Biodiversity Goals Research Articles

A force to fight global warming

Natural ecosystems and biodiversity must be made a bulwark against climate change, not a casualty of it, argue Will R. Turner, Michael Oppenheimer and David S. Wilcove. This week's Nature is the third of three special issues (previously 20 November 2008 and 12 February 2009) marking the Darwin bicentenary. The theme is biodiversity and how to preserve it. Though still endangered, the golden lion tamarin is a conservation success story in an area where successes are rare: with re-introductions and efforts to preserve its Brazilian forest habitat, the population of the primate has been stabilized. The ecosystem services approach exemplified by the 1997 Nature review by Robert Costanza and colleagues, which puts a value on everything including biodiversity, is seen by many as a key to encouraging conservation: Gretchen Daily, a leading proponent, is optimistic. In an Opinion piece, Pavan Sukhdev puts the case for governmental investment in environmental services, with biodiversity properly costed as part of the broader picture. Taxonomists use part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase gene as a 'DNA bar code': more controversially, Dan Mishmar and colleagues propose that the bar code is not just a useful handle on the relatedness of species but a driver of diversity. With the Copenhagen conference looming, Will Turner, Michael Oppenheimer and David Wilcove explain how natural ecosystems and biodiversity can mitigate climate change. Robert Smith and colleagues stress the importance of local agencies — as opposed to NGOs and incomers — in setting biodiversity goals. The best biodiversity data set we have is provided by palaeontologists: Douglas Erwin thinks they could do more with it though, by adopting the techniques used by physicists. For a listing of all Darwin-related content from this issue, see the Editorial. All of this content, plus web-only material, is available at http://www.nature.com/darwin .

Costing the Earth

The value of biodiversity must be accounted for, says Pavan Sukhdev. It is time for governments to invest to secure the flow of nature's 'public goods'. This week's Nature is the third of three special issues (previously 20 November 2008 and 12 February 2009) marking the Darwin bicentenary. The theme is biodiversity and how to preserve it. Though still endangered, the golden lion tamarin is a conservation success story in an area where successes are rare: with re-introductions and efforts to preserve its Brazilian forest habitat, the population of the primate has been stabilized. The ecosystem services approach exemplified by the 1997 Nature review by Robert Costanza and colleagues, which puts a value on everything including biodiversity, is seen by many as a key to encouraging conservation: Gretchen Daily, a leading proponent, is optimistic. In an Opinion piece, Pavan Sukhdev puts the case for governmental investment in environmental services, with biodiversity properly costed as part of the broader picture. Taxonomists use part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase gene as a 'DNA bar code': more controversially, Dan Mishmar and colleagues propose that the bar code is not just a useful handle on the relatedness of species but a driver of diversity. With the Copenhagen conference looming, Will Turner, Michael Oppenheimer and David Wilcove explain how natural ecosystems and biodiversity can mitigate climate change. Robert Smith and colleagues stress the importance of local agencies — as opposed to NGOs and incomers — in setting biodiversity goals. The best biodiversity data set we have is provided by palaeontologists: Douglas Erwin thinks they could do more with it though, by adopting the techniques used by physicists. For a listing of all Darwin-related content from this issue, see the Editorial. All of this content, plus web-only material, is available at http://www.nature.com/darwin .

