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07/14/2007: "More species/space needed to keep planet from collapsing"

Vital ecosystem functions, such as sequestering carbon dioxide and
purifying water, depend on a larger number of species than previously
thought. That means we may have underestimated the environmental impact of
biodiversity losses.

Andy Hector and Robert Bagchi of the University of Zurich, Switzerland,
analysed data on the ecosystem services provided by grass species. They
then devised a method to identify how many species were need to provide
increasing numbers of services.

As more ecosystem services were added, greater numbers of species were
required to support an entire ecosystem (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature05947).

"We may have underestimated the effects of biodiversity," Hector says.
"Our analysis encourages thinking about ecosystems as a whole, rather than
focusing on individual services in isolation."

[ Isn't that what ecosystem means? A complex machine, not some substrate like butter than you can lop a chunk off of and say, "That's all we need"? Humanity wants to cut 2/3 of a car away and still drive. ]


http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19526124.800&feedId=SIEGHEIL