Arcs of Habitat Loss

The document argues that the environmental impact of food production is far broader than tropical deforestation, affecting a wide array of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It introduces the concept of "arcs" of habitat loss to categorize these impacts. Key areas of concern include the degradation of soils, the unsustainable depletion of groundwater aquifers, the pollution and loss of freshwater ecosystems, the conversion of carbon-rich grasslands, the disappearance of endangered tropical dry forests, and the physical destruction of the ocean floor through bottom trawling. The authors emphasize that sustainable food production requires optimizing performance across these diverse ecological systems rather than focusing solely on productivity.

• Agricultural expansion has led to widespread soil degradation, with between 1 billion and 6 billion hectares of Earth's land considered degraded. Approximately 33% of the world's arable land has been lost to pollution or erosion, and the conversion of forests to agriculture has caused an average loss of 25% of soil carbon.
• Groundwater is critical for food security, providing 40-50% of all irrigation water and nearly half of all drinking water globally. However, 21 of 37 major global aquifers are being depleted faster than they can recharge, driven largely by agricultural use, which accounts for 70% of groundwater use.
• Freshwater ecosystems are highly susceptible to agricultural impacts, with agriculture representing 92% of humanity's water footprint. Significant losses have occurred, including the disappearance of roughly 28,000 rivers in China due to water extraction for industry and agriculture, and a global wetland loss of 50% to 87% since the 18th century.
• Grasslands are among the most endangered biomes, particularly temperate grasslands, and are often targeted for agriculture due to fertile soils. Over 80% of North America's central grasslands have been converted to agriculture, and these ecosystems may store up to 50% more carbon than forests worldwide, mostly below-ground.
• Tropical dry forests are the most endangered biome on Earth and are heavily converted for crops like soy, rice, and sugar cane, or for cattle pasture. Approximately 32% of dry broadleaf forests have been converted to cropland, the highest rate among all tropical biomes.
• Bottom trawling for seafood acts as a form of "plowing the deep-sea floor," affecting an estimated 75% of the world's continental shelf area. This process destroys immobile organisms like corals and resuspends sediment at a scale equal to the total sediment mass supplied to continental shelves by all the world's rivers.

APA

Clay, J., & Redford, K. H. (2017). Arcs of Habitat Loss. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/106/4itv4ukrq5_Arcs_of_Loss_white_paper_071517.pdf

Chicago

Clay, Jason, and Kent H. Redford. Arcs of Habitat Loss. WWF International, 2017. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/106/4itv4ukrq5_Arcs_of_Loss_white_paper_071517.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Clay |first1=Jason |last2=Redford |first2=Kent H. |title=Arcs of Habitat Loss |publisher=WWF International |date=15 July 2017 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/106/4itv4ukrq5_Arcs_of_Loss_white_paper_071517.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clay2017arcs, author = {Clay, Jason and Redford, Kent H.}, title = {{Arcs of Habitat Loss}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2017}, month = jul, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/106/4itv4ukrq5_Arcs_of_Loss_white_paper_071517.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }