discursive essay on protection of biodiversity

Essay on Conservation of Biodiversity for Students and Children

500+ words essay on conservation of biodiversity.

Conservation of biodiversity is vital for maintaining the Earth’s environment and sustaining life on the planet. There are a number of ways in which the richness of biodiversity helps in maintaining the ecological system. Conservation of biodiversity is important for the survival of living beings on Earth. Hence, a lot of emphases is being given on the conservation of biodiversity these days.

The Extinction in Biodiversity

Due to human activities, numerous varieties of animals go extinct each year. Western Black Rhinoceros, Dodo, Tasmanian tiger, Golden Toad, Woolly Mammoth, Caribbean Monk Seal, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and Japanese Sea Lion are some of the species of animals that have gone extinct.

Lemur, Mountain Gorilla, Vaquita, Sea Turtles, Amur Leopard, and Tiger are some of the species that are on the verge of extinction. Apart from these many species of plants and trees including Lepidodendron, Araucaria Mirabilis, Wood Cycad and Kokia Cookie have gone extinct and many species are endangered.

Need to Conserve Biodiversity

Earth is a beautiful planet which has given us many things which occur naturally. Natural resources, rivers, valleys , oceans, different species of animals and beautiful varieties of plants and trees are among some of these.

In today’s world, we are busy developing our surroundings and spoiling our beautiful environment. Today, we have exploited most of the things that were available abundantly in nature. Thus, there arises a need to conserve these natural things. Among other things, there is a serious need for the conservation of biodiversity.

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Importance of Conservation of Biodiversity

Conservation of biodiversity is important for many reasons. Here are some of the main reasons to conserve biodiversity:

• Process of Food Chain: Different species of animals and plants serve as the source of food for other animals and living organisms. Thus, conserving biodiversity help to keep the food chain among the living organisms.
• Nutritional Needs: The decline in the variety of plants and animals would mean the decline in the variety of food we eat. So, this is likely to result in nutritional deficiencies.
• Cleaner Air: Plants and trees have a greater ability to purify the air and keep the atmosphere clean. As there is a decrease in the number and types of trees and plants, it impacts the quality of air in a negative way.
• Better Cultivation of Crops:   Fertility of soil is maintained by many insects, organisms and microorganisms work on different levels. So we have to maintain the level of microorganism which is better for the cultivation of crops.
• For Medical Reason s: For making different medicines many species of trees and plants are used so as to cure various diseases.

Methods to Conserve Biodiversity

Methods that can help in the conservation of biodiversity are

• Control Population: The greater the population the higher the needs which would result in further exploitation of flora and fauna and decline in biodiversity. For the conservation of biodiversity, we have to control the human population and allow other species of plants and animals to replenish on our planet.
• Control Pollution: The changing climate, deteriorating air quality and the growing amount of pollution on land and water bodies are leading to different types of diseases in many. It is essential to reduce the activities leading to pollution so as to conserve biodiversity.
• Reduce Deforestation: Due to deforestation, there is the loss of habitat. Due to this reason, wild animals are unable to survive in the new environment and die.
• Avoid Wastage: We need to understand that natural resources are not only essential for us but are also vital for the survival of other species. We must thus utilize only as much as we require them so that these remain available in abundance in nature for future use.
• Spread Awareness: Apart from this, one of the best methods to conserve biodiversity is by spreading awareness. The government can do so at a bigger level. While we can spread awareness by word of mouth and through social media.

Conservation of biodiversity is of utmost importance. We must all make efforts to conserve biodiversity rather than contributing towards its declination. Thus, the richness of biodiversity is essential for the survival of living beings on Earth.

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Protection of the Environment, the Biosphere and Biodiversity

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• Johan Hattingh 3  

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What exactly does the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity entail? To what extent are they in crisis currently, what are the drivers behind this crisis, and why is it important that one should do something about this crisis? What exactly should one focus on when protecting the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity, and why should one do so? In this chapter, an overview is given of the conceptual, philosophical, and ethical challenges related to finding answers to these questions. The crux of this discussion is devoted to different kinds of values that can be used to justify protection. The most commonly used arguments for the protection of the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity appeal to their instrumental value . In this context, distinctions are made between the direct use value, indirect use value, amenity value, option value, and existence value that humans can derive from protection of the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity. While these values can be emphasized in isolation from one another, causing either a destructive overemphasis of use value or a romantic overemphasis of the nonconsumptive (use) value of the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity, the notion of ecosystem services is discussed as a framework within which these instrumental values can be combined serving as they do as the basis of human well-being. On the other hand, intrinsic value arguments are often emphasized in environmental ethics to counter the reduction of the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity to mere commodities, or to objects of management at arm’s length from humans and thus at their disposal to use at will. Under the best interpretations of these intrinsic value arguments, the focus falls on a respectful reverence for the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity, the components that make them up, as well as the ecosystemic and evolutionary processes they entail – conceptualized not as commodities but as prerequisites for the existence, continued evolution, and flourishing of all life on earth. Under this interpretation of intrinsic value, the use of the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity is not precluded but strongly qualified in that any such use should be careful, considerate, and equitable to enhance and not undermine the conditions under which life (including both human and nonhuman life) can continue to evolve and flourish on earth. In the introductory parts of this chapter, discussion is devoted to issues around definitions of, and conceptual overlaps and differences between environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity, as well as conceptual difficulties that are caused by the vagueness of these terms, efforts to define them objectively, and approaches to them that only emphasize their constituent elements, neglecting a holistic vision that also emphasize the ecosystemic processes they entail and their evolution over time. This chapter concludes with an outlook on the future of the environment, the biosphere, and biodiversity.

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Hattingh, J. (2014). Protection of the Environment, the Biosphere and Biodiversity. In: ten Have, H., Gordijn, B. (eds) Handbook of Global Bioethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2512-6_80

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Biodiversity Essay

Broadly speaking, biodiversity, also known as biological diversity, refers to various types of plants and animals on Earth. The process of continuous biodiversity conservation is essential right now. A greater level of biodiversity is necessary to maintain the harmony of the natural environment. Here are a few sample essays on biodiversity.

100 Words Essay On Biodiversity

200 words essay on biodiversity, 500 words essay on biodiversity.

The term "biodiversity" is used to describe the variety of plants, animals, and other species found in an environment. All of them have a significant impact on preserving the planet's healthy ecosystem. In order to sustain the health of the ecosystem and human life, it is critical to maintain a high degree of biodiversity.

However, maintaining biodiversity is getting more challenging due to the increasing air, water, and land pollution on our planet. A number of plant and animal species have gone extinct as a result of the quick environmental changes brought on by the aforementioned causes of biodiversity loss.

By encouraging individuals to adopt more environmentally friendly behaviours and practises and to build a more peaceful and sympathetic relationship with the environment, it is possible to preserve biodiversity.

‘Bio’, which stands for life, and ‘diversity’, which means variety, make up the phrase "biodiversity." The diversity of life on Earth is referred to as biodiversity. Living species include all types of plants, animals, microorganisms, and fungus.

Benefits Of Biodiversity

Community engagement to protect biodiversity is crucial. Biodiversity has several economic advantages.

Many parts of the world benefit economically from biodiversity. The tourism and recreation industries are facilitated by biodiversity. National Parks and Natural Reserves gain a lot from it.

The best locations for ecotourism, photography, art, cinematography, and literary works are in forests, animal reserves, and sanctuaries.

Biodiversity is essential for maintaining the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, breaking down waste, and removing contaminants.

Biodiversity helps in improving soil quality.

Types Of Biodiversity

Genetic Biodiversity | Genetic diversity refers to the variance in genes and genotypes within a species, such as how each individual human differs from the others in appearance.

Species Biodiversity | The variety of species found in a habitat or an area is known as species diversity. It is the diversity of life that is seen in a community. Ecosystem Biodiversity | The diversity of plant and animal species that coexist and are linked by food webs and food chains is referred to as ecological biodiversity.

The biological diversity of many plants and animals is essential to everything. However, biodiversity is declining daily for a number of causes. Our planet could no longer be a place to live if it doesn't stop. Thus, several strategies help in boosting the earth's biodiversity. The three main threats to biodiversity today are habitat loss, hunting, and poaching. At an alarming rate, humans are destroying forests, grasslands, reefs and other natural areas.

Hundreds of species that live in these habitats are therefore vanishing every year. Due to population decline caused by illegal hunting and poaching, several species are put under even more stress.

Importance Of Biodiversity

Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for the health of the ecological system. Many species of plants and animals are dependent on each other. As a result, if one becomes extinct, the others will begin to become vulnerable. Additionally, as both plants and animals are necessary for human existence, it is crucial for us as well. For instance, in order to exist, humans require food, which we obtain from plants. We cannot produce any crops if the soil does not provide a conducive climate. As a result, we won't be able to live sustainably on this planet.

Biodiversity in both flora and fauna is essential today. Therefore, to prevent the decrease in species in danger, we need to implement a number of interventions. Furthermore, vehicle pollution should decrease. So that both humans and animals can get fresh air to breathe. Moreover, it will also decrease global warming which is the major cause of the extinction of the species.

How To Preserve Biodiversity

The basic goal of biodiversity conservation is to protect life on earth, all species, the ecosystem, and a healthy environment for all time so that it will continue to be healthy for future generations. The maintenance of the food chain, the provision of a healthy habitat for many animals, including people, and the promotion of our sustainable development all depend heavily on biodiversity conservation.

Here are some ways you can preserve biodiversity:

Set Up Gardens | The simplest approach to increase biodiversity is to build gardens inside of homes. In the yard or even on the balcony, you may grow a variety of plants. Additionally, this would contribute to bringing in more fresh air within the house.

Plant Local Flowers, Fruits And Vegetables | Plant a variety in your backyard or a hanging garden using the native plants, fruits, and vegetables of your region. Nurseries are excellent places to learn about caring for and preserving plants.

3 R’s | Reduce your consumption, reuse what you can, recycle before throwing away.

Since humans consume the majority of biodiversity resources, it is primarily their duty to maintain and safeguard biodiversity in order to save the environment. The diversity of species, the health of the ecosystem, the state of the environment, and the continued viability of life on earth are crucial. By maintaining and safeguarding species, ecosystems, and natural resources, biodiversity conservation can be achieved for the sustainability of a healthy planet. Some rare species can be saved with the help of law enforcement.

All living species are interconnected and can be negatively impacted by one disturbance and therefore maintaining biodiversity is crucial for human survival. Inadequate biodiversity protection puts human life, as well as the lives of plants, animals, and the environment, at danger. As a result, we must make every effort to preserve our biodiversity.

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Essay on Biodiversity in 500 Words for Students

• Updated on  
• Dec 7, 2023

Essay on Biodiversity: Biodiversity refers to the variety of animals and plants in the world or a specific area. Even in today’s modern world where so many technological advances have taken place, we still rely on our natural environment and resources to survive, A healthy and vibrant ecosystem is not disturbed by human activities. We humans are the largest consumers of natural resources, and you know what? We are also a real threat to the natural environment? Biodiversity is not just about a variety of animal and plant species, but, also offers us water, climate, disease control, nutrition cycle, oxygen release, etc. According to one report released by the United Nations, around 10 lakh plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction. The worst thing is that this number is almost at a doubling rate.

Also Read: Essay on 5g Technology

Check out all the latest updates on all board exams 2024

Why is Biodiversity Important?

Biodiversity supports all life forms on earth. To understand the importance of biodiversity, we don’t need to think or act like a biologist. All we need is a holistic understanding. 

