HUMAN DISTURBANCE AND NATURAL HABITAT - A BIOME LEVEL ANALYSIS OF A GLOBAL DATA SET

This paper presents an analysis of conversion of natural habitat to hu man use on a global scale. Human disturbance of natural systems is cla ssified in a three-category system and ranked using a Habitat Index ba sed on remaining undisturbed and partially disturbed land. Data is ana lysed by biome and biogeographic province, allowing identification of the biomes and provinces which have been the most impacted by human ac tivity. Temperate biomes are found to be generally more disturbed than tropical biomes. Four of the top five most disturbed biomes are tempe rate. Certain biomes and geographic areas stand out as conservation pr iorities, notably the islands of Southeast Asia, Mediterranean vegetat ion types, Temperate Broadleaf Forests and Tropical Dry Forests. Areas for which data deficiencies exist are identified.