INCREASING LIVESTOCK DIVERSITY CAN HELP PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING

Posted date: 14 Aug 2019

An international team including a researcher from the URJC identified the role of herbivore diversity as major regulators of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in grazed ecosystems.

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The global population is projected to exceed 11 billion by 2100. Such an increase in human population would imply an increment in the demand of meat and dairy, resulting in a larger portion of land surface dedicated to grazing for livestock –over 25% of emerged lands is already dedicated to this. Pasturing is one of the most common methods for raising livestock, and play a critical role in maintaining food production, which is of special importance to developing countries. However, grazing by livestock can also result in multiple negative impacts for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, resulting in desertification processes. Because of this, “one of the most important challenges we face over the next few decades is to maintain a sustainable production of food for the billions of new inhabitants on Earth, while protecting the health of our ecosystems” explains Dr. Manuel Delgado Baquerizo from the University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) and co-author of this work.

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