A call to the custodians of deep time

Palaeontologists must model the causes of biodiversity rather than simply cataloguing fossils, says Douglas Erwin, as they curate the only record of ecosystems undamaged by humans. This week's Nature is the third of three special issues (previously 20 November 2008 and 12 February 2009) marking the Darwin bicentenary. The theme is biodiversity and how to preserve it. Though still endangered, the golden lion tamarin is a conservation success story in an area where successes are rare: with re-introductions and efforts to preserve its Brazilian forest habitat, the population of the primate has been stabilized. The ecosystem services approach exemplified by the 1997 Nature review by Robert Costanza and colleagues, which puts a value on everything including biodiversity, is seen by many as a key to encouraging conservation: Gretchen Daily, a leading proponent, is optimistic. In an Opinion piece, Pavan Sukhdev puts the case for governmental investment in environmental services, with biodiversity properly costed as part of the broader picture. Taxonomists use part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase gene as a 'DNA bar code': more controversially, Dan Mishmar and colleagues propose that the bar code is not just a useful handle on the relatedness of species but a driver of diversity. With the Copenhagen conference looming, Will Turner, Michael Oppenheimer and David Wilcove explain how natural ecosystems and biodiversity can mitigate climate change. Robert Smith and colleagues stress the importance of local agencies — as opposed to NGOs and incomers — in setting biodiversity goals. The best biodiversity data set we have is provided by palaeontologists: Douglas Erwin thinks they could do more with it though, by adopting the techniques used by physicists. For a listing of all Darwin-related content from this issue, see the Editorial. All of this content, plus web-only material, is available at http://www.nature.com/darwin .

Ecologists and the development of sustainability curricula for majors vs. non-majors

Ecologists usually study interactions among living and non-living things at a particular spatial scale. Ecological curricula often have a biological focus except in ecosystem or applied ecology courses. At the undergraduate level, the impact of human activity on ecology class discussions is often relegated to urban ecology classes. The discussion of sustainability is a side line in introductory or upper level ecology courses, except in applied research courses, and more intensely addressed in non-science general education courses. To develop a global sustainable society will require that different disciplines understand the many factors that affect "sustainability" and work with a common definition of that term. To start the discussion among disciplines that is necessary to solve global environmental problems ecologists need to outline a clear connection between efficient natural resource management practices and global biodiversity goals. Faculty need to network across disciplines in curriculum development, and consider answers from the point of view of coursework in biology, earth science and physical science majors vs. in the general education or liberal arts core curriculum. The sustainability curriculum outcomes of such interdisciplinary discussions are considered for various undergraduate programs throughout the United States focusing on the process of integration of ecological knowledge. Nationally, science major programs develop courses that consider the human impact on the variability and management of natural resources, relative to biodiversity and landscape physical components. Courses are grouped into minors and/or configured as a major’s track. Many of these courses incorporate service-learning and utilize the campus and surrounding university community as a field lab for exploring sustainability, conservation and resource management issues. For non-majors, sustainability may be the theme of first-year seminars taught by faculty from different disciplines, to engage students in critical thinking exercises in solving global environmental problems. Often sociologists, political scientists, historians and geographers are more involved in teaching these general education courses than ecologists. A sustainable studies interdisciplinary major may result after establishing appropriate content courses for minors, the liberal arts curriculum and tracks within majors. The interdisciplinary major can also have several concentrations, as in International Studies major programs, or it can be a self-designed interdisciplinary major, differing in the relative amount of study of each discipline’s impact on sustainability and resource management trends. Ecologists’ participation in general education program development can lead to a better infusion of ecological knowledge into campus sustainability plans, with more opportunities for sustainability service-learning projects and internships.

Ecologists and the development of sustainability curricula for majors vs. non-majors