• Biodiversity promotes resilience and stability in our ecosystem. If there is any natural disturbance in the environment, a diverse ecosystem will be able to survive and recover better.
• Fields like agriculture, forestry, and medicine completely rely on biodiversity. We get genetic resources from biodiversity, which is essential for agriculture and medicine fields.
• A healthy biodiversity environment means healthy humans. The medicinal drugs we use are derived from plants, animals, and microorganisms.
• In many parts of the world, biodiversity is an integral part of cultural identity. Indigenous tribes are connected with their natural environment and species. 
• Forest areas and oceans play an important role in regulating global temperature and storing carbon dioxide.
• Our environment is constantly changing and the species around it also need to adapt to for to survive. Therefore, genetic diversity within species is also important.
• Natural activities like soil formation, nutrient cycling, water purification, etc, are all dependent on biodiversity.

Also Read: NCERT Solutions Class 9 Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

What is Biodiversity Loss?

Biodiversity loss means the global extinction of various species, resulting in the loss of biological diversity. One of the main factors responsible for biodiversity loss is the conversion of natural habitats into agricultural and urban areas. Cutting down forests and using the land for commercial activities results in destroying the livelihood of all the species in the region. Other factors responsible for biodiversity loss are listed below.

• Overexploitation
• Climate change
• Global trade and transportation
• Emerging diseases
• Pollution 

Also Read: Essay on Save Environment

What is Biodiversity Conservation?

Biodiversity conservation refers to the preservation of species, natural resources, and habitats from the rate of extinction. To achieve the goals of biodiversity conservation, effective management, and sustainable practices are required.

• Biodiversity conservation includes protected areas like biodiversity hotspots, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries.
• One of the most effective ways to conserve biodiversity is rehabilitation and restoring degraded habitats is crucial.
• Promoting sustainable practices in agriculture, forestry, and other resource-dependent activities is essential for the conservation of biodiversity.
• Encouraging the participation of local and indigenous communities can be one solution to achieving the goals of biodiversity conservation. Indigenous and local knowledge can contribute to effective conservation strategies.

Also Read: Essay on Junk Food

Quotes on Biodiversity

Here are some popular quotes on biodiversity. Feel free to add them to your writing topics related to the natural environment.

• ‘Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterclass, exclusively adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?’ – E O Wilson
• ‘Biodiversity is our most valuable but least appreciated resource.’ – E O Wilson
• ‘Biodiversity is the greeted treasure we have. It’s diminishment is to be prevented at all cost.’ – Thomas Eisner
• ‘Animal protection is education to humanity.’ – Albert Schweitzer
• ‘Only beautiful animals or ugly people wear fur.’ – Unknown
• ‘Babies and animals are the mirrors of the nature.’ – Epicurus

Also Read: Essay on Globalization

Ans: Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants and animals in our natural environment or a particular region. Biodiversity supports all life forms on earth. To understand the importance of biodiversity, we don’t need to think or act like a biologist. All we need is a holistic understanding. Biodiversity promotes resilience and stability in our ecosystem. If there is any natural disturbance in the environment, a diverse ecosystem will be able to survive and recover better. Fields like agriculture, forestry, and medicine completely rely on biodiversity. We get genetic resources from biodiversity, which is essential for agriculture and medicine fields.

Ans: Biodiversity conservation refers to the preservation of species, natural resources, and habitats from the rate of extinction. To achieve the goals of biodiversity conservation, effective management, and sustainable practices are required.

Ans: Some of the popular biodiversity hotspots in India are the Himalayas, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats & Sundaland.

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Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Why is biodiversity important?

Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat. And people also value nature of itself.

Some aspects of biodiversity are instinctively widely valued by people but the more we study biodiversity the more we see that all of it is important – even bugs and bacteria that we can’t see or may not like the look of. There are lots of ways that humans depend upon biodiversity and it is vital for us to conserve it. Pollinators such as birds, bees and other insects are estimated to be responsible for a third of the world’s crop production. Without pollinators we would not have apples, cherries, blueberries, almonds and many other foods we eat. Agriculture is also reliant upon invertebrates – they help to maintain the health of the soil crops grow in.  Soil is teeming with microbes that are vital for liberating nutrients that plants need to grow, which are then also passed to us when we eat them. Life from the oceans provides the main source of animal protein for many people.

Trees, bushes and wetlands and wild grasslands naturally slow down water and help soil to absorb rainfall. When they are removed it can increase flooding. Trees and other plants clean the air we breathe and help us tackle the global challenge of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. Coral reefs and mangrove forests act as natural defences protecting coastlines from waves and storms. 

Many of our medicines, along with other complex chemicals that we use in our daily lives such as latex and rubber, also originate from plants. Spending time in nature is increasingly understood to lead to improvements in people’s physical and mental health. Simply having green spaces and trees in cities has been shown to decrease hospital admissions, reduce stress and lower blood pressure.

Further reading

Plural valuation of nature matters for environmental sustainability and justice by Berta Martin-Lopez, Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany

Climate change and biodiversity

Human activities are changing the climate. Science can help us understand what we are doing to habitats and the climate, but also find solutions.

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Biodiversity: What is it and how can we protect it?

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The UN and its global partners will grapple with the massive loss of animal and plant species and how to avoid further extinction at a major conference beginning 23 January. Here’s a primer on what exactly biodiversity is and how the UN can help support efforts to enable nature to survive and thrive.

What does 'biodiversity' mean and why is it important?

In simple terms, biodiversity refers to all types of life on Earth. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD ) describes it as “the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi”. These three levels work together to create life on Earth, in all its complexity.

The diversity of species keep the global ecosystem in balance, providing everything in nature that we, as humans, need to survive, including food, clean water, medicine and shelter.  Over  half of global GDP  is strongly dependent on nature. More than one billion people  rely on forests  for their livelihoods.

Biodiversity is also our strongest natural defence against  climate change . Land and ocean ecosystems act as “carbon sinks”, absorbing more than half of all carbon emissions.

Why are we talking about it now?

Because the first big push of the year to put the UN’s bold plan to protect biodiversity into practice  takes place in the Swiss capital, Bern , between 23 and 25 January. 

Introducing the conference, Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) Law Division,  warned that the lack of coordination between the various organizations trying to protect biodiversity is a “critical challenge” that needs to be urgently overcome “as we strive for a world living in harmony with nature by 2050”. A key aim of the conference will be to solve that problem by pulling together the various initiatives taking place across the world.

Is there a crisis?

Yes. It’s very serious, and it needs to be urgently tackled. 

Starting with the natural and land sea carbon sinks mentioned above. They are being degraded, with examples including the deforestation of the Amazon and the disappearance of salt marshes and mangrove swamps, which remove large amounts of carbon. The way we use the land and sea is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss. Since 1990, around 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses. Agricultural expansion continues to be the main driver of deforestation, forest degradation and forest biodiversity loss.

Other major drivers of species decline include overfishing and the introduction of invasive alien species (species that have entered and established themselves in the environment outside their natural habitat, causing the decline or even extinction of native species and negatively affecting ecosystems).

These activities, UNEP has shown , are pushing around a million species of plants and animals towards extinction. They range from the critically endangered South China tiger and Indonesian orangutans to supposedly “ common” animals and plants, such as giraffes and parrots as well as oak trees, cacti and seaweed.  This is the largest loss of life since the dinosaurs.  

Combined with skyrocketing levels of pollution, the degradation of the natural habitat and biodiversity loss are having serious impacts on communities around the world. As global temperatures rise, once fertile grasslands turn to desert, and in the ocean, there are hundreds of so-called “dead zones”, where scarcely any aquatic life remains.

The loss of biodiversity affects the way an ecosystem functions, leading to species being less able to respond to changes in the environment and making them increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters. If an ecosystem has a wide diversity of organisms, it is likely that they will not all be affected in the same way. For instance, if one species is killed off then a similar species can take its place. 

What is the Biodiversity Plan?

The Plan, officially called the Kunming-Montreal  Global Biodiversity Framework , is a UN-driven landmark agreement adopted by 196 countries to guide global action on nature through to 2030, which was hashed out at meetings in Kunming, China and Montreal, Canada, in 2022.

The aim is to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect indigenous rights. Indigenous peoples  suffer disproportionately from loss of biological diversity and environmental degradation. Their lives, survival, development chances, knowledge, environment and health conditions are threatened by environmental degradation, large scale industrial activities, toxic waste, conflicts and forced migration as well as by land-use and land-cover changes such as deforestation for agriculture and extractives.

There are concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30 per cent of the planet and 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030. Currently 17 per cent of land and around eight per cent of marine areas are protected. The plan also contains proposals to increase financing to developing countries – a major sticking point during talks – and indigenous peoples.

Countries have to come up with national biodiversity strategies and action plans as well as set or revise national targets to match the ambition of global goals.

What else will the UN do to protect biodiversity this year?

Next month the UN Environment Assembly ( UNEA ), otherwise known as the   “World’s Environment Parliament” will meet at the UN office in Nairobi . The event   brings together governments, civil society groups, the scientific community and the private sector to highlight the most pressing issues and improve global governance of the environment. UNEA 2024 will focus on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

However, the main event will be the  UN Biodiversity Conference , which will take place in Colombia in October. Delegates will discuss how to restore lands and seas in a way that protects the planet and respects the rights of local communities.

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• Published: 27 May 2024

Biodiversity increases resistance of grasslands against plant invasions under multiple environmental changes

• Cai Cheng   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7979-7790 1 , 2 ,
• Zekang Liu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1391-6352 2 ,
• Wei Song 2 ,
• Xue Chen 2 ,
• Zhijie Zhang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0463-2665 3 ,
• Bo Li   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0439-5666 4 ,
• Mark van Kleunen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2861-3701 3 , 5 &
• Jihua Wu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8623-8519 1  

Nature Communications volume  15 , Article number:  4506 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Biodiversity
• Climate-change ecology
• Invasive species

Biodiversity often helps communities resist invasion. However, it is unclear whether this diversity–invasion relationship holds true under environmental changes. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of 1010 observations from 25 grassland studies in which plant species richness is manipulated together with one or more environmental change factors to test invasibility (measured by biomass or cover of invaders). We find that biodiversity increases resistance to invaders across various environmental conditions. However, the positive biodiversity effect on invasion resistance is strengthened under experimental warming, whereas it is weakened under experimentally imposed drought. When multiple factors are imposed simultaneously, the positive biodiversity effect is strengthened. Overall, we show that biodiversity helps grassland communities resist plant invasions under multiple environmental changes. Therefore, investment in the protection and restoration of native biodiversity is not only important for prevention of invasions under current conditions but also under continued global environmental change.

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Consistent stabilizing effects of plant diversity across spatial scales and climatic gradients

Introduction.

The Anthropocene has seen a rapid increase in invasions by alien species as well as by range-expanding native species 1 , 2 , 3 . Such invasions may pose a major threat to biodiversity, the economy, and human well-being 4 , 5 . There are many factors that affect the likelihood of species invasions, including background climatic conditions, the magnitude and type of anthropogenic environmental change, and biotic features of the community (e.g. the types and diversity of native species), all of which can interact 6 , 7 . Among the many hypotheses in invasion biology addressing these factors 8 , much attention has been paid to the biotic resistance hypothesis 9 , 10 , which predicts that more diverse communities should be more resistant to species invasions.

