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Sverok

Sverok – Spelkulturförbundet (The Swedish Gaming Federation) is a Swedish nationwide umbrella organization for gaming clubs. Sverok brings together the Swedish gaming hobby and, with 55,000 members in 1700 affiliated organisations, is one of the country's largest youth associations. Board games, miniature wargaming, collector's card games, role-playing games, e-sport, LAN, video games, airsoft, Asian popular culture, live action role-playing games (LARP), laser tag, paintball and fantasy are the main hobby branches. The organisation was founded in 1988 under the name Sveriges roll- och konfliktspelsförbund (Sverok) but has since adopted the abbreviation as its sole name because the organisation now encompasses many more branches of activity than when it was founded. Sverok has grown since then, both in terms of membership and the breadth of its activities. The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF) classifies Sverok as a youth organisation, as 92% of the organisation's members are young people aged 7–25. Sverok is a member organisation of Studiefrämjandet.

Organisation
Sverok consists of 841 independent member associations, which together have about 55,000 members. The organisation is governed by a board, which within Sverok is called the Federal Board (Förbundsstyrelsen) and is usually abbreviated to FS. In addition, Sverok has an administrative office in Linköping and Stockholm with about 20 employees who handle finances and association administration. Sverok also remunerates its förbundsordförande and general secretary on a full-time basis. There are also a number of working groups that work on a voluntary basis on behalf of the federal board. Sverok is organized in a democratic fashion. The member associations form the member base and all activity good and proper is performed by them. The districts and the national organization generally do not organize gaming events by themselves, rather opting to support local projects (the districts) or the clubs in general by means of funding, services and lobbying (the national organization), which makes it possible for some associations to organize bigger events such as gaming conventions, larps, LAN parties or other events related to their interest.

Member Associations vary in size from five to tens of thousands. The vast majority of associations consist of between five and 50 people. The nature of the activities, and hence, associations, vary greatly, spanning both indoors and outdoors activities, with or without computers, with or without propping equipment. How a club is run is entirely up to the club as long as it's organized in a democratic fashion and is open for anyone to become a member and as democratic entities they are required to hold annual meetings within their own groups.

Förbundsstyrelsen
Förbundsstyrelsen within Sverok, FS, consists of 5-10 members, a förbundsordförande, a secretary and a vice förbundsordförande. The latter three make up Sverok's executive committee, which has the task of implementing all the proposals that the national meeting assigns to FS. A member of the board has a specific area of responsibility. Examples of areas of responsibility: financial manager, district manager, association manager and personnel manager.

Riksmöte
Sverok's highest decision-making body is Sverok's annual meeting, which within the organisation is called the Riksmöte, abbreviated RM. Just over a hundred representatives of the associations attend the Riksmöte. At the assembly, the affiliated associations have direct decision-making power regarding the activities and focus of the national organisation, as well as who should be on the board.

According to Sverok's statutes, the board shall as previously stated have 5-10 members, a förbundsordförande, a secretary and a vice förbundsordförande. The RM decides on all positions except for the union secretary (förbundssekreterare), which the RM only recommends, mainly for practical reasons. The ability of the RM and the districts to influence the activities of their own organisation and the affiliated associations is largely limited as neither the federal board nor the districts have any voting rights.

The annual general meeting of the districts are fairly similar but on a regional level. Generally there's no nomination process – clubs are allowed to show up with a number of representatives with voting power (and traditionally, whoever else feels like showing up), the number based on their headcount.

Districts
Sverok is divided into twelve districts that cover the entire country. The geographical division of the districts is largely based on Sweden's county councils. The members of the districts are the Sverok-affiliated organisations that have their headquarters in the county councils that make up each district.

Sverok's districts have basically the same purpose as the federation but operate regionally. Since the districts have different conditions and the priorities differ between the districts, their activities can vary greatly between them. However, every year the districts must apply for money from the county council(s) they belong to.

Otherwise, typical activities of the districts are: contact brokers for the associations, attending conventions or other events in the district, arranging trips to events elsewhere in the country and abroad, or organising training courses for the associations. The districts have their own independent annual meetings, where representatives of the associations are present and directly decide who is to be included in the organisation's board and what activities are to be focused on; the national organisation has very limited power to decide what the districts should do, as these districts are highly autonomous and are governed primarily by RM and the district annual meeting.

List of districts

 * Sverok Norrbotten, Norrbotten County, chairperson Christoffer Lundberg
 * Sverok Västerbotten, Västerbotten County, chairperson Isa Blomberg
 * Sverok Nedre Norrland, Västernorrland and Jämtland County, chairperson Stefan Burström
 * Sverok GävleDala, Dalarna and Gävleborgs County, chairperson Andreas Jonsson
 * Sverok Svealand, Värmland and Örebro County, chairperson Alex Holmberg
 * Sverok Mälardalen, Södermanland, Uppsala and Västmanland County, chairperson Michel Rowinski
 * Sverok Stockholm-Gotland, Stockholm and Gotland County, chairperson Sam Schönbeck
 * Sverok Östergötland, Östergötland County, chairperson Nemanja Lotinja
 * Sverok Jönköping-Kronoberg, Jönköping and Kronoberg County, chairperson Carl Johan Sanglert
 * Sverok Kalmar-Blekinge, Kalmar and Blekinge County, chairperson Kim Bergenholtz
 * Sverok Väst, Västra Götaland and Halland County, chairperson Matilda Karlström
 * Sverok Skåne, Skåne County, chairperson Alexander Wallin

Funding and economy of Sverok
Any sufficiently large – 3000 members or more – youth organization organized in a democratic manner is eligible to receive government funding to cover operating expenses. Historically (pre 2001) this has been calculated from the amount of activity generated in the member clubs. Since 2001 it is instead based on the number of member clubs and the headcount they represent.

All in all 106 organizations receive this governmental support - this includes both party political organizations, local branches of international organizations such as Red Cross youth organization and the Scouts, disabilities youth organizations and more hobby related organizations such as Sverok. Notably, it does not include sport organizations.

The 2015 governmental support was approximately 10 000 000 SEK. Half of this sum is used to cover administration costs, basic democratic functions, insurances for members while engaging in their hobby and so forth. The remainder – a stated target has traditionally been at least 50% – is paid directly to the member clubs, the sums varying in size according to the number of members.

The districts of Sverok receive funding directly from their respective counties and is not included in the above tally (although there are exceptions). The amount of support received and reasons for receiving it varies from county to county. The densely populated ones have well over €50 000 (Stockholm over €100 000) while the more rural areas tend to hand out less funding. This funding cover administration, basic democratic functions and support to local clubs in ways appropriate for the region.

How the money is spent differs greatly. Members in some (often rather densely populated) parts of the country prefer manned offices. Other districts are spread out in such a fashion that it's nearly impossible to keep a central office; hence their organization is a lot more virtual by nature. Apart from rent and salaries, common ways to spend the money include subsidized trips to big gaming events, monetary support for local events and cheap-or-free storage or rental of equipment, among other things. Due to the very nature of this arrangement, things have a tendency to come and go —some years a particular district finds it fit to print a member magazine, other years not.

History and pre-history of Sverok
Sweden has a long history when it comes to gaming and role-playing. In 1972, the oldest member organization in Sverok was founded: Forodrim, in Stockholm. In 1976, GothCon (the oldest still-active gaming convention in the world) took place for the first time. Gamers in Gothenburg gathered over Easter to play games and generally congregate. Another notable convention is LinCon.

In 1982, the first Swedish RPG was published: Drakar och Demoner, based on Basic Role Playing. The title translates to "Dragons and Demons", and in Sweden, it has the same status and recognition as "Dungeons & Dragons" has in English-speaking countries. During the 1980s, the role-playing and board gaming hobby grew to larger proportions. Several new gaming conventions popped up in various parts of the country, some of which are still active. Numerous gaming clubs were formed as well. In Sweden, most counties give support to youth clubs of a decent size. By uniting the local gamers, many clubs got free or cheap places to keep their equipment and play their games.

