Ecosystems in the Anthropocene: transformative drivers

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Guimaraes, Clara de Goes Monteiro de Carvalho, Rodrigues, Pablo Jose Francisco Pena
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Guimaraes, Clara de Goes Monteiro de Carvalho
Rodrigues, Pablo Jose Francisco Pena
author_facet Guimaraes, Clara de Goes Monteiro de Carvalho
Rodrigues, Pablo Jose Francisco Pena
contents Human activity has an enormous impact on Earth, changing organisms, environments and landscapes, leading to the decline of original ecosystems and irreversible changes that create new combinations of living beings and materials. As a result, ecosystems with new properties and new species pools are emerging. Here, we explore a set of transformative drivers, which can act either individually or in synergy. The expansion of novel ecosystems (hybrids of natural and agricultural systems) is a sign of irreversible, human-induced change. Human growth, adaptation to climate change, urban expansion and geoengineering are powerful transformative drivers which are expected to have a high impact, creating novel ecosystems. In contrast, less transformative drivers such as degrowth, biocentrism, ecological restoration and low-impact agriculture can mitigate human impacts, leading to adaptation, resilience and sustainability, while conserving original ecosystems. This requires a new approach, incorporating new ecological, ethical and cultural perspectives, to keep ecosystems functional and healthy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_08656
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ecosystems in the Anthropocene: transformative drivers
Guimaraes, Clara de Goes Monteiro de Carvalho
Rodrigues, Pablo Jose Francisco Pena
Populations and Evolution
Human activity has an enormous impact on Earth, changing organisms, environments and landscapes, leading to the decline of original ecosystems and irreversible changes that create new combinations of living beings and materials. As a result, ecosystems with new properties and new species pools are emerging. Here, we explore a set of transformative drivers, which can act either individually or in synergy. The expansion of novel ecosystems (hybrids of natural and agricultural systems) is a sign of irreversible, human-induced change. Human growth, adaptation to climate change, urban expansion and geoengineering are powerful transformative drivers which are expected to have a high impact, creating novel ecosystems. In contrast, less transformative drivers such as degrowth, biocentrism, ecological restoration and low-impact agriculture can mitigate human impacts, leading to adaptation, resilience and sustainability, while conserving original ecosystems. This requires a new approach, incorporating new ecological, ethical and cultural perspectives, to keep ecosystems functional and healthy.
title Ecosystems in the Anthropocene: transformative drivers
topic Populations and Evolution
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.08656