Empirical support for the biotic resistance hypothesis has been mixed. While some large-scale observational studies show compelling evidence for negative relationships between native diversity and invasion 7 , 11 , these observational studies have limited ability to infer causality. This is because both native residents and invaders respond to variation in the environment and to each other 12 , 13 . Indeed, across larger spatial focal units (i.e. regions), there are often positive correlations between native and alien species richness because both groups of species respond in similar ways to the environmental conditions in the regions 14 , 15 , 16 , even if there are negative relationships at smaller spatial scales 12 , 17 . Given the limited causal inference of observational studies, the most definitive way to examine the relationship between diversity and invasion is through experiments that manipulate the diversity (e.g. species richness) of the resident community and measure its resistance to invasion (e.g. biomass or cover of invaders) 18 . Indeed, many such experiments corroborate the positive relationship between diversity and invasion resistance 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 . However, there is considerable variability in the strength of the relationship 23 , 24 , and a number of exceptions also occur 25 , 26 . Likely, this variation in the strength of the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance is caused by variations in environmental conditions 27 , 28 , 29 .

Earth’s ecosystems are exposed to numerous environmental change factors 30 , such as climate change, eutrophication, overgrazing and pesticide use, all of which can have profound consequences for resident biota and invaders. According to the stress-gradient hypothesis, species interactions could switch from strong competition in favorable environments to weak competition or even facilitation in stressful environments 28 , 31 . Therefore, we might expect a stronger biodiversity effect on invasion resistance when the communities face stressful factors (i.e. impairing the overall performance of plants) as these should enhance positive interactions between native species. In contrast, the biodiversity effect would be weakened by favorable factors (i.e. benefiting the overall performance of plants). In addition to the effect of environmental change factors on interactions between native species, the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance could also be influenced by different responses of alien and native species to environmental change factors 32 . However, it remains unclear whether and how the different environmental change factors affect the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance.

In addition to the type of environmental change factors, the number of simultaneously acting factors may also influence the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance. While different factors can additively influence the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance 33 , they could also act synergistically or antagonistically 34 , 35 . Even though the joint effects of multiple factors on either resident biota or invaders have been reported 36 , 37 , we still lack information about how the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance responds to multiple simultaneously acting factors. This gap may result from the complex and large experimental designs that are needed when multiple levels of biodiversity are crossed with numerous environmental change factors. However, a recent study reported that increasing the number of simultaneously acting factors caused increasingly stressful environments 38 , suggesting that there might be a stronger biodiversity effect on invasion resistance in the face of multiple simultaneous factors. Knowledge about the effect of multiple factors on the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance is necessary to boost our confidence that promoting native biodiversity in order to reduce invasions is a viable option under realistic global change scenarios.

Typically, biodiversity helps resist invasion primarily through enhanced competitive suppression (e.g. due to higher productivity) of resident species on invaders, mainly via complementarity and selection effects 20 . Complementarity effects occur when more diverse communities have more species that more fully occupy the available niche space, thereby pre-empting opportunities for invaders. Selection effects occur when more diverse communities have a higher probability of containing species that have greater competitive ability against invaders. As such, the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance will be influenced by multiple experimental factors. For example, a greater number of resident plant species, a longer duration of the experiment and smaller experimental units should result in stronger complementarity effects, and should reduce the niche space available for invaders 39 . Furthermore, the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance could also be influenced by the type of invaders. Several biodiversity experiments refer to invaders as any species that has not been planted in a given experimental unit 40 . Among these invaders, species that are residents in other experimental units (i.e. internal invaders) should, due to a priority effect, be more likely to invade than novel external invaders —particular alien ones— that are not part of the experiment’s resident species pool.

Here, we conduct a meta-analysis on 1010 observations from 25 grassland studies in which plant species richness is experimentally manipulated together with one or more environmental change factors. These factors include warming, drought, elevated atmospheric CO 2 , eutrophication, pesticide use, grazing by domestic animals, human-caused fire, physical disturbance, and combinations of two or three of these factors. Our main objective is to assess whether and how the type and number of environmental change factors affect the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance. We measure invasion resistance of the resident community by the performance (biomass or percent cover) of all invaders of an experimental unit. However, when possible, we also distinguish for each experimental unit between internal invaders and external invaders. For the latter, we also distinguish between native and alien invaders (non-native to the experiment site). We here hypothesize that: (1) plant diversity increases the resistance of grasslands against invaders, with the strongest resistance to alien external invaders, (2) the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance is positively correlated with the effect on resident productivity and becomes stronger with increasing resident species richness and experimental duration, and with smaller sizes of the experimental units, (3) the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance is strengthened by stressful factors (e.g. drought, grazing and fire) but weakened by favorable factors (e.g. warming, elevated atmospheric CO 2 and eutrophication), and (4) the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance is strengthened by multiple simultaneous factors. By testing these hypotheses, our study provides evidence that plant diversity increases the resistance of grasslands against plant invasions. This is also the case under environmental changes, although the magnitude of the positive biodiversity effect increases or decreases, depending on the type and number of environmental change factors.

Averaged across all studies, we found a significantly positive effect of biodiversity on invasion resistance, both under ambient conditions and in the presence of environmental change factors (Fig.  1a ; Supplementary Fig.  1a ). The positive biodiversity effect on invasion resistance was strengthened by warming ( Q M  = 8.77, p  = 0.003) and weakened by drought ( Q M  = 7.06, p  = 0.008), but was not significantly affected by the other factors (Fig.  1a ). This was also reflected by significant effect sizes of ∆NBE —difference in the net biodiversity effect (NBE) between manipulated and ambient conditions— under warming (mean = 0.82, 95% CI = [0.05, 1.59]) and drought (mean = –0.50, 95% CI = [–0.77, –0.22]) (Fig.  1b ). Although most of the other factors individually did not alter the positive biodiversity effect on invasion resistance, it was strengthened when multiple factors were imposed simultaneously (two co-acting factors: mean ∆NBE = 0.16, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.27]; three co-acting factors: mean ∆NBE = 0.64, 95% CI = [0.37, 0.92]) (Fig.  1b ).

The net biodiversity effect (NBE) on invasion resistance ( a ) and the difference in NBE between ambient and manipulated environmental conditions (∆NBE) ( b ). Positive values of NBE indicate higher invasion resistance of resident mixtures in comparison with that of resident monocultures, whereas negative values indicate the opposite. Positive values of ∆NBE indicate stronger biodiversity effects under manipulated environmental conditions in comparison with ambient conditions, and vice versa. In panel a, the numbers above the brackets are the p -values of the Q M tests for the effect of environmental manipulation (ambient vs. manipulated) on NBE. The numbers in brackets show the number of effect sizes. Points with error bars are the estimated means with corrected 95% confidence intervals. Confidence intervals not overlapping with the dashed line (i.e. 0) indicate statistical significance, as indicated by asterisks. Green shading indicates the analysis on all environmental change factors and yellow shading indicates the analysis on different numbers of factors. Symbols of environmental change factors are created by Yue Chen.

The strengthened biodiversity effect on invasion resistance under warming conditions was also indicated by the finding that warming had a negative effect on invasion resistance of monocultures but not on invasion resistance of mixtures (Supplementary Figs.  2 , 3a ). Similarly, the weakened biodiversity effect on invasion resistance under drought conditions was consistent with the finding of a positive effect of drought on invasion resistance of monocultures and the absence of such an effect in mixtures (Supplementary Figs.  2 , 3b ). While eutrophication did not alter the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance, it decreased the invasion resistance of both monocultures and mixtures (Supplementary Figs.  2 , 3c ). In addition, while three co-acting factors increased invasion resistance, the effect was stronger for mixtures than monocultures (Supplementary Figs.  2 , 3d ), which was consistent with the strengthened biodiversity effect on invasion resistance when there were three co-acting factors.

For the subset of studies in which we could distinguish between internal invaders and external invaders (either native or alien), we found that the positive effect of biodiversity on invasion resistance was strongest for external aliens (Supplementary Fig.  4 ; Supplementary Table  1 ). However, we found no significant interaction between environmental manipulation and invader type (Supplementary Table  1 ), suggesting that the biodiversity effect on the resistance to internal and external invaders was consistent across environmental conditions.

We found that the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance was positively associated with the effect on resident productivity across various environmental conditions (Fig.  2 ). Moreover, the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance increased with the number of resident species in the mixture (Fig.  3 ), but had overall weak relationships with experimental duration and experimental unit size when the different factors were analyzed (Supplementary Figs.  5 – 7 ).

Relationships were tested using the Q M tests for datasets of all environmental change factors ( a ), warming ( b ), drought ( c ), elevated CO 2 ( d ), eutrophication ( e ), pesticide ( f ), grazing ( g ) and physical disturbance ( h ). Positive values of NBE indicate higher invasion resistance or productivity of resident mixtures in comparison to resident monocultures, whereas negative values indicate the opposite. Blue indicates the ambient condition and red indicates the manipulated environmental condition. Symbols of environmental change factors are created by Yue Chen.

Relationships were tested using the Q M tests for datasets of all environmental change factors ( a ), warming ( b ), drought ( c ), elevated CO 2 ( d ), eutrophication ( e ), pesticide ( f ), grazing ( g ), fire ( h ) and physical disturbance ( i ). Positive values of NBE indicate higher invasion resistance of resident mixtures in comparison to resident monocultures, whereas negative values indicate the opposite. Blue indicates the ambient condition and red indicates the manipulated environmental condition. Symbols of environmental change factors are created by Yue Chen.

Several environmental change factors had significant net effects on the productivity of resident monocultures (Fig.  4a ). Specifically, monoculture productivity was increased on average by warming and eutrophication, indicating that these were favorable environmental conditions, but decreased by grazing and three co-acting factors, indicating that these were stressful environmental conditions. Across environmental change factors, invasion-resistance ∆NBE increased when factors caused stressful environmental conditions ( Q M  = 6.29, p  = 0.01; Fig.  4b ).

In panel a , positive values of the factor effect on resident productivity indicate that environmental change factors increase the productivity of resident monocultures and thus provide a favorable condition, and negative values indicate that environmental change factors decrease the productivity of resident monocultures and thus provide a stressful condition. The numbers in brackets show the number of effect sizes. Points with error bars are the estimated means with corrected 95% confidence intervals. Confidence intervals not overlapping with the dashed line (i.e. 0) indicate statistical significance, as indicated by asterisks. Green shading indicates the analysis on all environmental change factors and yellow shading indicates the analysis on different numbers of factors. In panel b , the relationship between ∆NBE and the factor effect on resident productivity was tested using the Q M test.

While the positive relationship between diversity and invasion resistance was proposed more than 60 years ago 9 , and has been well corroborated by experimental studies in grassland systems 20 , 21 , 22 , evidence for neutral and even negative relationships has also been reported 25 , 26 . Our meta-analysis of 25 factorial grassland experiments showed that these seemingly conflicting patterns can, at least partially, be explained by the dependence of the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance on environmental conditions. Specifically, while our results generally supported the hypothesis that plant diversity promotes invasion resistance of grassland communities, we found that the type and number of environmental change factors could modulate the strength of the positive biodiversity effect on invasion resistance.

