Potential Loss Of Biodiversity Research Articles

The debate on a loss of biodiversity: can we derive evidence from the monitoring of major plant pests and diseases in major crops?

The European commission directive EC 128/2009 calls for monitoring pests and pathogens of major crops. The monitoring data may be analysed for trends over time, including tests for a potential loss of biodiversity in the domain of plant pests and pathogens. The monitoring programs carried out in Luxembourg since 2007 provided evidence for an increasing role of yellow rust and a decreasing role of brown rust on winter wheat. Vast inter-annual variability was observed at the level of Fusarium head blight and mildew symptoms on winter wheat as well as at the level of Ceutorhynchus counts in oilseed rape, but no trend towards extinction could be demonstrated. Septoria leaf blotch was present in winter wheat at high levels towards the end of all seasons. The maximum number of Brassicogethes aeneus individuals found per main stem and season on oilseed rape increased slightly but significantly between 2007 and 2017. Substantial evidence for highly dynamic changes in the pest populations was found, but no evidence for the vanishing of the monitored species could be demonstrated.

Refuges and ecological traps: Extreme drought threatens persistence of an endangered fish in intermittent streams.

Recent droughts raise global concern over potential biodiversity loss and mitigating impacts to vulnerable species has become a management priority. However, drought impacts on populations are difficult to predict, in part, because habitat refuges can buffer organisms from harsh environmental conditions. In a global change context, more extreme droughts may turn previously suitable habitats into ecological traps, where vulnerable species can no longer persist. Here, we explore the impacts of California's recent record‐breaking drought on endangered juvenile Coho salmon. We estimated the variability of cumulative salmon survival using mark–recapture of nearly 20,000 tagged fish in intermittent stream pools during a 7‐year period encompassing drought and non‐drought conditions. We then determined the relative importance of physical habitat, streamflow, precipitation, landscape, and biological characteristics that may limit survival during drought. Our most striking result was an increase in the number of pools with reduced or zero survival during drought years and a coincident increase in spatial variability in survival among study reaches. In nearly half of the stream pools, salmon survival during drought was similar to mean survival of pools assessed during non‐drought years, indicating some pools had remarkable resistance (ability to withstand disturbance) to extreme drought. Lower survival was most attributable to longer duration of disconnection between upstream and downstream habitats, a consequence of increasing drought severity. Our results not only suggest that many pools sustain juvenile salmon in non‐drought years transition into ecological traps during drought but also highlight that some pools serve as refuges even under extreme drought conditions. Projected increases in drought severity that lead to longer droughts and greater habitat fragmentation could transform an increasing proportion of suitable habitats into ecological traps. Predicting future impacts of drought on Coho salmon and other sensitive species will require identification and protection of drought refuges and management strategies that prevent further habitat fragmentation.

Trait expression and signatures of adaptation in response to nitrogen addition in the common wetland plant Juncus effusus.

Wetland ecosystems are known to mitigate high nutrient loadings and thus can improve water quality and prevent potential biodiversity loss caused by eutrophication. Plant traits affect wetland processes directly through effects on accumulation or metabolization of substances, and indirectly by affecting microbial transformation processes in the soil. Understanding the causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in plant functional traits and associated ecosystem processes can aid applied ecological approaches such as wetland restoration and construction. Here we investigated molecular variation and phenotypic variation in response to three levels of nitrogen availability for a regional set of populations of the common wetland plant Juncus effusus. We asked whether trait expression reveals signatures of adaptive differentiation by comparing genetic differentiation in quantitative traits and neutral molecular markers (QST—FST comparisons) and relating trait variation to soil conditions of the plant’s origin. Molecular analyses showed that samples clustered into three very distinct genetic lineages with strong population differentiation within and among lineages. Differentiation for quantitative traits was substantial but did not exceed neutral expectations when compared across treatments or for each treatment and lineage separately. However, variation in trait expression could be explained by local soil environmental conditions of sample origin, e.g. for aboveground carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratios, suggesting adaptive differentiation to contribute to trait expression even at regional level.

