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3292388 
Journal Article 
Confronting a biome crisis: global disparities of habitat loss and protection 
Hoekstra, JM; Boucher, TM; Ricketts, TH; Roberts, C 
2005 
Yes 
Ecology Letters
ISSN: 1461-023X
EISSN: 1461-0248 
WILEY 
HOBOKEN 
8 
1 
23-29 
WOS:000225750300003 
Human impacts on the natural environment have reached such
proportions that in addition to an 'extinction crisis', we now also face a broader 'biome
crisis'. Here we identify the world's terrestrial biomes and, at a finer spatial scale,
ecoregions in which biodiversity and ecological function are at greatest risk because of
extensive habitat conversion and limited habitat protection. Habitat conversion exceeds habitat
protection by a ratio of 8 : 1 in temperate grasslands and Mediterranean biomes, and 10 : 1 in
more than 140 ecoregions. These regions include some of the most biologically distinctive,
species rich ecosystems on Earth, as well as the last home of many threatened and endangered
species. Confronting the biome crisis requires a concerted and comprehensive response aimed at
protecting not only species, but the variety of landscapes, ecological interactions, and
evolutionary pressures that sustain biodiversity, generate ecosystem services, and evolve new
species in the future. 
biodiversity conservation; ecosystem services; extinction crisis; habitat loss; protected areas