Historical land cover composition and recent land cover change drive disproportionate range exposure across Australian species

Australia has undergone extensive changes in land use and land cover which has contributed to some of the highest rates of species extinction of any country. Understanding the exposure of individual species to these changes is crucial for effective biodiversity conservation. Here, we combine high resolution land cover and habitat suitability datasets for Australia to assess the exposure of 10,607 plant and animal species to historical land cover composition and recent land cover change by analyzing the overlap with species range. We found that mean predicted species range exposure to cropland in 1990 was significantly higher for birds and vascular plants compared to mammals and reptiles. Conversion of forest to cropland and grassland between 1990 and 2020 further increased species range exposure, whereas vascular plants experienced the highest mean predicted exposure to the conversion of forest to cropland. By 2020, 614 species had experienced substantial (30% or greater) range exposure due to conversion to cropland and grassland. Our assessment highlights the varying levels of species range exposure to historical and recent land use and land cover change and provides valuable insights to guide and support biodiversity conservation and land-use policy in Australia.