Integrating stakeholder preferences into assessment of scenarios for electricity production from locally produced biomass on a small island

Abstract Biomass is a potential source of renewable energy that can be produced in agricultural fields. However, its introduction at regional scale should not only provide energy, but also economic, social and environmental benefits. In order to study the potential benefit of introducing energy cane cropping systems for electricity production, we developed 62 scenarios for energy cane-based biomass power plants, for which impacts were modeled with a regional bioeconomic model. Impacts were calculated and aggregated with weights on 14 issues obtained from 51 stakeholders using an analytic hierarchy process. Regression models were applied to explain the determinant of sustainability. The results showed that stakeholder preferences for local development priorities fell into four different types, while the impacts of the scenarios also differed greatly according to their attributes. The main issues appeared to be “Disruption of existing agricultural sectors”, “Potential loss of biodiversity” and “Change in farmers' revenue”. The factor “Output of power plant” was positively correlated with the level of contribution to local development and to “Quantity of bagasse” and “Sustainable management of energy cane”. Developing energy cane biomass appears therefore to be potentially beneficial for local development, with options favoring power plants relying on different forms of biomass produced in the vicinity and managed in a sustainable way. The novel approach devised here helped to address the complex multi-dimensional development issues regarding production of biomass and to provide satisfactory compromise solutions for different stakeholders. It can also provide guidance on exploration of options to obtain the most sustainable scenario.

Challenges to the Multi-Functional Uses and Multifarious Benefits of Urban Green Spaces: Basis of Urban Biodiversity Planning and Management in the City of Manila, Philippines

Urbanization is a global phenomenon which is projected by the United Nations to grow annually at 65 million between 2000 and 2030 in developing countries. As an archipelagic nation, the Philippines is considered as a highly urbanized nation where over three-fourths of its population is estimated to reside in urban areas, posting a proportion of one person residing in the rural area for every three in the urban area. The National Capital Region (NCR), the core region of the country, registers a 100% urbanization level and were the most densely populated areas converged. It generally exhibits an urban population growth rate that exceeds the national growth rate. Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is the second largest and the worlds most densely populated city given its small land area and huge human population. The concentration of people in this city and the urbanization processes are foreseen to create environmental stress leading to potential biodiversity losses coupled with other urban environmental occurrences such as flooding, air pollution, sea level rise, earthquake, subsidence, traffic congestion, water pollution, among others. These natural and man-made hazards pose a challenge to the multi-functional uses and various benefits of urban green spaces (UGS). UGS play a significant role in enhancing the quality and resiliency of the environment as well as in improving the health and general well-being of city dwellers. It is in this context that the challenges and opportunities of UGS are examined. The paper attempts to identify and determine the factors that influence UGS as a basis for urban biodiversity planning and management.

Challenges to the Multi-Functional Uses and Multifarious Benefits of Urban Green Spaces: Basis of Urban Biodiversity Planning and Management in the City of Manila, Philippines

Urbanization is a global phenomenon which is projected by the United Nations to grow annually at 65 million between 2000 and 2030 in developing countries. As an archipelagic nation, the Philippines is considered as a highly urbanized nation where over three-fourths of its population is estimated to reside in urban areas, posting a proportion of one person residing in rural area for every three in urban area. The National Capital Region (NCR), the core region of the counry, registers a 100% urbanization level and where the most densely populated areas converged. It generally exhibits an urban population growth rate that exceeds the national growth rate. Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is the second largest and the world’s most densely populated city given its small land area and huge human population. The concentration of people in this city and the urbanization processes are foreseen to create environmental stress leading to potential biodiversity losses coupled with other urban environmental occurrences such as flooding, air pollution, sea level rise, earthquake, subsidence, traffic congestion, water pollution, among others. These natural and man-made hazards pose challenge to the multi-functional uses and various benefits of urban green spaces (UGS). UGS play a significant role in enhancing the quality and resiliency of the environment as well as in improving the health and general well being of city dwellers. It is in this context that the challenges and opportunities of UGS are examined. The paper attempts to identify and determine the factors that influence UGS as basis for urban biodiversity planning and management.

