60% of global land area is outside safe zone, 38% in high-risk zone

A recent study published in the journal One Earth, led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and BOKU University, reveals that 60% of the global land area is currently outside the safe zone for functional biosphere integrity, with 38% classified as high-risk. The study assesses the plant kingdom’s ability to photosynthesize and maintain critical ecosystem processes involving carbon, water, and nitrogen flows. Using the LPJmL global biosphere model, which simulates these flows daily since 1600, researchers found that ecosystem strain began as early as the 1600s, intensifying through industrialization by 1900. Today, nearly all land surfaces have transgressed biosphere boundaries, primarily due to agricultural activities. The research highlights the significant human demand for biomass, which increasingly diverts energy flows from natural ecosystems, thereby disturbing planetary stability. This study builds on the Planetary Boundaries framework, emphasizing that energy flows from photosynthesis are central to maintaining