We found that across all environmental change factors, invasion-resistance ΔNBE increased when factors caused stressful environments, which is in line with the stress-gradient hypothesis that predicts stronger biodiversity effects in more stressful environments 28 , 31 . However, there were exceptions for particular factors. For example, although warming resulted in a favorable environment, it strengthened the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance. As there was no significant influence of warming on the biodiversity effect on resident productivity (Supplementary Fig.  8 ), this result may be because alien plant species benefit more from elevated temperatures than native plant species 32 , thereby decreasing invasion resistance of monocultures under warming conditions (Supplementary Fig.  2a ). A recent study also showed that plant diversity buffered elevated temperature in grasslands 41 , which could reduce the positive impact of warming on invaders and resulted in a strengthened biodiversity effect on invasion resistance under warming conditions (Supplementary Fig.  3a ). Drought, on the other hand, resulted in a stressful environment, but nevertheless weakened the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance. However, our finding that drought strengthened the biodiversity effect on resident productivity is consistent with the prediction of the stress-gradient hypothesis (Supplementary Fig.  8 ). This discrepancy may be because alien plant species suffered more from drought than native plant species 32 , thereby increasing invasion resistance of monocultures under drought conditions (Supplementary Fig.  2a ). In contrast, diverse plant communities have denser canopies that reduce solar radiation at the soil level and thereby reduce evaporation 42 , 43 . This could buffer the negative impact of drought on invaders and result in a weakened biodiversity effect on invasion resistance under drought conditions (Supplementary Fig.  3b ). Taken together, our results suggest that warming and drought altered the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance through changes in invasion resistance of monocultures, which aligns with previous studies reporting that biodiversity contributes to the stability of ecosystem functions in grassland systems 44 , 45 .

Most studies on the consequences of environmental change factors for biodiversity effects have focused on single factors 39 , 46 . Here, however, we were able to examine the joint effects of co-acting factors and found that the positive biodiversity effect on invasion resistance became stronger as the number of factors increased. This result is consistent with a recent meta-analysis reporting that plant communities were more likely to be altered when facing at least three global change factors simultaneously 47 . Our finding that three co-acting factors strengthened the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance is also consistent with the prediction of the stress-gradient hypothesis. While each of the individual factors resulted in either stressful, favorable or unaltered environments, three co-acting factors caused a stressful environment (Fig.  4a ). This aligns with a recent study reporting that synergistic interactions between co-acting factors significantly decreased the performance of a herbaceous plant (i.e. resulted in a stressful environment) 38 . Although three co-acting factors increased the invasion resistance of both monocultures and mixtures, they had larger impacts on the invasion resistance of mixtures than of monocultures (Supplementary Figs.  2 , 3d ). This suggests that environmental change factors acted synergistically and increased complementarity effects in mixtures 48 , 49 , which increased resistance against invasion.

Our finding that biodiversity effects on invasion resistance and resident productivity were positively associated suggests that plant diversity effects on resident productivity —and the associated greater competitive ability— may be a mechanism by which resident communities resist invasion. This is also supported by the results from a number of individual studies in grassland communities 20 , 24 , 39 . However, as it has been found that biodiversity effects frequently increase over time, primarily through an increase of complementary effects 50 , 51 , we surprisingly found only weak relationships between the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance and experimental duration. Given the larger maximum experimental duration in our meta-analysis (~24 years) compared to other grassland (~15 years) 50 and forest (~8 years) 51 studies, this discrepancy is likely explained by the negligible role of complementarity effects in our study. This is indicated by the fact that there was little transgressive resistance (an indicator of complementarity effects) of biodiversity to invasion (Supplementary Fig.  9 ), suggesting that the observed biodiversity effect was primarily due to selection effects. This result aligns with previous meta-analyses demonstrating that in most experiments, the most diverse communities did not achieve greater biomass than the single most productive species 52 , 53 .

Our findings may have implications for grassland management aimed at reducing plant invasions under continued global environmental change. First, our result that mixtures, in contrast to monocultures, did not experience a negative effect of warming on invasion resistance (i.e. resulting in a stronger biodiversity effect on invasion resistance), suggests that biodiversity has a buffering effect. This implies that maintaining and enhancing native plant diversity should be a priority to prevent invasion by alien species in an increasingly warmer world. Although drought had positive effects on invasion resistance of monocultures, this was not the case for mixtures. Nevertheless, the relationship between biodiversity and invasion resistance was still positive under drought, indicating that biodiversity is also important under drought. While eutrophication did not alter the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance, its negative impacts on invasion resistance, irrespective of the diversity of resident communities, suggest that grassland managers should reduce the use of fertilizer that may promote plant invasions. Furthermore, our result that plant diversity strengthened the positive effect of three co-acting factors on invasion resistance (i.e. had a stronger biodiversity effect on invasion resistance), suggests that enhancing plant diversity should be prioritized to increase resistance of grasslands against invasion in a changing world in which plant communities may be exposed to multiple factors simultaneously.

Our meta-analysis has several caveats. First, like many meta-analyses, we found evidence for publication bias in our dataset (Supplementary Fig.  10 ), likely because studies with low precision that found a negative relationship between diversity and invasion resistance —which contradicts the expected positive relationship— are difficult to publish. Nevertheless, because our study was primarily focused on how environmental change factors modulate the strength of biodiversity effects, this bias should not influence the main conclusions drawn from our study. Indeed, our sensitivity analysis indicated that the publication bias was unlikely to influence the robustness of our conclusions (Supplementary Fig.  11 ). Second, our main finding that biodiversity consistently increased invasion resistance under environmental change factors is based on the performance of all invaders. Despite this, our results could also have implications for biodiversity conservation in an increasingly invaded world, because our subset analysis showed that alien invaders were the most strongly resisted by biodiversity, and that the biodiversity effect on the resistance to different types of invaders was consistent across environmental conditions. Third, while our search aimed to include all taxa and ecosystem types, we mainly found suitable data on the relationship between plant diversity and invasion resistance in grassland systems. Whether our findings are applicable to other ecosystems (e.g. forests) and other taxa (e.g. microbes and phytoplankton) remains unclear and should be explored further in future studies. Finally, the number of experiments included in our meta-analysis was relatively small, which was especially evident for particular factors (i.e. elevated CO 2 and grazing). We acknowledge that this could result from the complex and large experimental designs that are required to simultaneously manipulate biodiversity, invasion and environmental change factors. Nevertheless, the studies that made these three types of manipulations suggest that more attention should be paid to the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance in a rapidly changing world. Furthermore, amongst the studies we analyzed, the number of simultaneously applied factors and their combination was limited. This calls for experiments that incorporate more combinations of co-acting factors to explore potential generality and/or variation in higher-order interactions of factors on the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance.

Data compilation

We compiled a dataset that included factorial experiments that manipulated species richness together with at least one of several environmental change factors. We followed the PRISMA protocol 54 to identify, select and synthesize studies (Supplementary Fig.  12 ). Specifically, we searched the ISI Web of Science database, with no restriction on publication year, using the following search terms: (species richness OR diversity OR biodiversity) AND (invasion resistance OR biotic resistance OR invasibility) AND (global change* OR climate change* OR anthropogenic stressor* OR warm* OR temperatur* OR heat* OR drought OR water* OR precipitation OR rain* OR carbon dioxide OR CO 2 OR nutrient* OR fertiliz* OR fertilis* OR eutroph* OR pollution OR biocid* OR pesticid* OR fungicid* OR insecticide* OR herbicid* OR bacteriacid* OR nematicide* OR graz* OR herbivor* OR trampl* OR disturb* OR mow* OR clip* OR burn* OR fire*) AND (manipulat* OR treat* OR experiment*). We also searched for additional studies that were included in previous meta-analyses on the relationship between diversity and invasion resistance 15 , 17 , 39 , as well as the online repositories of two large biodiversity experiments: the Jena experiment in Germany ( https://jexis.idiv.de/ ) and the Cedar Creek experiment in the United States ( https://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/research/data ).

We conducted the initial search on 10 August 2023, yielding a sample of 2096 publications. Of these, 43 duplicates were discarded, resulting in 2053 publications after the first phase of screening. After the removal of publications that based on the titles and abstracts were review or modeling studies, we assessed the remaining 1652 papers for eligibility of inclusion in our analysis using the following criteria: (1) the study must have manipulated the number of species in the resident community directly (i.e. observational studies were excluded); (2) the study must have compared mixtures with monocultures under both ambient and manipulated environmental conditions; (3) the study must provide the mean, statistical variation (standard deviation, standard error or 95% confidence intervals), and sample sizes for the performance of invaders (including both alien and native species) in different treatments. Together with five studies obtained from the online repositories of the Jena and Cedar Creek experiments, we found a total of 25 studies that met these criteria (Supplementary Data  1 ). All of these studies focused on herbaceous plant communities grown under natural or semi-natural conditions, except for two that were conducted in the greenhouse (excluding these two greenhouse studies did not qualitatively affect our conclusions; Supplementary Fig.  13 ). Environmental change factors included warming ( N  = 2), drought ( N  = 5), elevated atmospheric CO 2 ( N  = 1), eutrophication ( N  = 14), pesticide use (e.g. fungicide and insecticide) ( N  = 4), grazing by domestic animals ( N  = 1), human-caused fire ( N  = 2), physical disturbance (e.g. mowing and trampling) ( N  = 5), and combinations of two ( N  = 7) or three ( N  = 1) of these factors.

We used the performance —measured as biomass or percent cover— of all invaders as a proxy of invasion resistance of the resident community. Specifically, a lower performance of invaders indicates a higher invasion resistance of the resident community. If information about the identity of the invader was provided, we also distinguished between internal invaders of an experimental unit that were residents of other units of the experiment and external invaders that were not part of the experiment’s resident species pool. For the latter, we also distinguished between native and alien invaders (non-native to the location where the experiment was done). When several performance metrics were reported in the same study (e.g. cover and biomass), we used only the biomass of invaders because the majority of the studies (17 of 25) only reported biomass data. We also found that excluding the four studies that only reported cover data did not qualitatively affect our conclusions (Supplementary Figs.  14 – 16 ). We extracted the mean, statistical variation, and sample size for the performance metrics of invaders directly from data appendices, the text or tables, or from the figures using GetData Graph Digitizer (version 2.20, Russian Federation). When the relevant data were not provided in the publication, we contacted the corresponding author to obtain them. In total, we compiled a dataset consisting of 1010 observations on the performance of invaders at different levels of resident diversity. In addition to the performance of invaders, we also extracted data on the productivity (biomass or cover) of the resident community, resident species richness (1–60), experimental unit size (0.01–47.5 m 2 ) and experimental duration (0.25–24 years) wherever possible.

Effect size calculation

We calculated the effect size of NBE on invasion resistance, at each diversity level of the resident community under both ambient and manipulated environmental conditions, using the natural log of the response ratio 55 :

where \({X}_{{{{{\mathrm{mono}}}}}}\) and \({X}_{{{{{\mathrm{mix}}}}}}\) are the mean performance of invaders grown in resident monocultures and mixtures, respectively. Positive values of NBE indicate a higher invasion resistance of resident mixtures than in resident monocultures, whereas negative values indicate the opposite. The variance of NBE, \({v}_{{{{{\mathrm{NBE}}}}}}\) , was calculated as 55 :

where \(S\) is the standard deviation and \(n\) is the sample size; and the subscripts ‘mono’ and ‘mix’ refer to resident monocultures and mixtures, respectively. For 16 studies with data on resident productivity, we also calculated resident-productivity NBE using Eq. ( 1 ), but replaced invaders with the resident community.

To quantify the response of the biodiversity effect to environmental change factors, we calculated the difference in invasion-resistance NBE between ambient and manipulated environmental conditions (∆NBE), pairwise for each diversity level of the resident community, using the following equation 46 :

where the subscripts ‘A’ and ‘M’ refer to ambient and manipulated environmental conditions, respectively. Positive values of ∆NBE indicate stronger biodiversity effects under manipulated environmental conditions than under ambient conditions, while negative values indicate the opposite. The variance of ∆NBE, \({v}_{{\Delta}{{{{\mathrm{NBE}}}}}}\) , was calculated as 46 :

We quantified the effect of environmental change factors on invasion resistance and its variance in resident monocultures and mixtures, respectively, using the following equations 55 :

where \({X}_{{{{{\mathrm{A}}}}}}\) and \({X}_{{{{{\mathrm{M}}}}}}\) are the mean performance of invaders under ambient and manipulated environmental conditions, respectively. Positive values of the factor effect on invasion resistance indicate that environmental change factors increase invasion resistance, whereas negative values indicate the opposite.