Dispersal based climate change sensitivity scores for European species

Assessments of climate change impacts on species are needed for anticipating potential biodiversity losses. Climate change impacts on species are often simulated with climate envelope models, but most climate envelope models do not account for dispersal limitations. Most studies only consider two extreme (and unrealistic) dispersal options: no dispersal versus full dispersal. This study attempts to include dispersal limitation into the calculation of climate change sensitivity scores for a range of vertebrate and plant species. We calculate climate change sensitivity scores -expressed as an index- by using the 'spatial turnover' of a species under climate change, defined as the projected difference between current and future area occupied by a species within a region, and include a dispersal factor to account for dispersal limitations. We calculate climate sensitivity scores with three dispersal factors: d0 (no dispersal), d1 (full dispersal) and with an estimated value of d calculated directly from species specific dispersal data and literature estimates (de). We compared climate sensitivity scores across species groups and European bio-geographical regions in order to determine whether explicitly accounting for dispersal limitations causes significant differences in sensitivity for climate change. Our results show that the climate sensitivity scores calculated with de differ slightly from d0 (no dispersal), but differ significantly from d1 (full dispersal) for the less mobile species groups (amphibian, reptiles, plants). This indicates that assuming full dispersal significantly overestimates the future distribution in Europe under climate change for these species, whereas assuming no dispersal may slightly underestimates this. However, this conclusion could not be drawn for the more mobile birds and mammas: climate sensitivity scores calculated with de are approximately intermediate of those calculated with d0 (no dispersal) and d1 (full dispersal). This indicates that assuming either no or full dispersal results in poor estimates of the future distribution of these species in Europe under climate change, and that dispersal capacity should therefore always be considered when assessing climate change impacts on these species. Disaggregating climate sensitivity scores per European bio-geographical regions reveals that regional climate sensitivity scores are similar to the European level.

Public attitudes towards the use of transgenic forest trees: a cross-country pilot survey

Abstract: Information on public attitudes towards the use of transgenic trees in forest plantations is important in the decision-making process and policy implementation for safe tree development, particularly at the EU level. In Europe, the use of transgenic forest trees is very limited and therefore such information is completely lacking. To address this issue within the FP0905 European COST Action on the Biosafety of Transgenic Forest Trees a pioneer cross-country pilot survey on public attitudes towards the use of transgenic forest trees was conducted using young population as a focus group. This was decided mainly because this focus group represents the future consumers, policy makers or developers. Specifically, the survey aimed to: i) assess the level of young people’s knowledge about transgenic forest trees, ii) identify issues of concern to them regarding the cultivation of transgenic forest trees and iii) explore whether they approve or disapprove of the use of transgenic forest trees in plantations. Purposive sampling was performed and university students of different disciplines were included in the research as sampling subjects. In total, 1868 completed questionnaires from 15 European and non-European countries were analyzed. The young educated people that took part in the survey appeared to approve of the use of transgenic forest trees in plantations and would be willing to buy forest transgenic products. The potential loss of biodiversity due to a risk of gene flow between transgenic and wild trees was seen as the safety issue of most concern when considering the commercial release of transgenic forest trees. However, a serious perceived lack of knowledge about potential benefits and risks of the cultivation of transgenic forest trees was recorded in most of the countries. K-means clustering was implemented on respondents’ positive responses to identify potential country patterns. No differences in patterns of public attitude towards the acceptance of the commercial growing of transgenic forest trees were observed between European and non-European countries. Extended research on public attitude issues towards the use of transgenic forest trees is strongly recommended as a basis for policy implementation on safe tree development.