Abstract *Background/Question/Methods* Ecologists usually study interactions among living and non-living things at a particular spatial scale. Ecological curricula often have a biological focus except in ecosystem or applied ecology courses. At the undergraduate level, the impact of human activity on ecology class discussions is often relegated to urban ecology classes. The discussion of sustainability is a side line in introductory or upper level ecology courses, except in applied research courses, and more intensely addressed in non-science general education courses. To develop a global sustainable society will require that different disciplines understand the many factors that affect "sustainability" and work with a common definition of that term. To start the discussion among disciplines that is necessary to solve global environmental problems ecologists need to outline a clear connection between efficient natural resource management practices and global biodiversity goals. Faculty need to network across disciplines in curriculum development, and consider answers from the point of view of coursework in biology, earth science and physical science majors vs. in the general education or liberal arts core curriculum. The sustainability curriculum outcomes of such interdisciplinary discussions are considered for various undergraduate programs throughout the United States focusing on the process of integration of ecological knowledge. *Results/Conclusions* Nationally, science major programs develop courses that consider the human impact on the variability and management of natural resources, relative to biodiversity and landscape physical components. Courses are grouped into minors and/or configured as a major’s track. Many of these courses incorporate service-learning and utilize the campus and surrounding university community as a field lab for exploring sustainability, conservation and resource management issues. For non-majors, sustainability may be the theme of first-year seminars taught by faculty from different disciplines, to engage students in critical thinking exercises in solving global environmental problems. Often sociologists, political scientists, historians and geographers are more involved in teaching these general education courses than ecologists. A sustainable studies interdisciplinary major may result after establishing appropriate content courses for minors, the liberal arts curriculum and tracks within majors. The interdisciplinary major can also have several concentrations, as in International Studies major programs, or it can be a self-designed interdisciplinary major, differing in the relative amount of study of each discipline’s impact on sustainability and resource management trends. Ecologists’ participation in general education program development can lead to a better infusion of ecological knowledge into campus sustainability plans, with more opportunities for sustainability service-learning projects and internships.

Using Remote Sensing to Evaluate the Influence of Grassland Restoration Activities on Ecosystem Forage Provisioning Services

Abstract As valuation of ecosystem goods and services derived from ecological processes becomes increasingly important in environmental decision‐making, the need to quantify how restoration activities influence ecosystem function has grown more urgent, particularly within income‐generating or subsistence‐providing landscapes where economic needs and biodiversity goals must be balanced. However, quantification of restoration effects is often hindered by logistical issues, which include (1) the difficulty of systematically monitoring responses over large areas and (2) lack or loss of comparison sites necessary for assessing treatment effect. We explored the use of remote sensing to quantify the effects of native grass seeding and prescribed burns on ecosystem forage provisioning services within a California (U.S.A.) rangeland landscape. We used Landsat time series to monitor forage (green biomass) dynamics within 296 ha of treatment areas—distributed throughout a 36‐km2 watershed—for 6 years and to identify post hoc comparison areas when a priori comparisons were lacking. Remote sensing analysis documented gains and losses in forage provisioning services due to restoration efforts and provided critical information for adaptive management. Our results demonstrate the degree to which invaded grasslands can be resistant to change and suggest that increasing the functional complexity of restoration mixes might help increase forage availability and reduce opportunities for weed reinvasion.

Managed Forests and Conservation of Terrestrial Biodiversity in the Southern United States

Abstract The southern United States has significant area in managed pine (Pinus spp.) stands that contribute to terrestrial biodiversity via maintenance of forested areas, varied silvicultural practices resulting in diverse plant communities, stands in multiple successional stages interspersed with mature natural forests, and reduction of pressure on natural forests for wood products. However, conservation value of managed forests is dependent on factors such as product target, landscape context, management intensity, rotation length, stocking density, and ownership philosophy. Potential limitations include loss of natural forests, reduction in dead wood, constraints on stand structure, age and size of plantation trees, and economic pressure to increase management intensity. We recommend that landowners develop plans, including metrics for gauging progress, to cost-effectively manage for biological diversity within working forests and communicate outcomes to stakeholders. Forest certification systems offer a formalized approach for meeting biodiversity goals and demonstrating accomplishments.

A Critical Analysis of Ecosystem Services as a Tool in Conservation Projects

Human modifications of the environment are growing in number and geographic extent, expanding to all of the Earth's surfaces and affecting the vast majority of the Earth's natural resources. Increases in demand for resources, growing levels of poverty, and more extensive urbanization, among other changes, lead to a need to move beyond parks and classic conservation approaches to incorporate humans and working landscapes more directly in conservation efforts. One approach to do this is to focus on ecosystem services, the benefits ecosystems provide to humans. Here conservation projects that focus only on biodiversity are analytically compared with those that include ecosystem-service goals to dispel myths and explore promises. Projects conducted by The Nature Conservancy, the world's largest conservation organization, are used, and it is demonstrated that not only do ecosystem-service approaches engage new landscapes, stakeholders, and funding sources, but that they do so without neglecting traditional biodiversity goals and the traditional approaches of protection and preservation. Seven case studies that uniquely create a broker-type structure to determine how to distribute money for the provision of particular services to the satisfaction of a wide range of stakeholder interests are focused on. It is found that all use local, independent leadership to initiate partnership formation, which then leads to the creation of a separate institutional entity that has legal rights to determine fund provision. The activities encouraged by these entities, and which therefore appear to satisfy a wide array of interests, are supporting education, rewarding best management practice, creating jobs, and monitoring outcomes.