To explore whether environmental change factors result in stressful or favorable environments, we quantified the effect of environmental change factors on the productivity of resident monocultures using the following equation 55 :

where \({Y}_{{{{{\mathrm{mono}}}}},{{\mbox{A}}}}\) and \({Y}_{{{{{\mathrm{mono}}}}},{{\mbox{M}}}}\) are the mean productivity of resident monocultures under ambient and manipulated environmental conditions, respectively. Positive values of the factor effect on resident productivity indicate that the environmental change factor increases the productivity of resident monocultures and thus is a favorable condition for plant growth, while negative values indicate that the environmental change factor decreases the productivity of resident monocultures and thus provides a stressful condition 46 . We only considered data for monocultures because biodiversity might buffer the effect of environmental change factors in the mixtures 46 .

Statistical analyses

Because biodiversity effects are scale-dependent and sensitive to species richness and duration of the experiment 56 , 57 , we used meta-regression models that included resident species richness, experimental duration and experimental unit size as covariates to test the effect of environmental manipulation (ambient vs. manipulated) on NBE and to derive the mean effect size of ΔNBE. We first performed these analyses for all environmental change factors and then for different types or numbers of factors. For the subset of studies with data on the invader type (internal invader, native external invader, alien external invader), we included the interaction between environmental manipulation and invader type in meta-regression models to explore whether invader type influences the effect of environmental change factors. Since we calculated the effect size of NBE by comparing multiple diversity levels to the same monoculture control, we accounted for this non-independence by computing the variance-covariance matrix of effect sizes 58 . The inverse of the sampling variance of the variance-covariance matrix was then used to weight the precision of effect sizes. To further account for possible non-independence of observations from the same study and for between-observation errors, we included observations nested in “study” as random factors in models 59 .

To test whether the biodiversity effect on invasion resistance is associated with the effect on resident productivity, resident species richness, experimental duration and experimental unit size, we used meta-regression models that included these moderators under ambient and manipulated environmental conditions, respectively. We used meta-regression models that included experimental duration and experimental unit size as covariates to test the effect of environmental change factors on invasion resistance or productivity of resident monocultures. To test the effect of environmental change factors on invasion resistance of resident mixtures, we also included resident species richness as covariate in meta-regression models. Furthermore, we used meta-regression models that included species richness, experimental duration and experimental unit size as covariates to test the relationship between invasion-resistance ∆NBE and the factor effect on resident productivity.

Finally, we tested publication bias in two ways 60 : (1) visual inspection for asymmetry in the funnel plot of the residuals from the meta-regression models, and (2) testing funnel asymmetry using Egger’s regression by including sampling standard error as a moderator in the meta-regression models (a significant sampling standard error indicates asymmetry in the funnel). When publication bias was detected, we conduced sensitivity analysis to identify potential outliers based on the Cook’s distance 61 and then conducted the analyses after removing outliers.

We performed all statistical analyses in R 4.1.3 62 . Meta-regression analyses were performed using the ‘rma.mv’ function in the ‘metafor’ package (version 4.1–0) 63 . We conducted the Q M test to determine the significance ( p  < 0.05) of moderators using the ‘anova’ function in the ‘metafor’ package. We estimated the mean effect size of the biodiversity effect or the factor effect from the meta-regression models and corrected the 95% CI using the Bonferroni method with the ‘emmeans’ package (version 1.8.4–1) 64 . We considered the mean effect size to be significant if the corrected 95% CI did not overlap zero. We tested pairwise differences in the mean effect size of the biodiversity effect among invader types using the ‘multcomp’ package (version 1.4–22) 65 .

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the  Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

All raw data are archived in Figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24953433 66 .  Source data are provided with this paper.

Code availability

All codes are archived in Figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24953433 66 .

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Acknowledgements

The study was funded by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC2601100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32030067), Department of Science and Technology of Yunnan Province (202405AS350011) and Talent Scientific Fund of Lanzhou University awarded to J.W. and B.L. We thank Yue Chen for drawing the symbols of environmental change factors. We also thank the authors who generously shared their data. The data on the Jena Experiment were obtained by C.C. from the Jena Experiment database ( https://jexis.idiv.de/ ) in August 2023. We thank Anja Vogel, Alexandra Weigelt and Anne Ebeling for making this data set available. The Jena Experiment is a research unit funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (FOR 456/1451/5000).

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Cai Cheng & Jihua Wu

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station of Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science and Institute of Eco-Chongming, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China

Cai Cheng, Zekang Liu, Wei Song & Xue Chen

Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany

Zhijie Zhang & Mark van Kleunen

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Ecosecurity of Southwest China, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650504, China

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J.W. conceived the study. C.C. led the data collection, with help from Z.L., W.S., and X.C. C.C. analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript, with substantial input from M.v.K., J.W., B.L., and Z.Z.

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Cheng, C., Liu, Z., Song, W. et al. Biodiversity increases resistance of grasslands against plant invasions under multiple environmental changes. Nat Commun 15 , 4506 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48876-z

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Received : 07 January 2024

Accepted : 15 May 2024

Published : 27 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48876-z

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What You Can Do to Protect Biodiversity

Biodiversity —the variety of all living organisms including ecosystems, plants, animals, their habitats and genes—is fundamental to life on Earth. We need biodiversity for its invaluable ecosystem services, providing oxygen, food, clean water, fertile soil, medicines, shelter, protection from storms and floods, a stable climate and recreation. Tragically, today biodiversity is disappearing at 1,000 times the normal rate due to human civilization. Individual species are being obliterated by habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, the spread of pollution and disease, climate change and the over exploitation of resources. And because the human population, which has doubled since 1970, is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, the biodiversity crisis will only get worse as more people consume more resources.

What can we as individuals do to help slow the loss of biodiversity?  Since consumption of resources is a root cause of biodiversity loss, we can consume less and be more mindful about what we consume. We need to leverage our purchasing power to help protect biodiversity by consuming products that do not harm the environment. Ecolabels enable consumers to determine which products are green, safe, and environmentally sustainable. But because so many ecolabels have sprung up—in 2010, there were 400 different sustainability certifications available around the world—they can be confusing. Here are some of the most reliable and respected ecolabels to look for.

Green Seal – Established in 1989, Green Seal boasts one of the first environmental certification programs. It uses lifecycle based sustainability standards to certify products, services, and companies that protect the environment and human health. All significant environmental and social impacts are considered, from raw materials extraction through manufacturing to use and disposal. Certified products include cleansers, construction materials, paints, paper, paper towels and tissue, food packaging, and hand soaps. Cleaning services, restaurants and hotels are also certified.

Forest Stewardship Council – The FSC promotes the sustainable management of the world’s forests by ensuring that the harvest of forests for timber and non-timber products maintains a forest’s biodiversity, productivity, and ecological processes, and by respecting the rights of and providing incentives to indigenous people to sustain forest resources. In addition to prohibiting the destruction of natural forests, the FSC safeguards endangered species, and bans toxic pesticides and the planting of genetically modified trees. FSC certified products include lumber, paper, printing, packaging, furniture, and other products made from wood.

LEED – The U.S. Green Building Council provides LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for buildings or communities designed and built with environmentally sensitive siting, energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, sustainable materials, improved indoor environmental quality, innovative technology and strategies, and stewardship of resources. It looks at the building lifecycle from design and construction to operations and maintenance, and substantial retrofits. LEED certification applies to commercial real estate, residential homes, schools and hospitals, and even the design or retrofit of neighborhoods.

Certified Wildlife Friendly – The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network promotes wildlife conservation through certifying products that are linked to conservation actions, and that benefit and involve local individuals and communities living with wildlife. Certified products include alpaca garments, essential oils, chili products, rice, eco-fashion, a community market organization, and a conservation program that helps control bushmeat poaching. Each certified entity is tied to conservation efforts for particular species.

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Good article! The Energy Star labeling system is a very good system of identifying household products that are the most energy efficient. It is a shame that these products are tageted by their manufacturers to give them maximum profit margin, which is clearly putting potential customers off from buying them and this results in customers not gaining anything on a supposed return on investment, even after a lengthy time. Kind regards !

Great article! Yes, there are many things we can do to preserve biodiversity and help our planet. One great way is by finding ways to reduce the energy used to heat and cool our homes.

I never really paid much attention to the labels or the variety of the labels. I do have a sadden heart regarding the Rain Forest. I breaks my heart to hear how much de-forestation takes place everyday. I just wish there was some other way to encourage people not to do this.

I know there are a lot of organizations like the Rainforest Alliance that are doing all they can to help. We just need people to stay engaged and remain proactive when it comes to this wonderful natural resource that is so important to our planet.

Thank you for posting this article. I am sure this will benefit many of your readers as much as it has me.

In my area, people still using plastic bags and non-recycle products. If we can’t educate them to reuse and recycle, we still consume more and more resources. Hope they will realized before the global warming become serious.

in my area we are planting fruit

Environmental pollution is growing year by year and we are responsible for this. So that, it our duty to control the pollution. We have concern about reuse and recycling of the waste products. We should use Eco friendly and recyclable product.

God work, it heiped me alot in my exams. Big up

I think education is at the top with anything like this. People aren’t aware of what biodiversity does to for us, so they just assume it’s a word BUT through effective campaigns via social media the younger generations will engage and they’ll learn far more too about what needs to be done to protect it!

The first thing we must do is do educate our kids and talk to our friends about this problem. We can start using eco friendly cleaning products, food that is from natural farm. Choose the products that are not made with chimicals and other toxic mix for environment.

Biodiversity plays a major role in our lives , but mostly in the lives of rural area,settlers without biodiversity the results are high poverty rate, and dependency, thus it is important for every individual to contribute to help maintain and sustain our biodiversity.

What can be done to mitigate Light glare and light trespass that is expanding with newer infill and development? Nocturnal animals are challenged by thoughtless individuals and developers…..

I have seen a lot of people in most rural areas wherein I thought they are the ones who preserve the environment better than the ones who live in the Urban.Nevertheless, people in the rural places had been burning lots of plastics in a pit and no one could implement a rule stating how dangerous it could affect in our nature.I am determined to help and encourage these people that instead of burning their trashes there are lots of ways to recycle it and use it for the better and a way to protect our biodiversity.

thats good for the enviroment

i can do to protect our biodiversity by being a good and responsible person. I thought in the rural areas they are the ones who takes care the environment than the people in the urban areas. They are burning garbages such as plastics that can affect our ozone layer. If i were them instead of burning wastes, i will think of recycling it to become more useful. And it can be a money for them. I will encourage them that instead of burning it and leave it behind, there is a lot of ways to become more useful like recycle them. And use it for the best and it can be one of the things on how we can protect our biodiversity.

plz share dos and donts to conserve biodiversity

To protect our biodiversity is to conserve natural resources. Like the urban areas they are the one who take care of their environment. While the rural areas are not taking care of their environment. They burn plastics and they dont recycle garbages. Instead of that doing that we need to consume electricity and recycle garbages so that we can help protect biodiversity. We must use products that can not harm the environment.