Pocillopora damicornis-associated echinoderm fauna: richness and community structure across the southern Mexican Pacific

The reef-associated echinoderm cryptofauna has received scarce attention notwithstanding its large-scale effects on reef community structures and ecosystem functioning world-wide. In the present study, a spatially hierarchical quantitative sampling protocol was designed to address Pocillopora damicornis-associated echinoderm diversity within and across southern Mexican Pacific reef localities. It was also aimed to evaluate if species composition and abundance varies across several spatial scales. The number of sampled echinoderm species from 36 P. damicornis coral heads was 24, which fell inside the 95 % confidence interval of the Chao1 species richness estimator, while as many as 42 species were expected to occur. The analysis indicated that the echinoderm diversity was not particularly large among the samples (4–6 species) or across localities (5–12 species). Nevertheless, the observed associated echinoderm richness resulted from a small, although significant, species replacement among the coral heads and reef localities across the southern Mexican Pacific. The relative large number of echinoderms associated with P. damicornis may serve as a proxy for predicting potential biodiversity loss caused by the coral reef degradation currently observed in the study area.

Current approaches neglect possible agricultural cutback under large-scale organic farming. A comment to Ponisio et al.

Agricultural productivity is the key to global food security. Modern conventional farming has substantially increased food production, but at the expense of serious environmental harm [[1][1]]. By contrast, organic production is regarded as a suitable and more sustainable alternative owing to its

Correspondence between the habitat of the threatened pudú (Cervidae) and the national protected-area system of Chile.

BackgroundCurrently, many species are facing serious conservation problems due to habitat loss. The impact of the potential loss of biodiversity associated with habitat loss is difficult to measure. This is particularly the case with inconspicuous species such as the threatened pudú (Pudu puda), an endemic Cervidae of temperate forests of Chile and Argentina. To evaluate the effectiveness of the Chilean protected-area system in protecting the habitat of the pudú, we measured the congruence between this specie’s potential distribution and the geographical area occupied by the protected areas in central and southern Chile. The measurements of congruency were made using the Maxent modeling method.ResultsThe potential habitat of the pudú was found to be poorly represented in the system (3–8 %) and even the most suitable areas for the species are not currenly protected. According to these results, the protected area network cannot be considered as a key component of the conservation strategy for this species.ConclusionsThe results presented here also serve as a guide for the reevaluation of current pudú conservation strategies, for the design of new field studies to detect the presence of this species in human-disturbed areas or remaining patches of native forest, and for the implementation of corridors to maximize the success of conservation efforts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12898-015-0055-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evapotranspiration of bush encroachments on a temperate mire meadow – A nonlinear function of landscape composition and groundwater flow

As widely recognized, bush encroachment on mire meadows induces species and habitat biodiversity. However, it is unclear if expansion of either a coherent, continuous forest or randomly distributed groups of trees, so-called tree isles, in formerly open landscapes of mire meadows influences differently the water balance of the system due to changing vegetation structure, landscape, and thus evapotranspiration. In this paper we use a quasi-3D unsaturated–saturated groundwater flow model to reveal the feedback between the actual evapotranspiration and diurnal phreatic groundwater level dynamics. A schematized numerical experiment was setup to elucidate the ecohydrological functioning of mire meadows in the Biebrza Valley (NE Poland), which have been influenced by bush encroachment due to abandonment of mowing. Model calibration and validation was based on field collected data on groundwater dynamics showing the feedback between the evapotranspiration and diurnal groundwater level fluctuations. The model was applied for different landscape compositions of encroachments as well as different stages of shrubby vegetation expansion in a formerly open meadow. It is concluded that for coupled unsaturated–saturated flow models of mires, analysis of diurnal groundwater level fluctuations combined with evapotranspiration quantification is an efficient yet simple method for model calibration and validation. Results of the modelling experiment indicated that the tree-isle-type of bush encroachment entails higher losses of water from the system due to evapotranspiration than coherent forest expansion. For a hypothetical summer drought and an encroachment cover of 50% the total evapotranspiration is shown to be 13% higher for the tree-isle-type encroachment than for expansion of a coherent forest. Consequently, it is concluded that conservation of mires requires continuous control of encroachment not only because of potential loss of biodiversity, but more importantly to limit significant loss of water due to increased evapotranspiration.

