOTICIA.COM