Table 1.
Key habitat loss and fragmentation statistics by biome. Percent increase and decrease are changes from an idealized globe with no anthropogenic fragmentation.
| Biome | Baseline area (km2) | % Low Impact Area | % Low Impact & protected* | % Increase in patch # | % Decrease in mean patch size | % Decrease in core area | Median distance to non-LIA edge (km) | % Decrease in median distance to edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Globe | 128,876,330 | 56.2 | 10.7 | 1254 | 95.8 | 53.4 | 6.0 | — |
| Tropical dry forests | 3,828,365 | 16.8 | 5.7 | 1979 | 99.2 | 89.6 | 1.6 | 93.8 |
| Temperate grasslands | 10,427,615 | 24.3 | 2.7 | 6165 | 99.6 | 84.3 | 2.2 | 97.2 |
| Tropical coniferous forests | 681,771 | 28.3 | 6.0 | 988 | 97.4 | 82.5 | 1.6 | 76.7 |
| Mediterranean | 3,258,904 | 29.2 | 8.8 | 2742 | 99.0 | 81.0 | 2.1 | 93.5 |
| Temperate broadleaf forests | 12,219,667 | 30.6 | 6.6 | 2406 | 98.8 | 83.6 | 1.4 | 97.6 |
| Flooded grasslands | 1,099,701 | 36.8 | 16.1 | 466 | 93.5 | 72.3 | 3.0 | 84.4 |
| Tropical grasslands | 21,295,437 | 43.0 | 10.4 | 3254 | 98.7 | 65.7 | 4.3 | 95.9 |
| Mangroves | 271,220 | 45.8 | 21.0 | 91 | 76.0 | 70.8 | 2.2 | 49.3 |
| Tropical broadleaf forests | 19,297,433 | 53.0 | 19.9 | 1973 | 97.4 | 56.7 | 3.9 | 93.8 |
| Montane grasslands | 4,745,258 | 58.7 | 7.4 | 474 | 89.8 | 52.5 | 4.0 | 89.0 |
| Temperate coniferous forests | 3,687,134 | 68.1 | 13.9 | 1379 | 95.4 | 49.5 | 2.6 | 87.8 |
| Deserts | 26,247,964 | 70.6 | 8.8 | 2077 | 96.8 | 34.2 | 11.6 | 90.0 |
| Boreal forests | 14,359,339 | 92.4 | 9.3 | 331 | 78.5 | 18.7 | 5.6 | 95.2 |
| Tundra | 7,456,521 | 99.3 | 17.6 | 5 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 31.8 | 48.1 |
*Protected includes all IUCN protection categories I–VI.