Chapter 4: Direct and indirect drivers of change in biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people.

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to assess evidence of the status and trends of the drivers that affect biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. There are three wider categories of nature’s contributions to people: regulating, material and non-material contributions, that are similar to, but not identical to classifications of ecosystem services (see Chapter 1). Ecosystems are dynamic interacting networks of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms, above and below ground and water-surfaces. These biodiverse networks of interacting organisms respond to a set of environmental factors such as climate, soil, or water conditions. Social-ecological systems also include human activities (direct drivers) that modify almost all of these ecosystem interactions and environmental factors, and the underlying societal (indirect) drivers of these activities. It is thus important to understand the status and trends of the direct and indirect drivers that affect biodiversity, including ecosystems and, thereby, affect nature’s contributions to people.