Biodiversity Services Research Articles

Taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of an urban Amazonian avifauna

Amazonia is undergoing rapid urbanisation, but nothing has been published on the structure and function of urban Amazonian avifaunas. Here we present the results of a year-long survey of the avifauna of an Amazonian city, exploring temporal variation in its taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity. We found urban bird communities to be taxonomically depauperate and dominated by a small subset of common species typical of second growth and river-edge habitats. Broad patterns of phylogenetic community similarity typically resembled those found in other studies on urban Neotropical bird assemblages, with insectivores the dominant guild. There was significant temporal variation in taxonomic and phylogenetic structure owing to the seasonal arrival and departure of a regionally over-represented minority of migratory species. Although the urban avian assemblage is of limited regional conservation value, it may still offer significant biodiversity services and represent one of few points of contact for local people with biodiversity.

Comparison of the ecosystem services provided by China's Poyang Lake wetland and Bangladesh's Tanguar Haor wetland

Wetlands are the most productive ecosystem on Earth. China's Poyang Lake wetland and Bangladesh's Tanguar Haor wetland are important natural Asian wetlands. In the past 10–15 years, the ecosystem services provided have been greatly affected by human activities and the resulting significant changes in the wetlands. In this paper, we chose food supply and biodiversity as typical ecosystem services provided by these wetlands, and combined field research with surveys to analyze the changes in the characteristics of these ecosystem services in the two wetlands and their driving forces. From 2000 to 2012, we found that: (1) per capita rice production has decreased greatly in both wetlands, while the rice consumption and the level of food security have decreased in the Poyang Lake wetland and increased in the Tanguar Haor wetland. (2) The fish supply has decreased in both wetlands, with a greater decrease in the Tanguar Haor wetland. (3) The biodiversity services have improved in the Poyang Lake wetland but decreased greatly in the Tanguar Haor wetland. These changes have been caused by differences in the combination of land use policies, land use planning, population growth patterns, and economic development.

Introduction to Special Issue on Modeling and sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem services

Introduction to Special Issue on Modeling and sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem services

Discourses on the performance gap of agriculture in a green economy: a Q-methodology study in Indonesia

ABSTRACTGaps exist between aspirations of ‘green agriculture’, which protects biodiversity and ecosystem services, and the reality on the ground. Using Q-methodology, we explored expert opinion in Indonesia on the contributing factors to the gaps. Q-methodology indicated three dominant discourses on ‘green agriculture’ and groups of experts who prioritize them: (1) endorsers of regulations and innovations; (2) providers of resources for access to capital, technology and knowledge; and (3) proponents of green economy (GE) and land-use planning (LUP). Group 1 pointed out the importance of endorsing incentives to reduce the gap, while Group 2 reckoned that building smallholders’ capacity and providing them with access to capital, technology, and knowledge are needed to green agricultural practices. Group 3 described the importance of integrating environmental value into the gross domestic product and earmarking sources derived from environmental levies for greening the agricultural sector. All discourses recognized the importance of scientific policy formulation. Groups 1 and 3 agreed that non-synchronization of LUP between national and local governments highly contributes to the gap. Groups 2 and 3 perceived that ecosystem services from the agricultural sector have not been sufficiently understood to promote green agricultural development. By simultaneously addressing the gaps on each level and understanding how each factor contributes to the gap, we propose a set of recommendations to improve the implementation of green agriculture in Indonesia by creating a platform that all three groups can recognize and support.EDITED BY Dagmar Mithöfer

中国生物多样性与生态系统服务评估指标体系

中国生物多样性与生态系统服务评估指标体系

10-Years Land Use Changes Decrease Landscape Integrity in a Brazilian Hydrographic Basin