Top Predators as Conservation Tools: Ecological Rationale, Assumptions, and Efficacy

We review the ecological rationale behind the potential compatibility between top predators and biodiversity conservation, and examine their effectiveness as surrogate species. Evidence suggests that top predators promote species richness or are spatio-temporally associated with it for six causative or noncausative reasons: resource facilitation, trophic cascades, dependence on ecosystem productivity, sensitivity to dysfunctions, selection of heterogeneous sites and links to multiple ecosystem components. Therefore, predator-centered conservation may deliver certain biodiversity goals. To this aim, predators have been employed in conservation as keystone, umbrella, sentinel, flagship, and indicator species. However, quantitative tests of their surrogate-efficacy have been astonishingly few. Evidence suggests they may function as structuring agents and biodiversity indicators in some ecosystems but not others, and that they perform poorly as umbrella species; more consensus exists for their efficacy as sentinel and flagship species. Conservation biologists need to use apex predators more cautiously, as part of wider, context-dependent mixed strategies.

Analysis of the Management Policy and Comprehensive Benefit of Agriculture in the Rural Area: A Case Study on Pujiang County, China

To solve the problems of the poverty in rural areas and raise the output efficiency of agriculture, policy is the primary factor. Guiding by good policies, the design of agricultural structure and management technology are the two main technical supports for agricultural development. The authors apply the model to determine the consequences of four so-called poverty alleviation strategies: (i) intensification of production, (ii) diversification of livestock production, (iii) land expansion, and (iv) an exit from agriculture, with a set of regional poverty and biodiversity indicators. Diversification seems to be the most promising poverty reduction strategy, but requires an efficient use of animal manure in cropping systems to avoid environmental problems. Improved nutrient management in cropping systems is effective in reducing the regional nitrogen surplus, but less effective in increasing per capita income. The exit strategy is beneficial for reducing poverty and achieving biodiversity goals, but may have important social consequences, which are not addressed in this study. Further reduction of rural poverty is hampered by labor constraints during the harvesting period of high value crops, such as vegetables and fruits, which calls for research and development in the field of agricultural mechanization.

Changing ecological and cultural states and preferences of nature conservation policy: The case of nature values trade in South-Western Finland

We present a rural Finnish case of nature conservation called the nature values trade (NVT) as an example of the process of changing ecological and cultural states and preferences of environmental policy. We emphasise the importance of local ecological and cultural circumstances for the formulation of environmental policy. The study shows how regional actors in nature conservation and forestry were able to combine forest ownership and nature conservation through authentic dialogue, and overcome a nature conservation conflict, brought about by conflicting international biodiversity goals and the cultural preferences of landowners. Later, their ideas were included in the National Biodiversity Programme and implemented as a pilot project by regional actors, which in turn affected the ecological and cultural state of nature conservation. The NVT reflected international and large-scale trends in environmental policy, and opened new opportunities for further developing environmental policy.

