Terrestrial biodiversity is experiencing unprecedented declines, largely driven by human activities. Of the five major threats identified by IPBES, three — pollution, resource exploitation and land use — directly involve human interactions with ecosystems. While these pressures are widely acknowledged, there is a lack of systematic synthesis on how they are categorised and studied across different ecological scales.

This study presents a systematic evidence map that quantifies and catalogues how scientific research characterises the relationship between direct anthropogenic pressures and terrestrial biodiversity. Using a machine-learning-assisted literature review method, we analysed peer-reviewed studies and classified pressures into the three IPBES categories, also considering the location of the studies and the three biodiversity scales at which they were conducted (i.e. individuals, populations and communities). Our analysis of the training sample reveals significant research gaps: 70% of studies focus only on one of the three listed pressure types, while fewer than 2% examine interactions between multiple pressures. Furthermore, despite its well-known ecological impact, direct human presence is addressed in only 6% of studies, compared to 30% that focus on the impacts of agricultural practices.

By systematically mapping these studies across geographic regions and biodiversity levels, our research highlights biases and understudied areas, providing a critical foundation for future research and policy decisions.