Changes in land use associated with the suppression of native vegetation can greatly alter the landscape configuration, affecting biodiversity and environmental services availability. This study analyzes how changes in land use affect landscape patterns of vegetation remnant over a 10 year period. We quantified spatial landscape patterns throughout a hydrographic basin for the years 2002, 2008, 2010 and 2012, using nine landscape metrics. An indicator of integrity was used to details the transformation processes occurring in the basin that could be used to monitor the impact of landscape changes and its spatial patterning. Results showed that over this decade, extension of farming activities reduced the cover of native vegetation by 4.4%, with grassy-woody savanna, wooded savanna and forested savanna impacted especially strongly. Suppression of vegetation across this period reduced the size of fragments and their connectivity. The landscape fragmentation indicator indicated that the fragmentation pattern varied spatially, with the upland areas along river headwaters, being most fragmented. Areas of floodplains vegetation, belonged to the Pantanal Wetland, although in better integrity states, are the most threatened by current pressures of land use change. An intense recovery program for headwaters and aquifer recharge areas, as well as riparian forests, is recommended to avoid the future depletion of water production. Besides, we also recommend the maintenance and recovering of the connectivity of the current remaining patches of natural vegetation corridors and elaboration of specific laws that incoporate the consolidated scientific knowladge about wetland ecosystem functioning, like the Pantanal.

Biodiversity in the Anthropocene: prospects and policy.

Meeting the ever-increasing needs of the Earth's human population without excessively reducing biological diversity is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, suggesting that new approaches to biodiversity conservation are required. One idea rapidly gaining momentum-as well as opposition-is to incorporate the values of biodiversity into decision-making using economic methods. Here, we develop several lines of argument for how biodiversity might be valued, building on recent developments in natural science, economics and science-policy processes. Then we provide a synoptic guide to the papers in this special feature, summarizing recent research advances relevant to biodiversity valuation and management. Current evidence suggests that more biodiverse systems have greater stability and resilience, and that by maximizing key components of biodiversity we maximize an ecosystem's long-term value. Moreover, many services and values arising from biodiversity are interdependent, and often poorly captured by standard economic models. We conclude that economic valuation approaches to biodiversity conservation should (i) account for interdependency and (ii) complement rather than replace traditional approaches. To identify possible solutions, we present a framework for understanding the foundational role of hard-to-quantify 'biodiversity services' in sustaining the value of ecosystems to humanity, and then use this framework to highlight new directions for pure and applied research. In most cases, clarifying the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services, and developing effective policy and practice for managing biodiversity, will require a genuinely interdisciplinary approach.

Shade’s Benefit: Coffee Production under Shade and Full Sun

<p>Coffee has major importance in tropical landscapes from agronomic, economic and ecological perspectives. Yet the conversion of shade-coffee into full sun monocultures has deep effect on the potential of those systems to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems services (such as pest control and pollination). Despite of this, effect of shade on production has not been sufficiently addressed, particularly in Brazil, the world major coffee producer. This study compared the performance of shaded coffee and full sun management in terms of productivity and production costs. The survey was conducted in Municipality of Mirante da Serra, in the Brazilian Amazon and eight coffee agroecosystems, four under shade and four under full sun were investigated. The results indicate that shaded systems have lower production costs requiring less working hours than sun plantations. The average production cost of shaded agroecosystems was 49.63%, while in systems under full sun, this value was 82.2%. Shaded and full sun productivity did not differ significantly, with higher variance in the former, showing that shaded systems are more heterogeneous. Shaded coffee agroecosystems presented an economically and environmentally viable alternative. The lower production cost enhances economic viability of these ecosystems in Amazon as well as in the rest of the tropics. Such efficiency may have influenced the persistence of these managements, despite the worldwide agriculture intensification tendency.</p>

Ecological Consequences of Shoreline Hardening: A Meta-Analysis.