Sverok was founded in late 1988 to act as an umbrella organization for the various gaming clubs. During the early years numerous existing gaming clubs joined Sverok and a push by the organization was also made to generate new clubs – by informing youths about how to go about it. Since forming a club and joining Sverok meant receiving funds (rather than paying a membership fee) many teenagers saw it as a good way of getting some gaming supplements essentially for free. The only real requirements were – and are – that the clubs need to be open for members and organized in a democratic fashion. From a governmental perspective, this ensures that a large number of people are involved in a democratic process early on in life. During these early years much of the organizing of the federation itself was done on a volunteer basis.

Another important reason for gamers to unite was strength in numbers. What was previously seen as a niche phenomena turned more and more mainstream as the organization gained members. This proved useful in the mid-1990s when claims about role-playing being detrimental to the mental health of youth and links to satanism gained a fair amount of media attention, calling for a ban on tabletop role-playing games or at the very least cut funding for Sverok. Already having gained a large following, Sverok was able to stand as a counterpart to these claims in TV debates and newspaper opinion pages.

By 1997, Sverok had a member base of over 20 000. It eventually declined somewhat to about 16 000 in 2001 (a nationwide slump in youth organization membership in general) when another push for more exposure and encouraging members to form new clubs was coordinated alongside a crucial change in the basis for government support money carried the official headcount over 100 000 in 2005. Today (as of December 2014) Sverok have approximately 80 000 members in 1200 clubs. 16 people are currently working in administration and special projects such as NAB (Norms, attitudes and behaviours) and Respect All, Compete (for a more welcoming climate in e-sports).

Förbundsordförande of Sverok through the ages

 * Fredrik Innings 1988-1994
 * Jonas Birgersson 1994-1996
 * Wiktor Södersten 1996-1997
 * Eliot Wieslander 1997-1999
 * Karl Nissfelt 1999-2001
 * Hanna Jonsson 2001-2003
 * Jon Nilsson 2003-2005
 * Petra Malmgren 2005-2007
 * Aimée Kreuger 2007-2008
 * David Gustavsson 2009-2011
 * Rebecka Prentell 2012-2014
 * Alexander Hallberg 2015-2017
 * Anna Erlandsson 2018
 * Alexandra Hjortswang 2019-2020
 * Max Horttanainen 2021-

Vice Förbundsordförande of Sverok through the ages

 * Nina Högberg 2009
 * Peter Sahlin 2010
 * Johan Groth 2011
 * Tobias Landén 2012
 * Alexander Hallberg 2013-2014
 * Linnea Risinger 2015
 * Cecilia Hällstrand 2016-2017
 * Evelina Ferbrache 2018
 * Max Horttanainen 2019-2020
 * Helena Sandahl 2021-

title: Sverok


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Talk:Biodiversity

Wiki Education assignment: ANTH473 INLG480 Living Languages
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Undue Weight, Overpopulation
Discussion section LoomCreek (talk) 06:25, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * what do you mean with this?
 * Ah, I see now you wrote in the edit summary: Undue Weight in Human Overpopulation. Section falsely portrays confidence in Malthusianism & overpopulation theories in relation to biodiversity. Such scientific consensus does not exist, and is highly disputed. Mentioning Paul R. Elrich as scientist is technically true but misleading. They're biologist who wrote the population bomb, but not an expert on populations effect on the environment. Please refer to talk section before removing disclaimer so this can be resolved
 * I suggest you just go ahead and remove some of that stuff? EMsmile (talk) 08:36, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I've just removed this as it deviates too much from the core topic of biodiversity (it could be on any other Wikipedia article that deals with planetary boundaries, human impact on the environment etc.) According to a 2020 study by the World Wildlife Fund, the global human population already exceeds planet's biocapacity – it would take the equivalent of 1.56 Earths of biocapacity to meet our current demands. The 2014 report further points that if everyone on the planet had the Footprint of the average resident of Qatar, we would need 4.8 Earths and if we lived the lifestyle of a typical resident of the US, we would need 3.9 Earths. EMsmile (talk) 08:48, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

@EMsmile The larger issue that remains is the lack of critical views within the section. As said, the idea of population size being the main/key factor in biodiversity is contentious. With many critics arguing overexploitation is the cause not population growth. It gives an incomplete understanding. I'll do my best to give a run down of events as I had attempted edits before. LoomCreek (talk) 09:08, 7 March 2023 (UTC) I do plan further edits eventually. For the time being I've added the disclaimer as a stop gap to prevent potential misinformation. It's also been done for documentation purposes. I would like to avoid edit warring.

I attempted to make some small edits removing some misleading information. And sourcing a critic of overpopulation theory, which were reverted. (and then the critic cited, Anthropologist Jason Hickel, was re-added & misleadingly quoted)

Later on a greater edit was attempted but I'm going to assume good faith from that individual due to some incidental WP:OR on my part. LoomCreek (talk) 09:10, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm not calling for a removal of the section or the papers that argue it as the cause. It's a common idea for many when approaching biodiversity loss (and general environmental damage) so it remains important to cover. However, there is significant opposition within the scientific community to the theory of overpopulation. And this should be appropriately represented.

 * This is even acknowledged by one the cited papers titled Overpopulation is a major cause of biodiversity loss and smaller human populations are necessary to preserve what is left in the section. Which faced a response with a perspective from the journal Biological Conservation by the scientific community titled Smaller human populations are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for biodiversity conservation. LoomCreek (talk) 09:30, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I am glad you've started this discussion. We have had similar discussions on various climate change talk pages and at human overpopulation. I think we should briefly state the full picture (differing views, as per WP:DUE) but overall, shouldn't this be rather covered at biodiversity loss, not so much at biodiversity? I am just trying to avoid that we end up with similar sections that have to be maintained and updated at several places. By the way, the topic also came up at climate change mitigation and in the end we came up with this short and concise section: Climate change mitigation. EMsmile (talk) 09:39, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * @EMsmile That's true. As it currently stands the overpopulation section has the potential to spread misinformation, which is my worry. So if it is to be included in Biodiversity I think a revision with the critiques is vitally necessary. If it's in biodiversity loss with the critiques that's fine. I just worry about the potential that the section might be recreated in the future causing the same issues, as its a controversial but known topic.
 * The climate section on family size seems like a fairly neutral balanced summary of the issue.

 * I appreciate all the help. Over the next couple days I'll attempt to do some of the clean up. Hopefully condense the sections & make it clearer biodiversity loss exists. Alongside adding some of the critiques to overpopulation, at which point its removal or not can be decided at a later date. LoomCreek (talk) 10:17, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

 * The reason I reverted to the original version was that most of the new material did not pertain to biodiversity loss, misrepresented Hickel as an opponent of the idea that population is a factor on environmental issues (per the quote I added that was subsequently removed), and lots of OP with primary sources sprinkled in, and a graph that has nothing to do with biodiversity. As far as the article giving misinformation, the material all comes from reliable sources and experts on the subject, including the IPBES report which does indeed include population as a driver of biodiversity loss (this interestingly enough is omitted in the response to Cafaro et al, 2022), along with overconsumption (see here). In this, the position argued by the landmark IPBES report, perhaps the best representation of the emerging consensus on biodiversity loss, is not far from where Ehrlich and his colleagues stand on the issue now, linking biodiversity loss to both population and consumption, and the latter go even further and call out "the rich" directly as the main villains in this, as evidenced here and here. Moreover, several significant review articles on the extinction crisis have pointed to population and consumption as significant factors, such as here and here. The latter refers to the issue of population growth as "expanding human biomass." I guess they perhaps don't want to be smeared as "Neo-Malthusians" so avoid using terms like "overpopulation", but I digress.

 * Based on sourcing in the section, and the additional sources discussed above, I dispute that the section is presenting “misinformation”. Per WP:DUE, I do not oppose including critiques of what is said in the section, but what was included did not do that. And including Hickel as an opponent of the ideas expressed in that section smacked of OR to me, as someone who reads Hickel's works, I have yet to see him dispute the idea that population has no impact on biodiversity. In fact, while stressing that it's the history of colonialism, rampant inequality and the overconsumption of the wealthy under global capitalism that are the main issues, he does stress that population is still a relevant topic when discussing ecological and environmental damage.