Also,a stable committee should be set-up that will check some of this companies that are in charge of the things concerning biodiversity. Inorder for them not to use chemicals that are harmful to the environment and contributing to the destruction of biodiversity.

Nice post! It’s really important to teach kids how to care for the environment. We should build up some idea on how both parents and educators can teach kids in a fun way.

i love that you are helping other kids learn about our environment.

if we get rid of to meany forest the animals will die because they have no where to live

if we took over the world how much would animals live in this world

well us for one because we are mammals which are animals

Since there is a rapid growth in the human population. We will just keep on destroying habitats and than there wouldn’t be much biodiversity left.

THE FORESTS ARE GETTING DESTROYED

Yes I agree it’s a good one but I want to know how can technological tools help to prevent or reduce the identified loss of biodiversity?

I agree that there needs to be something do to help our communities and the world not loos biodiversity. I also think that teaching are youth about ways they harm biodiversity and nature is very important.

I pledge to recycle, reuse and make better choices!!

we need more biodiversity because it is the keystone to the planets well being .

We all play a part in protecting biodiversity. Even the little thing can go a long way.

i agree to make the world a better place by recycling

We should stop destroying thousands of species by building apartments in nature. We should stop using unhealthy gas.

The Energy Star labeling system is a very good system of identifying household products that are the most energy efficient. It is a shame that these products are tageted by their manufacturers to give them maximum profit margin, which is clearly putting potential customers off from buying them and this results in customers not gaining anything on a supposed return on investment, even after a lengthy time. Kind regards !

That was a great article! People should start using more recyclable items because all of that trash is sent to the bottom of the ocean.

It is amazing how ecolabels are invented. Before, I didn’t really pay attention to those ecolabels since I didn’t know what are those for. But after reading the article, I realized that it is to protect and maintain our biodiversity. It is really important that we preserve our biodiversity because it is what gives us life. Without it, we won’t be able to live and have these materials that we need to survive.

Well written article!! I really enjoyed the paragraph on rainforest alliance. It saddens me very much that deforestation is such a big and recurring problem. I think we used only used recycled things. Get rid of plastic, and go all recycled paper. I al so think we should stop using trees for paper, and wood products. Dead trees are fine but some people use trees that are alive for their wood, and that needs to stop. They want to take down whole forests of trees, but dont want to take the time to grow one.

I try to not used a lot of technology and used of energy consumption as well as water consumption. Maybe one day when I grow I will make a team that assembles and help protect animals habitat

I love how you mentioned that a great way to conserve biodiversity is to consume less natural resources. I think that it would also be beneficial to invest in a service that’s main focus is to help improve biodiversity in landscapes. Thank you so much for your article about biodiversity, Renee.

1.I can plant more tress

2.Tell others around me why it is important so they will do the same and or help

3.I will give water to the trees

4. I will clean up the surroundings

5.Stop puting pollution and gas everywhere

Our biodiversity is very important and it’s a good thing this blog gives us informative articles. Especially on how we can preserve it. Another great thing about this is we gather information and can be spread by many. This blog is one of the great ways I see to conserve our biodiversity. Lastly, it helps to call out others to be aware about what is happening in our biodiversity.

well structured and thought through the post, I believe, this will serve as a great guide to many in identifying with the support for biodiversity conservation.

I love the artical saying that people realize that we are hurting biodiversity and doing something about it

This an great article to read! I think biodiversity is important because it shows us how we are ruining the land for animals and plants if we could stop knocking down trees and ruining plants and animals homes maybe so many animals wouldn’t be going extinct.

great in bringing a incite to how we can better our foods. i shall try not to pollute any grounds at any costs.

Don’t just go on to leave a thumbs down life is beautiful if we did not have it we would not be here so appropriate your surroundings.

living organisms including ecosystem plant animals thier habitats and genes is fundamental to life and earth we need biodeversity

I`ve always been connected to the biodiversity and nature and I understand the affects of human to earth but as us people we could keep our biodiversity by doing stuff that might help because biodiversity helps us in ways that we need to survive and we should help them too.

This article is very informative. It has really showed that there are many things that help to try to preserve our planet.

great article

it contains a lot of information!

I agree to feed the animal with organic foods.

The Marine Stewardship council is a good organisation because its stopping fish species from dieing out by making a limit to fishing its will help fish and coral reefs from bottom fishing.

Great article

the way we can make a change is by not taking up homes of animals and polluting earth

Good article i love how the author gave multiple points and you backed it up with stats and i agree that we should be more involved in trying to help our planet

Interesting article! One way humans have affected biodiversity is by their population and by the use of land.

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Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity

Biodiversity is currently being lost at up to 1,000 times the natural rate. Some scientists are now referring to the crisis as the ‘Earth’s sixth mass extinction’, comparable to the last great extinction crisis 65 million years ago. These extinctions are irreversible and pose a serious threat to our health and wellbeing. Designation and management of protected areas is the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. However, despite an increase in the total number of protected areas in the world, biodiversity continues to decline.

An integrated landscape approach to conservation planning plays a key role in ensuring suitable habitats for species. However, many protected areas are not functioning as effectively as originally intended, due in part to limited resources to maintain these areas and/or enforce relevant legal frameworks. In addition, current protected area networks may need to be re-aligned to account for climate change. Efforts to preserve biodiversity must take into account not only the physical environment, but also social and economic systems that are well connected to biodiversity and ecosystem services. For protected areas to contribute effectively to a secure future for biodiversity, there is a need for measures to enhance the representativeness of networks, and to improve management effectiveness.

• Growth in protected areas in many countries is helping to maintain options for the future, but sustainable use and management of territory outside protected areas remains a priority.
• Measures to improve environmental status within conservation areas, combined with landscape-scale approaches, are urgently needed if their efficiency is to be improved.
• Lack of adequate technical and financial resources and capacity can limit the upscaling of innovative solutions, demonstrating further the need for regional and subregional co-operation.
• Capacity building is a key factor in the successful avoidance and reduction of land degradation and informed restoration.
• Capacity development needs should be addressed at three levels: national, provincial and local.
• There is a need for capacity building to enable sources outside government to inform relevant departments and policies on biodiversity (e.g. through consultancies, academia and think tanks).

Sites, connected landscapes and networks

Conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable use.

UNESCO works on the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components through UNESCO designated sites, including biosphere reserves , World Heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks . In 2018, UNESCO designated sites protected over 10 million km 2 , an area equivalent to the size of China. These conservation instruments have adopted policies and strategies that aim to conserve these sites, while supporting the broader objectives of sustainable development. One such example is the policy on the integration of a sustainable development perspective into the processes of the World Heritage Convention.

UNESCO is also the depository of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance . Countless species of plants and animals depend on these delicate habitats for survival.

The first comprehensive assessment of species that live within World Heritage sites reveals just how critical they are to preserving the diversity of life on Earth.

The MAB Programme and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves: connecting landscapes and reconciling conservation with development

Biosphere reserves are designated under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme and promote solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use at local and regional scales.

This dynamic and interactive network of sites works to foster the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue, knowledge sharing, poverty reduction, human wellbeing improvements, respect or cultural values and efforts to improve society’s ability to cope with climate change. Progress has been achieved in connecting landscapes and protected areas through biosphere reserves, however further efforts are needed.

• World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
• BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT)
• Women for Bees - a joint Guerlain and UNESCO programme
• Protecting Great Apes and their habitats
• Ecosystem restoration for sustainable development in Haiti ( Français | Español )
• Green Economy in Biosphere Reserves project in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania *
• More activities and projects

and the sustainable use of its components through UNESCO designated sites

Capacity building

Capacity building is needed to provide adequate support to Member States to attain the international biodiversity goals and the SDGs. In some countries, technical, managerial and institutional capacity to define guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is inadequate. Additionally, existing institutional and technical capacity is often fragmented and uncoordinated. As new ways of interacting with biodiversity emerge, it is essential that stakeholders are trained and have sufficient capacity to implement new and varied approaches. Further efforts will be needed therefore to facilitate capacity building by fostering learning and leadership skills.

UNESCO is mandated to assist Member States in the design and implementation of national policies on education, culture, science, technology and innovation including biodiversity.

The BIOPALT project: integrated management of ecosystems

More than 30 million people live in the Lake Chad Basin. The site is highly significant in terms of  biodiversity and natural and cultural heritage. The cross-border dimension of the basin also presents opportunities for sub-regional integration. The  BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) project focuses on poverty reduction and peace promotion, and aims to strengthen the capacities of the Lake Chad Basin Commission member states to safeguard  and  manage sustainably the water resources, socio-ecosystems and cultural resources of the region.

Women for bees: Women’s empowerment and biodiversity conservation

Women for Bees is a state-of-the-art female beekeeping entrepreneurship programme launched by UNESCO and Guerlain. Implemented in UNESCO designated biosphere reserves around the world with the support of the French training centre, the Observatoire Français d’Apidologie (OFA), the programme has actor, film maker and humanitarian activist Angelina Jolie for a Godmother, helping promote its twin objectives of women’s empowerment and biodiversity conservation.

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and capacity development

Capacity development is  present in all areas of IOC ’s work, at the global programme level as well as  within  each of its three sub-commissions and  the IOC-INDIO regional committee. In 2015, IOC adopted its Capacity Development Strategy. IOC is the custodian agency for SDG 14A.

In collaboration with the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) , IOC has implemented a network of Regional Training Centres under the OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) project, which has seven such centres around the world (Belgium, Colombia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique and Senegal). Through its network of centres, OTGA provides a  programme of training courses related to IOC programmes, which contribute to the sustainable management of  oceans and coastal areas worldwide. OTGA has developed an e-Learning  Platform that hosts all training  resources for the training courses and makes them freely available to any interested parties.

Since 2012,  270 scientists from 69 countries have been trained to  manage  marine  biodiversity  data,  publish  data  through the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) , and perform scientific data analysis for reporting and assessment. Since 1990, IOC West Pacific Regional Training and  Research  Centres  have  trained  more  than  1,000 people in a variety of topics including: 

• monitoring the ecological impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems,
• harmful algal blooms,
• traditional and molecular taxonomy,
• reef health monitoring, and
• seagrass and mangrove ecology and management.

Most courses take place in a face-to-face classroom environment,  however training can also be conducted online using ICTs and the OceanTeacher e-Learning Platform, thereby increasing the number of people reached.

and peace-building through the promotion of green economy and the valorization of the basin's natural resources

Governance and connecting the scales

Governance systems in many countries function as indirect drivers of changes to ecosystems and biodiversity. At present, most policies that address biodiversity are fragmented and target specific. Additionally, the current design of governance, institutions and policies rarely takes into account the diverse values of biodiversity. There are also substantial challenges to the design and implementation of effective transboundary and regional initiatives to halt biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, climate change and unsustainable development. Another key challenge to successful policy-making is adequate mobilization of financial resources. Increased funding from both public and private sources, together with innovative financing mechanisms such as ecological fiscal transfers, would help to strengthen institutional capacities.

• Governance options that harness synergies are the best option for achieving the SDGs.
• There is a need to develop engagement and actions with diverse stakeholders in governance through regional cooperation and partnerships with the private sector.  
• Mainstreaming biodiversity into development policies, plans and programmes can improve efforts to achieve both the Aichi Targets and the SDGs.

UNESCO works to engage with new governance schemes at all levels through the LINKS Programme , the MAB Programme , the UNESCO-CBD Joint Programme and integrated management of ecosystems linking local to regional scales.

