European Habitats Directive Research Articles

A critical view of the desertification debate in southeastern Spain

AbstractIn Spain, desertification has been—and is still—mainly associated with soil erosion, particularly in natural and semi‐natural systems. Such association cannot be supported either from the scientific or the socio‐economic point of view. Most average values of erosion rates in Spain have been overestimated, especially in the case of natural systems. High rates of soil erosion in natural systems are usually restricted to spatially limited areas like badlands, most of them generated through active natural geomorphologic processes. The main erosion problems are not found in natural environments but in agricultural systems, especially in marginal agricultural areas on steep slopes and with bad agricultural practices and also in intensively irrigated lands, especially greenhouses. The association of arid zones with the ancient destruction of vegetation is rooted in simplistic ideas considering areas with scarce vegetation, little biomass or limited height to be generated by negative human interventions. However, in arid and semiarid systems this is not always true. The simplistic ideas linking scarce vegetation with desertification is also deeply negative for the conservation of the outstanding biodiversity of arid systems, most of them included in the European Habitat Directive. The main desertification problem in Spain is generated by unsustainable water management. The current expansion of irrigated lands outside the areas suited for agriculture is increasing the intensity of aquifer exploitation, already causing serious problems of salinization, the loss of springs and wetlands and associated biodiversity and the exhaustion of non‐renewable groundwater resources. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conservation implications of grazing practices on the plant and dipteran communities of a turlough in Co. Mayo, Ireland

Turloughs, which are classified as priority habitats under the European Habitats Directive, are seasonally flooded depressions found almost exclusively in Ireland. In 2001, three adjacent fields with different stocking densities were selected and plant/dipteran communities within the same vegetation zone of each field (site) were investigated using quadrats and sweep netting, respectively. There was a significant positive relationship between Diptera morphospecies richness/Diptera abundance and mean vegetation height (P < 0.001). However, no significant relationship between Diptera morphospecies richness and plant species richness was found. Median Diptera morphospecies richness per sweep was lower at the site with the highest stocking density (17) than at the other two sites (22 and 31, respectively). Total species richness of Sciomyzidae was greater at the least grazed site (7) than at the more heavily grazed sites (2 and 1, respectively). The results suggest that an evaluation of turlough management practices based on plant communities alone is not sufficient and that at least some areas within the turlough basin remain ungrazed on a rotational basis to ensure maximum diversity of Diptera.

Coastal management: Issues and tools. Introduction

This Special Feature of the Journal of Coastal Conservation is devoted to Coastal Management. It will deal with various issues and existing tools for this specific analysis. The nine contributions contain interesting descriptions on the following issues and problems, with a logical pattern: estuaries, dunes, eutrophication and erosion, and some important tools: earth observation for coastal conservation analysis and coastal evolution, the European Habitats Directive, and social analysis.

Conservation implications of land use practices on the plant and carabid beetle communities of two turloughs in Co. Galway, Ireland

Turloughs, which are unique to Ireland and are priority habitats under the European Habitats Directive, are seasonally flooded depressions found predominantly in the west of Ireland. In 1999, adjacent fields with different stocking densities were selected within two turloughs and plant/carabid beetle communities investigated using relevés and pitfall traps, respectively. Overall a positive relationship between % soil moisture and plant/carabid species richness was detected and there was a negative correlation between % cover of bare ground (caused by poaching) and carabid species richness. In one turlough, the number of ruderal plant species was markedly higher in the field where the stocking density was more than twice that of the adjacent field. The results suggest that, while edaphic factors (such as soil moisture) play a role in determining the plant/carabid communities of the turloughs, high stocking levels, which cause excessive poaching, are likely to seriously affect both communities.

Osmoderma eremita as an indicator of species richness of beetles in tree hollows

The beetle Osmoderma eremita has received much attention in the last few years, as it is among those species with the highest priority in the European Union's Habitat Directive. In this paper the species is evaluated as a potential indicator and umbrella species for the endangered beetle fauna in tree hollows. To be useful as an indicator of a species-rich fauna it should be easy to inventory and be strongly correlated with the presence of other species. An umbrella species is a species which is so demanding that the protection of this species will automatically save many others. The species richness of saproxylic beetles and occupancy of O. eremita were surveyed in tree hollows in an area in southeastern Sweden by assessing the presence/absence of living and dead adults (including fragments) and larvae. The species richness was higher when O. eremita was present, both at tree and stand level. Several threatened species were associated with the presence of O. eremita, whereas others did not correlate with the occurrence of O. eremita. As O. eremita is easy to find and identify, it is useful as an indicator of stands with a rich beetle fauna in tree hollows. Osmoderma eremita can be used as an umbrella species, because if measures are taken to conserve O. eremita, many other species in the same habitat are also conserved. However, there are some beetles in tree hollows which seem to be more sensitive to habitat fragmentation than O. eremita, and may go extinct if only O. eremita is taken into consideration.

Applying the IUCN threat categories to island endemics: Sardinian butterflies (Italy)

European nature conservation documents, often reflect the charisma of a species rather than its actual degree of threat. The assessment of the threat status of 14 endemic Sardinian butterfly species, underlines that European nature legislation documents are incomplete. Pseudophilotes barbagiae and Lysandra coridon gennargenti (Lycaenidae) are identified as globally Vulnerable and are therefore proposed to be added to the Red Data Book of European butterflies as species of global conservation concern. A threat factor analysis identifies risks towards butterflies in Sardinia arising from increasing human activities. It is shown how the quantitative information used by the IUCN criteria, together with a qualitative assessment of human induced threat factors, could be combined to produce an objective standardised assessment that can be used also when only data on present distribution are available. Threats to Sardinian butterflies are highlighted and conservation measures proposed. The inclusion of Pseudophilotes barbagiae and Lysandra coridon gennargenti in Annex II and IV of the European Habitats Directive, and in Appendix II of the Bern Convention, is strongly recommended.