 * As for moving the section entirely to the article biodiversity loss, I would oppose this, as this material is in the appropriate section here, "threats" to biodiversity. That being said, I would not oppose making this a summary of the topic while moving the bulk of it there.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 19:48, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree with the retraction of my second edit, I said as much in the thread above. Which has since been corrected, I assume good faith for that edit.
 * However, the quote of Jason Hickel is highly misrepresentative of his views. While he may agree that population has some effect on environmental issues, he wrote an entire book on how overexploitation far supersedes that. The issue is not that he thinks it has no impact its that it misleads the reader on Hickel, used to prop an argument (that it is a main factor) which Hickel doesn't believe.
 * There are absolutely significant issues with the section, some of which I have since corrected. Including but not limited to: several dead links in an effort to support claims, the use of a preprint which provides no scientific rigor (while providing the illusion its a sci. paper) and has since been rejected (and also the link that was used, obfuscated this, as it was from the wayback machine), and the propping of persons in the section by providing a false impression of expertise. LoomCreek (talk) 20:32, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

 * That was a direct quote from Hickel on the subject. What is lacking is proof of your assertion that he is an opponent of the idea that population size and/or growth is a factor in environmental issues and therefore is just some Malthusian myth without merit. If you can cite him making such a statement I'd like to see it.

 * Which sources are you referring to exactly? The sources I included in this section all come from reliable sources including mainstream news outlets and academic/scientific journals, and obvious experts (such as the contributors to the IPBES report).--C.J. Griffin (talk) 20:40, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

 * It's in the edit history, with through explanation.
 * Also the response to Cafaro et al, 202 does mention the IPBES report and it's exploration of population effects. "'the IPBES (2022) report notes that a “race for profit” is fueling the collapse of biodiversity, highlighting that urgent cross-sectorial actions are needed to counter these losses, and these transcend issues of “how many people”. These challenges have been recognised, and work done to reconcile them, and they highlight that blaming “population” undermines our ability to deal with the real issues (Randers et al., 2019).'"
 * That's like the entire dispute, which is that while population growth has some effects, its far superseded by other factors, to the point where its a completely unreliable general metric for minimizing environmental effects.
 * It's certainly possible those were edits from different users, however the point remains. If you have some genuine criticism based on the actual material of the Wikipedia article with scientific backing. Please introduce them here. However, I'm not responsible for fielding personal feelings or answering the same question again. LoomCreek (talk) 21:06, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Yet according to the science news article which discusses the IPBES report, it states "the report has ranked the causes of damage. Topping the list, changes in land use—principally agriculture—that have destroyed habitat. Second, hunting and other kinds of exploitation. These are followed by climate change, pollution, and invasive species, which are being spread by trade and other activities . . . Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.)". So like I said, this corroborates what numerous other scientific papers have said about the biodiversity crisis, that, to quote Stuart Pimm et al 2014: "The overarching driver of species extinction is human population growth and increasing per capita consumption."--C.J. Griffin (talk) 21:11, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Again, this doesn't change any of the criticisms present. You're responding to a strawman. Nor does it change the IPBES report claim of it being a secondary or even tertiary concern. Consumption is problem yes, but that population is not the key link to that, its per captia income. That complexity needs to be present.
 * Given present circumstances,
 * Arbitration/ArbCom seems like it might become necessary. LoomCreek (talk) 21:29, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * 21:32, 7 March 2023 (UTC) Dispute around inclusion of differing perspectives for overpopulation theory
 * I tend to agree with LoomCreek. I've seen from other examples that C.J. Griffin tends to add content about overpopulation to many articles (see my example on climate change mitigation, see talk page archive here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Climate_change_mitigation/Archive_4#Family_planning_section_cut_from_article). One could "harp on" about overpopulation as the root cause for ALL of the environmental problems that are plaguing the planet, all the water pollution, air pollution, habitat destruction and so forth. But more important is HOW the humans behave and thus the overconsumption and sustainability issue. Either way, there is no point arguing which is "the biggest" cause of biodiversity loss here. All the different factors go hand in hand: what we do to the planet and how many of us there are... Let's focus on actual solutions to this problem and explain the complexities. But again: this article should only have a summary about the biodiversity loss issue and the details should be at biodiversity loss - see also what I wrote about it below in the other section. EMsmile (talk) 08:43, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Yayayayayaya 2A02:CB80:427A:354A:FCF7:371D:FA42:4F39 (talk) 12:54, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

The 11 main direct threats to conservation are
I think the bullet point list that follows under "The 11 main direct threats to conservation are" is too detailed, especially those italic keywords in brackets. I would also convert those 11 threats to main text (currently they are level-2 sub-headings).EMsmile (talk) 12:08, 25 June 2021 (UTC)
 * FYI I timed out before I could study this but at least I located the diff where the quoted text was added.... NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 15:19, 25 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, NewsAndEventsGuy. Seems like a "dubious", fly-by addition to me. I would be tempted to remove the entire list. It just doesn't feel right/encyclopedic. What do you and others think? EMsmile (talk) 12:15, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Artice revised here with RS NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 15:11, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I don't understand: The reference that you added just takes me to here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/en I don't see where the text is included in the website? Also a website is not a great source as it may change its content over time. Were you meant to link to a particular report that is available on the website? I just find that long bullet point list not very encyclopedic (should it perhaps be in a sub-article rather?). If it's a direct copy & paste from a report then don't we run into problems with copyright? EMsmile (talk) 11:31, 29 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Where do we stand on this now? EMsmile (talk) 09:41, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

The section on "threats" is too long
I think we need to condense the section on "threats" a bit and make it clearer that there is a sub-article on biodiversity loss that covers exactly this. Otherwise we have the problem that we have to updated and maintain the same kind of content in two different articles. Threats is really all about biodiversity loss, isn't it? EMsmile (talk) 09:43, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I've just added the template "section size" to this talk page above. You can see from that table that the section on threats has become far too long. It is currently the biggest section of this article. See here in the order of biggest section size:

 * Threats 58,248
 * Role and benefits of biodiversity 40,261
 * Distribution 17,400
 * General ecosystem services 15,717
 * Number of species 14,499
 * Evolution 11,431
 * Now I know we are all passionate about educating people about the threats and in particular about biodiversity loss. Nevertheless, this section has become too bloated. It needs to be condensed and summarised and then the reader gently but firmly pointed towards biodiversity loss for more detail. EMsmile (talk) 08:36, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I've made a start at reworking this. But I still think that listing of "According to the IUCN the main direct threats to conservation fall in 11 categories" is not suitable (see my comment in another section of this talk page above). The overview listing of causes that is shown here and that is shown at biodiversity loss should perhaps be the same? EMsmile (talk) 10:12, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

Request for comment, dispute around inclusion of differing perspectives for overpopulation theory
Dispute around inclusion of differing perspectives for overpopulation theory see discussion thread above LoomCreek (talk) 05:21, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I think you still need to do this if you want to open an RfC: Include a brief, neutral statement of or question about the issue in the talk page section, immediately below the  tag EMsmile (talk) 08:47, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes please ask a short question I really don’t want to read a long discussion thanks Chidgk1 (talk) 19:31, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Perhaps it is no longer necessary. I’m content with the current version following EMsmile’s additions. I believe criticism of the issue is given due weight in an article on biodiversity.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 21:29, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * After looking at it, I'd be okay with that too, I'm fine with getting rid of the blockquote. The only change I feel is necessary is including the journal the claim is from, Biological Conservation as it exists as a reply to one of the papers. I've done that small revision. I say we give a like a week or two, and if this remains resolved I'll happily remove the disclaimer at the top. I just want to make sure its fully resolved before we do that. LoomCreek (talk) 23:36, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * That's great. I just wonder if mentioning Biological Conservation (twice) is all that important. It's not a well known journal and our Wikipedia readers probably won't care which journal these statements were published in (they can see it by clicking on the ref anyhow)?
 * Secondly, I wonder how we can ensure that we don't have exactly the same content about this issue at biodiversity loss and at biodiversity. Ideally, the content about this at biodiversity should be a "summary" of the same topic at biodiversity loss but how can we achieve that? Do we agree that the main place for it is at biodiversity loss (with perhaps even more detail than we currently have) and that the topic should be in summary style at biodiversity (with possibly slightly less detail than we currently have)? EMsmile (talk) 10:03, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm fine with that. I stated as much in the above discussion: "I would not oppose making this a summary of the topic while moving the bulk of it there." I see the Andersen quote was moved there, which is fine. Regarding its significance which you bring up in your edit summary, I'd argue that her position as executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and the fact that she was quoted in a major media outlet, makes it very significant and WP:DUE. However, I would not oppose trimming the quote and making it just a sentence or two and eliminating the quote box. EDIT: I boldy swapped the sections in Biodiversity and Biodiversity loss as the section in Biodiversity loss read more like a summary which belongs here as discussed. Feel free to revert if this is unsatisfactory. --C.J. Griffin (talk) 13:57, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * @C.J. Griffin I was actually going to suggest that we switch them as well. Im perfectly content with that.
 * I will ask that you stop removing the reference to the journal (biological conservation) the criticism was published in as its clearly relevant to discussion as a reply to an article published in the same journal.
 * Not to mention your clear use of such references for the opposing opinion. It unfairly removes credibility, when it's allowed for only one side. I haven't stopped your mentions, please operate with goodwill.
 * also in future if you add further sources for overpopulation separate it from the criticism, it muddles it and is confusing to the reader. I kept your recent addition but moved it up away from the criticism. LoomCreek (talk) 18:19, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * The suggestion to remove direct references to the journal in the text was mentioned by EMsmile in the post above mine. I moved the link to its wiki page to the citation itself. I did this for both articles for balance. And the most recent additions from me pertained more to overconsumption from the wealthy than overpopulation, which was mentioned in the passage included in the source.C.J. Griffin (talk) 18:24, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * @C.J. Griffin I feel the context is relevant, especially the page on biodiversity loss. Given the mention of IPBES report and UN quote. As they provide a greater appearance of credibility then if it just said a 2022 report or (name) from a climate conference. LoomCreek (talk) 18:31, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * This is a little different than your statement above, which seemingly accused me of bad faith when in fact I did it for *both* articles sourced to that journal per EMsmile’s suggestion. C.J. Griffin (talk) 18:35, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * @C.J. Griffin I apologize for the assumption. You resorted to personal attacks when this discussion started so its been hard to assume good faith.
 * Your inclusion of a new source that differed in the same paragraph of the criticism was still inappropriate which you didn't address. And should have also been noted in the discussion given the dispute.
 * I still think it should remain. LoomCreek (talk) 18:44, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Firstly, I’d like an example of the ad hominem you speak of, as I never engage in personal attacks. Secondly, the new material pertained more to overconsumption by the wealthy than population. I didn’t see it as being an issue putting it there. Regardless, I have no problem with the article as it exists now. C.J. Griffin (talk) 18:49, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * @C.J. Griffin The claim that I was attempting to slander you/the point of view as derogatory, i.e. malthusian.
 * When I edited the disclaimer I was simply trying to find a relevant wikipedia article to link to. It was genuinely an effort in good faith. Eventually deciding to link to nothing given the associations, reverting it mere minutes later.
 * I'm also okay with the articles as they exist now. LoomCreek (talk) 18:57, 9 March 2023 (UTC)

Further reading list removed
I've removed the further reading list as I don't think it adds any value for this kind of article. Important publications should rather be used for in-line citations (multiple times if they're very useful).

 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"
 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"
 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"
 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"
 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"
 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"
 * D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility"

EMsmile (talk) 09:22, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

Too many refs for one statement
I think this sentence here is suffering from WP:OVERCITE: "Numerous scientists and the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services assert that human population growth and overconsumption are the primary factors in this decline.." Can we remove some of the refs? Also, if we follow my suggestion about replacing this with an excerpt then this sentence would go but we can bring it back by ensuring this is briefly included in the lead at biodiversity loss if we think it's a crucial point. EMsmile (talk) 13:16, 28 March 2023 (UTC) EMsmile (talk) 13:16, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I would be okay with removing source 4 and 5 and keeping the rest. Would this be sufficient? I will go ahead and do this now. I would argue that it is a crucial point as myriad peer-reviewed papers on biodiversity loss discuss population/consumption as significant factors. I would prefer to keep it here rather than shoehorning it into the lead of the other article, but would not oppose it so long as it remains in the article.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 15:16, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that, C.J. Griffin. Ideally, we would find one high quality source that states exactly that ("Numerous scientists have said that"...) rather than creating a numerous list of citations... But I guess it's OK for now. If it's a crucial point for limiting biodiversity loss, then why should it not be included in the lead of biodiversity loss? I don't quite understand your concern about shoehorning it to there? EMsmile (talk) 09:27, 31 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Given the material is disputed by some editors, I think that a few high quality sources are preferable to just one. The Stokstad source is the strongest, and I believe it alone satisfies the statement "Numerous scientists have said that..." you referenced above as myriad scientists contributed to the IPBES report. While it is a crucial point, I can see problems developing with the lead of Biodiversity loss if the material is included there, possibly resulting in edit conflicts and bloat from other editors pushing counterpoints. But if it is to be moved, I would suggest trimming the material to look like this: "Numerous scientists have said that human population growth and overconsumption are the primary factors in this decline. However, other scientists have criticized the assertation that population growth is a key factor for biodiversity loss." This I believe is succinct enough for the lead while giving due weight to the opposing view.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 13:23, 31 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi C.J. Griffin sorry for the long silence (I was on holidays). I've now done some work to make the section on "biodiversity loss" more concise and I've also copied content about the causes across to the lead of biodiversity loss. Please check. I am undecided if it's OK to have the exact same paragraph about overpopulation in the lead of biodiversity loss as well as here, or if it's better to use the excerpt function and transcribing the lead, or part of the lead of biodiversity loss to here. What do you and others think about this? EMsmile (talk) 08:40, 18 April 2023 (UTC)
 * My biggest problem with the passage now is that there is undue weight being given to one perspective article which was written as a critical response to one of the four sources provided in the first sentence. I wasn't too picky about this before, but now that it has been placed in the lead of Biodiversity loss, I think it needs to be addressed. I think this sentence should be removed (In a scientific perspective published in Biological Conservation the scientists claim the main driver is the loss of habitat caused by "the growth of commodities for export, particularly soybean and oil-palm, primarily for livestock feed or biofuel consumption in higher income economies") and the quote added to the citation, as is the case in the first sentence where there are quotes included in the citations. If any source should be quoted in the text it should be the Science review of the IPBES report, as that mammoth report is now considered by many conservation biologists to have shifted scientific consensus on the issue. C.J. Griffin (talk) 13:05, 18 April 2023 (UTC)
 * That's good. I've made some further small tweaks here and in the lead of biodiversity loss. How do you feel about my question regarding using an excerpt or not? I am undecided. Perhaps it's OK like it is now and we don't go down the route of using an excerpt. EMsmile (talk) 13:16, 19 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I think it is fine as is. Honestly I think excerpts are used too often. We don't need material repeated verbatim IMO.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 13:24, 19 April 2023 (UTC)
 * But as it stands now, the material is repeated in exactly the same way here and at biodiversity loss. Which means in future we'd be modifying it in two places. With the excerpt we would only modify it in one place in future and it gets mirrored in the other location. I do wonder if this entire section called "biodiversity loss" should just be replaced with the lead of biodiversity loss through an excerpt. Just pondering about pros and cons here. We can also leave it as it is for now and come back to it later. EMsmile (talk) 13:51, 19 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, looking over the passage again, it is exactly the same per recent edits. However, that they may evolve over time in different directions or with different material is okay. If we simply remove the cited material that is present now only to replace it with an excerpt from Biodiversity loss, reliably sourced material would be lost, including entire paragraphs like the second one for example. This is another reason I strongly oppose using excerpts in articles. The section here should not look exactly the same as the lead of that article. It's boring, repetitive and lazy IMHO.--C.J. Griffin (talk) 13:59, 19 April 2023 (UTC)

Potential for shortening this article
I think the article is a bit on the long side now (54 kB). I think there is room for condensing which would also help to bring out the key points to the reader more clearly. For example, the section on "protected areas" can be shortened (there are sub-articles for the details). I have added the template "section sizes" to the top of the talk page. It helps to see which sections are large. However, it doesn't seem to update properly, as the section on biodiversity loss is still shown as large (22 kB) even though I recently culled it down. Strange. Does anyone know why that is? EMsmile (talk) 09:29, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

Removed text block on Forest biological biodiversity
I've removed this text block (2 paragraphs) from the definitions section. In my opinion it doesn't fit there and I think it doesn't fit anywhere else in the article either. Perhaps fits more in a forestry article? The first para is unsourced (probably taken from FAO; probably same ref as given in the second para) and the second para is just one very long quote. It was all added in December 2020 by someone working for FAO in this edit.

