Elevationally biased avian predation as a contributor to the spatial distribution of geometrid moth outbreaks in sub‐arctic mountain birch forest

1. Population dynamics and interactions that vary over a species' range are of particular importance in the context of latitudinal clines in biological diversity. Winter moth (Operophtera brumata) and autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) are two species of eruptive geometrids that vary widely in outbreak tendency over their range, which generally increases from south to north and with elevation. 2. The predation pressure on geometrid larvae and pupae over an elevational gradient was tested. The effects of background larval density and bird occupancy of monitoring nest boxes on predation rates were also tested. Predation on larvae was tested through exclusion treatments at 20 replicate stations over four elevations at one site, while pupae were set out to measure predation at two elevations at three sites. 3. Larval densities were reduced by bird predation at three lower elevations, but not at the highest elevation, and predation rates were 1.9 times higher at the lowest elevation than at the highest elevation. The rate of predation on larvae was not related to background larval density or nest box occupancy, although there were more eggs and chicks at the lowest elevation. There were no consistent differences in predation on pupae by elevation. 4. These results suggest that elevational variation in avian predation pressure on larvae may help to drive elevational differences in outbreak tendency, and that birds may play a more important role in geometrid population dynamics than the focus on invertebrate and soil predators of previous work would suggest.     

Island urbanization and its ecological consequences: A case study in the Zhoushan Island,East China

Islands, which provide multiple ecosystem services, are subject to increasing urbanization pressure due to the ongoing marine development, especially in developing countries. Insights into the island urbanization mechanism and its ecological consequences are essential to sustainable development. In the present paper, the satellite images, nighttime lights, and topographic data were integrated to characterize the spatially explicit urbanization process and mechanism during 1995–2011 in the Zhoushan Island, East China. Furthermore, the corresponding spatially explicit changes in ecosystem services, including net primary productivity (NPP), carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP), nutrient cycling, crop production, and habitat quality, were quantified based on the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) models. The results showed that the Zhoushan Island had experienced a rapid urbanization over the years, with significant urban encroachment on the farmland and tidal flat. Moreover, the urban land expansion was positively correlated with that of the nighttime lights and negatively correlated with the elevation, slope, and the distance to shoreline. These indicated that the urban expansion was resulted from the enhancement of socioeconomic activities, and concentrated in the near-shore areas with low altitude and gentle slope. The urban encroachment on other land use types resulted in a decrease of 3.4 Gg C a⁻¹ NPP, 8.7 Gg a⁻¹ CSOP, 13.2 Gg a⁻¹ nutrient cycling, and 12.3 t a⁻¹ crop production, respectively. In addition, the habitat quality in 11% area of this island degraded substantially. Therefore, to achieve sustainable development of islands, it is urgent to implement more stringent policies, such as island spatial regulation, environmental impact assessment, intensive land use, and urban greening, etc.     

Economic values and dominant providers of key ecosystem services of wetlands in Beijing,China

This study estimates the economic values of and the dominant contributors to five key ecosystem services of wetlands in Beijing, by using the wetland inventory data in 2014 and economic valuation methods. Results indicate that the 51,434 ha of wetlands in Beijing annually provide 2.07 billion m³ of flood regulation, 944.01 million m³ of water provision, 42,154 tons of chemical oxygen demand (COD) purification, 3.03 PJ of heat absorption, and 9587 ha of habitat. Their economic values are estimated to be 15.89 billion RMB, 1.19 billion RMB, 169 million RMB, 421 million RMB, and 1.08 billion RMB in 2014 (RMB: Chinese currency, US$1 = RMB 6.14), respectively. The total values of five key wetland ecosystem services reach 18.76 billion RMB. In addition, the reservoir and river wetlands in Miyun, Yanqing, Fangshan, Huairou, and Mentougou Districts contribute 78% of key ecosystem services, whereas the urban wetlands in Xicheng, Dongcheng, Haidian, Chaoyang, and Tongzhou Districts more conveniently serve densely local people, hence they should be given particular attentions. In this paper, we develop the valuation methods of wetland ecosystem services, and recommend diversified strategies, regulations, and programs to protect the remaining wetlands in Beijing. This work can also provide a reference for the valuating of wetland ecosystem services for other urban-rural areas.     

