this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2026
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Biodiversity

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Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem. Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery.

Over generations, all of the species that are currently alive today have evolved unique traits that make them distinct from other species. These differences are what scientists use to tell one species from another. Organisms that have evolved to be so different from one another that they can no longer reproduce with each other are considered different species. All organisms that can reproduce with each other fall into one species. Read more...

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42
Palm oil, coconut and soybean drive more species extinction than previously thought (phys.org)
submitted 1 month ago by solo@slrpnk.net to c/biodiversity@mander.xyz
3 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The study examined 19 oil crops. "Three of which caused a particularly large share of the impacts: oil palm, soybean and coconut," says Shuntian Wang, a doctoral student on Pfister's team. Together, they account for some 75% of the biodiversity loss caused by oil crops.

At the same time, the study highlights a clear development: Between 1995 and 2020, biodiversity loss rose by around 80%. But this is not primarily caused by global population growth.

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[–] ShotDonkey@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Palm oil, even though plant based, must be considered equally harmful as meat, eggs and dairy from a vegan standpoint.

[–] WaxRhetorical@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Ugh, is coconut oil also terrible for the local environment then, like palm oil? What a shame.

[–] Cartilogen@mander.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

Palms are usually hard and slow to grow due to how fast the soil nutrients get depleted by them, they also alter the soil a lot. I can't read the article but I guess the reason has something to do with it.