Avoiding Costly Conservation Mistakes: The Importance of Defining Actions and Costs in Spatial Priority Setting

BackgroundThe typical mandate in conservation planning is to identify areas that represent biodiversity targets within the smallest possible area of land or sea, despite the fact that area may be a poor surrogate for the cost of many conservation actions. It is also common for priorities for conservation investment to be identified without regard to the particular conservation action that will be implemented. This demonstrates inadequate problem specification and may lead to inefficiency: the cost of alternative conservation actions can differ throughout a landscape, and may result in dissimilar conservation priorities.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe investigate the importance of formulating conservation planning problems with objectives and cost data that relate to specific conservation actions. We identify priority areas in Australia for two alternative conservation actions: land acquisition and stewardship. Our analyses show that using the cost surrogate that most closely reflects the planned conservation action can cut the cost of achieving our biodiversity goals by half. We highlight spatial differences in relative priorities for land acquisition and stewardship in Australia, and provide a simple approach for determining which action should be undertaken where.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study shows that a poorly posed conservation problem that fails to pre-specify the planned conservation action and incorporate cost a priori can lead to expensive mistakes. We can be more efficient in achieving conservation goals by clearly specifying our conservation objective and parameterising the problem with economic data that reflects this objective.

Striking a Balance between Biodiversity Conservation and Socioeconomic Viability in the Design of Marine Protected Areas

The establishment of marine protected areas is often viewed as a conflict between conservation and fishing. We considered consumptive and nonconsumptive interests of multiple stakeholders (i.e., fishers, scuba divers, conservationists, managers, scientists) in the systematic design of a network of marine protected areas along California's central coast in the context of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. With advice from managers, administrators, and scientists, a representative group of stakeholders defined biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic goals that accommodated social needs and conserved marine ecosystems, consistent with legal requirements. To satisfy biodiversity goals, we targeted 11 marine habitats across 5 depth zones, areas of high species diversity, and areas containing species of special status. We minimized adverse socioeconomic impacts by minimizing negative effects on fishers. We included fine-scale fishing data from the recreational and commercial fishing sectors across 24 fisheries. Protected areas designed with consideration of commercial and recreational fisheries reduced potential impact to the fisheries approximately 21% more than protected areas designed without consideration of fishing effort and resulted in a small increase in the total area protected (approximately 3.4%). We incorporated confidential fishing data without revealing the identity of specific fisheries or individual fishing grounds. We sited a portion of the protected areas near land parks, marine laboratories, and scientific monitoring sites to address nonconsumptive socioeconomic goals. Our results show that a stakeholder-driven design process can use systematic conservation-planning methods to successfully produce options for network design that satisfy multiple conservation and socioeconomic objectives. Marine protected areas that incorporate multiple stakeholder interests without compromising biodiversity conservation goals are more likely to protect marine ecosystems.

The Tropical Biodiversity Data Gap: Addressing Disparity in Global Monitoring

Nations around the world are required to measure their progress towards key biodiversity goals. One important example of this, the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010 target, is soon approaching. The target set is to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by the year 2010. However, to what extent are the data, especially for tropical countries, available to indicate biodiversity change and to what extent is current knowledge of biodiversity change truly a global picture? While species richness is greatest in the tropics, biodiversity data richness is skewed towards the poles. This not only provides a significant challenge for global indicators to accurately represent biodiversity, but also for individual countries that are responsible under such legislation for measuring their own impact on biodiversity. We examine the coverage of biodiversity data using four global biodiversity datasets, and look at how effective current efforts are at addressing this discrepancy, and what countries might be able to do in time for 2010 and beyond. We conclude by suggesting a number of activities which might provide impetus for improved biodiversity monitoring in tropical nations.

Setting Biodiversity Targets in Participatory Regional Planning: Introducing Ecoprofiles

In highly developed regions, ecosystems are often severely fragmented, whereas the conservation of biodiversity is highly rated. Regional and local actor groups are often involved in the regional planning, but when making decisions they make insufficient use of scientific knowledge of the ecological system that is being changed. The ecological basis of regional landscape change would be improved if knowledge-based systems tailored to the cyclic process of planning and negotiation and to the expertise of planners, designers and local interest groups were available. If regional development is to be sustainable, goals for biodiversity must be set in relation to the actual and demanded patterns of ecosystems. We infer a set of prerequisites for the effective use of biodiversity goal-setting methods in multi-stakeholder decision making. Among these prerequisites are the requirements that ecosystem patterns are set central and that methods integrate the demands of a suite of species, are spatially explicit, and allow the aspiration level to be modified during the planning process. The decision making must also be enriched with local ecological knowledge. The current methods for setting biodiversity targets lack crucial characteristics— in particular, flexibility—and often require too high a level of ecological expertise. The ecoprofile method we designed combines an ecosystem base with spatial conditions for species metapopulations. We report experiences with this approach in two case studies, showing that the method was understood by policy makers, planners, and stakeholders, and was useful in negotiation processes. We recommend experimenting with applying this approach in a variety of circumstances, to further improve its ecological basis.

