Anthropogenic biomes cascade

Across natural networks,

Swarming across this backdrop

With assumed transcendence.

Broken footprints disrupt

Fractured ecologies;

Disremembered territories

Whose buried cycles

Are trampled beneath the topsoil.

Our treads scar the landscape,

While conceited measurements of

Their length, breadth, and tread

Fail to catalogue the

Consequence of each stride.

Other biomes remain unranked

By the wildlife they support,

Serving instead as a

Moving scale of human impact:

Temperate grasslands,

Mangroves,

Mediterranean,

Tundra.

Yet even here, in the frozen forests

Of sparse populations

Our proud imprints can be felt;

Transparent measurements

Revealing the fragmentation

Of habitat that lies exposed

Beneath our feet.

Due to concerns over habitat fragmentation, wildlife crossings are starting to become increasingly common (Photo Credit: worldatlas.com).

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that while much of the Earth’s land surface remains relatively wild, it is threatened by anthropogenic fragmentation.

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human activities is the leading cause for the loss of biodiversity and damage to natural ecosystems. The main response to halting and repairing this damage is through creating protected areas of land, which currently occupy around 15% of the Earth’s land surface. However, it is thought that in order to prevent an ecological disaster, this figure needs to be closer to 50%. In order to assess the difficulties in achieving this figure it is first necessary to assess how much of Earth’s land remains in a natural state.[…]

Source: Natural Fragmentation