Editing Holocene extinction (section)

===Habitat destruction===
{{See also|Habitat destruction|Deforestation|Environmental impact of agriculture|}}
{{Pie chart
|caption='''[[Biomass (ecology)|Biomass]] of [[mammal]]s on Earth as of 2018'''<ref name="Carrington2018"/><ref name="Biomass2018"/> 
|label1 =Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs
|value1 =60|color1=blue
|label2 =Humans
|value2 =36|color2=red
|label3 =[[Wildlife|Wild mammals]]
|value3 =4|color3=green
}}Humans both create and destroy [[Crop cultivation|crop cultivar]] and [[domesticated animal]] varieties. Advances in transportation and [[industrial farming]] has led to [[monoculture]] and the extinction of many cultivars. The use of certain plants and animals for food has also resulted in their extinction, including [[Silphium (antiquity)|silphium]] and the [[passenger pigeon]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Torres|first=Luisa|date=September 23, 2019|title=When We Love Our Food So Much That It Goes Extinct|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/09/23/763404243/when-we-love-our-food-so-much-that-it-goes-extinct|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-date=December 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203225303/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/09/23/763404243/when-we-love-our-food-so-much-that-it-goes-extinct|url-status=live}}</ref> It was estimated in 2012 that 13% of Earth's ice-free land surface is used as row-crop agricultural sites, 26% used as pastures, and 4% urban-industrial areas.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hooke|first1=R. LeB.|last2=Martin-Duque|first2=J. F.|last3=Pedraza|first3=J.|year=2012|title=Land transformation by humans: A review|journal=GSA Today|volume=22|issue=12|pages=4–10|doi=10.1130/GSAT151A.1|bibcode=2012GSAT...12l...4H|s2cid=120172847|url=https://eprints.ucm.es/id/eprint/20528/1/Hooke_et_al_2012_GSAToday.pdf|access-date=2024-02-14|archive-date=2023-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111130455/https://eprints.ucm.es/id/eprint/20528/1/Hooke_et_al_2012_GSAToday.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2019, ''[[Nature Climate Change]]'' published a study by ecologists from [[Yale University]], who found that over the next half century, human land use will reduce the habitats of 1,700 species by up to 50%, pushing them closer to extinction.<ref>{{cite news|last=Reints|first=Renae|date=March 6, 2019|title=1,700 Species Will Likely Go Extinct Due to Human Land Use, Study Says|work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|url=http://fortune.com/2019/03/06/human-land-use-study|access-date=March 11, 2019|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224211954/http://fortune.com/2019/03/06/human-land-use-study|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Walter Jetz|last2=Powers|first2=Ryan P.|date=4 March 2019|title=Global habitat loss and extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates under future land-use-change scenarios |journal=Nature Climate Change|volume=9|issue=4|pages=323–329|bibcode=2019NatCC...9..323P |doi=10.1038/s41558-019-0406-z|s2cid=92315899}}</ref> That same month ''[[PLOS Biology]]'' published a similar study drawing on work at the [[University of Queensland]], which found that "more than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and will almost certainly face extinction without conservation intervention".<ref>{{cite web|last=Cox|first=Lisa|date=12 March 2019|title='Almost certain extinction': 1,200 species under severe threat across world |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/13/almost-certain-extinction-1200-species-under-severe-threat-across-world|access-date=13 March 2019|website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Venter |first1=Oscar|last2=Atkinson|first2=Scott C.|last3=Possingham|first3=Hugh P. |last4=O’Bryan|first4=Christopher J.|last5=Marco|first5=Moreno Di|last6=Watson|first6=James E. M. |last7=Allan|first7=James R.|date=12 March 2019 |title=Hotspots of human impact on threatened terrestrial vertebrates|journal=PLOS Biology|volume=17|issue=3|pages=e3000158|pmc=6413901|pmid=30860989 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000158 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Since 1970, the populations of [[Fish migration|migratory]] freshwater fish have declined by 76%, according to research published by the [[Zoological Society of London]] in July 2020. Overall, around one in three freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction due to human-driven habitat degradation and overfishing.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=July 28, 2020|title=Migratory river fish populations down 76% since 1970: study|work=[[Agence France-Presse]]|url=https://news.yahoo.com/migratory-river-fish-populations-down-76-since-1970-163127702.html|access-date=July 28, 2020|archive-date=October 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006200828/https://news.yahoo.com/migratory-river-fish-populations-down-76-since-1970-163127702.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Malayasia iko 2002169.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|Satellite image of rainforest converted to [[oil palm]] plantations.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40139 |title=Deforestation in Malaysian Borneo|year= 2009|publisher= NASA|access-date=7 April 2010}}</ref>]]
Some scientists and academics assert that [[Intensive animal farming|industrial agriculture]] and the growing demand for [[Environmental impact of meat production|meat]] is contributing to significant global [[biodiversity loss]] as this is a significant driver of [[deforestation]] and habitat destruction; species-rich habitats, such as the [[Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest|Amazon region]] and [[Deforestation in Indonesia|Indonesia]]<ref name="Foster">{{cite news|title=A Grim Portrait of Palm Oil Emissions|last1=Foster|first1=Joanna M.|url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/a-grim-portrait-of-palm-oil-emissions/|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1 May 2012|access-date=10 January 2017|archive-date=16 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116051501/http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/a-grim-portrait-of-palm-oil-emissions/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rosenthal NYT">{{cite news|title=Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare|last1=Rosenthal|first1=Elisabeth|date=31 January 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/business/worldbusiness/31biofuel.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=e653a375e67e8e49&ex=1327899600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0|access-date=10 January 2017|archive-date=9 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909052053/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/business/worldbusiness/31biofuel.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=e653a375e67e8e49&ex=1327899600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> being converted to agriculture.<ref name="Zalasiewicz2015" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns|title=Meat-eaters may speed worldwide species extinction, study warns|first=Virginia|last=Morell|date=August 11, 2015|website=[[Science (magazine)|Science]]|access-date=December 14, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220105327/http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Machovina">{{cite journal |first1=B.|last1=Machovina|first2=K. J. |last2=Feeley|first3=W. J.