UNESCO supports the integrated management of ecosystems linking local to regional scales, especially through transboundary biosphere reserves, World Heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks. The governance and management of a biosphere reserve places special emphasis on the crucial role that combined knowledge, learning and capacity building play in creating and sustaining a dynamic and mutually beneficial interactions between the conservation and development objectives at local and regional scales.

A transboundary biosphere reserve is defined by the following elements: a shared ecosystem; a common culture and shared traditions, exchanges and cooperation at local level; the will to manage jointly the territory along the bio-sphere reserve values and principles; a political commitment resulting in an official agreement between governmental authorities of the countries concerned. The transboundary biosphere reserve establishes a coordinating structure representative of various administrations and scientific boards, the authorities in charge of the different areas included the protected areas, the representatives of local communities, private sector, and NGOs. A permanent secretariat and a budget are devoted to its functioning. Focal points for co-operation are designated in each country participating.

Transboundary conservation and cooperation

The Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve is located between El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. It is the first transboundary biosphere reserve in Central America and represents a major contribution to the implementation of the Mesoamerican Corridor. It includes key biodiversity areas, such as Montecristo National Park and a variety of forest ecosystems.

Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras)

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POLLINATORS MEGALAB: AN EDUCATIONAL KIT FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING ON POLLINATORS

POLLINATORS AND BIODIVERSITY

The conservation and protection of biodiversity in turn ensures the maintenance of ecosystem services, essential factors for our resilience when faced with the risk of environmental and health problems. The main and now known direct causes of the loss of biodiversity (soil consumption, excessive exploitation of resources, climate change, pollution, introduction of invasive alien species), all mainly attributable to human activities , which have led to almost three quarters of the earth’s surface to profound alterations of the biosphere.

The pollinator crisis is one of the most worrying indicators of this alarm linked to the loss of biodiversity; the conservation of natural environments, and actions aimed at raising awareness and combating this phenomenon are encouraged at all global institutional levels, but always start from education .

POLLINATORS MEGALAB

Pollinators MegaLab is a FREE and freely downloadable educational KIT, aimed at schools of all levels (scalable in content and activities). With Pollonators MG a teacher, an educator can find a series of tools to Learn what pollinators are, Experiment with their problems and threats by playing, Participate with Citizen-Science in their conservation and protection of their natural environments and gain Accreditation with training courses under the guidance of expert entomologists and conservationists.

The Teaching Kit Includes:

POLLINATORS MEDIABOOK

Pollinators mediabook.

Pollinators Mediabook is not just a book, it is a media book. A media book is a traditional book to which multimedia content has been added to go beyond the limits of texts and images. In this media book you will find information on pollinators, their importance and the problems related to them. Pollinators is a complex environmental issue that must be addressed from multiple points of view and for this reason you will find several here: scientific, environmental, social, ethical and economic. The texts are organized by levels of difficulty: after an initial informative level there will be open questions, useful reflections for discussing in a group or developing a theme or a written essay of increasing difficulty depending on the color of the banner.

In addition to the texts you will find links to multimedia content such as videos or sounds , which will make you see the organisms in movement and hear the topics covered, because a bee or a butterfly have a magic that goes beyond their textual description. The invitation is therefore to use this mediabook as a first step towards the many worlds that make up the galaxy of pollinators, read, watch, listen and reflect. To then go and have fun with them in a flowery meadow.

DOWNLOAD THE EBOOK: POLLINATORS (Coming Soon!)

MemoBEE is a scientific video game for Android and iOS to train your memory and learn how bees orient themselves and communicate . Find out how to help these hard-working insects find flowers to feed the hive.

MemoBEE is part of a scientific study and education project on pollinators to understand the problems related to them and support research and conservation of biodiversity. The Science Facts section curated by expert entomologists allows you to explore scientific topics related to pollination in a simple and fun way.

MemoBEE starts from the concept of “hive depopulation syndrome”, a real disorder in which bees’ memory is damaged , mainly by pesticides and various environmental changes, and which is leading to the death of thousands of very useful insects. The player trains his spatial memory and learns how fundamental this is to orient himself and survive in a flowery meadow, not only for domestic bees but also for wild ones and all other pollinators.

Set up a challenge in class to see who passes multiple levels in a period of time and then reflect on cognitive difficulties, geospatial references and the importance of a healthy and complex environment for pollinators!

DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR Android o iOS

A specific training and in-depth course for educators and teachers of all levels on biodiversity teaching applied to pollinators . The WBA offers its know-how and a team of expert entomologists and researchers to set up a training course with you to devolop an educational project in your area.

Use the Pollinators MegaLab teaching tools in the classroom, learn systematics and ecology with practical experiments, experiment with citizen-science by starting a real scientific project to monitor and study pollinators in the schoolyard or city park.

CONTACT US TO ORGANIZE A TRAINING COURSE

[email protected]

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Soaring ambitions, fragile wings: Judicial balancing of climate rights and biodiversity conservation

In fighting the good fight against the adverse effects of climate change, the Supreme Court needs to ensure that other species are not sacrificed at the altar of anthropocentrism, writes Prakhar Pandey. 

A recent Supreme Court judgment affirming the “ right to be free from adverse effects of climate change ” as a fundamental Constitutional right has sparked a noteworthy debate.

This landmark decision sits at the intersections of the urgent imperatives of biodiversity conservation, human rights and climate action. Central to the controversy is the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard habitat, which has been compromised by overhead power transmission lines.

This analysis will delve into the complexities of this ruling, its implications for environmental law, and its potential to shape future climate litigation in India, emphasising the intricate relationship between conservation efforts, sustainable development and the protection of marginalised communities.

A quagmire of competing claims

The Supreme Court judgment in M.K. Ranjitsinh & Ors. versus Union of India & Ors . originated from a 2019 writ petition seeking the preservation of two critically endangered bird species — the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican— both of which face severe threats of extinction due to various anthropogenic factors.

Despite numerous conservation efforts , the populations of the Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican have continued to decline, remaining a significant cause for concern . Although both species are afforded the highest degree of legal protection and included in many conservation programmes, there has been no significant positive impact on their dwindling numbers.

Framing the issue as a binary choice between renewable energy and biodiversity preservation oversimplifies the complex environmental challenge.

In its Order dated April 19, 2021 , the Supreme Court gave directions restricting the deployment of overhead power transmission lines in an area of 99,000 square kilometres and undergrounding of the overhead transmission lines in areas relevant to the Great Indian Bustard.

Solar and wind energy companies highlighted that it may not be technically and economically feasible to underground transmission lines in the entire area. The court then mandated that all low-voltage power lines in critical Great Indian Bustard’s habitats must be laid underground and existing ones converted, while high-voltage power lines were to be technically evaluated on a case-by-case basis for possible underground conversion.

Also read: India’s challenges towards achieving net-zero goals

On November 17, 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the Ministry of Power (MoP), and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) filed an application (IA No 149,293 of 2021) seeking modifications to the abovementioned Order on the grounds that the implementation of this Order would be detrimental to the power sector.

The three ministries jointly argued that this would hamper various energy transition initiatives being undertaken to move away from fossil fuels, thereby also affecting India’s international commitments under the Paris Agreement.

It was in this context that the Supreme Court decided to reflect upon and modify its 2021 Order . In doing so, it attempted to take a balanced approach between human rights, sustainable development and ecological preservation. However, this decision to reevaluate the feasibility of undergrounding power lines in Great Indian Bustard’s habitats deviates from previous directives of the court.

The Supreme Court’s latest modifications have been critiqued on the grounds that the ruling lacks empirical evidence and disregards the precautionary principle, potentially setting a troubling precedent in environmental jurisprudence.

The judgment’s emphasis on balancing conservation and development appears flawed, as it conflicts with established policies and evidence regarding the risks associated with overhead power cables and the resulting biodiversity loss.

Moreover, framing the issue as a binary choice between renewable energy and biodiversity preservation oversimplifies the complex environmental challenge. Despite the judgment’s emphasis on the necessity of renewable energy and the importance of balance, the judgment may inadvertently end up prioritising human rights over biodiversity conservation.

In a recent discussion on the judgment, environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta pointed out that it was also perhaps one of those rare occasions where three ministries, all with such distinct objectives and functions, came together and were in consensus that this case should not only be explored from the lens of conservation of the Great Indian Bustard but from the larger climate goals of the country.

Also read: Unregulated tourist influx: Kashmir dreads the final straw that will break the Himalayas’ back

Relying on this, the Bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr D.Y. Chandrachud drew attention to the ambitious climate targets India has set for itself and how energy transition is a key strategy in the country fulfilling its climate obligations.

What makes this a landmark judgment?

Firstly, while adjudicating the collective plea for modification of the previous Order, the Supreme Court stepped away from the core issues raised in the case and recognised the “ right to be free from adverse impacts of climate change ” as a fundamental right by interpreting it under the constitutional provisions of Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) and Article 14 (Right to Equality).

Secondly, the court also emphasised the duties of the State and its citizens by citing Articles 48A and 51A (g) and through this linkage opined that the adverse impacts of climate change have a direct bearing on the quality of life of the citizens and the State’s responsibility to protect them.

Until now, environmental jurisprudence in India had always relied on the bedrock of Article 21 which has led to the recognition of several environmental rights as part of the right to life. This judgment, however, has departed from existing precedents by extending this recognition to Article 14. This is an essential development because Article 14 is not just about equality — it is also concerned with protection from arbitrary action by the State.

Until now, the courts have also not recognised the unequal distribution of climate impacts. They neither focused on differential vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities existing within the country nor did they interlink it with constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, especially under the framework of the right to equality.

The judgment may inadvertently end up prioritising human rights over biodiversity conservation.

Thus, this judgment marks a significant development in the environmental and climate jurisprudence of the country and has stirred positive anticipation with regard to the potential of rights-based climate litigation.

Potential of climate litigation in India

While the judgment is an extraordinary development for the advancement of climate litigation in India and across the world , it is equally necessary to recognise that several limitations exist in current systems and structures.

Only a few climate cases have reached the judiciary in India, and in almost all these cases, climate has been a peripheral issue in relation to other mainstream environmental concerns such as air and water pollution, forest protection, and so on.

Many of the concerns highlighted in the judgment, particularly with regard to disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis such as extreme weather events, water shortages, health impacts and food security, are superficial add-ons to the climate mitigation projects that have historically received approvals.

Also read: Animal suffering missing from social justice advocacy

Based on the larger technocratic understanding and narrative of climate change, the early solutions that have been designed and implemented have also been mostly technical and have not focused on social systems. They were lauded when they were proposed but have resulted in several unintended consequences.

This judgment is a significant opportunity to navigate these limitations and adapt to create better frameworks. The golden triangle of the Constitution of India (Articles 14, 19 and 21) has served as an important tool to envision an inclusive and just society and to bridge the gap between ideals and reality. It would also be pivotal in climate litigation, but a lot will depend on how the courts address rights-based claims against the direct and indirect impacts of climate change.

For example, how will the courts now adjudicate the issue of equality and climate justice for people most affected by impacts such as heatwaves, sea-level rise, crop loss and so on?

In a petition filed in 2018 seeking heatwaves to be considered on a par with other disasters as per Article 14, the Supreme Court opined that the petitioner should “ submit a representation to the competent authority, which shall contain suggestions ” to combat the heatwave. Other petitions that have sought the inclusion of climate claims in the environmental decision-making processes have faced similar fates .

Advocate Ritwick Dutta has pointed out that this judgment’s recognition of coal as a problematic fuel rather than a sacrosanct energy source is crucial for advancing India’s energy policy in alignment with global climate commitments.

