Breaks in human activity benefit biodiversity, according to a UCO studyCORDOVA
Satellite data on environmental variables and polluting particles, as well as information on human mobility and species distribution obtained between 2017 and 2022 confirm that human inactivity, a consequence of the confinements for covid-19had positive effects on biodiversityspecifically in the quality of the species’ habitat. When people’s mobility and pollution decrease, the quality of the space in which amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and plants live improves, which opens the door to promoting practices that pause or reduce human activity, such as teleworking. .
This has been confirmed by a study published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation carried out by the researcher from the Ecology Area of the University of Córdoba, Salvador Arenas Castro, together with the Portuguese researchers Neftalí Sillero, João Carlos Campos and João Alírio. To do this, the team studied habitat quality every eight days, and over a period of 5 years, for almost 400 species of the Iberian Peninsula based on data obtained by satellites that report on different characteristics of the ecosystems, such as the quality of the vegetation or the functional characteristics of the ecosystems. Specifically, they were interested in the albedo (which reports on energy balance), evapotranspiration (water balance), vegetation indices (which report on biomass or productivity) and reflectance and temperature of the earth’s surface. These data were analyzed from July 2017 to August 2022 (that is, before, during and after the pandemic), observing a general negative trend in habitat quality.
Once this information was obtained, the team verified the results with other data related to the paralysis of human activity as a consequence of confinements: toxic particles in suspension resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide), particles in suspension of less than ten microns (dust, ash, soot, pollen…) and mobility data.
Decrease in pollution and increase in air quality
By overlaying the species’ habitat quality results with the particle and mobility data, the team saw that there was a relationship, since at the time when confinement appears, pollution decreases and the quality of the habitat increases for all species as a whole, without being related to seasonality. “In the first confinement, for example, the quality of the habitat increased when the confinement had already been in progress for a few days, causing a decrease in suspended particles and in the mobility of people,” explains researcher Salvador Arenas Castro.
Although long-term confinements have had negative effects on nature (such as an increase in fires or poaching) and can cause unrest in society, research demonstrates the benefits they have not only for the species, but also for people. “If the quality of the habitat in which the species live improves, There will be more quantity and better quality of water, the air will be cleaner and natural resources will be more affordable, which will make us happier, healthier and more connected,” says Arenas Castro, concluding that “Greater biodiversity provides health and social well-being.”