Protecting coastal communities has become increasingly important as their populations grow, resulting in increased demand for engineered shore protection and hardening of over 50% of many urban shorelines. Shoreline hardening is recognized to reduce ecosystem services that coastal populations rely on, but the amount of hardened coastline continues to grow in many ecologically important coastal regions. Therefore, to inform future management decisions, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing the ecosystem services of biodiversity (richness or diversity) and habitat provisioning (organism abundance) along shorelines with versus without engineered-shore structures. Seawalls supported 23% lower biodiversity and 45% fewer organisms than natural shorelines. In contrast, biodiversity and abundance supported by riprap or breakwater shorelines were not different from natural shorelines; however, effect sizes were highly heterogeneous across organism groups and studies. As coastal development increases, the type and location of shoreline hardening could greatly affect the habitat value and functioning of nearshore ecosystems.

Designing agricultural landscapes for biodiversity-based ecosystem services

Sustainable and resilient agricultural systems are needed to feed and fuel a growing human population. However, the current model of agricultural intensification which produces high yields has also resulted in a loss of biodiversity, ecological function, and critical ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. A key consequence of agricultural intensification is landscape simplification, where once heterogeneous landscapes contain increasingly fewer crop and non-crop habitats. Landscape simplification exacerbates biodiversity losses which leads to reductions in ecosystem services on which agriculture depends. In recent decades, considerable research has focused on mitigating these negative impacts, primarily via management of habitats to promote biodiversity and enhance services at the local scale. While it is well known that local and landscape factors interact, modifying overall landscape structure is seldom considered due to logistical constraints. I propose that the loss of ecosystem services due to landscape simplification can only be addressed by a concerted effort to fundamentally redesign agricultural landscapes. Designing agricultural landscapes will require that scientists work with stakeholders to determine the mix of desired ecosystem services, evaluate current landscape structure in light of those goals, and implement targeted modifications to achieve them. I evaluate the current status of landscape design, ranging from fundamental ecological principles to resulting guidelines and socioeconomic tools. While research gaps remain, the time is right for ecologists to engage with other disciplines, stakeholders, and policymakers in education and advocacy to foster agricultural landscape design for sustainable and resilient biodiversity services.

Ecosystem accounting for measuring total income in private and public agroforestry farms

We develop an ecosystem accounting system to estimate individual products' biophysical and total income indicators. The ecosystem products are grouped into private and public activities and measured consistently with the principle of exchange value of the standard national accounts. Private products comprise timber, cork, firewood, conservation forestry, grazing, livestock, hunting, crops and private amenity, while the public ones comprise mushrooms, carbon, water, public recreation, landscape and threatened biodiversity services. Our accounting approach revises and extends the standard agricultural and forestry sector income accounts by incorporating intermediate products, natural growth, private amenity, carbon sequestration and capital gain. Furthermore, our approach extends the standard government sector income accounts by including the economic value of the consumption of public final products delivered by ecosystems on the basis of simulating prices for non-market products. We apply the agroforestry accounting system to a group of 39 agroforestry farm case studies in Andalusia, Spain. We provide results for two agroforestry farm groups: publicly owned coniferous forest and privately owned native hardwood forest (dehesa). Total income attained, on average, €140 per hectare in coniferous forests and €352 per hectare in dehesas. Cork natural growth and private amenity are the main products explaining private income in dehesa farms. Forestry activity products, particularly timber natural growth and the intermediate products of conservation forestry, are the main sources of private income in the coniferous forests. Public incomes from non-market products are the main contributors of total income in dehesas and forests.

Effectiveness of conservation areas for protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services: a multi-criteria approach

ABSTRACTIn land planning strategies, methods to quantify ecosystem services (ESs) are now used to complement biodiversity assessments. Tension arises when areas important for biodiversity do not spatially co-occur with important areas for ESs. We investigate the effectiveness of protected areas in simultaneously protecting biodiversity and ESs in central Colombia and identify complementary areas. We map, integrate using a multi-criteria technique and correlate five indicators (sensitive species, ecological systems, habitat quality, scenic beauty and water provision). Reflecting the uncertainty in criteria weights, multiple maps were created and overlain with current protected areas to investigate their effectiveness. A consensus and an uncertainty map were calculated to identify multifunctional areas (high value for biodiversity and high provision of ESs and low uncertainty). Protected areas show low to intermediate levels of effectiveness (3–56% percentage overlap with simulated areas), with water provision being the service least effectively protected. Indicators do not show high levels of correlation (all p < 0.57). Sensitive species are negatively correlated with all other indicators. High representativeness levels were found around the city of Bogotá; still, extensive multifunctional areas are not contemplated under any protection status. We advocate the use of our approach to identify multi-purpose areas that are robust to divergent stakeholder opinions.EDITED BY Berta Martin-Lopez

