近日，瑞士苏黎世联邦理工学院Yibiao Zou团队揭示了从2000年到2020年，全球一半以上的森林破碎化程度有所增加。这一研究成果发表在2025年9月11日出版的《科学》杂志上。

栖息地破碎化，即连续的森林被分割成更小的、孤立的斑块，通过破坏物种运动、人口减少和改变生态系统动态来威胁生物多样性。过去的评估表明，全球碎片化程度正在下降，但它们依赖于基于结构的指标，忽视了生态连通性。

研究组使用捕捉斑块连通性、聚集性和结构的互补指标分析了2000年至2020年的全球森林破碎化。基于连通性的指标显示，全球51%至67%的森林和58%至80%的热带森林变得更加碎片化，这几乎是传统以结构为重点的方法所建议的比率（30%至35%）的两倍。以汇总为重点的指标证实，57%至83%的森林面积有所增加。农业和伐木等人类活动推动了这一变化。然而，受保护的热带地区的破碎化程度降低了82%，突显了有针对性保护的潜力。

附：英文原文

Title: Fragmentation increased in over half of global forests from 2000 to 2020

Author: Yibiao Zou, Thomas W. Crowther, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Haozhi Ma, Lidong Mo, Lalasia Bialic-Murphy, Peter Potapov, Klementyna A. Gawecka, Chi Xu, Pablo J. Negret, Thomas Lauber, Zhaofei Wu, Dominic Rebindaine, Constantin M. Zohner

Issue&Volume: 2025-09-11

Abstract: Habitat fragmentation, in which contiguous forests are broken into smaller, isolated patches, threatens biodiversity by disrupting species movement, shrinking populations, and altering ecosystem dynamics. Past assessments suggested declining global fragmentation, but they relied on structure-based metrics that overlook ecological connectivity. We analyzed global forest fragmentation from 2000 to 2020 using complementary metrics that captured patch connectivity, aggregation, and structure. Connectivity-based metrics revealed that 51 to 67% of forests globally—and 58 to 80% of tropical forests—became more fragmented, which is nearly twice the rate suggested by traditional structure-focused methods (30 to 35%). Aggregation-focused metrics confirmed increases in 57 to 83% of forests. Human activities such as agriculture and logging drive this change. Yet protected tropical areas saw up to an 82% reduction in fragmentation, underscoring the potential of targeted conservation.

DOI: adr6450

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr6450