Ecosystems in the Anthropocene: transformative drivers

TL;DR

This paper discusses how human activities are transforming ecosystems into new, hybrid systems with altered properties, emphasizing the importance of understanding and managing these changes for ecological resilience and sustainability.

Contribution

It identifies key transformative drivers of ecosystem change and highlights the need for new ecological and cultural approaches to preserve ecosystem health.

Findings

Expansion of novel ecosystems indicates irreversible human impact

Powerful drivers like urbanization and climate adaptation create new ecosystems

Mitigation strategies can promote resilience and sustainability

Abstract

Human activity has an enormous impact on Earth, changing organisms, environments and landscapes, leading to the decline of original ecosystems and irreversible changes that create new combinations of living beings and materials. As a result, ecosystems with new properties and new species pools are emerging. Here, we explore a set of transformative drivers, which can act either individually or in synergy. The expansion of novel ecosystems (hybrids of natural and agricultural systems) is a sign of irreversible, human-induced change. Human growth, adaptation to climate change, urban expansion and geoengineering are powerful transformative drivers which are expected to have a high impact, creating novel ecosystems. In contrast, less transformative drivers such as degrowth, biocentrism, ecological restoration and low-impact agriculture can mitigate human impacts, leading to adaptation, resilience and sustainability, while conserving original ecosystems. This requires a new approach, incorporating new ecological, ethical and cultural perspectives, to keep ecosystems functional and healthy.