|last3=Ripple|year=2015|title=Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption|journal=[[Science of the Total Environment]]|volume=536|pages=419–431|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.022 |pmid=26231772|bibcode=2015ScTEn.536..419M}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=Ian|date=August 26, 2017|title=Industrial farming is driving the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth, says leading academic|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/mass-extinction-life-on-earth-farming-industrial-agriculture-professor-raj-patel-a7914616.html|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-date=June 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605200144/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/mass-extinction-life-on-earth-farming-industrial-agriculture-professor-raj-patel-a7914616.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Devlin|first=Hannah|date=July 19, 2018|title=Rising global meat consumption 'will devastate environment'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/19/rising-global-meat-consumption-will-devastate-environment|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 22, 2018|archive-date=October 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009022501/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/19/rising-global-meat-consumption-will-devastate-environment|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2017 study by the [[World Wildlife Fund]] (WWF) found that 60% of biodiversity loss can be attributed to the vast scale of feed crop cultivation required to rear tens of billions of farm animals.<ref name="Smithers">{{cite news|last=Smithers|first=Rebecca|date=5 October 2017|title=Vast animal-feed crops to satisfy our meat needs are destroying planet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/vast-animal-feed-crops-meat-needs-destroying-planet|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 October 2017|archive-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303143952/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/vast-animal-feed-crops-meat-needs-destroying-planet|url-status=live}}</ref> Moreover, a 2006 report by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) of the United Nations, ''[[Livestock's Long Shadow]]'', also found that the livestock sector is a "leading player" in biodiversity loss.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Steinfeld|first1=Henning|last2=Gerber|first2=Pierre|last3=Wassenaar|first3=Tom|last4=Castel|first4=Vincent|last5=Rosales|first5=Mauricio|last6=de Haan|first6=Cees|date=2006|title=Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/climatechange/doc/FAO%20report%20executive%20summary.pdf|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|isbn=978-92-5-105571-7|page=xxiii|access-date=2017-05-14|archive-date=2019-12-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210012108/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/climatechange/doc/FAO%20report%20executive%20summary.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> More recently, in 2019, the [[IPBES]] ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' attributed much of this ecological destruction to agriculture and fishing, with the meat and dairy industries having a very significant impact.<ref name="BBCIPBES2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783|title=Humans 'threaten 1m species with extinction'|last=McGrath|first=Matt|work=[[BBC]]|date=6 May 2019|access-date=3 August 2021|quote=Pushing all this forward, though, are increased demands for food from a growing global population and specifically our growing appetite for meat and fish.|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630044916/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the 1970s food production has soared to feed a growing human population and bolster economic growth, but at a huge price to the environment and other species. The report says some 25% of the Earth's ice-free land is used for cattle grazing.<ref name="Watts2019">{{cite news|last=Watts|first=Jonathan|date=May 6, 2019|title=Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report|work=The Guardian|access-date=May 16, 2019|archive-date=October 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023205125/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2020 study published in ''[[Nature Communications]]'' warned that human impacts from housing, industrial agriculture and in particular meat consumption are wiping out a combined 50&nbsp;billion years of Earth's evolutionary history (defined as phylogenetic diversity{{efn|Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is the sum of the phylogenetic branch lengths in years connecting a set of species to each other across their phylogenetic tree, and measures their collective contribution to the tree of life.}}) and driving to extinction some of the "most unique animals on the planet," among them the [[Aye-aye]] lemur, the [[Chinese crocodile lizard]] and the [[pangolin]].<ref name="Woodyatt" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Briggs|first=Helen|date=May 26, 2020|title='Billions of years of evolutionary history' under threat|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52808103|work=BBC|access-date=October 5, 2020|quote=The researchers calculated the amount of evolutionary history—branches on the tree of life—that are currently threatened with extinction, using extinction risk data for more than 25,000 species. They found a combined 50 billion years of evolutionary heritage, at least, were under threat from human impacts such as urban development, deforestation and road building.|archive-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130162357/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52808103|url-status=live}}</ref> Said lead author Rikki Gumbs:

{{blockquote|text=We know from all the data we have for threatened species, that the biggest threats are agriculture expansion and the global demand for meat. Pasture land, and the clearing of rainforests for production of soy, for me, are the largest drivers—and the direct consumption of animals.<ref name="Woodyatt">{{cite news|last=Woodyatt|first=Amy|date=May 26, 2020|title=Human activity threatens billions of years of evolutionary history, researchers warn|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/world/species-loss-evolution-climate-scn-intl-scli/index.html|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=May 27, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526114959/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/world/species-loss-evolution-climate-scn-intl-scli/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

Urbanization has also been cited as a significant driver of biodiversity loss, particularly of plant life. A 1999 study of local plant extirpations in Great Britain found that urbanization contributed at least as much to local plant extinction as did agriculture.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Ken |last2=Jones |first2=Allan |date=February 1999 |title=Human Population Density and Prediction of Local Plant Extinction in Britain |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2641578 |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=185–189 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.97353.x |jstor=2641578 |bibcode=1999ConBi..13..185T |s2cid=84308784 |access-date=6 January 2023 |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106003641/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2641578 |url-status=live }}</ref>