Books on biodiversity and conservation

Fil: Campos, Claudia Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Aridas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Interacciones Biologicas del Desierto; Argentina

Ecological impact of phytoinvasions in Ukraine

The effect of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning is a relatively new research topic in ecology. The motivation for this research comes largely from current forecasts of ongoing loss of biodiversity. However, the intellectual link between biodiversity and ecosystem processes was first inferred by Darwin based on his Principle of Divergence. In the notes for his Big Species Book Darwin explicitly states that communities composed of organisms developed under “many and widely differing forms” should have higher rates of productivity and decomposition. Darwin also cites supporting evidence in the form of the Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis: a grass garden at Woburn Abbey in the South of England that contains early experiments on the relationship between organisms and their environment.

The study was conducted mainly to assess the biodiversity of the mushroom species at three different sampling sites (altitudes 100, 200, 400 masl) at Dansolihon, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. Specifically, this study was designed to assess the species richness, and distribution of mushroom species. The researchers utilized random sampling in the collection of samples. Once mushrooms were located, they were then photographed from their respective natural habitats. Furthermore, physical factors such as temperature, relative humidity, altitude and light exposure were recorded during the sampling. After the collection, specimens were preserved in containers with 10% formalin solution. The preparation for the storage of the samples collected was performed at Liceo de Cagayan University. Different taxonomic keys from books and literatures were used as aids in the identification. The samples were then sent to Central Mindanao University, Musuan Bukidnon for the confirmation of the identified samples and identification of the unidentified ones. Species diversity, species richness, and relative abundance were then computed through the use of various biodiversity indices. A total of forty-seven species were collected. Thirty-nine of these were identified and eight were not. The sampling site at 200 masl has the highest number of genera collected. There were forty-five collections belonging to twenty-nine species. The most abundant species was the Mycena sp.2, with a relative abundance of 8.62%. The highest value of species diversity was recorded at 200 masl (3.088). Moreover, this altitude had the highest value of species richness as well (4.323). The highest value of species dominance was recorded at 400 masl (0.1126). Furthermore, a high value of species diversity indicates that the environmental pollution and disturbance in Uguiaban, Dansolihon, Cagayan de Oro City are at manageable level and not extremely alarming. Â Keywords: Biodiversity, Mushroom, Species richness, Distribution Â

The world is undergoing rapid change from increasing human pressure. The scale and intensity of this change are deeply worrying from a conservation perspective. For example, we see severe threats to species, habitat and ecosystems from poaching (Maisels et al ., 2013), the illegal use of poison (Ogada, 2014), overharvesting (Pinsky and Palumbi, 2014) and agricultural expansion (Laurance et al ., 2014). In this book we have focused on how those who represent conservation arguments (conservationists) can respond to these types of challenges. These conservation conflicts arise because one side is passionate about the need to conserve biological diversity, whether for moral, intrinsic or anthropocentric reasons, and the other side may be more focused on different objectives related to human livelihoods and well-being. That is not to say that those arguing for human livelihoods do not recognise the need to conserve biodiversity, and vice versa, but each side may question the relative importance of the arguments, or the specific objectives, or the methods used to achieve those objectives. What is clear is that conservationists are antagonists in these conflicts, and this realisation is important because in order to navigate a path out of destructive conflict, conservationists will need to recognise their role in these issues, address the roots of the problem and be clear about their objectives and about how they engage with the other parties (Redpath et al ., 2014). Throughout the book, we have presented a range of richly complex and multilayered examples. Each has its own idiosyncrasies, but together they expose general principles and highlight what is needed to map and manage conservation conflicts. In this final chapter we build on these perspectives and draw out the principles and steps towards collaborative conflict management. While we recognise that conflicts may be a force for good (Coser, 1956), the conflicts presented here are more often damaging and costly both to humans and biodiversity.

Spatiotemporal pattern of phenology across geographic gradients in insects

This book investigates the limitations of corporate governance and somerelated business laws, and their potential reform in furthering environmentallysustainable development, or ‘sustainability’, as this term is moreconveniently known. The central idea is that promoting sustainabilitycannot be left solely to corporate volunteerism, but also requires enablinglegal frameworks that go beyond conventional environmental regulationto ensconce within company law the necessary standards and procedures.While the book is strongly motivated by the threat of global climatechange, which challenges the traditional assumptions and purpose ofbusiness enterprise over the long term, along withmany other domains ofhuman endeavour, a range of other environmental problems such as theloss of biodiversity also suggests that a different approach to businessactivity is needed. Arising from the work of the Sustainable CompaniesProject, led by Professor Beate Sj°afjell at the University of Oslo,1 this volumeoffersmulti-jurisdictional perspectives fromscholars of business andenvironmental law. Over eight chapters, a mosaic of analyses, spanningcompany law, accounting standards, and financial markets regulation,identify both the barriers to and the opportunities to promote sustainabilityin the context of corporations and their financial investors. Thebook concludes with some ideas to further ‘sustainable companies’, aphrase intended to capture the ideal of corporations and other businessentities acting within environmentally sustainable parameters. The focusof the book is to deepen our understanding of the barriers to creatingsustainable companies, rather than outlining a blueprint for reform.

This work aims to justify the potential for biodiversity conservation in moderately exploited lands that are characterized by a low degree of technogenic transformation and occupy an intermediate position between natural and artificial ecosystems due to their ecological features. Ecosystems of such kind can be referred to as quasi-natural. In this study focus is made on the most typical objects in this respect - multipurpose ponds and protective forest belts in Ukraine. Conventional ecological methods were used for accounting for the composition of the communities and assessing their productivity. The general species richness and diversity of groups in communities of quasi-natural ecosystems, as a rule, reach high values, than in their surroundings. In the survey of 30 pond-fish farming areas in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine, 150 species of vertebrate animals (except fish) were found there, of which more than 90 are listed as protected. Forest shelterbelts of the steppe zone of Ukraine are the habitat of 584 species of beetles, and in forest-steppe protective forest belts there can be found up to 30 protected plant and animal species per hectare of stand. Arable land, pastures and haymaking steppe areas of southern Ukraine support rare bird species, of which 10 are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. Therefore the considered quasi-natural ecosystems undoubtedly play a significant role in the conservation of wildlife and there is a need to provide opportunities for comprehensive implementation and enhancement of their conservation potential.

This book is an effort to share our perspectives from five years of experience studying and teaching in Costa Rica through the intersections of geography, ecology, and political science. These reflect the dominant pedigrees of more than one-hundred students who annually spent five weeks in Huxley College of the Environment’s RICA program in Costa Rica. The RICA program was designed to foster global ecological citizenship through practices of democratic ecology that activate learner awareness and efficacy among undergraduate participants, Costa Rican students from local schools, and community members. In the 2011 field season, faculty and twenty-one students conducted observational studies of tree diversity, soil composition, avian bioacoustics, collaborative conservation management, and environmental education. Comparative observations were made at biological stations in Carara and Corcovado National Park in collaboration with Park staff. We hypothesized that significant contrasts will occur between the secondary forests of Carara and primary forests of Corcovado and their neighboring communities. Our results inform Costa Rican conservation and management strategies as well as contribute to the growing field of participatory ecological monitoring. Biodiversity conservation begins inside of Costa Rica’s protected areas but must be complemented by research, education and outreach in the communities outside of National Parks. Biodiversity conservation begins inside of Costa Rica’s protected areas but will be finished, for the good or the bad, outside of them. 2 Five Seasons in Ecotopia

The United Nations has stated that denying smallholder farmer access to land is a denial of their right to food and livelihood. According to FAO, about 70 percent of the world food supply comes from the smallholder farmers. While the world population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, it has been projected that world food production is increased by 50 percent by 2050. This calls for proper land reforms to make agricultural lands accessible to smallholder farmers in order to achieve SDG 2. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the impact of the accelerated conversion of fertile arable lands to real estate development in Ghana and policy gaps. The study, which was exploratory, reviewed journals, articles, books, conference papers, policy briefs, workshops reports and other relevant materials to identify and assess the problem, and policy gaps. The study has revealed that even though, the structural adjustment programme in Ghana brought to light prospect to the private sector, it worsened farmer’s plight as many lost their lands to companies including the real estate due to lack of documentation. The study revealed that in the western region, over 12,500 acres of agricultural lands have been sold to oil and gas related companies for other uses. In the central region, about 2,000-2,500 acres of lands at Gomoa and Awutu Seenya have also been lost to real estate developers. Findings also revealed that one-meter square decrease in land size decreases food-driven investments by $1.72 in the area. The problem is alarming, leading to loss of biodiversity, livelihood and deepening poverty in affected communities. The study recommended law enforcement on the existing land use and spatial planning Act 2016 and sensitization on Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar, and consequences of the problem on food security in Ghana.

Climantica is an environmental education project that approaches all environmental problems in relation to climate change. It represents one of the four pillars on which the Galician Action Plan against Climate Change (Plano Galego de Accion contra o Cambio Climatico) is based (see figure 1). The remaining three pillars are mitigation, research and adaptation. It started with the publication of eight books structured as teaching units, the first of which deals generally with the issue of climate change. The other seven books cover energy, waste, the water cycle, biodiversity, the territory, the rural environment and the urban environment. These general teaching units fuel the entire project, and their contents are the bases for comic strips, magazines, documentaries, and multimedia resources for autonomous learning through the website, www.climantica.org. This project is aimed at the general public through the website, where besides having access to all educational contents, visitors also have the opportunity to ask questions, give their opinions and participate in discussions through a blog. However, the starting point is secondary education, since the authors teach at this level and consider it a key stage to begin a thorough scientific study of such a global, complex and interdisciplinary issue. For the time being, the approach in primary education is to appeal to children’s imagination through comic strips, animated short films and educational video games. University education is another area, which will be targeted in the coming academic year.

In January 2020, during China’s COVID-19 outbreak, the NASA Earth Observatory captured aerial images indicating significantly lower emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a major air pollutant, across China’s mainland.[1] Scientists across the globe have reported preliminary empirical data that amid shelter-in-place directives and the shutting down of large-scale economic activity, the environment is flourishing. Abnormal sightings of wild animals roaming freely in deserted cities have been widely reported. For example, monkeys in Lopburi, Bangkok and leatherback turtles on deserted beaches in Florida, US are thriving.[2] This pandemic has given mother earth a chance to ‘breathe.’ Environmentalists are asking how long the breather will last and whether it will sustain the earth for years to come, when business as usual returns bringing environmental challenges. This pandemic has shaken up business as usual including major economic drivers of supply and demand. At the moment, the demand for oil is at an all-time low whereas personal protective equipment (PPE) markets are booming. The world has entered into a recession, with estimates of a US $2 trillion loss. Approximately 11 million people are being pushed into poverty.[3] People are functioning differently: there is a shift toward working remotely, micro gardening in urban settings, more mindful use of resources, and spending more time at home with friends and family. These trends may put less strain on people as well as on the environment. As people find a better work-life balance and commute less, the 77.5% of pollution caused by car and air travel, may be reduced.[4] Some scientists also argue that if the planet were healthier we would see fewer viruses take hold.[5] Although scientists estimate that the impact of COVID-19 on the environment may be temporarily positive, long-lasting action and commitment are necessary to mitigate climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by United Nations member states in 2015 aim to achieve climate action, sustainable cities, and sustainable use of the earth and ocean’s resources by 2030. While there is a short-term environmental benefit of lower emissions, the long-term goals may be set back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The SDGs include eliminating poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity and peace for all people.[7] The SDGs are a stark reminder that the pre-COVID-19 world was far from perfect. Most countries’ economies are driven by exponential capitalist growth in which the environment and people are exploited for the sake of profit. Nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day.[8] 44 percent of the world’s net worth belongs to 0.8 percent of the world’s individuals[9]. This crisis has exposed systemic flaws even more, as those who have lower socio-economic standing are disproportionately affected by this pandemic. They are more susceptible because they do not have access to basic sanitation and are often forced to live in places affected worse by climate change and pollution. In 2019 Greta Thunberg, the 15-year-old environmental activist, made the case that the economics to solve the current environmental constraints did not yet exist. In 2020, amid the pandemic, the United Nations (UN) reported that there is a need to rebuild economies differently.[10] Individuals and governments may be spurred to change their approach to climate action requiring a shift of societal norms to value the environment and people’s happiness more than profit growth. In Amsterdam, donut economics will be used to help the economy recover.[11] Donut economics originated from Kate Raworth of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute’s book, ‘Donut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist.’ The inner ring of the donut refers to the minimum that people need to live a good life, which is based on the UN’s SDGs (such as food, clean water, housing, sanitation, energy, education, healthcare, gender equality, income, and political voice). Any person who does not have access to these minimum standards of living is described as living in the doughnut’s hole. The outer ring of the doughnut, where the sprinkles go, represents the ecological outer parameters, drawn up by earth-system scientists. These outer parameters delineate the boundaries which humanity should not progress beyond if it is to avoid damage to the ozone layer, oceans, freshwater resources, and abundant biodiversity. In developing countries such as South Africa, the opportunity to rebuild the economy by means of donut economics seems idealistic because a large percentage of the population lives inside the doughnut hole. The immediate challenges of debt, poverty, and food shortage brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown are pressing.[12] However, visionary leaders should take a long-term perspective as there is opportunity to do so now. For example, during this time President Cyril Ramaphosa aims to reduce the number of ‘people living inside the donut’s hole’ by improving housing infrastructure in rural areas. Rebuilding a more ethical post-COVID-19 world of both environmental and human flourishing[13] will require a planetary health perspective.[14] The Lancet[15] suggests that a planetary perspective must move beyond an emergency response toward resilience and prevention planning. In “Happiness explained: What human flourishing is and what we can do to promote it,” Paul Aland explains that the principles of human flourishing are fairness, autonomy, community, and engagement. These principles may be the pillars for post-COVID-19 environmental policies. Amid the chaos and trauma of this pandemic, it is up to individuals, leaders, scientists, and bioethicists to take a breather to reflect. It is time to dare to imagine what human and environmental flourishing may look like in a more sustainable post-COVID-19 world and start rebuilding it one step at a time. Photo by RawFilm on Unsplash [1] “These Satellite Photos Show How COVID-19 Lockdowns Have Impacted Global Emissions,” World Economic Forum, March 25, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/emissions-impact-coronavirus-lockdowns-satellites/. [2] Harry Kretchmer, “These Locked-down Cities Are Being Reclaimed by Animals,” World Economic Forum, April 17, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-cities-lockdown-animals-goats-boar-monkeys-zoo/. Deena Robinson, “Endangered Sea Turtles Thriving Amid COVID-19 Restrictions,” April 20, 2020, https://earth.org/endangered-sea-turtles-thriving-amid-covid-19-restrictions/. [3] World Economic Forum, “Why We Cannot Lose Sight of the Sustainable Development Goals during Coronavirus,” April 23, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-effect-sdg-un-progress/. [4] Hiroko Tabuchi, “‘Worse Than Anyone Expected’: Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions,” The New York Times (Online), September 19, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/climate/air-travel-emissions.html. [5] “First Person: COVID-19 Is Not a Silver Lining for the Climate, Says UN Environment Chief,” United Nations News, April 5, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061082. [6] The World Bank, “Poverty,” April 16, 2020, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview. [7] United Nations Development Programme, “What Are the Sustainable Development Goals?,” 2015, https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html. [8] The World Bank, “Nearly Half the World Lives on Less than $5.50 a Day,” October 17, 2018, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day. [9] James Davies, Rodrigo Lluberas, and Anthony Shorrocks, “Global Wealth Report 2018,” Credit Suisse Research Institute, 2018. [10] “First Person: COVID-19 Is Not a Silver Lining for the Climate, Says UN Environment Chief,” United Nations News, April 5, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061082. [11] Daniel Boffey, “Amsterdam to Embrace ‘doughnut’ Model to Mend Post-Coronavirus Economy,” April 8, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/amsterdam-doughnut-model-mend-post-coronavirus-economy. [12] A van den Heever et al., “South Africa Needs a Post-Lockdown Strategy That Emulates South Korea,” The Conversation, April 18, 2020, https://theconversation.com/south-africa-needs-a-post-lockdown-strategy-that-emulates-south-korea-136678. “‘People Need to Eat’: South Africa Eases Coronavirus Lockdown,” Aljazeera, January 5, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/eat-south-africa-eases-coronavirus-lockdown-200501072927207.html. [13] Rose Deller, “Book Review: Happiness Explained: What Human Flourishing Is and How We Can Promote It by Paul Anand,” The London School of Economics and Political Science, August 24, 2016, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2016/08/24/book-review-happiness-explained-what-human-flourishing-is-and-how-we-can-promote-it-by-paul-anand/. [14] Alistair Brown and Richard Horton, “A Planetary Health Perspective on COVID-19: A Call for Papers,” The Lancet 395 (April 4, 2020): 1099. [15] Brown and Horton.

