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Cited by 1,887

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation

Open access
Venter, Oscar, Sanderson, Eric W., Magrach, Ainhoa, Allan, James R., Beher, Jutta, Jones, Kendall R., Possingham, Hugh P., Laurance, William F., Wood, Peter, Fekete, Balázs M., Levy, Marc A., Watson, James E. M.·2016·Nature Communications

Abstract

Human pressures on the environment are changing spatially and temporally, with profound implications for the planet’s biodiversity and human economies. Here we use recently available data on infrastructure, land cover and human access into natural areas to construct a globally standardized measure of the cumulative human footprint on the terrestrial environment at 1 km 2 resolution from 1993 to 2009. We note that while the human population has increased by 23% and the world economy has grown 153%, the human footprint has increased by just 9%. Still, 75% the planet’s land surface is experiencing measurable human pressures. Moreover, pressures are perversely intense, widespread and rapidly intensifying in places with high biodiversity. Encouragingly, we discover decreases in environmental pressures in the wealthiest countries and those with strong control of corruption. Clearly the human footprint on Earth is changing, yet there are still opportunities for conservation gains.

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Metadata

Authors
Venter, O., Sanderson, E. W., Magrach, A., Allan, J. R., Beher, J., Jones, K. R., Possingham, H. P., Laurance, W. F., Wood, P., Fekete, B. M., Levy, M. A., & Watson, J. E. M.
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2016-08-23
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
12558-12558
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2517342784
Cited by
1,887
References
15
FWCI
73.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/ncomms12558
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Venter, O., Sanderson, E. W., Magrach, A., Allan, J. R., Beher, J., Jones, K. R., Possingham, H. P., Laurance, W. F., Wood, P., Fekete, B. M., Levy, M. A., & Watson, J. E. M. (2016). Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12558

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