Biodiversity loss and climate change, two mutually reinforcing crises

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Changes in agriculture and our food system are crucial in combatting climate change and biodiversity loss. That is the topic of the third Mansholt lecture, to be delivered by Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation professor Liesje Mommer. Each year, Wageningen University & Research presents its views on European issues within the domain of food, agriculture and sustainability during the Mansholt lecture. Ecosystems with low biodiversity are less resilient and ill-equipped to mitigate the effects of climate change. At the same time, climate change is the key cause of biodiversity loss. This makes biodiversity loss and climate change two mutually reinforcing crises. When the effect of climate change worsens, biodiversity loss increases; when biodiversity loss occurs, ecosystems are less able to adequately regulate the impact of climate change.