Modelling the effects of climate change on a Caribbean coral reef food web

Global climate change and local anthropogenic pressures are among the primary factors leading to the decline of functional biodiversity and critical habitats in coral reefs. Coral bleaching, the potential decreases in dissolved oxygen concentration (deoxygenation) and pH (acidification) in the oceans can induce severe changes in coral reef ecosystem biodiversity and functionality. The main objective of this study was to apply four Ecopath with Ecosim models of a Caribbean coral reef system to individually and collectively model the effects of coral bleaching on the trophic web, deoxygenation on fish, and acidification on calcifying organisms. These three sources of stress were used as forcing functions on several trophic groups depending on the model. The forcing functions were scaled according to the species’ responses achieved in previously tested climate change marine models. For the bleaching model, a mediation function was also considered that represents the degree of coral reef protection on small and intermediate fish groups. The dynamic models were constructed from an extensive database of 171 reef fish species (abundance and biomass) and benthic communities from 13 coral reefs that were evenly distributed parallel to approximately 400km of the Mexican Caribbean coast as well as fishery landings in this area. Simulations driven with these different forcing and mediation functions predicted different changes in the biomasses of fish and non-fish functional groups as well as the biomass of the functional groups of fished species. Coral bleaching and pH reduction caused a phase shift to a decrease in coral biomass and an increase in primary producer biomass. This shift produced a cascading decrease in the biomass of small and intermediate fish groups. Additionally, the fished functional group biomass increased with coral bleaching but decreased with the effects of decreased oxygen on fish and pH on calcifying organisms. The biomasses of certain macroinvertebrate functional groups were predicted to respond favourably to the combined effect of the sources of stress. However, when all the sources of stress were combined, we found a general decrease of biomass in fish, non-fish, and some commercially valuable fish and macroinvertebrate functional groups, suggesting that the combined effects of stress induced synergistic effects as a result of global climate change and overfishing, which can result in a potential loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in coral reefs.

Building with wildlife: project geographies and cosmopolitics in infrastructure construction

Across many construction projects, and especially infrastructure projects, efforts to mitigate potential loss of biodiversity and habitat are significant concerns, and at times politically controversial. And yet, thus far, very little research has addressed the interplay of humans and animals within construction projects. Instead those interested in the politics and ethics of human–animal relations, or animal studies, have arguably focused far more on more stable and contained sites, whether organizations like zoos, farms or laboratories, or other places like homes and parks. These largely ethnographic studies inevitably perhaps downplay the unplanned, unexpected and highly politically and ethically charged, collision of hitherto rather separate human and animal geographies. Yet it is often within such colliding spaces, where animal geographies are unexpectedly found at the heart of human projects, that we formulate our respect and response to both animals and indeed other humans. We develop an examination of such encounters, with conceptual reference to actor-network theory, and documented empirically through case studies of two infrastructure projects; the findings of our research are relevant to both construction project management and future animal studies.

Bioenergy, Food Production and Biodiversity – An Unlikely Alliance?