"Forest biological biodiversity - Forest biological diversity is a broad term that refers to all life forms found within forested areas and the ecological roles they perform. As such, forest biological diversity encompasses not just trees, but the multitude of plants, animals and microorganisms that inhabit forest areas and their associated genetic diversity. Forest biological diversity can be considered at different levels, including ecosystem, landscape, species, population and genetic. Complex interactions can occur within and between these levels. In biologically diverse forests, this complexity allows organisms to adapt to continually changing environmental conditions and to maintain ecosystem functions.

In the annex to Decision II/9 (CBD, n.d.a), the Conference of the Parties to the CBD recognized that: "Forest biological diversity results from evolutionary processes over thousands and even millions of years which, in themselves, are driven by ecological forces such as climate, fire, competition and disturbance. Furthermore, the diversity of forest ecosystems (in both physical and biological features) results in high levels of adaptation, a feature of forest ecosystems which is an integral component of their biological diversity. Within specific forest ecosystems, the maintenance of ecological processes is dependent upon the maintenance of their biological diversity." " EMsmile (talk) 13:40, 8 May 2023 (UTC) EMsmile (talk) 13:40, 8 May 2023 (UTC)

The lead needs further work
I think the lead needs further work to become a better summary of the article, roughly following the same order and weight of topics. Currently the lead talks too much about the situation during geologic timespans, not enough about the current situation. This needs to be reworked. Does anyone have time to give it a go? EMsmile (talk) 14:06, 8 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree with your proposal to touch up the lead. Currently, I feel that it is somewhat unfocused and vague, especially when compared with the detail-rich remainder of the article. One sentence in particular that I find a little problematic in the lead is the last one that claims there are benefits as well as drawbacks to biodiversity... While the article goes into great depth about the beneficial ecosystem services associated with biodiversity, the part of the last sentence of the lead about the drawbacks either should be removed or supported with evidence. Lilladlili (talk) 03:22, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Good point. I've made some changes to the last paragraph of the lead now. I have deleted that sentence that you had identified about "drawbacks" of biodiversity. Further work on the lead is needed. EMsmile (talk) 08:53, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Introduction to Policy Analysis - Summer Session23
— Assignment last updated by Abanarsee (talk) 05:06, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Shortened section on biodiversity loss
I've just removed the sub-headings in the section on biodiversity loss because if we had some sub-headings then we would also need "all" relevant sub-headings plus content but this kind of content is available at the sub-article biodiversity loss. I would actually be inclined to replace this content with an excerpt from the lead of biodiversity loss (after building up that lead and ensuring it's really good). Thoughts? This way we have to in future only update and maintain one article about biodiversity loss, not two. EMsmile (talk) 13:14, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I've shortened and updated the "biodiversity loss" section a bit more. Also, I have moved it up so that it appears directly below the section on "number of species" which is more logical. I wonder though if it would perhaps be better to use an excerpt from biodiversity loss rather so that we don't have to update the figures on species lost in two articles instead of one. Thoughts? EMsmile (talk) 08:51, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Edits to the text in the lead
Dear Thanks for clarifying that this is your own writing. I now see that the your text from 2015 in this article had been copied by Loai Aljerf in 2017. https://medcraveonline.com/BIJ/biodiversity-is-key-for-more-variety-for-better-society.html#:~:text=The%20total%20amount%20of%20related,(trillion%20tons%20of%20carbon) The text in question which you would like retained still lacks proper referencing. Can you provide proper references?

I can see the need for 3 references as follows unless all 3 statements come from the same source. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86% have not yet been described. REFERENCE

The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as four trillion tons of carbon. REFERENCE

In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms living on Earth. REFERENCE The second paragraph is in my opinion “off topic” and would be better placed in another WP article dealing with fossils. The text is as follows: ''The age of Earth is about 4.54 billion years. The earliest undisputed evidence of life dates at least from 3.7 billion years ago, during the Eoarchean era after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean eon. There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland. More recently, in 2015, "remains of biotic life" were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth...then it could be common in the universe." (REF 11)'' Ref 11 that comes at the end here is as follows: https://web.archive.org/web/20151023200248/http://apnews.excite.com/article/20151019/us-sci--earliest_life-a400435d0d.html This refers to fossil rocks and I believe is off-topic for the biodiversity article.

Best wishes ASRASR (talk) 18:07, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

 * (and others) - Thank You for your comments - and questions - should be *entirely* answered below - all of this was taken from the history of one of my created articles - "Earliest known life forms" - esp the 22:35, 22 April 2018 version (and much earlier - although the article history seems limited for some reason) - iac - should now be ok - please comment if otherwise of coirse - as before, attribution for adding to the "Biodiversity" article is based on "WP:ATT" and/or "WP:CWW" - hope this helps in some way - Stay Safe and Healthy !! Drbogdan (talk) 19:35, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

 REFERENCE 1 => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&oldid=837795301

[ EDIT => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&action=edit&oldid=837795301 ]

'Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86% have not yet been described. REFERENCE'

[SOURCE]

Some estimates on the number of Earth's current species of life forms range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described. However, a May 2016 scientific report estimates that 1 trillion species are currently on Earth, with only one-thousandth of one percent described.

REFERENCE 2 => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&oldid=837795301

[ EDIT => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&action=edit&oldid=837795301 ]

'The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as four trillion tons of carbon. REFERENCE'

[SOURCE]

The total number of DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 with a weight of 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 trillion tons of carbon.

REFERENCE 3 => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&oldid=837795301

[ EDIT => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&action=edit&oldid=837795301 ]

'In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms living on Earth. REFERENCE'

[SOURCE]

In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms living on Earth.

REFERENCE 11 => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&oldid=837795301

[ EDIT => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earliest_known_life_forms&action=edit&oldid=837795301 ]

'The second paragraph is in my opinion “off topic” and would be better placed in another WP article dealing with fossils. The text is as follows: The age of Earth is about 4.54 billion years. The earliest undisputed evidence of life dates at least from 3.7 billion years ago, during the Eoarchean era after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean eon. There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland. More recently, in 2015, "remains of biotic life" were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth...then it could be common in the universe." (REF 11)'

[SOURCE]

The age of the Earth is about 4.54 billion years; the earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates from at least 3.5 billion years ago.

There is evidence that life began much earlier.

In 2017, fossilized microorganisms, or microfossils, were announced to have been discovered in hydrothermal vent precipitates in the Nuvvuagittuq Belt of Quebec, Canada that may be as old as 4.28 billion years old, the oldest record of life on Earth, suggesting "an almost instantaneous emergence of life" (in a geological time-scale sense), after ocean formation 4.41 billion years ago, and not long after the formation of the Earth 4.54 billion years ago.

"Remains of life" have been found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia.

Evidence of biogenic graphite, and possibly stromatolites, was discovered in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks in southwestern Greenland.

In May 2017, evidence of life on land may have been found in 3.48 billion-year-old geyserite which is often found around hot springs and geysers, and other related mineral deposits, uncovered in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. This complements the November 2013 publication that microbial mat fossils had been found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone in Western Australia.

In November 2017, a study by the University of Edinburgh suggested that life on Earth may have originated from biological particles carried by streams of space dust.

A December 2017 report stated that 3.465-billion-year-old Australian Apex chert rocks once contained microorganisms, the earliest direct evidence of life on Earth.

