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Human domination of Earth’s ecosystems (1997)
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| Venue: | Science |
| Citations: | 608 - 7 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Vitousek97humandomination,
author = {Peter M. Vitousek and Harold A. Mooney and Jane Lubchenco and Jerry M. Melillo},
title = {Human domination of Earth’s ecosystems},
journal = {Science},
year = {1997},
pages = {494--499}
}
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Abstract
Human alteration of Earth is substantial and growing. Between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action; the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; more atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by humanity than by all natural terrestrial sources combined; more than half of all accessible surface fresh water is put to use by humanity; and about one-quarter of the bird species on Earth have been driven to extinction. By these and other standards, it is clear that we live on a humandominated planet. All organisms modify their environment, and humans are no exception. As the human population has grown and the power of technology has expanded, the scope and nature of this modification has changed drastically. Until recently, the term “human-dominated ecosystems ” would have
