Human footprint study

Over 80% of Earth’s land surface feels direct influence from humans, according to a comprehensive report from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network. Only parts of the boreal forests of Canada and Russia, the deserts of Africa and Australia, the Arctic tundra, and the Amazonian Basin remain largely unencumbered by our activities. More sobering, 98% of Earth’s viable farmland—land that can support rice, wheat, or maize—is directly influenced by our species. A downloadable PDF of the report, “

The Human Footprint and the Last of the Wild,” is available from BioScience journal, online at: www.aibs.org/biosciencelibrary/vol52/oct02.ldml.