Breeding Bird Responses to Silvicultural Treatments In the Klamath Province of Oregon

Abstract Silvicultural practices such as thinning are performed both for commodity production and to help achieve fuel reduction and biodiversity goals. Although there are several studies that have examined effects of clearcut harvest techniques on forest songbirds, few have examined the effects of thinning. We studied the response of songbirds to different silvicultural approaches to forest management. We experimentally manipulated three 80 to 110 y-old Douglas-fir stands to evaluate influences of commercial thinning and clearcut harvest silvicultural systems on populations of diurnal breeding birds in southwestern Oregon. We conducted 10 to 12 bird point count surveys in each stand between 1992 and 1994 (prior to treatment), and point count surveys of birds 6 times each year from 1998 through 1999 (subsequent to treatment). We found that relative abundance and species richness were highest in the uncut control plots, slightly lower in the thinned plots, and lowest in the clearcut plots. A species-by-spe...

Long‐term change in vegetation and soil microbial communities during the phased restoration of traditional meadow grassland

Summary Restoration of high plant species diversity to sites where it has been reduced by intensive grassland management requires identification of appropriate management regimes. Understanding the combinatorial effects of management on above‐ground vegetation and below‐ground microbial communities will inform management prescriptions on how best to increase plant diversity, restore rare vegetation types and achieve agri‐environmental objectives. Changes in vegetation and soil microbial community structure are described from the second phase of a 1990–2004 field trial that investigated the interacting effects of fertilizer and farmyard manure (FYM) treatments imposed after 1998, in the context of previous hay‐cut date and seed‐addition treatments. Hay‐cut date was the main factor influencing plant species composition in phase 1, whereas FYM was the dominant factor in phase 2. Poa trivialis and Lolium perenne increased in abundance with FYM application, particularly in combination with mineral fertilizer, and particularly in 2002 after the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic. The lowest Ellenberg fertility scores were associated with absence of FYM and mineral fertilizer but with addition of seed. The highest plant species diversity in phase 2 was associated with seed addition and the absence of mineral fertilizer, an effect that had probably persisted from phase 1. Progressive development of the target traditional meadow vegetation occurred through phase 2. Fungal:bacterial (F:B) ratios, a measure of changes in the relative abundance of fungi and bacteria in the microbial community, generally increased from 1996 to 2004, and were particularly high in the seed‐addition treatments and in the absence of fertilizer. Here the high F:B ratios were associated with species (including legumes) typical of traditionally managed mesotrophic grassland in northern England. Synthesis and applications. These results demonstrate that biodiversity goals for upland meadows need to plan beyond the typical 5–10‐year management agreement period of agri‐environment schemes. Combination treatments, in which seed addition is vital, alongside appropriate fertilizer, FYM, hay‐cut date and grazing regimes, are needed for grassland restoration. However, even after 14 years the most effective treatment combinations had still not restored the target species composition and diversity. The demonstrated change in soil microbial communities, linked to the growth of legumes, might be important to facilitate future increases in plant diversity.

