But it was not until Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson began pioneering the concept of biodiversity in 1986 that we truly realized their sheer importance. Missouri Botanical Garden president Peter H. Raven warns that pollution, climate change, invasive species, overuse of natural resources and human-caused damage to plant habitats have not merely led to the extinction or near-extinction of numerous species; they could help trigger the planet's sixth great mass extinction.
1986 年哈佛大學演化生物學教授威爾森首度提出「生物多樣性」概念，之後，美國密蘇里植物園園長彼得．雷文則提出預警，人類對植物生存環境的破壞、氣候變化、外來物種入侵、自然資源過度使用和污染等因素，不僅造成許多物種滅絕或瀕臨滅絕，更可能引發第 6 次物種大滅絕。