近日，爱沙尼亚塔尔图大学教授Martin Zobel及其团队的最新研究提出了暗多样性揭示的全球自然植被贫瘠。相关论文于2025年4月2日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《自然》杂志上。

研究表明，在全球范围内，当地植物多样性与周边地区的人类活动水平呈负相关。只有当课题组人员考虑群落完整性时，自然植被的贫瘠才会很明显：群落完整性是指该地区所有合适物种在一个地点出现的比例。为了评估群落的完整性，该研究团队将记录的物种数量与暗多样性（dark diversity）进行了比较，暗多样性是指在一个地点不存在但在周围地区存在的生态适宜物种。在人类足迹指数最小的取样地区，当地平均存在35%的适宜植物物种，而在受影响严重的地区，这一比例不到20%。

除了有可能发现被忽视的生物多样性威胁外，黑暗多样性还为自然保护提供了指导。暗多样性的物种仍然存在区域性，通过改善自然植被碎片之间的连通性和减少对种群持久性的威胁，可以恢复其局部种群。

据了解，人为造成的生物多样性下降威胁到生态系统的功能及其给人类带来的诸多好处。除了导致直接受影响地区的物种损失外，如果深远的人为影响引发局部灭绝并阻碍重新定殖，人类影响还可能减少相对未改变植被的生物多样性。

附：英文原文

Title: Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity

Author: Prtel, Meelis, Tamme, Riin, Carmona, Carlos P., Riibak, Kersti, Moora, Mari, Bennett, Jonathan A., Chiarucci, Alessandro, Chytr, Milan, de Bello, Francesco, Eriksson, Ove, Harrison, Susan, Lewis, Robert John, Moles, Angela T., pik, Maarja, Price, Jodi N., Amputu, Vistorina, Askarizadeh, Diana, Atashgahi, Zohreh, Aubin, Isabelle, Azcrate, Francisco M., Barrett, Matthew D., Bashirzadeh, Maral, Btori, Zoltn, Beenaerts, Natalie, Bergholz, Kolja, Birkeli, Kristine, Biurrun, Idoia, Blanco-Moreno, Jos M., Bloodworth, Kathryn J., Boisvert-Marsh, Laura, Boldgiv, Bazartseren, Brancalion, Pedro H. S., Brearley, Francis Q., Brown, Charlotte, Bueno, C. Guillermo, Buffa, Gabriella, Cahill, James F., Campos, Juan A., Cangelmi, Giacomo, Carbognani, Michele, Carcaillet, Christopher, Cerabolini, Bruno E. L., Chevalier, Richard, Clavel, Jan S., Costa, Jos M., Cousins, Sara A. O., uda, Jan, Dairel, Mariana, Dalle Fratte, Michele, Danilova, Alena, Davison, John, Dek, Balzs, Del Vecchio, Silvia, Dembicz, Iwona, Dengler, Jrgen, Dolezal, Jiri, Domene, Xavier, Dvorsky, Miroslav, Ejtehadi, Hamid, Enrico, Lucas, Epikhin, Dmitrii, Eskelinen, Anu, Essl, Franz, Fan, Gaohua, Fantinato, Edy, Fazlioglu, Fatih, Fernndez-Pascual, Eduardo, Ferrara, Arianna

Issue&Volume: 2025-04-02

Abstract: Anthropogenic biodiversity decline threatens the functioning of ecosystems and the many benefits they provide to humanity1. As well as causing species losses in directly affected locations, human influence might also reduce biodiversity in relatively unmodified vegetation if far-reaching anthropogenic effects trigger local extinctions and hinder recolonization. Here we show that local plant diversity is globally negatively related to the level of anthropogenic activity in the surrounding region. Impoverishment of natural vegetation was evident only when we considered community completeness: the proportion of all suitable species in the region that are present at a site. To estimate community completeness, we compared the number of recorded species with the dark diversity—ecologically suitable species that are absent from a site but present in the surrounding region2. In the sampled regions with a minimal human footprint index, an average of 35% of suitable plant species were present locally, compared with less than 20% in highly affected regions. Besides having the potential to uncover overlooked threats to biodiversity, dark diversity also provides guidance for nature conservation. Species in the dark diversity remain regionally present, and their local populations might be restored through measures that improve connectivity between natural vegetation fragments and reduce threats to population persistence.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08814-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08814-5