Economic and Environmental Benefits of Biodiversity
David Pimentel,Christa Wilson,Christine McCullum,Rachel Huang,Paulette Dwen,Jessica Flack,Quynh Tran,Tamara Saltman,Barbara Cliff +8 more
TLDR
The rapidly growing world population and increased human activity threaten many of these species, including species that provide humans with essential medicines and other diverse, useful products.Abstract:
A ll ecosystems and human societies depend on a healthy and productive natural environment that contains diverse plant and animal species. The earth's biota is composed of an estimated 10 million species of plants, animals, and microbes (Pimm et al. 1995). In the United States, there are an estimated 750,000 species, of which small organisms, such as arthropods and microbes, make up 95%.1 Although approximately 60% of the world's food supply comes from rice, wheat, and corn (Wilson 1988), as many as 20,000 other plant species have been used by humans as food. Some plants and animals provide humans with essential medicines and other diverse, useful products. For instance, some plants and microbes help to degrade chemical pollutants and organic wastes and recycle nutrients throughout the ecosystem. The rapidly growing world population and increased human activity threaten many of these species. The current extinction rate of species ranges from approximately 1000 to 10,000 times higher than natural extinction rates (Kellert and Wilsonread more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual framework and typology for describing, classifying and valuing ecosystem functions, goods and services in a clear and consistent manner is presented. And a classification is given for the fullest possible range of 23 ecosystem functions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife-- Threats to Biodiversity and Human Health
TL;DR: These phenomena have two major biological implications: many wildlife species are reservoirs of pathogens that threaten domestic animal and human health; second, wildlife EIDs pose a substantial threat to the conservation of global biodiversity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soil Fertility and Biodiversity in Organic Farming
TL;DR: Results from a 21-year study of agronomic and ecological performance of biodynamic, bioorganic, and conventional farming systems in Central Europe found crop yields to be 20% lower in the organic systems, although input of fertilizer and energy was reduced.
Book
Ecosystems and human well-being: a framework for assessment
TL;DR: The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) as discussed by the authors is a conceptual framework for analysis and decision-making of ecosystems and human well-being that was developed through interactions among the experts involved in the MA as well as stakeholders who will use its findings.
Journal ArticleDOI
Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed the economic consequences of pollinator decline by measuring the contribution of insect pollination to the world agricultural output economic value, and the vulnerability of world agriculture in the face of the decline of pollinators.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital
Robert Costanza,Rudolf de Groot,Stephen Farberk,Monica Grasso,Bruce Hannon,Karin E. Limburg,Shahid Naeem,José M. Paruelo,Robert Raskin,Paul Suttonkk,Marjan van den Belt +10 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations, for the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (10^(12)) per year, with an average of US $33 trillion per year.
Journal ArticleDOI
Environmental and Economic Costs of Soil Erosion and Conservation Benefits
David Pimentel,Celia A. Harvey,P. Resosudarmo,K. Sinclair,D. Kurz,M. McNair,S. Crist,L. Shpritz,L. Fitton,R. Saffouri,R. Blair +10 more
TL;DR: With the addition of a quarter of a million people each day, the world population's food demand is increasing at a time when per capita food productivity is beginning to decline.
Journal Article
The future of biodiversity
TL;DR: Estimates of future extinctions are hampered by the authors' limited knowledge of which areas are rich in endemics, and regions rich in species found only within them (endemics) dominate the global patterns of extinction.
Journal ArticleDOI
Conserving biological diversity in agricultural/forestry systems
David Pimentel,Ulrich Stachow,David A. Takacs,Hans W. Brubaker,Amy R. Dumas,John J. Meaney,John A. S. O'Neil,Douglas E. Onsi,David B. Corzilius +8 more
TL;DR: Both high agricultural productivity and human health depend on the activity of a diverse natural biota composed of an estimated 10 million (range 2-80 million) species of plants and animals that inhabit the world.
Book ChapterDOI
The Conservation of Medicinal Plants: Global Importance of Medicinal Plants
TL;DR: A large number of plants are used in traditional medical practices, and have been for more than 3000 years, such as in Chinese Traditional Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Unani Medicine, etc., most of which probably exert therapeutic effects and would be proven as such if they were properly evaluated by Western standards.