In January 2018, a study found that 4.5 billion-year-old meteorites found on Earth contained liquid water along with prebiotic complex organic substances that may be ingredients for life.

According to biologist Stephen Blair Hedges, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth … then it could be common in the universe."

 * I agree completely with User:ASRASR that this content did not belong in the lead. I have moved it to the main text for now. It might not even belong there either (or at least not in that much detail) and might suit a pre-historic article better (history of live??). Very important: the lead is meant to be a summary of the article, as per WP:LEAD, so it should not contain content that is not also in the main body. A telltale sign is always when a paragraph uses references that appear only in the lead but not in the main body. - Instead, I have added a bit more content about biodiversity loss to the lead, using content from the main body. EMsmile (talk) 21:28, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

NOTE: - seems some of the edits added earlier to the "Biodiversity" article (based on "WP:ATT" and/or "WP:CWW") were taken, besides from my "Earliest known life forms" article and associated article history, but also from the "Biosphere" article - specifically, at the following "Biosphere" history links (see links copied below):

 * Particularly relevant to the current "Biodiversity" article may be my edit (User:Drbogdan; 21:45, 10 January 2014) in the "Biosphere" article at => https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biosphere&diff=prev&oldid=590166861 - my other edits in the "Biosphere" article Edit History may be relevant as well.

"Biosphere" EDIT HISTORY - 20 February 2024 to 7 October 2015 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biosphere&action=history&offset=&limit=500

"Biosphere" EDIT HISTORY - 1 Octobrer 2015 to 26 August 2011 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biosphere&action=history&offset=20151007192313%7C684619207&limit=500

Hope this helps in some way - iac - Stay Safe and Healthy !! - Drbogdan (talk) 16:15, 15 March 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2024
— Assignment last updated by Warmedforbs (talk) 01:25, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Section about "regime shifts" removed
I've removed the recently added section on regime shifts (copied below) for the following reasons:
 * This is more about changes to ecosystems and habitats but not specifically about biodiversity.
 * The biodiversity article is already on the long side so we should be very carful before we add new sections. Perhaps a condensed version of this could be integrated in a suitable location somewhere.
 * Why the very old references? Is there not something more recent available which is more accessible for our readers?
 * The text is not well written, is using a lot of jargon, language is not lay-person friendly. Some words are duplicated (see first sentence: when when), although that would be easy to fix.

Regime Shifts: Biodiversity is impacted when when persistent structural and functional changes occur in ecosystems. Such changes can be between alternative stables states of ecosystems, or due to external shocks that cause secondary succession. Among documented regime shifts are woody plant encroachment that can represent a change from open grassland to woodland as well as the change of coral-dominated reefs to a regime dominated by fleshy algae. EMsmile (talk) 09:04, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

Sentences in first paragraph of the lead
I've cut out these sentences (see below) because they seem rather messy to me, both in terms of language and content. If someone wants to put them back in please pay attention to clear and understandable language, and good quality references. Also, is this content really a summary of what is in the main text? And does it need to be in the first paragraph of the lead (many readers won't read further than the lead). The lead should also be lengthened by the way, to be around 450 to 500 words long. But the emphasis should be to ensure that the lead summarises the main sections of the main text. @User:Michel Laurin can you help with improving the lead, keeping in mind WP:LEAD? Here is the cut out text: ++++++++ Marine coastal biodiversity is highest in the Western indian ocean steered mainly by the highest  surface temper  In all oceans across the planet, marine species varsity peaks in the mid-latitudinal zones. Terrestrial species threatened with mass extinction can be observed in exceptionally dense regional biodiversity hotspots, with high levels of species endemism under threat. There are 36 such hotspot regions which require the world's attention in order to secure union biodiversity. EMsmile (talk) 09:38, 29 April 2024 (UTC) EMsmile (talk) 09:38, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi, I think that you were right to cut out these sentences. At least the first one seemed out of place there. The others are more interesting and could perhaps be re-inserted elsewhere in the page (further down).
 * I tried to improve the lead section by some slight edits, a bit of additional information and a few links, but if you think that some of this informations fits better the section about biodiversity changes in the geological record, just move these bits to that section. Michel Laurin (talk) 17:48, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Hmmm, I think the lead has become too heavy with content on pre-historic stuff and too light with more contemporary content. Also, it seems to me that some of the sentences and refs that you added to the lead are only in the lead and not in the main text? The lead is meant to summarise what is in the main text. I think the paragraph about pre-historic stuff needs to be condensed, and we should rather summarise some of the other content in the lead.
 * Oh and with regards to the content that I had cut from the lead (starting with "Marine coastal biodiversity is highest in the Western indian ocean"), feel free to re-instate it somewhere else in the main text if you think it's good content. It didn't fit in the lead though. EMsmile (talk) 14:35, 14 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Right. I moved a few sentences from the lead section to the geological timeframe section, where this seems more appropriate. That section could be developed further; there is a huge, fascinating literature on this topic. Michel Laurin (talk) 14:49, 14 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks! EMsmile (talk) 14:28, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

EMsmile (talk) 09:38, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Text removed
I have just removed a whole lot of text, bringing the overall size back down to 41 kB. I've explained in my edit summaries why I removed each text block. In general, the balance was way out of whack. A high level overview article need not go into depth - that's what the sub-articles are for. For example, there was way too much content about ecosystem services which I mostly moved to other articles. Furthermore, I've removed content that was not sourced, poorly sourced, speculative or digressing into other areas (like that content about GM and hybridization etc.). I think this article needs further checking to look out for outdated or digressing content. A shorter, more focused article serves our reader better than one that digresses and jumps around. You can always use the table above here on the talk page with the "section sizes" which is useful to check for any sections that are way bigger than they should be. EMsmile (talk) 08:04, 3 July 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Biodiversity


text:
Luigi Rossi

Luigi Rossi (c. 1597 – 20 February 1653) was an Italian Baroque composer. Born in Torremaggiore, a small town near Foggia, in the ancient kingdom of Naples, at an early age he went to Naples where he studied music with the Franco-Flemish composer Jean de Macque, organist of the Santa Casa dell’Annunziata and maestro di cappella to the Spanish viceroy. Rossi later entered the service of the Caetani, dukes of Traetta.

Life
Rossi composed two operas: Il palazzo incantato, which was given at Rome in 1642; and Orfeo, written after he was invited by Cardinal Mazarin in 1646 to go to Paris for that purpose and given its premiere there in 1647. Rossi returned to France in 1648 hoping to write another opera, but no production was possible because the court had sought refuge outside Paris. Rossi returned to Rome by 1650 and never attempted anything more for the stage.

A collection of cantatas published in 1646 describes him as musician to Cardinal Antonio Barberini, while Giacomo Antonio Perti in 1688 speaks of him along with Carissimi and Cesti as "the three greatest lights of our profession."

Rossi is noteworthy principally for his chamber-cantatas, which are among the finest that the 17th century produced. A large number of the 300 he left are in manuscripts in the British Library and in Christ Church Library, Oxford. La Gelosia, printed by F. A. Gevaert in Les Gloires d'Italie, is an admirable specimen.

title: Luigi Rossi


text:
Antonio Cesti

Antonio Cesti (baptised Pietro Cesti, 5 August 1623; died 14 October 1669), known today primarily as an Italian composer of the Baroque era, was also a singer (tenor), and organist. He was "the most celebrated Italian musician of his generation".

Biography
He was born at Arezzo, and studied with various local musicians. In 1637 he joined the Order of Friars Minor, or Franciscans, a Roman Catholic religious group founded by Francis of Assisi, and took the name Antonio. (He has also been referred to as 'Marc Antonio', but this is incorrect.) While he was in Volterra he turned more toward secular music, perhaps due to the patronage and influence of the powerful Medici family. Here he also came in contact with Salvator Rosa, who wrote libretti for a number of Cesti's cantatas. By 1650 Cesti's calling as a Franciscan friar and his success as a singer and composer for operas were coming into conflict, and he was officially reprimanded. In 1652 he became a member of the court at Innsbruck of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria. After holding a post somewhere in Florence as maestro di cappella, he entered the papal chapel in 1660. In 1666 he became Vice-Kapellmeister at Vienna, and died at Venice in 1669.

