Status, trends and future dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystems underpinning nature?s contributions to people

CAVENDER-BARES J.; ARROYO M.T.K.; ABELL R.; ACKERLY D.; ACKERMAN D.; ARIM M.; BELNAP J.; CASTAÑEDA MOYA F.; DEE L.; ESTRADA-CARMONA N.; GOBIN J.; ISBELL F.; KÖHLER G.; KOOPS M.; KRAFT N.; MCFARLANE N.; ; MARTÍNEZ-GARZA C.; METZGER J.P.; MORA A.; OATHAM M.; PAGLIA A.; PEDRANA J.; ; PERI P.L.; PIÑEIRO G.; RANDALL R.; ROBBINS W.W.; WEIS J.; ZILLER S.R.

The IPBES Regional Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Americas

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

Lugar: Bonn; Año: 2018; p. 171 - 293

The Americas house a large fraction of the Earth?s terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity distributed across 140 degrees of latitude. Around 29 per cent of the world´s seed plants, 35 per cent of mammals, 35 per cent of reptiles, 41 per cent of birds and 51 per cent of amphibians are found in the Americas, as well as the world´s most diversifed freshwater fish fauna of over 5,000 species. The South American subregion is by far the richest subregion for plants and vertebrates. Biodiversity in all subregions has conservation signifcance and all biomes provide nature´s contributions to people. The five most important terrestrial biome contributors are: Tropical and subtropical moist forests; Temperate and boreal forests and woodlands; Tropical and subtropical dry forests; Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub; Tundra and high elevation habitats. The biodiverse American tropics became a major center of origin for domesticated plants and of traditional agriculture. Many terrestrial biomes, or large parts thereof, in the Americas have lost around 50 per cent or more of habitat, leading to losses in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. A few biomes, however, are now showing recuperation or are fairly stable. Experimental evidence and empirical observations support linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity, stability and resistance to stress. Oceans of the Americas contain high biodiversity, can have high numbers of threatened species, and include large numbers of species that are important for human well-being. Urban expansion constitutes both a threat to biodiversity and an opportunity for biodiversity conservation. Overall, species threat level is high in the Americas, but the underlying causes vary among subregions. While protection measures in the Americas have increased and diversified over the past 30 years, major differences in protection effort persist between terrestrial and marine ecosystems and among biomes.