About this book: Over 100 authors present 25 contributions on the impacts of global change on terrestrial ecosystems including:key processes of the earth system such as the CO2 fertilization effect, shifts in disturbances and biome distribution, the saturation of the terrestrial carbon sink, and changes in functional biodiversity,ecosystem services such the production of wheat, pest control, and carbon storage in croplands, and sensitive regions in the world threaten by rapid changes in climate and land use such as high latitudes ecosystems, tropical forest in Southeast Asia, and ecosystems dominated by Monsoon climate.The book also explores new research developments on spatial thresholds and nonlinearities, the key role of urban development in global biogeochemical processes, and the integration of natural and social sciences to address complex problems of the human-environment system.

<em>TreeGhatsData</em> is a compilation of lists of tree taxa found in Western Ghats, South India: taxa for which the word "tree" appears in habit description in the book <em>Flowering plants of the Western Ghats</em> edited by the Tropical Botanic Garden Research Institute (TBGRI), including planted or cultivated taxa (Nayar, Beegam, and Sibi. 2014); tree taxa described after 2014 in journal articles; taxon names used in forest surveys published by the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP), in journal articles from 2000, and in the Atlas of endemics of the Western Ghats (Ramesh and Pascal 1997); taxon names reported with "tree" habit in Indian Biodiversity Portal (http://indiabiodiversity.org/). For each plant name, <em>TreeGhatsData</em> includes the following taxonomic information: family, genus epithet, species epithet, infrataxon rank, infrataxon epithet, authority. Both the family name used in TBGRI book and the corresponding family name according to Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system III (APGIII; Bremer et al. 2009) are provided. <em>TreeGhatsData</em> includes the taxonomic status, the reference name and the authority according to TBGRI flora, along with taxonomic status from The Plant List version 1.1 (http://www.theplantlist.org/). From these two sources, a taxonomic status is suggested for each taxon name, with corresponding reference names and authorities. <em>TreeGhatsData</em> also includes ecological and biogeographic information from TBGRI and completed by the botanists of French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP). Because most vegetation surveys do not provide taxon names at infraspecific level, <em>TreeGhatsData</em> includes both the infraspecific taxa mentioned in Western Ghats and the corresponding specific binomial names. <em>TreeGhatsData</em> is provided as a CSV file with comma separator. <strong>Related references</strong> Bremer, B., Bremer, K., Chase, M. W., Fay, M. F., Reveal, J. L., Soltis, D. E., Soltis, P. S., Stevens, P. F., Anderberg, A. A., Moore, M. J., Olmstead, R. G., Rudall, P. J., Sytsma, K. J., Tank, D. C., Wurdack, K., Xiang, J. Q. Y. &amp; Zmarzty, S. (2009) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161, 105-121. Nayar, T., Rasiya Beegam, A. &amp; Sibi, M. (2014) Flowering plants of the Western Ghats, India, Volume 1 Dicots; Volume 2 Monocots. Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute. Ramesh, B. &amp; Pascal, J.-P. (1997) Atlas of endemics of the Western Ghats (India): distribution of tree species in the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India.

(NO SPACE, NO CHOICE, NO JOBS,) NO LOGO Naomi Klein (London: Flamingo an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers), 2000, 490pp, pbk UK£8.99 2001,547pp+xxii, NZ$£29.95 DEVIL'S ADVOCATE John Humphrys (London: Arrow Books) 2000, 271pp+xi, £7.99 ACCOUNTING FOR BIODIVERSITY: A Natural Inventory of the Elan Valley Nature Reserve M.J. Jones and J. Matthews, Occasional Research Paper No.29 (London: ACCA), 2000 SUSTAINABLE FINANCE and BANKING: The Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet Marcel Jeucken (London: Earthscan) 2001, 318 + viiipp, £29.95 SOCIAL AUDIT AND ACCOUNTING: Manual, Workbook and CD Rom John Pearce (West Calder: CBS Network & Social Enterprise Network) 2001, 97pp + 15pp, £33.00 + p&p GREENING THE CORPORATION: Management Strategy and the Environment Challenge Peter Thayer Robbins (London: Earthscan) 2001, 198pp + xviii, £17.95 SUSTAINABLE BANKING: The Greening of Finance Jan Jaap Bouma, Marcel Jeucken and Leon Klinkers (eds) ( Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing in association with Deloitte & Touche) 2001, 480pp £45.00/US$84.00. THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS: Unsustainable development in international law and policy Alexander Gillespie (London: Earthscan), 2001, 256pp, £40.00hbk, £14.95pbk METAPHORS FOR CHANGE: Partnerships, Tools and Civic Action for Sustainability Edited by Penny Allen with Christophe Bonazzi and David Gee (Sheffield: Greenleaf), 2001, 326pp, £19.95/US$40.00pbk GOOD NEWS AND BAD: The media, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development SustainAbility (London/Paris/New York: SustainAbility/ UNEP/Ketchum) 2002 46pp £poa THE GREENING OF BUSINESS: Environmental Management and Performance Evaluation: An empirical study in the Dutch dairy industry Anniek Mauser (Delft: Eburon), 2001, 284pp, €29.50 INVESTING INSOCIAL RESPONS‐IBILITY: Risks and Opportunities Roger Cowe with help from Andersen & Marsh companies, ABI Research Report No.4 (London: Association of British Insurers) 2001, 58pp DESIGN + ENVIRONMENT: a global guide to designing greener goods Helen Lewis and John Gertsakis with Tim Grant, Nicola Morelli and Andrew Sweatman (Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing) 2001, 200pp, £19.95/US$40.00