Music

Cesti is known principally as a composer of operas. The most celebrated of these were La Dori (Innsbruck, 1657), Il pomo d'oro (Vienna, 1668) and Orontea (1656). Il pomo d'oro (The Golden Apple) was written for the wedding in Vienna of Emperor Leopold I in 1666, and first performed in 1668, in a famously lavish production. It was far more elaborate than contemporary Venetian operas, including a large orchestra, numerous choruses, and various mechanical devices used to stage things like gods descending from heaven (deus ex machina), naval battles, and storms.

Orontea was revived seventeen times in the next thirty years, making it one of the most frequently performed operas on the continent in the mid-17th century. Even Samuel Pepys owned a copy of the score. It includes a well-known soprano aria "Intorno all'idol mio" ("Around my idol").

Cesti was also a composer of chamber cantatas, and his operas are notable for the pure and delicate style of their airs, more suited to the chamber than to the stage. He wrote in the bel canto style of the 17th century, and his compositions were heavily influenced by his career as a professional singer. His musical writing owes much to the emerging tonality of the time.

Recordings

 * Pietro Antonio Cesti "Pasticcio", Festwochen der Alten Musik in Innsbruck 1980, excerpts from operas "Il pomo d'oro", "Argia", "Tito", "Orontea", "Dori", "Semirami". Performers: René Jacobs, Judith Nelson, William Christie, Konrad Junghänel. ORF Edition Alte Musik.
 * Le disgrazie d’amore, Auser Musici, Carlo Ipata, director, Hyperion CDA67771 (2010)
 * Alma Mia, Raquel Andueza, soprano with La Galania directed by Fernández Baena: excerpts from operas L'Argia, La Dori, Orontea, Il Tito, and two cantatas: Non si parli più d'Amore and Ò quanto concorso. Anima e Corpo AeC003 (2014)
 * L'Orontea Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester, Ivor Bolton (director), OEHMS Classics (2017)
 *  La Dori Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone (director), CPO (2020)

title: Antonio Cesti


text:
D'Aguilar National Park

D'Aguilar National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia. It contains the D'Aguilar Range and is located along the northwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area. The park is traversed by the winding scenic Mount Nebo Road and Mount Glorious Road.

The park contains eucalyptus woodlands, sheltered pockets of sub-tropical rainforest, a number of crevasses and views of Moreton Bay and the Glass House Mountains. The Walkabout Creek Visitor Centre is located at the edge of the park. There are two formal, vehicle accessible camping areas in the Mount Mee section and eight remote bush camping sites (accessible only by walking) in the southern D'Aguilar (formerly Brisbane Forest Park) section. Popular lookouts include Jolly's Lookout, Westridge Outlook, Camp Mountain Lookout and Wivenhoe Lookout, overlooking Lake Wivenhoe. The villages of Mount Nebo and Mount Glorious are located on Mount Nebo Road on the edges of the national park and are popular stops for tourists driving through the park.

The southern part of the park was formerly known as Brisbane Forest Park, while the northern part of the park is at Mount Mee.

Flora
Woodlands and dry eucalypt forests predominate on the drier, shallower soils of the park's foothills. Spotted Gum (Corymbia variegata) and Narrow-leaved Ironbark are two of the main species. There are also small areas of heath and ridges dominated by grass trees (Xanthorrhoea spp). Remnant pockets of lowland rainforest occur in the valleys along some of the watercourses.

At higher altitudes the forests become more complex due to the increased rainfall and generally deeper soils. These mid-altitude forests are dominated by Grey Gum, Pink Bloodwood and Brush Box. Occasional rainforest species are also present and there is a thick understorey of ferns, vines and shrubs. Moist sub-tropical rainforest grows on the highest parts of the range where the rainfall is two-thirds greater than in the foothills, particularly on the rich basaltic soils north of Mt Glorious. Huge strangler figs (Ficus watkinsiana) can be seen emerging through the canopy.

Fauna
More than 240 species of birds have been recorded in the park, including the noisy pitta (Pitta versicolor), southern logrunner (Orthonyx temminckii), paradise riflebird (Ptiloris paradiseus), regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus), satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), pied currawong (Strepera graculina), red goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus), marbled frogmouth (Podargus ocellatus), bush-hen (Amaurornis olivacea), black-breasted button quail (Turnix melanogaster), white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), comb-crested jacana (Irediparra gallinacea) and cotton pygmy goose (Nettapus coromandelianus).

66 mammal species have been recorded in the park, including the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), red-necked pademelon (Thylogale thetis), short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus), common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus), long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta), Long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus), insectivorous bats, fruit bats ("flying foxes") (Pteropus spp.), several species of gliding possums and small numbers of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and kangaroos.

There are a variety of reptile species in the park. This includes the tree goanna/lace monitor (Varanus varius), which is a large monitor lizard and the land mullet (Egernia major), which is a large, shiny black skink. 26 species of frogs have been recorded in the park, including the great barred frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus). The most common amphibian in the park is an introduced pest, the cane toad (Rhinella marina).

title: D'Aguilar National Park


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Daintree National Park

The Daintree National Park is located in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1757 km northwest of Brisbane and 100 km northwest of Cairns. It was founded in 1981 and is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. In 1988, it became a World Heritage Site. The park consists of two sections—Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation, with a settled agricultural area between them which includes the towns of Mossman and Daintree Village.

One entrance to Daintree National Park is located south of the Daintree River at Mossman Gorge where a visitor centre has been built from where tourists take a shuttle bus to the gorge, where they can take a walk or a refreshing swim.

The most spectacular and oldest part of the Daintree Rainforest is north of the Daintree River. After crossing the river on an old fashioned cable ferry there is a range of boardwalks and untouched beaches to explore, and the endangered cassowary can be encountered anywhere.

Daintree National Park is valued because of its exceptional biodiversity. It contains significant habitat for rare species and prolific birdlife. The name is derived from the Daintree River, which was named by George Elphinstone Dalrymple, an early explorer of the area, after his friend Richard Daintree.

In 2021, a historic deal made with the Queensland government has led to the eastern Kuku Yalanji people taking formal ownership of Daintree National Park.

Mossman Gorge section
The Great Dividing Range is close to the coast in this region. This section covers 56500 ha of mostly inaccessible rainforests and mountain woodlands. The popular Mossman Gorge is located in the southern part of the park. Located 75 km north of Cairns via the Captain Cook Highway and Mossman, the gorge offers many scenic exploration walks including Baral Marrjanga, Lower river track, Rex Creek bridge, and the Rainforest circuit track. It is inhabited by incredible flora and fauna including Boyd’s forest dragon and Victoria’s riflebird.

Cape Tribulation section
Cape Tribulation also lies in the park. Originally the cape belonged to Cape Tribulation National Park from 1981 but was amalgamated into Daintree National Park in 1983. This section covers 17000 ha including the coastal range (Thornton Peak, Mt Hemmant, and Mt Sorrow, going north from the Daintree river) and contains Australia's last extensive stands of lowland rainforest. It has extensive (and relatively) unspoiled beaches from Thornton Beach to Cape Tribulation beach – fringed with the increasingly rare littoral (beachside) rainforest. The Daintree river is the southern boundary for the region - reinforced by the need to take a cable ferry across the Daintree river. Much of the coastal flatlands, especially to the south of the Alexandra range, and in Cow Bay, were cleared for agriculture in the late 1800s with a major clearing push in the 1970s. A lot of this has since recovered or has been settled.

The Daintree National Park's traditional owners are the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people. Many of the natural features of the landscape hold spiritual significance for the traditional owners. One of these features is the location of the bouncing stones at Thornton Beach. The rocks here are hornfels, metamorphic rocks resulting from the effects of a major intrusion of granite that produced the coastal mountains. They are very elastic, when bounced on the local rock pavement; The park contains the Mossman River to the south, the Daintree River and the Bloomfield River to the north.

Geography
This section of the park includes the entirety of the Dagmar locality, in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland. The section also includes the northern and eastern parts of the adjacent Noah locality.

