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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3619
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3619
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
25 Sep 2025
| 25 Sep 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Reviews and syntheses: Current perspectives on biosphere research 2025: from poly-crisis to poly-solutions
Abstract. Accelerating changes across various Earth system compartments, coupled with intensifying geopolitical and socio-economic turbulences, have increased the interdependence of global crises, resulting in a complex polycrisis.
This review summarises recent advances in biosphere research, focusing on ten topics selected for their thematic relevance to biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, socio-economic interactions and anthropogenic threats to the biosphere. An interdisciplinary expert panel identified these themes from a public survey, based on scientific relevance and evidence. The aim is to inspire future research and provide decision-makers with actionable solutions. The themes highlight innovative opportunities to enhance resilience, advance the understanding of dryland dynamics, promote a sustainable bioeconomy, foster greener urban planning, regulate disease dynamics, support nature-based solutions, mitigate the impact of conflict on the biosphere, address demographic challenges to ecosystem stewardship, integrate indigenous knowledge and embed biosphere valuation in decision-making processes.
Finally, we emphasise the importance of polysolutions that address the target issue, while simultaneously generating positive outcomes in neighbouring economic, social and ecological domains. To ensure planetary stability, this review highlights the urgent need for policies and investments that prioritise the protection, restoration and sustainable management of the biosphere.
How to cite. Bohn, F. J., Sioen, G. B., Bastos, A., Ernst, Y., Jarzebski, M. P., Koh, N. S., Martin, R., Rammig, A., Godoy-Faúndez, A., Gasparatos, A., Gutiérrez, A. G., Aceituno, A. J., Horcea-Milcu, A.-I., Marais-Potgieter, A., Sharifi, A., Howe, C., Krug, C. B., Acosta, E. E., Nzunda, E. F., Andersson, E., Pörtner, H.-O., Sooväli-Sepping, H., Hiroe, I., Palmegiani, I., Coetzer, K., Thonike, K., Tanalgo, K., Biber-Freudenberger, L., Oguge, N. O., Park, M. S., Gross, M., De La Cruz, P., Prist, P. R., Bi, P., Diego, R., Isaac, R., McFarlane, R., Paulus, S. J., Burkhart, S., Lee, S.-C., Müller, S., Terhile, U. D., Shih, W.-Y., Smith, W. K., Hakkarainen, V., Murray, V., Yoshida, Y., Damtew, Y. T., and Niazi, Z.: Reviews and syntheses: Current perspectives on biosphere research 2025: from poly-crisis to poly-solutions, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3619, 2025.
Competing interests: One of the Authors is in the editorial Board of Biogeosciences (A. Rammig)
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Friedrich J. Bohn
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
BAM Nachhaltigkeit Beratung Medien, Berlin, Germany
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
Giles B. Sioen
Sustainable Society Design Center, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
Future Earth Global Secretariat, Tokyo, Japan
Ana Bastos
Institute for Earth System Science and Remote Sensing, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
Yolandi Ernst
Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Marcin P. Jarzebski
Sustainable Society Design Center, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
Future Earth Global Secretariat, Tokyo, Japan
Niak S. Koh
Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Romina Martin
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Anja Rammig
TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
Alex Godoy-Faúndez
Sustainability Research Center, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad del Desarrollo
Alexandros Gasparatos
Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Alvaro G. Gutiérrez
Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales Renovables, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB)
Amanda J. Aceituno
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
Andra-Ioana Horcea-Milcu
Kassel Institute for Sustainability, University of Kassel
Faculty for Humanities and Cultural Studies, University of Kassel
Andrea Marais-Potgieter
Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Ayyoob Sharifi
The IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University, Japan
Caroline Howe
Imperial College London, UK
Cornelia B. Krug
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Eduardo E. Acosta
Independent researcher in indigenous epistemologies and climate change. Colombia
Emmanuel F. Nzunda
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
Erik Andersson
University of Helsinki, Sweden
Hans-Otto Pörtner
Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Germany
Helen Sooväli-Sepping
Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
Ishihara Hiroe
Future Earth Global Secretariat, Tokyo, Japan
Ivan Palmegiani
Leibniz-Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin, Germany
Kaera Coetzer
Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Kirsten Thonike
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Potsdam, Germany
Krizler Tanalgo
Eco/Con Lab, University of Southern Mindanao, Philippines
Lisa Biber-Freudenberger
Center for Development Research, Bonn University
Nicholas O. Oguge
University of Nairobi, Kenya
Mi S. Park
Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
Milena Gross
Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
Pablo De La Cruz
Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible-Colombia, Colombia
Paula R. Prist
IUCN, Forests and Grasslands Programme, United States
Peng Bi
School of Public health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Rivera Diego
Centro de Recursos Hídricos para la Agricultura y la Minería, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile
Roman Isaac
Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
Rosemary McFarlane
Faculty of Health, University of Canberra. Canberra, Australia
Sinikka J. Paulus
Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Institute of Geoscience, University of Jena, Jena, Germany
Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Stefanie Burkhart
Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), Frankfurt/Germany
Institute of Ecology, Diversity and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt/Germany
Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre SBiK-F, Frankfurt/Germany
Sung-Ching Lee
Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Susanne Müller
TU Dresden, Germany
Uchi D. Terhile
Federal University Dutse, Nigeria
Wan-Yu Shih
National Taiwan University, Taiwan
William K. Smith
School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Viola Hakkarainen
Sustainability Education and Transdisciplianry Research Institute, School of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg
Virginia Murray
UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Yuki Yoshida
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
Yohannes T. Damtew
School of Public health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Haramaya University, School of Environmental Health, Harar, Ethiopia
Zeenat Niazi
TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India
Society for Development Alternatives, New Delhi, India
Short summary
The aim of this series is to provide decision-makers with valuable insights into the current state of biosphere research. Firstly, it is intended to ensure the flow of information between the comprehensive assessment reports of the IPCC and IPBES. On the other hand, it is intended to support economic and political decisions closely related to the biosphere with scientifically sound findings – including uncertainties – and comprehensive polysolutions, helping to solve the earth system polycrisis.
The aim of this series is to provide decision-makers with valuable insights into the current...