School of Biological Sciences, Plymouth University, DrakeCircus PL4 8AA Plymouth, UKReceived 27 November 2013; accepted 20 January 2014IntroductionThe global demand for bioenergy is set to increase to apoint where it may supply up to one-third of globalprimary energy by 2050 (IEA, 2012). Current cultivationof biofuel and bioenergy crops has attracted consider-able criticism due to their encroachment into areas tra-ditionally occupied by food crops and natural andseminatural ecosystems. Among the most notorious ofthese bioenergy crops are sugarcane, jotropha, ethanolmaize, and palm oil, crops closely associated with biodi-versity and habitat loss, water deficit, and perhaps mostironically, given their potential for greenhouse gas emis-sions reduction, negative impacts on carbon storage andsequestration (Fargione et al., 2008; Martinelli & Filoso,2008; Koh et al., 2009; Romijn, 2011). In the medium-term bioenergy demand is likely to be met by so-calledsecond-generation (2G) lignocellulose crops, principallyperennial grasses and woody trees (Somerville et al.,2010). Many of the problems associated with establishedfirst-generation biofuel crops, which are often also foodcrops, could be avoided by cultivating 2G bioenergycrops on existing farmland. However, this option isoften undesirable due to increasing food demand andthe potential displacement of food crops (Dauber et al.,2010; Godfray et al., 2010; Gelfand et al., 2013). This con-flict between land use objectives, the so-called ‘food,energy, environment trilemma’ (Tilman et al., 2009),raises concerns that increased demand for bioenergycrops will displace food production and/or cause fur-ther destruction of natural and seminatural (so-calledmarginal) ecosystems. The problems of potential biodi-versity loss and land competition with food productionremain central to the debate surrounding the possiblecontribution that bioenergy crops could make towardsmeeting renewable energy and greenhouse gas emis-sions targets (Nonhebel, 2012). Policy makers are leftstruggling with the problems that have doggedbioenergy cultivation for decades; where should 2G bio-energy crops be planted and what proportion of landshould they occupy? Such questions raise doubts as tothe viability of bioenergy as a major future energysource; a major recent report into bioenergy crop viabil-ity in the United States concluded that economic andenvironmental uncertainty will strongly limit futuredeployment of 2G crops (Committee on Economic E Carvell et al., 2007, 2011;Whittingham, 2011), but this approach is not widelyapplied to bioenergy crops at present. Our second pro-posal is that new bioenergy plantations are located in amore strategic way that considers landscape context andis sensitive to how they affect biodiversity and ecosystemservices (Table 2). This involves planning the spatialarrangement of bioenergy plantations so that they inter-act positively with other landscape units. It also requiresan understanding of how the impact of bioenergy cropson biodiversity and food security varies depending upon

Public concerns about transboundary haze: A comparison of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia

Public concerns about environmental problems create narrative structures that influence policy by allocating roles of blame, responsibility, and appropriate behavior. This paper presents an analysis of public concerns about transboundary haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia for crises experienced in 1997, 2005 and 2013. The source of the information is content analysis of 2231 articles from representative newspapers in each country. The study shows that newspaper reporting about haze has changed from a discussion of the potential health and economic impacts of fires resulting partly naturally from El Niño-induced droughts, toward an increasing vilification of Indonesia for not ratifying the 2002 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution; plus criticism of Singaporean and Malaysian companies investing in palm oil plantations, and ASEAN. Attention to climate change and potential biodiversity loss linked to haze, however, remains low. The paper argues that newspaper analysis of public concerns, despite political influences on the press, offers insights into how public criticism is voiced in these countries, and how perceived responsibility for action is changing.