However, the true test of this judgment will be whether the government maintains this stance when faced with decisions regarding coal-fired power plants. If it does, this judgment will have significant implications, potentially binding not only on the Supreme Court but also high courts, the National Green Tribunal, and other relevant authorities.

Also read: Photo essay: The coast, or what is left of it

The consistent rulings of various Indian courts in the environmental domain are supported by constitutional principles that have enabled them to assume a creative and proactive role through innovative jurisprudence. And this is precisely where the opportunity to augment environmental and climate jurisprudence lies — in using imaginative over evidence-based legal approaches .

Until now, the courts have not recognised the unequal distribution of climate impacts.

Apprehensions remain about what kind of cases can be brought before the courts using the rights-based framework under Articles 14 and 21. Climate Change Litigation Databases prepared by the Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School show the range of climate litigation across the globe, which includes access to information, environmental crimes and false green advertising, among others.

The potential of this judgment will depend on the kind of claims that will be allowed before Indian courts by invoking the existing environmental laws and regulations. It would also be interesting to see if this new framework can support claims under other legal and regulatory frameworks covering aspects such as consumer protection, green buildings, energy conservation, corporate responsibility and so on.

Lack of an umbrella regulation governing climate change

A major roadblock that remains, as also pointed out by the Supreme Court in this case, is that there is no umbrella legislation regulating climate action and safeguarding protection of rights against adverse impacts of climate change.

However, as Ritwick Dutta has also said , it is important to understand that even though this judgment has articulated a fundamental right, it cannot be read as a piece of legislation. While the recognition of this fundamental right can go a long way in enabling a new legal framework from which to view the climate crisis, the judgment cannot be expected to become the guiding force behind the development of renewable energy and other climate action in India.

A significant part of the judgment is simply a reiteration of the submissions that were made by the government in their affidavit and, therefore, must not be read as the opinion of the court.

Despite being envisaged under Article 253 of the Constitution and being part of India’s binding obligations, the harmonisation of international climate agreements and treaties into the domestic legal framework has not been done.

Currently, India’s climate action relies on the eight core missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), the State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs), and other intermittent policy instruments.

Also read: Citizens’ fight to restore Goa’s ecology: Revitalising agriculture in mining-affected areas

These instruments, however, lack enforceability and are often discretionary, leading to inconsistent implementation across states. NGT has also held that these action plans are policy matters and cannot be enforced. Therefore, it is important to make climate action plans enforceable, akin to the National Clean Air Action Plan, which is backed by the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Many critical areas of intervention lie within the purview of state governments, encompassing sectors such as electricity distribution, urban transport, agriculture and building regulations. Without a legal mechanism to ensure alignment between state and national goals, these interventions remain malleable and lack enforceability.

This marks a significant development in the country’s environmental and climate jurisprudence and has stirred positive anticipation with regard to the potential of rights-based climate litigation.

Moreover, several market-based schemes such as carbon credits and green credits, which aim to reduce carbon consumption through offsetting mechanisms, have been implemented, but they do not focus on achieving systemic change. There have been several instances of greenwashing where such credits have been found to be fake and have brought about no positive impact.

Thus, there is a pressing need for the development of a comprehensive framework on climate change to transform policy into enforceable laws for both mitigation and adaptation. It is the only way of ensuring a robust and cohesive approach to climate action in India.

The side-effects of good deeds

While this judgment captures various ways in which climate concerns disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and ecosystems, it fails to recognise the numerous ways in which renewable energy projects can also perpetuate environmental and social injustices.

Moving forward, we need to question whether future climate justice pathways are limited to carbon reduction through the use of renewable energy. Will all social justice considerations need to be accommodated within the ambit of such renewable energy projects?

Experts contend that India has turned to an old colonial policy to find land that can be converted to renewable energy parks . There are several databases that have documented injustices caused by ‘green’ projects which are superficially environmentally conscious and aim to accelerate climate targets as per our Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs).

A quick scan of the Land Conflict Watch Database shows 93 ongoing conflicts arising out of renewable energy projects and 105 conflicts arising out of forestry and conservation projects .

Also read: Lithium extraction: Economy plus one, environment minus one

The Global Atlas for Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) also documents several instances where projects initiated in the name of environmental protection have led to social injustices and exacerbated conflicts. So far, 356 such cases have been reported in India, of which several fall under the category of “ Biodiversity Conservation Conflicts ”.

The other kind of conflict exacerbated by climate change is human–wildlife conflict . The Supreme Court’s anthropocentric view in this judgment, as opposed to the plethora of times it encourages ecocentrism , might set a precedent where animal rights are constantly trampled over for furthering human concerns.

The long-standing problem of attribution

In light of the anticipated increase in climate litigation following the Supreme Court’s recognition that climate change impacts the constitutional right to equality, there is emphasis on the need to enhance data and modelling for attribution science , which assesses the likelihood of extreme weather events due to climate change.

Attribution is crucial for substantiating legal cases . Experts have stressed the importance of scientific evidence for climate-related claims, noting recent European rulings on government accountability. The World Meteorological Organization has also reported that Asia was the most disaster-hit region in 2023, underscoring the urgency of reliable attribution data.

The potential of this judgment will depend on the kind of claims that will be allowed before Indian courts by invoking the existing environmental laws and regulations.

The complexities in attributing certain events to climate change call for improved historical data and modeling infrastructure. The Supreme Court’s ruling empowers citizens to address climate-related rights violations, though it may lead to unsuccessful cases if attribution is not done properly.

Also read: Climate education in India: Falling behind, looking ahead

In this context, legal experts advocate for a comprehensive climate change act to integrate laws, set binding targets, and hold corporations accountable, with robust attribution science being essential for effective litigation and policymaking.

Where do we go from here?

Kanchi Kohli, a researcher with decades of experience in the sector, said that one definite positive contribution of this judgment has been to rekindle a public discussion on topics such as climate justice.

While these discussions are much needed, advocate Shibani Ghosh has pointed out that judgments and judicial outcomes take a while to bring about major changes in India. Even though it is a landmark judgment, it does not mean that these rights will start getting enforced right away.

Moving forward, we need to question whether future climate justice pathways are limited to carbon reduction through the use of renewable energy.

The judgment has underscored the intrinsic connection between human rights and ecological preservation and emphasised the State’s duty to protect its citizens from climate change. However, it has also highlighted complex trade-offs between climate action and conservation efforts.

Overall, this judgment has the potential to reshape India’s approach to climate governance, reinforcing the constitutional mandate to protect the environment while balancing development and conservation imperatives. 

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Naturally Occurring Discursive Work as a Reflection of Organizational Identification During Organizational Transformation

• Department of Industrial Engineering and Management

Research output : Thesis › Doctoral Thesis › Collection of Articles

• transformation
• discursive work
• organizational identification
• organizational narratives
• organizational identity
• organization's status
• temporality
• enterprise social media

Access to Document

• http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-64-1835-3

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• Organizational Transformation Social Sciences 100%
• Work Social Sciences 100%
• Identification Computer Science 100%
• Transformations Computer Science 100%
• Organizational Member Computer Science 100%
• Narrative Psychology 100%
• Organizations Social Sciences 58%
• Essays Social Sciences 58%

T1 - Naturally Occurring Discursive Work as a Reflection of Organizational Identification During Organizational Transformation

AU - Kupiainen, Olli-Jaakko

N2 - Research on organizational changes traditionally focuses on the outcome of change efforts or change processes. Recent theoretical openings of "work" complement these approaches, which aim to elucidate organizational members' purposeful change efforts. Work has discursive, relational, and material dimensions. This doctoral thesis focuses on discursive work, which emphasizes the role of language in aiming to shape or change an organization's social-symbolic objects. An organization's future, identity, and status represent such social-symbolic objects in this doctoral thesis. An empirical arena of this doctoral thesis is naturally occurring change talk that organizational members generate on the enterprise social media and its discussion board during an organizational transformation. These posts are considered organizational narratives. The strength of the narrative approach is that it acknowledges multiple interpretations of change. This doctoral thesis is a case study consisting of three individual essays and a summary of those essays. Each essay explores the same data through different work lenses: temporal work, organizational identity (OI) work, and status work. The essays show how organizational members integrated their microlevel change talk into their organization's macrolevel change attempts. Essay 1 argues that organizational members engage in future-making by offering solutions and making "if-then" plans to enable their organization to meet its goals in the future. Essay 2 suggests that they discursively construct time- and context-sensitive OIs offering alternative interpretations of ongoing transformation. Essay 3 shows that members engage in status-seeking on behalf of their organization, which is supported or hindered by organizational self-efficacy. This doctoral thesis advances the understanding of organizational change literature by arguing that the discursive "work" in which organizational members engage in on a technological platform can help to set the direction for the organization during transformation when organizational members monitor and assess their organization's interest (one motivational aspect of organizational identification). Thus, it is argued that discursive work and organizational identification are closely linked. The research suggests that organizational members' collective, discursive work through social technologies is a cultural phenomenon in which diverse and critical interpretations of ongoing transformation can also be expressed. Furthermore, discursive work requires resources from the members to make inferences about the situation. Social technologies support discursive work by making multiple interpretations and an organization's change potentials visible via organizational narratives, thus generating a discourse of direction.

AB - Research on organizational changes traditionally focuses on the outcome of change efforts or change processes. Recent theoretical openings of "work" complement these approaches, which aim to elucidate organizational members' purposeful change efforts. Work has discursive, relational, and material dimensions. This doctoral thesis focuses on discursive work, which emphasizes the role of language in aiming to shape or change an organization's social-symbolic objects. An organization's future, identity, and status represent such social-symbolic objects in this doctoral thesis. An empirical arena of this doctoral thesis is naturally occurring change talk that organizational members generate on the enterprise social media and its discussion board during an organizational transformation. These posts are considered organizational narratives. The strength of the narrative approach is that it acknowledges multiple interpretations of change. This doctoral thesis is a case study consisting of three individual essays and a summary of those essays. Each essay explores the same data through different work lenses: temporal work, organizational identity (OI) work, and status work. The essays show how organizational members integrated their microlevel change talk into their organization's macrolevel change attempts. Essay 1 argues that organizational members engage in future-making by offering solutions and making "if-then" plans to enable their organization to meet its goals in the future. Essay 2 suggests that they discursively construct time- and context-sensitive OIs offering alternative interpretations of ongoing transformation. Essay 3 shows that members engage in status-seeking on behalf of their organization, which is supported or hindered by organizational self-efficacy. This doctoral thesis advances the understanding of organizational change literature by arguing that the discursive "work" in which organizational members engage in on a technological platform can help to set the direction for the organization during transformation when organizational members monitor and assess their organization's interest (one motivational aspect of organizational identification). Thus, it is argued that discursive work and organizational identification are closely linked. The research suggests that organizational members' collective, discursive work through social technologies is a cultural phenomenon in which diverse and critical interpretations of ongoing transformation can also be expressed. Furthermore, discursive work requires resources from the members to make inferences about the situation. Social technologies support discursive work by making multiple interpretations and an organization's change potentials visible via organizational narratives, thus generating a discourse of direction.

KW - transformation

KW - discursive work

KW - organizational identification

KW - organizational narratives

KW - organizational identity

KW - organization's status

KW - temporality

KW - future

KW - enterprise social media

KW - case study

KW - muutos

KW - diskursiivinen työ

KW - organisaatioon samastuminen

KW - organisaationarratiivit

KW - organisaation identiteetti

KW - organisaation status

KW - ajallisuus

KW - tulevaisuus

KW - organisaation sisäinen sosiaalinen media

KW - tapaustutkimus

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

SN - 978-952-64-1834-6

T3 - Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL THESES

PB - Aalto University