Quantifying and mapping the human appropriation of net primary production in earth's terrestrial ecosystems
- Author(s)
- Helmut Haberl, K. Heinz Erb, Fridolin Krausmann, Veronika Gaube, Alberte Bondeau, Christoph Plutzar, Simone Gingrich, Wolfgang Lucht, Marina Fischer-Kowalski
- Abstract
Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP), the aggregate impact of land use on biomass available each year in ecosystems, is a prominent measure of the human domination of the biosphere. We present a comprehensive assessment of global HANPP based on vegetation modeling, agricultural and forestry statistics, and geographical information systems data on land use, land cover, and soil degradation that localizes human impact on ecosystems. We found an aggregate global HANPP value of 15.6 Pg C/yr or 23.8% of potential net primary productivity, of which 53% was contributed by harvest, 40% by land-use-induced productivity changes, and 7% by human-induced fires. This is a remarkable impact on the biosphere caused by just one species. We present maps quantifying human-induced changes in trophic energy flows in ecosystems that illustrate spatial patterns in the human domination of ecosystems, thus emphasizing land use as a pervasive factor of global importance. Land use transforms earth's terrestrial surface, resulting in changes in biogeochemical cycles and in the ability of ecosystems to deliver services critical to human well being. The results suggest that large-scale schemes to substitute biomass for fossil fuels should be viewed cautiously because massive additional pressures on ecosystems might result from increased biomass harvest.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Geography and Regional Research, Department of Sociology
- External organisation(s)
- Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung, Vienna Institute for Nature Conservation and Analyis (VINCA)
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
- Volume
- 104
- Pages
- 12942-12947
- No. of pages
- 6
- ISSN
- 0027-8424
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0704243104
- Publication date
- 07-2007
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 107004 Human ecology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 15 - Life on Land
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/91eb3c42-fedb-493e-96c8-aa979d65ebef