Economy and ecology of emerging markets and credits for bio-sequestered carbon on private land in tropical Australia

A central question addressed is whether emerging carbon markets have the potential to provide an economic incentive for private landholders to reforest without recourse to subsidy. A second question is whether bio-sequestration in the Wet Tropics of Queensland is cost-competitive with southern Australia. A third, given that plantations of monocultures also provide carbon sinks, is: are the goals of carbon sequestration and biodiversity mutually exclusive or complementary? Australia intends to meet its Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions target even though it has not ratified the Protocol. While a national system of carbon emission cap and trade does not exist, unilateral action by some states to mandate industry caps has generated a demand for offsets. However, it is the voluntary market for offsets, stimulated by demand by companies and government departments that is most active. The favourable climate and soils of the Wet Tropics Region of north Queensland have enabled the evolution of unique ecosystems. Deforestation of these has been greatly reduced by World Heritage listing of the Wet Tropics. Nevertheless much of the landscape remains fragmented. An official priority is the encouragement of rainforest plantations on private land with the aim of augmenting endangered ecosystems and the habitat of iconic species, but reforestation is heavily subsidised by the Australian government. Using methodology that allows the comparison of uneven streams of costs and benefits, it is found that – at present prices – payments for sequestered carbon defray only a small proportion of costs, providing a level of incentive insufficient to stimulate restoration. Comparative analysis shows that monocultures sequester carbon at a much lower price per tonne. However, despite the relatively high growth rates of monocultures in the region, their cost per tonne of carbon are greater than costs in southern Australia. A decreasing supply of suitable land for bio-sequestration offsets in southern Australia may well force brokers to look to the Wet Tropics. In this event – the economic analysis suggests – land in areas that carried endangered or threatened ecosystems will be devoted to monocultures rather than restored rainforest. The paper highlights the asymmetry between the availability of credits for carbon and of credits for biodiversity and the need for public investment in conservation and restoration. Requiring further investigation is the potential demand for carbon offsets with high biodiversity benefits – so called “boutique abatements” – that could readily be supplied in the Queensland Wet Tropics.

A spatial analysis of indigenous cover patterns and implications for ecological restoration in urban centres, New Zealand

High levels of endemism, the sensitivity of species that have evolved without humans, and the invasion of exotic species have all contributed to severe depletion of indigenous biodiversity in New Zealand. We considered the contribution that urban restoration can make to maximising biodiversity by analysing landcover patterns from two national databases along an urban–rural gradient. Thirteen of 20 land environments in New Zealand are represented in cities, and nearly three-quarters of all acutely threatened land environments are represented within 20 km of city cores nationally. Despite this, remaining indigenous landcover is low within urban cores, with less than 2% on average, but increasing to more than 10% on average in the periurban zone. Threatened lowland environments are most commonly represented within cities, and least represented within protected natural areas. Restoration of existing urban habitat is insufficient to halt biodiversity loss. Ecosystem reconstruction is required to achieve a target of 10% indigenous cover within cities. A co-ordinated national urban biodiversity plan to address issues beyond a local and regional focus is needed. Analysis of national patterns of urban land environments, indigenous cover and remnant ecosystems will support action at a regional and local level while enhancing national and global biodiversity goals.

Poverty and biodiversity trade-offs in rural development: A case study for Pujiang county, China

Both, poverty reduction and preservation of biodiversity are high on the global agenda on sustainable development. The relationships between poverty, biodiversity of agro-ecosystems and agricultural development are complex and poorly understood. In this paper, we present an integrated framework for analysis of agricultural development and natural resource management options at agro-ecosystem level, using Pujiang county, in Zhejiang province, China as a case study area to perform the analysis. A regional linear programming (LP) model is applied, maximizing regional economic surplus, given production and labour market conditions in Pujiang. We use the model to examine the consequences for a set of regional poverty and biodiversity indicators, of four so-called poverty reduction strategies, i.e., (i) intensification of production, (ii) diversification towards livestock production, (iii) land expansion, and (iv) an exit from agriculture. The analysis indicates that diversification is the most promising poverty reduction strategy, but requires efficient use of animal manure in cropping systems to avoid environmental problems. Improved nutrient management in cropping systems is effective in reducing the regional nitrogen surplus, but less effective in increasing per capita income. The exit strategy is effective in reducing poverty and achieving biodiversity goals, but may have important social consequences that are not addressed in this study. Further reduction in rural poverty is hampered by labour constraints during the harvesting period in high value crops such as vegetables and fruits, which calls for research and development in the field of agricultural mechanization.