Invasiveness risk of biofuel crops using Jatropha curcas L. as a model species

AbstractBiofuel crops are promoted as a climate friendly alternative to fossil energy. Yet environmental risks such as potential biodiversity loss are not always adequately considered. This might occur directly as a consequence of land‐use change from natural systems to biofuel plantations, but also through invasive behavior of the biofuel species, as it might disperse and establish into adjacent natural systems. Therefore, there is a need to perform ex‐ante invasiveness risk assessments including field trials on new biofuel species before they get promoted and expanded on a large scale. This perspective uses Jatropha curcas L. as a model biofuel crop and reviews the biological traits and the circumstantial factors which may contribute to its invasive behavior. J. curcas has recently received much attention as a biodiesel ‘wonder crop’ and is being planted at large scale without scientific study on its invasiveness risk. We applied two risk assessment frameworks to provide an ex‐ante invasiveness risk assessment and obtained that J. curcas is a species with a high invasiveness risk, which is in contradiction with recent experimental evidence. We discuss the limitations of the available risk assessment frameworks, which may have led to unreliable prediction. We interpret the outcome of this theoretical exercise with some recommendations for the selection, introduction, cultivation, and processing stages of J. curcas and other biofuel crops to minimize invasiveness risk. Finally we point to the responsibilities of investors and governments and the need for integrated research of the whole biofuel production supply chain to avoid bio‐invasions. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A Review of the Environmental Impacts of Biobased Materials

SummaryConcerns over climate change and the security of industrial feedstock supplies have been opening a growing market for biobased materials. This development, however, also presents a challenge to scientists, policy makers, and industry because the production of biobased materials requires land and is typically associated with adverse environmental effects. This article addresses the environmental impacts of biobased materials in a meta‐analysis of 44 life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. The reviewed literature suggests that one metric ton (t) of biobased materials saves, relative to conventional materials, 55 ± 34 gigajoules of primary energy and 3 ± 1 t carbon dioxide equivalents of greenhouse gases. However, biobased materials may increase eutrophication by 5 ± 7 kilograms (kg) phosphate equivalents/t and stratospheric ozone depletion by 1.9 ± 1.8 kg nitrous oxide equivalents/t. Our findings are inconclusive with regard to acidification (savings of 2 ± 20 kg sulfur dioxide equivalents/t) and photochemical ozone formation (savings of 0.3 ± 2.4 kg ethene equivalents/t). The variability in the results of life cycle assessment studies highlights the difficulties in drawing general conclusions. Still, common to most biobased materials are impacts caused by the application of fertilizers and pesticides during industrial biomass cultivation. Additional land use impacts, such as the potential loss of biodiversity, soil carbon depletion, soil erosion, deforestation, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from indirect land use change are not quantified in this review. Clearly these impacts should be considered when evaluating the environmental performance of biobased materials.

Ecological assessment of French Atlantic lakes based on phytoplankton, phytobenthos and macrophytes

Biological elements, including phytoplankton, phytobenthos, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and fish, are employed by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC as ecological indicators for the assessment of surface waters. The use of primary producers (phytoplankton, phytobenthos and macrophytes) for water quality assessment has a long history, and several methods have been developed worldwide. In this study, we used these three communities to assess the ecological status of five natural lakes located in the Aquitaine region (southwest France). Several biological indices used in lakes from other European countries or in French rivers were employed and compared among the three communities. Each primary producer provided complementary information about the ecological status of the lakes, including the invasiveness of exotic taxa. Regardless of the producer community used, the response to the environment, as reflected by the indices (adequate for each community), was similar: Lakes Cazaux, Lacanau and Hourtin showed the best ecological status and Parentis and Soustons the worst. Phytoplankton diagnosis reflected and integrated unambiguously the water quality of the lakes, as demonstrated by the strong relationships between the phytoplankton index and the trophic status criteria. This community appeared as the best indicator, especially when macrophytes were absent. The methods applied here represent a potential tool for the assessment of the ecological status in the context of WFD, but they need to be refined. We propose modifications for phytobenthos index initially tailored for running waters for adequate use in lentic ecosystems. Indices for the three primary producers should be modified to incorporate exotic species which may provide information on potential biodiversity losses.

Cryptic biodiversity loss linked to global climate change

Climate impacts on biodiversity are usually assessed at the morphospecies level. An analysis of the distribution and mitochondrial DNA variability of nine montane aquatic insect species in Europe suggests range contractions will be accompanied by severe loss of genetic diversity. These results imply that morphospecies-scale assessments may greatly underestimate potential biodiversity losses from climate change.