Biosphere integrity

Biosphere Integrity refers to the capacity of ecosystems across the planet to support life and maintain the overall health and stability of the Earth system. This depends on the health, diversity, and interactions of the organisms that make up these ecosystems. Human activities are putting increasing pressure on Biosphere Integrity: through land-use change (such as expanding agriculture, livestock, cities, and industry), overexploitation of natural resources (like overfishing), the spread of invasive species, and various forms of pollution.

These pressures are further intensified by disruptions in other Planetary Boundaries, including climate change and changes in nutrient cycles. Today, the Planetary Boundary for Biosphere Integrity is strongly transgressed. When Biosphere Integrity is compromised, the resilience of the Earth system is weakened, threatening the essential conditions that support life on our planet.

Control variables

The Planetary Boundary for Change in Biosphere Integrity is measured using two variables: The rate at which species are going extinct (genetic diversity), and the amount of energy humans are extracting from nature through harvesting, hunting and fishing (functional integrity).

Both the control variables for genetic diversity and the decline in the functional integrity of the biosphere have exceeded their safe levels. Globally, species are going extinct at an alarming rate of above 100 extinctions per million species years, and humans are using 30% of the available energy from nature.

Impacts

The impacts of losing the integrity and functioning of the biosphere are hard to overstate. The biosphere co-regulates the overall state of the Earth on many levels, as it is closely tied into our planet’s biogeochemical cycles and energy balance. The loss of vital services provided by ecosystems also has the potential to deprive our societies of irreplaceable sources of food and feed, energy, materials and medicines, while destabilizing the entire Earth system. Examples are the loss of pollinators, which are needed for more than 75% of food crop species, and the loss of CO₂ uptake sequestration capacity, which could significantly accelerate climate change.

Destabilization of the Earth system

The biosphere co-regulates the overall state of the Earth on many levels, as it is closely tied into our planet’s biogeochemical cycles and energy balance. Loss of biosphere integrity disrupts these fundamental regulatory mechanisms, potentially destabilizing the entire Earth system and its ability to maintain conditions suitable for life.

Loss of critical ecosystem services

The loss of vital services provided by ecosystems has the potential to deprive our societies of irreplaceable sources of food and feed, energy, materials, and medicines. These ecosystem services form the foundation of human well-being and economic activity, making their loss a direct threat to societal stability and human survival.

Collapse of essential biological functions

Critical biological functions are at risk of collapse, with cascading consequences. The loss of pollinators threatens more than 75% of food crop species, while diminished CO₂ uptake and sequestration capacity could significantly accelerate climate change, creating dangerous feedback loops that amplify environmental degradation.

Key drivers

Species loss and threat to genetic diversity

Species extinction rates are primarily driven by rapid expansions in agricultural and livestock farming lands, as well as direct exploitation of ecosystems through human activities such as fishing and logging. Climate change, pollution, and the introduction of invasive species further exacerbate these pressures. These stressors often interact in complex ways, introducing significant uncertainty into predictions of future biodiversity loss.

Overexploitation of net primary production (HANPP)

Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) for human consumption such as food, fuel, fodder, and fiber has historically exceeded sustainable levels for over a century. This extraction of energy from the biosphere varies across different biomes; on land, it involves harvesting plant materials and conversion of natural ecosystems into less productive managed lands. This diminishes the energy available to natural ecosystems, affecting their functioning as vital components of the Earth system. In marine ecosystems, energy extraction primarily occurs through fishing activities, which alter ecosystem dynamics.