If you take a step outside from wherever you’re reading this article right now, and look at the landscape around you, more likely than not you’ll be struck first by things of entirely human design.

Homes, skyscrapers, highways, arenas, hospitals, churches, mosques – all these and more are designed and built by our own species. Even many of our parks and wildlife areas have been shaped by human plans.

However, according to a new study led by Professor Gemma Harvey from Queen Mary University of London, there is more to all of our landscapes than meets the eye; and it is being constantly shaped and redesigned by unseen creatures that are decidedly un-human in nature.

Recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study identifies a total of 603 different species that influence how our landscape looks and functions. The study covers everything from the tiniest movements of ants redistributing soil to the drainage systems carved out by the determined movement of hippos.

As Professor Harvey explains in a statement, these are important natural processes that have impacts on our planet and its ecosystems:

“This research shows that the role of animals in shaping Earth’s landscapes is much more significant that previously recognised. From beavers creating wetlands to ants building mounds of soil, these diverse natural processes are crucial, yet we risk losing them as biodiversity declines.”

And as the research maps out the massive impact of all 603 of these species, both on land and in water, it proves once and for all just how crucial it is that all our planet’s species are allowed to live their natural lives and follow their intrinsic behaviors within the habitats that they’ve adapted to.

Referring to these creatures as ‘natural engineers’, Harvey pinpoints the efforts of these diverse creatures as highly influential on the ways in which our planet functions – but warns that around 30% of these crucial species are at threat of extinction.

With some termite mounds visible from space, and the natural work of beavers a clear flood-prevention strategy, it’s difficult to argue that these creatures aren’t important.

If these animals – everything from beavers to termites, sea creatures to tropical birds – cease to exist, the way in which their natural behaviors adapt their habits will also cease.

And given that we don’t yet fully understand all the benefits of the structures that these species create and adapt, this situation could be detrimental to life on our planet as we know it.

With this in mind, the study advises, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration is crucial, with the preservation of diverse ecosystems and the rewilding of natural habitats one of the best ways to restore our planet to its safe equilibrium.

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