LIFE: a metric for mapping the impact of land-cover change on global extinctions
The “persistence score” approach marked a welcome development for extinction risk calculation: the process combined data on species’ ecologies and land-cover, while also accounting for the fact that the impact of habitat loss is cumulative and non-linear. However, this metric was so computationally demanding that its application on a large scale was limited.
In a major step forward, the authors of this paper have expanded the potential applications of the “persistence score” approach to create LIFE: they have introduced high-performance computing and brought in data for over 30 000 vertebrate species. The tool can now create global maps of extinction risk probability for 30 875 species of terrestrial vertebrates at 1 arc-min resolution (3.4 km2 at the equator).
The technical leap means that, for the first time, map users can access powerful quantitative data regarding the expected number of extinctions (whether that is an increase or decrease) caused by the conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture, or restoring farmland to natural habitat.
The extinction risk maps can be used at scales from 0.5km-1000 km2 and offer opportunities to estimate the impact of diverse actions that affect change in land cover, from decisions as small as an individual dietary choice through to large-scale conservation projects.
The authors encourage people from all sectors with an interest in land-use to work with the tool. They welcome feedback from users to improve LIFE’s applicability in real-world decision-making.
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