Scientists from the University of Toronto have discovered that urbanization has now become the main driver of Earth’s evolution. The study was published in the journal Science. In a large-scale project involving 287 scientists from 160 cities in 26 countries, researchers examined how urbanization (the growth of cities) affects evolution on a global scale. His work used white clover as a model (Trifolium repens) is an herb that grows in Europe and Western Asia but is found in cities all over the world.

After collecting more than 110,000 samples, they found that whatever the climate, alfalfa in one city now looks more like alfalfa in a city on the other side of the world than alfalfa found in nearby farmland or forests. While it is clear that worldwide urbanization shares many features, it was not previously known to drive evolution in the same direction.

By 2030, the amount of urbanized land is expected to triple compared to 2000. Research can help protect some of the world’s most vulnerable species, mitigate the impact of pests and improve human well-being.