As we have seen in the news last year and now this year, the earth's ecosystems are being subjected to unprecedented levels of global change stemming from human activities, including climate change, land use intensification, atmospheric pollution, and species extinctions and invasions.

Pressure on the environment continues to grow and the consequences of human-induced global change on the earth's ecosystems are intensifying. This has created an urgent need for science to generate the knowledge for understanding the causes and consequences of these changes, and to help build sustainable and realistic solutions.