Read at : Google Alert – desertification
http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-diverse-ecosystems-crucial-climate-buffer.html
Diverse ecosystems are crucial climate change buffer
Preserving diverse plant life will be crucial to buffer the negative effects of climate change and desertification in in the world’s drylands, according to a new landmark study.
The findings of the multi-author study, published today in the journal Science, are based on samples of ecosystems in every continent except Antarctica.
They confirm for the first time that the more diverse an ecosystem is, the more ecological functions it performs. It also has implications for carbon sequestration and soil health.
“This is the most extensive study of the links between function and diversity ever undertaken,” says co-author Professor David Eldridge, of the UNSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
According to the study, dryland ecosystems cover about 40 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, support 40 per cent of its people, and are particularly vulnerable to environmental changes and desertification
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