Dagmar
The Daintree River forms the locality of Dagmar's north-eastern, northern, and north-western boundaries, while the Daintree Range loosely forms its southern boundary.

The locality takes its name from the Heights of Dagmar (now the Dagmar Range), which was named by explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple in his 1873 exploration of the North East Coast of Queensland. In his report to the Queensland Parliament, Dalrymyple described the range as "jungle-clad hills" but he provided no explanation as to the choice of name. Others have claimed he so named it because of a resemblance to the Dagmar Cross. Dalyrmple described the land from the range down to the Daintree River as "luxuriant jungles, filling all the broad valley, and giving evidence of many thousands of acres of the same rich agricultural lands ... soon to be the gem of Australia", prophesying that agriculture rather than mining would be the longterm feature of the Queensland economy.

Another of the expedition members, Robert Johnstone (a sub-inspector in the Queensland Police Force) climbed to the top of the Heights of Dagmar, describing the range as "fine open grassy hills of good soil; the extent of rich jungle land is very extensive". Another expedition member Walter Hill (a botanist) described the soil "first class" and identified a new species of coconut palm. Hill also expressed the view that the land around the upper Daintree River would be able to support a large population, noting it would be suitable for the cultivation of sugarcane and other tropical crops as well as for grazing land. He also believed the Daintree River would be an effective transport route to the Palmer goldfields to the west.

In April 1886 Queensland Government offered land for sale in Dagmar, 4 parcels of 160 acre each, followed by further land sales and pastoral leases. By 1894, a number of blocks of land had been sold along the Daintree River in the south-east of the present boundaries of the locality.

In 1942 the Queensland Government set aside land in Dagmar to create a reserve as a source of timber (later known as the Dagmar State Forest). The timber reserve appears on a 1950 map.

Noah
The northern and eastern parts of the locality of Noah are within the Daintree National Park.

The south-western part is undeveloped land.

Flora
Much of the national park is covered by tropical rainforest. The Greater Daintree Rainforest has existed continuously for more than 110 million years, making it possibly the oldest existing rainforest. The persistence of this rainforest is believed to be a product of a fortuitous continental drift; after the breakup of its parent supercontinent a portion drifted toward the pole to become Antarctica, disturbing ocean currents and becoming quite chilly, while other portions were moved to hotter and drier locations. The rainforests of the parent continent preserved its climate, and so also its original trees. Tree species, once thought to be long extinct, have only relatively recently been discovered here.

Fauna
The park supports more than 430 bird species. The wompoo fruit-dove is one of six species of pigeon that live in the park as well as significant populations of the endangered cassowary, a flightless bird of substantial size. The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher is a seasonal visitor. Mammals include the striped possum, Daintree River ringtail possum, brown bandicoot, long-nosed bandicoot, musky rat-kangaroo, Bennett’s tree kangaroo, swamp wallaby, platypus and short-beaked echidna. At least 23 species of reptile and 13 species of amphibian can be found in the park. Among the reptiles present are Boyd's forest dragon, eastern water dragon, chameleon gecko, northern leaf-tailed gecko, the scrub or amethystine python, keelback, and the green and northern tree snakes. Frogs found in the park include the Australian lacelid, white-lipped treefrog, colourful-eyed treefrog and common mist frog. The introduced cane toad is also present in the park.

title: Daintree National Park


text:
Dalrymple National Park

Dalrymple is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1108 km northwest of Brisbane.

The park has unique features such as ancient lava flows and the Burdekin River, the largest river in Queensland. This is the land of Gudjal Aboriginal people.

Among the interesting animals can be found here, bridled nailtail wallaby, greater glider and koala.

The elevation of the terrain is 275 metres above sea level.

History
Remains of the old town of Dalrymple can be seen on the west bank of the Burdekin River. Built in 1864, it was the first inland town in the former British colony of North Australia. With the discovery of gold on the Cape River in 1867 and the Gilbert River in 1869, the town grew from a simple tent camp to a thriving town with five hotels and numerous stores. In 1870, however, a flood destroyed large parts of the town, and this and further gold discoveries near Ravenswood and Charters Towers led to its decline. In 1901, 34 years after the town was founded, only a few relics, such as the cemetery, fences and old mine shafts, still bore witness to its existence.

Landscape
Dalrymple National Park was established to protect important geological formations that were created 2.4 million years ago. Basalt, limestone and sandstone can be found in the immediate vicinity. North of the Burdekin River, the 380-metre-high Mount Keelbottom rises 130 meters above the surrounding flatlands. To the southwest of the river are three lava flows, the youngest dating back to the eruption of the Toomba volcano 13,000 years ago, the two older layers dating back 1.3 million and 2.4 million years respectively. Some of the streams in the park, such as Fletcher and Lolworth Creek, have dug deep through the different layers of rock. In some places, basalt columns can be found on one bank of the creek, while 385-million-year-old coral limestone with numerous Devonian fossils can be found on the other.

title: Dalrymple National Park


text:
Davies Creek National Park

Davies Creek National Park is in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1,392 km northwest of Brisbane, 20 km south west of Cairns. The park is located on the Atherton Tableland within the Barron River water catchment. It lies within the Einasleigh Uplands and Wet Tropics of Queensland bioregions.

It is picturesque with its granite outcrops, the Davies Creek Falls and open eucalypt woodland. Davies Creek raises in the Lamb Range and eventually flows into the Barron River. The park is important as a preserve of the northern bettong, an endangered species. A total of five rare or threatened species have been identified in the park. One of them is the bettong (rat-kangaroo) whose main population lives in this park. The world's largest bird-eating and barking spiders have been observed here, measuring up to 16 cm in diameter.

Access
The park can be reached on the Kennedy Highway 21 km southwest of Kuranda.

Facilities
There is a picnic area beside the creek with toilets available. The water of the creek must be boiled for at least five minutes before drinking it. There is a two km walking trail upstream that leads to the base of Davies Creek Falls.

Camping is permitted. Permits must be obtained and fees paid before arrival.

title: Davies Creek National Park


text:
Deepwater National Park

Deepwater is a coastal national park in Queensland, Australia, 375 km north of Brisbane. It protects an area of sand dunes and coastal heaths in the Deepwater Creek catchment. The area is one of the few remaining pristine freshwater catchments on Queensland's east coast. Deepwater National Park was established in 1988 and covers 4,090 ha.

The north of the park is dominated by a 70 m high sand dune which is covered in vegetation. There are some scattered rocky outcrops of volcanic origin including a number of rocky headlands along the park's 9 km of beach frontage.

Flora and fauna
Vegetation in the park is varied between the seaward and landward side of the high dune. To the east are typical beach plants, on the exposed higher areas the plants appear wind-sheared and to the west in more protected area taller vegetation has formed up to three canopy levels of forest and woodlands.

Beaches in the park are used for nesting by loggerhead and leatherback turtles. Flatback and green turtles also nest on the park's beaches. This location is the only mainland site where leatherbacks repeatedly return to lay eggs.

Rose-crowned fruit doves, fairy gerygones and grey fantails are commonly found in the canopies to the west. Along the beaches pied oystercatcher, bar-tailed godwits, tattlers and crested terns are often seen. Emus and brahminy kites can also be found in the park.

Queensland's largest cockroach Macro-panesthia sp. is found in the park.

Facilities
Camping facilities, pit toilets and picnic tables are located at Wreck Rock, 5.5 km north of the park's southern boundary. A second camp site is located further north at Middle Rock, however there are no facilities here. Picnic facilities for day visitors is provided at Flat Rock.

No domestic animals or open fires are permitted in the park.

Access
The park is accessible from the south through Wartburg. Conventional vehicle access possible in the dry season only. Alternative access is possible from the north through Agnes Water. A 4WD vehicle is recommended for this route due to sandy conditions and the slope.

title: Deepwater National Park


text:
Yamarrinh Wachangan Islands National Park

Yamarrinh Wachangan Islands (Denham Group) is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 2098 km northwest of Brisbane.

The park is the largest nesting place for hawksbill turtles and also supports the roosting and nesting of a large number of seabirds.

Vegetation consists of grassy areas, small parts of low closed forests, marginal mangroves and shrubs.