Aboveground carbon storage in a freshwater swamp forest ecosystem in the Niger Delta

ABSTRACTTropical forests are important stores of carbon but the contribution of freshwater swamp forests to this store is largely unquantified. This study provides detail on the aboveground carbon (AGC) store of freshwater swamp forests and the transition zones into mangrove forests in the Niger Delta. We present taxonomic data of tree stems ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) from 24 1-ha plots established across different disturbance gradients and transition zone and terrestrial forest. The AGC ranged widely around a mean value of 228 t/ha (bootstrapped 95% confidence interval (CI) 168, 288) in intact forests, to 104 t/ha (bootstrapped 95% CI: 64, 144) in disturbed freshwater forests and 100 t/ha (bootstrapped 95% CI: 60, 141) in forests transitional into mangrove characterized by decreased disturbance. Our study suggests that the variations in AGC of West African swamp forests are mainly a function of the differences in stand structure and stem sizes of the trees in each forest that relate largely to historical use and current management of the forest resources. Conserving disturbed forests alongside other intact forests will help to increase not only the carbon budget of the region but also its diverse biodiversity and other ecosystem services.

Participatory Planning for Biodiversity Protection in the Western Balkans

ABSTRACT: The rich Western Balkans biodiversity and ecosystem services suffer from negative anthropogenic activities. Solving those problems requires a coherent strategy for biodiversity conservation with a focus on the involvement of relevant stakeholders. This paper presents a Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) as a tool for biodiversity protection and conservation on a local level in five countries of the Western Balkans. Results indicate that the LBAP improved local planning practices and secured stakeholder involvement by adequate stakeholder analysis and well defined incentives in the form of probiodiversity business (PBB). LBAP also enabled municipalities to assess biodiversity potential on their territory, and to develop a comprehensive planning document and biodiversity protection action plan.

Securing biodiversity and ecosystem services in Africa: Notes from the 2015 Satoyama Initiative Regional Workshop in Accra, Ghana

The first Satoyama Initiative Regional Workshop in Africa was held in Accra, Ghana, from 10 to 12 August 2015. The objective of the workshop was to contribute to the sustainable development agenda in the region within the scope of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning by strengthening the knowledge base related to the Satoyama Initiative, a global effort ‘to realize societies in harmony with nature’ through the revitalisation and sustainable development of ‘socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes’. This short report summarises some of the main points arising from the workshop.

The network BiodiversityKnowledge in practice: insights from three trial assessments

In order to develop BiodiversityKnowledge, a Network of Knowledge working at the European science–policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services, we conducted three trial assessments. Their purpose was to test structure and processes of the knowledge synthesis function and to produce knowledge syntheses. The trial assessments covered conservation and management of kelp ecosystems, biological control of agricultural pests, and conservation and multifunctional management of floodplains. Following the BiodiversityKnowledge processes, we set up expert consultations, systematic reviews, and collaborative adaptive management procedures in collaboration with requesters, policy and decision-makers, stakeholders, and knowledge holders. Outputs included expert consultations, systematic review protocols, a group model and a policy brief. Important lessons learned were firstly that the scoping process, in which requesters and experts iteratively negotiate the scope, scale and synthesis methodology, is of paramount importance to maximize the scientific credibility and policy relevance of the output. Secondly, selection of a broad array of experts with diverse and complementary skills (including multidisciplinary background and a broad geographical coverage) and participation of all relevant stakeholders is crucial to ensure an adequate breath of expertise, better methodological choices, and maximal uptake of outcomes: Thirdly, as the most important challenge was expert and stakeholder engagement, a high visibility and reputation of BiodiversityKnowledge, supported by an incentive system for participation, will be crucial to ensure such engagement. We conclude that BiodiversityKnowledge has potential for a good performance in delivering assessments, but it requires adequate funding, trust-building among knowledge holders and stakeholders, and a proactive and robust interface with the policy and decision making community.

Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation: evidence from two sites in Bangladesh

Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbA) involve the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. This research looks at two components of effective EbA: ecosystem resilience and the maintenance of ecosystem services. It assesses EbA effectiveness in terms of how such approaches support community adaptive capacity and resilience at two sites in Bangladesh: Chanda Beel wetland and Balukhali Village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Research findings suggest that more attention should be paid to EbA as an important climate-change response. Results show that the many diverse natural resources available and utilized at each site have increased the number of different subsistence and livelihood options available in the community and hence local adaptive capacity, especially for poorer households. Major structural shifts in ecosystem functioning observed at each site to date can be attributed primarily to non-climate-change-related factors, although climate-change-related factors increasingly threaten to dramatically alter ecosystems, especially in Chanda Beel. Such shifts have important consequences for adaptive capacity and have led to a number of trade-offs. The lack of effective institutions, good governance and enabling policy at both sites has limited potential resilience gains from sound ecosystem management.

How IPBES Works: The Functions, Structures and Processes of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an international knowledge institution established through the United Nations system. Mandated to “strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services”, IPBES has a detailed set of intergovernmentally agreed functions, structures and processes that guide its first Work Program (2014-2018). This working paper sets out these institutional arrangements, noting that broader understanding of the IPBES mechanisms may assist wider participation, accountability, and scholarly analysis.

Capacity building in the assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services for conserving wetlands for the future

Capacity building in the assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services for conserving wetlands for the future

Land-use and sustainability under intersecting global change and domestic policy scenarios: Trajectories for Australia to 2050

Understanding potential future influence of environmental, economic, and social drivers on land-use and sustainability is critical for guiding strategic decisions that can help nations adapt to change, anticipate opportunities, and cope with surprises. Using the Land-Use Trade-Offs (LUTO) model, we undertook a comprehensive, detailed, integrated, and quantitative scenario analysis of land-use and sustainability for Australia’s agricultural land from 2013–2050, under interacting global change and domestic policies, and considering key uncertainties. We assessed land use competition between multiple land-uses and assessed the sustainability of economic returns and ecosystem services at high spatial (1.1 km grid cells) and temporal (annual) resolution. We found substantial potential for land-use transition from agriculture to carbon plantings, environmental plantings, and biofuels cropping under certain scenarios, with impacts on the sustainability of economic returns and ecosystem services including food/fibre production, emissions abatement, water resource use, biodiversity services, and energy production. However, the type, magnitude, timing, and location of land-use responses and their impacts were highly dependent on scenario parameter assumptions including global outlook and emissions abatement effort, domestic land-use policy settings, land-use change adoption behaviour, productivity growth, and capacity constraints. With strong global abatement incentives complemented by biodiversity-focussed domestic land-use policy, land-use responses can substantially increase and diversify economic returns to land and produce a much wider range of ecosystem services such as emissions abatement, biodiversity, and energy, without major impacts on agricultural production. However, better governance is needed for managing potentially significant water resource impacts. The results have wide-ranging implications for land-use and sustainability policy and governance at global and domestic scales and can inform strategic thinking and decision-making about land-use and sustainability in Australia. A comprehensive and freely available 26 GB data pack (http://doi.org/10.4225/08/5604A2E8A00CC) provides a unique resource for further research. As similarly nuanced transformational change is also possible elsewhere, our template for comprehensive, integrated, quantitative, and high resolution scenario analysis can support other nations in strategic thinking and decision-making to prepare for an uncertain future.