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Biodiversity impacts and conservation implications of urban land expansion projected to 2050

Bibliographic Data

ID23320122
AuthorsRohan Simkin (0000-0002-3781-0491, Yale University), Karen C Seto (0000-0002-4928-2446, Yale University), Robert I McDonald (0000-0002-7273-6549, Center for Sustainability Science, The Nature Conservancy, 10117 Berlin, Germany), Walter Jetz (0000-0002-1971-7277, Yale University)
Year2022
Volume119
Issue12
Pagese2117297119-e2117297119
Publication date2022-03-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0027-8424 • E-ISSN: 1091-6490
PublisherNational Academy of Sciences (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1073/pnas.2117297119
PMID35286193
OpenAlexW4220718869
LanguageEN
Citations received81
References cited43

As the global urban population is poised to grow by 2.5 billion over the next 30 y, urban land conversions are expected to be an increasingly prominent driver of habitat and biodiversity loss. Mitigating these impacts urgently requires an improved understanding of where and how these biodiversity losses might occur. Here, we use a recently developed suite of land-use projections to provide an assessment of projected habitat that will be lost to urban land expansion for 30,393 species of terrestrial vertebrates from 2015 to 2050 across three shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios. We find that urban land expansion is a contributing driver of habitat loss (≥5% of total loss) for around one-third (26 to 39%) of the species assessed. For up to 855 species (2 to 3% of those assessed), urban land is a direct driver of species imperilment, driving at least one-quarter of a net habitat loss of 10% or more. Urban clusters with the greatest threats to species due to projected expansion are predominantly located in the developing tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Mesoamerica, and Southeast Asia. Our results suggest that strategies for minimizing the impacts of urban land could strengthen global biodiversity protection agreements. Collaborative, global action that focuses on vulnerable species and regions may represent an efficient strategy for avoiding the impacts forecast by our analysis.

Biodiversity · Biology · Environmental planning · Environmental protection · Environmental resource management · Geography · Habitat · Land use · Land-use planning · Threatened species · Urban climate · Urban expansion · Urban planning · Urbanization · Ecology · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Environmental Science · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation

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Unique citing works81
Citations per year20,25
Citation span2022 - 2026 (5)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 74
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