title: Quantifying and mapping the human appropriation of net primary production in earth's terrestrial ecosystems.
abstract: Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP), the aggregate impact of land use on biomass available each year in ecosystems, is a prominent measure of the human domination of the biosphere. We present a comprehensive assessment of global HANPP based on vegetation modeling, agricultural and forestry statistics, and geographical information systems data on land use, land cover, and soil degradation that localizes human impact on ecosystems. We found an aggregate global HANPP value of 15.6 Pg C/yr or 23.8% of potential net primary productivity, of which 53% was contributed by harvest, 40% by land-use-induced productivity changes, and 7% by human-induced fires. This is a remarkable impact on the biosphere caused by just one species. We present maps quantifying human-induced changes in trophic energy flows in ecosystems that illustrate spatial patterns in the human domination of ecosystems, thus emphasizing land use as a pervasive factor of global importance. Land use transforms earth's terrestrial surface, resulting in changes in biogeochemical cycles and in the ability of ecosystems to deliver services critical to human well being. The results suggest that large-scale schemes to substitute biomass for fossil fuels should be viewed cautiously because massive additional pressures on ecosystems might result from increased biomass harvest.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Ecology, Klagenfurt University, Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070 Vienna, Austria. helmut.haberl@uni-klu.ac.at
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haberl
authors.forename: K Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Erb
authors.forename: Fridolin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Krausmann
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gaube
authors.forename: Alberte
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bondeau
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Plutzar
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gingrich
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lucht
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fischer-Kowalski
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018533:Biomass; D018534:Earth, Planet; D017753:Ecosystem; D005390:Fires / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006802:Human Activities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors