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A global analysis combining 423 studies and 222,829 data points found that most measured ecosystem services and functions increased with biodiversity rather than leveling off. The researchers say this challenges assumptions that species can often replace one another without much loss, while cautioning that the strong ocean carbon-storage result draws on limited data.
A global analysis led by King’s College London and Imperial College London finds that most measured benefits and functions of ecosystems rise with biodiversity instead of leveling off after a few species are present. Published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the study challenges the assumption that remaining species can generally replace those lost with little effect—a finding relevant to food security, climate protection and other services people depend on.
The researchers combined 423 published studies and 222,829 data points covering land, freshwater, marine and estuarine ecosystems. The resulting database is more than twice the size of the largest previous effort, according to the report. The team assessed 23 categories of ecosystem services and functions, including benefits such as pollination, water purification, carbon storage and natural pest control.
Across most categories, benefits rose steadily as biodiversity increased, rather than reaching a plateau once an ecosystem contained a small number of species. The authors say this pattern suggests that functional redundancy—the idea that species can substitute for one another and limit the effects of losses—has been overestimated. The study does not establish that every species has the same role or that every loss produces an identical effect; its central finding concerns the broad pattern across the categories examined.
Ocean carbon sequestration showed the strongest positive association with biodiversity among the services measured. The researchers say the finding points to a possible dependence on diverse marine communities, but warn that it rests on a small number of datasets. The team also found exceptions: protection from coastal flooding and erosion was relatively insensitive to biodiversity overall, often because it depends on one or two foundational species, such as dune-stabilizing shrubs.
Biodiversity Supports Multiple Public Benefits
The findings matter because ecosystems contribute to services that support daily life and public policy, including crop pollination, clean water and natural pest control. If those benefits tend to increase with biodiversity, losses may reduce ecosystem functions even when some species remain. That complicates the idea that a system has enough interchangeable species to absorb extinctions without consequences.
The ocean result also bears on climate plans that rely on blue carbon—carbon captured and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems. The study suggests diverse marine communities may be important to ocean carbon storage, but the limited data means the size and reliability of that relationship remain uncertain. The authors say marine biodiversity should not be treated as separate from climate discussions that involve carbon sinks.
The exceptions point to a practical distinction for conservation and planning: maintaining overall diversity may be important for many benefits, while some protections may depend especially on particular species. The report says conservation efforts should balance broader biodiversity with safeguarding species that have foundational roles. The study offers a global evidence base, not a prescription that identifies the right action for every local ecosystem.
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A Larger Global Evidence Base
Research on biodiversity and ecosystem function has examined whether benefits continue to grow as species are added, or whether they level off once enough species perform similar roles. The latter possibility underpins the idea of functional redundancy: if multiple species do comparable work, losses might be buffered. This new analysis tests that pattern across a wider range of ecosystems and services than previous efforts, rather than relying on a single habitat or function.
The study was conducted by researchers from King’s College London, Imperial College London, the Natural History Museum and The Alan Turing Institute. The publication, titled “Biodiversity safeguards ecosystem services and functions worldwide,” also links the database to biodiversity projections under socioeconomic scenarios used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Using those projections, the team modeled biological pest control on farmland under different development pathways. The model predicts declines under a fossil-fuel-driven development path compared with a pathway involving less fossil fuel, with the sharpest losses in countries experiencing rapid population growth and lower levels of development. These are model forecasts, not reports of measured future outcomes. The researchers have made the database and forecasts for the 23 categories publicly available for policy and planning.
“Our findings challenge the comfortable assumption that ecosystems carry plenty of backup, so losing a species here and there doesn’t change much.”
— Dr. Emma Moffett, study lead and lecturer in geography at King’s College London
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Limits in Ocean Carbon Evidence
The strongest reported relationship—between biodiversity and ocean carbon sequestration—rests on a small number of datasets, which the authors identify as a gap in current knowledge. The result points to a potentially important connection, but the supplied report does not give a precise estimate of how much carbon storage changes with biodiversity or how consistently the pattern holds across marine settings.
The global analysis combines published studies across different ecosystems and services. The report does not provide details here about how each underlying study measured biodiversity or the size of effects in every category. It also does not show that every species loss will produce the same decline, or specify how quickly ecosystem benefits may change after a loss. Those questions require more evidence, particularly for ocean carbon storage.
The farmland pest-control results are scenario-based forecasts. Their outcomes depend on projected socioeconomic and biodiversity pathways; they should not be read as observations of future declines already underway. The report does not specify when those projected changes would occur in particular countries.
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More Data and Planning Applications
The researchers have made their database and model forecasts publicly available, allowing policymakers and planners to examine results across the 23 service and function categories. The team identifies ocean carbon sequestration as an urgent research gap, so additional marine datasets could help test whether the strong relationship reported here holds across a wider range of ecosystems.
The study also gives planners a basis for comparing biodiversity projections and potential ecosystem benefits under different socioeconomic scenarios. The authors argue that conservation should account both for overall species diversity and for foundational species that provide particular protections, such as stabilizing dunes. The report does not announce a specific policy change or a timetable for one.
The next evidence needed is clearer measurement of how biodiversity changes affect individual services across places and over time. Until then, the findings support caution about assuming ecosystems can readily absorb species losses, while leaving the scale of particular effects—and the best response in any one location—open to further study.
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Key Questions
What did the study find about biodiversity and ecosystem services?
Across most of 23 ecosystem service and function categories, the analysis found benefits rose with biodiversity rather than leveling off after a small number of species were present.
Does the study show that every species loss causes the same harm?
No. The report describes a broad pattern across studies, not identical effects from every loss. It also identifies exceptions, including coastal hazard protection, which can depend on one or two foundational species.
Why did the researchers highlight ocean carbon storage?
Ocean carbon sequestration showed the strongest positive response to biodiversity among the services measured. However, the finding rests on a small number of datasets, so the authors say more research is needed.
What does the study predict for natural pest control on farms?
In model forecasts linked to biodiversity projections, biological pest control declines under a fossil-fuel-driven development pathway compared with one involving less fossil fuel. The report says the sharpest projected losses are in countries with rapid population growth and lower development levels; these are forecasts, not observed future outcomes.
Source: hn
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