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60 percent of the world’s land area is in a precarious state

August 17, 2025

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research


Rainforest in Ecuador: functional biosphere integrity requires the plant world to sufficiently acquire energy through photosynthesis. Photo: Shutterstock/Read
Rainforest in Ecuador: functional biosphere integrity requires the plant world to sufficiently acquire energy through photosynthesis. Photo: Shutterstock/Read

15.08.2025 – A new study maps the planetary boundary of “functional biosphere integrity” in spatial detail and over centuries. It finds that 60 percent of global land areas are now already outside the locally defined safe zone, and 38 percent are even in the high-risk zone. The study was led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) together with BOKU University in Vienna and published in the renowned journal One Earth.


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