A millennium of increasing ecosystem diversity until the mid-20th century

Martins, I. S.; Dornelas, M.; Vellend, M.; Thomas, C. D.

doi:10.1101/2021.03.16.435590

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.03.16.435590

A millennium of increasing ecosystem diversity until the mid-20th century

Martins, I. S.·Dornelas, M.·Vellend, M.·Thomas, C. D.

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Abstract

Land-use change is widely regarded as a simplifying and homogenising force in nature. In contrast, analysing global land-use reconstructions from the 10th to 20th centuries, we found progressive increases in the number, evenness, and diversity of ecosystems (including human-modified land-use types) across the globe. Ecosystem diversity increased more rapidly after [~]1700CE, then slowed or partially reversed (depending on the metric) following the mid-20th century acceleration of human impacts. Differentiation also generally increased across space, with homogenization only evident in the presence-absence analysis of ecosystem types at the global scale. Our results suggest that human land-use changes have primarily driven increases in ecosystem diversity over the last millennium.

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Martins, I. S., Dornelas, M., Vellend, M., Thomas, C. D.. 2021-03-17. A millennium of increasing ecosystem diversity until the mid-20th century. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.16.435590

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