Concepts for offshore nature reserves in the southeastern North Sea

The authors summarize general criteria for selection of marine areas for protection, discuss intentions of the European Council initiative to create a coherent European network of nature reserves, point to increasing pressure on marine life by new offshore activities and installations, and arrive at preliminary proposals for offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) in the southeastern North Sea. To protect benthic communities, the minimum MPA size should not be less than 100 km2; distances of such MPAs, serving as ‘stepping-stones’ and refuges, should not exceed 100 km to guarantee coherence. Some shortcomings of the European Habitats Directive are identified and a few proposals made to consider additional marine habitat types and functional aspects within future protection initiatives.

Using Landscape Characteristics for Targeting Habitat Conservation and Restoration: A case study of ancient semi-natural woodland in the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, UK

Ancient semi-natural deciduous woodland is a rare and threatened habitat cited by the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Current protection of this endangered habitat in the UK takes the form of site-specific reserve designations but, if the habitat is to be conserved and enhanced, a landscape-scale selective targeting system is required. In the absence of suitable species data, physical attributes of habitat patches are used as surrogate indicators of biodiversity. Using a land-use database held on a geographical information system, values of four abiotic criteria (patch area, patch shape, nearest-neighbour distance and surrounding land use) of 48 ancient semi-natural woodland patches in part of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty were calculated. In order to validate the findings, three lists of floral and faunal species, indicative of ancient semi-natural woodland, were compiled, and the patches ranked according to their alpha diversity using each list. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated for patch alpha diversity and patch area (0.322 to 0.482), patch shape (0.275 to 0.465) and nearest-neighbour distance ( - 0.092 to - 0.223). Multiple regression indicated that between 15 and 22% of the variation in alpha patch diversity was explained by the abiotic factors. It is suggested that spatial targeting at the landscape scale is a valuable approach to habitat conservation.

Environmental Compensation and the Mediation of Environmental Change: Making Capital out of Cardiff Bay

The scope for compensating for environmental loss or degradation with some form of balancing environmental gain (such as habitat creation) has attracted critical attention from conservationists and policy makers. However, it is increasingly apparent that concentrating on technical skills, and adopting a linear analytical framework, disguise the range of social processes at work. Engaging in environmental compensation is, almost inevitably, a process of considerable ecological, evaluative and institutional transformation. Moreover, taking increasing control of this process through detailed management may accelerate the transformation of nature into 'capital'. These arguments are developed through a case-study of Cardiff Bay, where the implementation of habitat creation compensating for the loss of inter-tidal mud flats became linked to the implementation of the European Habitats Directive, a policy lever which served to both intensify and rationalize these transformations.

Lists of protected land and freshwater molluscs in the Bern Convention and European Habitats Directive: are they relevant to conservation?

There is an impending crisis for the conservation of non-marine molluscs; this animal group includes nearly 40% of all known animal extinctions that have occurred since 1600 AD, which is more than all land vertebrates together. However, the species protected by the Bern Convention and European Habitats and Species Directive do not reflect the priorities suggested by the latest IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Of ca. 3200 species in the European non-marine mollusc fauna, 19 are currently protected under the Bern Convention and 25 (the same 19 and six more) under the European Habitats and Species Directive. The Directive covers 25% of the threatened species from Madeira, but only 2% of those from the rest of Europe. The mollusc species listed in these legislative texts reflect the conservation needs as they were perceived and recorded 10–12 years ago in the IUCN 1988 Red List. Since then, knowledge has changed considerably: two species are considered Extinct and a further nine are not considered Threatened. The present IUCN 1996 Red List includes 145 species of European non-marine molluscs as Threatened. Although it suffers from taxonomic and geographic imbalance, reflecting the expertise available to the compilers, undoubtedly correction of this imbalance is likely to reveal an even higher number of threatened species. Future revision of the European lists of protected mollusc species should consider both threatened narrow-range endemics (such as Mediterranean islands or mountain endemics) and broad-range but declining species (such as river mussels or the edible ‘escargots'), as well as addressing protection of subspecies and removal of species no longer considered threatened.

Distribution and conservation status of littoral vascular plant species along the European coasts

A comprehensive list of 1068 typical littoral plant species and subspecies has been composed. They are considered endemic in a wide sense and are subdivided into widespread, transregional, regional and local endemics, the latter three categories being considered as endemics s.s. For each taxon the distribution, habitat preference, endemic status and conservation status are given. The list, which is available upon request, is summarized in a number of figures and tables, from which it appears that 61% of all species are endemics s.s., that ca. 30% of all species are dune and beach species and another nearly 30% are maritime rock species. Species of wet habitats are concentrated in northern and northwestern Europe, dune species in western and southwestern Europe, western Mediterranean and Black Sea. The conservation status of most species is indicated; 37% is considered threatened. It is concluded that the Bern Convention and the European Habitat Directive offer an entirely insufficient framework for effective conservation action. It is suggested to take the present list as a starting point for a geographical/taxonomical/ecological data base of European coastal endemics.