![]() As a result, our suggested planetary boundary for biodiversity of ten times the background rates of extinction is only a very preliminary estimate. Because science cannot yet provide such information at an aggregate level, we propose extinction rate as an alternative (but weaker) indicator. Ideally, a planetary boundary should capture the role of biodiversity in regulating the resilience of systems on Earth. This is particularly true at the scale of Earth as a whole, or for major subsystems such as the Borneo rainforests or the Amazon Basin. Although it is now accepted that a rich mix of species underpins the resilience of ecosystems 20, 21, little is known quantitatively about how much and what kinds of biodiversity can be lost before this resilience is eroded 22. ![]() From an Earth-system perspective, setting a boundary for biodiversity is difficult.
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