An Ecosystem Health Index for a large and variable river basin: Methodology,challenges and continuous improvement in Queensland’s Fitzroy Basin

Report cards are an increasingly popular method for summarising and communicating relative environmental performance and ecosystem health, including in aquatic environments. They are usually underpinned by an Ecosystem Health Index (EHI) that combines various individual indicators to produce an overall ecosystem health “score”. As a result of public water quality concerns, an integrated means of monitoring and reporting on aquatic ecosystem health was needed for the Fitzroy Basin in central Queensland, Australia. The Fitzroy Partnership for River Health was formed to address this need, and developed an EHI and report card for the Basin using existing monitoring data collected from various third parties including regulated companies operations and government. At 142,000 square kilometres, the Fitzroy Basin is the largest catchment draining to the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef. The Fitzroy Basin provides an example of how to deliver an effective aquatic ecosystem health reporting system in a large and complex river basin. We describe the methodology used to develop an adaptive EHI for the Fitzroy Basin that addresses variability, complexity and scale issues associated with reporting across large areas. As well, we report how to manage the design and reporting stages given limitations in data collection and scientific understanding.     

How does the cumulative impacts approach support Maritime Spatial Planning?

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) needs to incorporate spatial information on human impacts. As human activities and uses increase in marine and coastal waters around the world, pressures in ecosystems are also increasing, leading to multiple adverse effects on different species and habitats. The European Directive on MSP aims to achieve an integrated approach to marine governance, whilst securing and maintaining the healthy status of marine and coastal waters, in accordance with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The latter requires Member States to develop assessments not only on pressures and impacts, but also on the state of the marine environment and then take measures towards reaching a Good Environmental Status by 2020.The Portuguese Maritime Spatial Plan – Plano de Ordenamento do Espaço Marítimo (POEM) was developed between 2009 and 2012. In 2014 a law establishing the Basis for the Spatial Planning and Management of the National Maritime Space was enacted and in 2015 the framework for the elaboration of a new national Maritime Spatial Plan, named Situation Plan, was established. Portugal will face, in the next five years, the challenge of planning and managing its marine space, whilst promoting its sustainable use and protection.This study adapted a cumulative effects assessment model to understand how the impacts from multiple threats affect the marine and coastal ecosystems and, how this information can be used to improve the management process. Information was gathered on intensity and distribution of activities and uses for the Portuguese continental subdivision marine area, quantified and mapped their cumulative impacts in marine ecosystems, and overlapped with the POEM. Results show that impacts are spreading from the coast up to the Contiguous Zone. Higher scores appear in Transitional and Coastal Waters in the north (Viana do Castelo/Figueira da Foz), centre (Peniche/Setúbal) and south (Lagos/Faro). In some areas with higher ranks, statutes of nature conservation are already in place, but potential activities may still occur on top of existing ones. This study shows that the adapted model is a helpful tool to clarify ocean planning, identify areas of potential conflicts among users and support the decision making process.     

Head width–body mass equation: facilitating worker termite biomass estimates

1. Termites are one of the most important invertebrate ecosystem engineers in tropical regions, which may be quantified using termite biomass data. However, biomass data are particularly difficult to collect as they rely on termites being weighed in the field, which may neither be possible nor convenient. Local scale linear regression models, based on termite head widths (mm) and body masses (mg), have been used in the past to estimate termite biomass using head width and abundance data. However, these models represent very limited numbers of termite taxa from single sites. In the present study, I provide one of the most representative linear regression models available based on 90 samples from three different countries (Peru, Kenya, and Malaysia). 2. Although the linear regression model under‐ or overestimated body weights of taxa with characteristic features (e.g. large heads of Odontotermes workers or elongated abdomens of Kalotermitidae) it provides a robust method for estimating termite biomass at the community level. Additionally, while there are limitations related to the general model, which may be solved by focusing on taxa specific data and the use of higher accuracy equipment, it is the first model to facilitate termite biomass estimates using the head with and abundance data only. 3. This study encourages the use of termite biomass data to gain a better understanding of termites in ecosystem processes and calls for comparative data to be gathered for the purpose of creating models that may be representative of the variability among termite taxa.     

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: It is time for dispersal experiments

The experimental study of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has mainly addressed the effect of species and number of functional groups. In theory, this approach has mainly focused on how extinction affects function, whereas dispersal limitation of ecosystem function has been rarely discussed. A handful of seed introduction experiments, as well as numerous observations of the effects of long‐distance dispersal of alien species, indicate that ecosystem function may be strongly determined by dispersal limitation at the local, regional and/or global scales. We suggest that it is time to replace biodiversity manipulation experiments, based on random draw of species, with those addressing realistic scenarios of either extinction or dispersal. Experiments disentangling the dispersal limitation of ecosystem function should have to take into account the probability of arrival. The latter is defined as the probability that a propagule of a particular species will arrive at a particular community. Arrival probability depends on the dispersal ability and the number of propagules of a species, the distance a species needs to travel, and the permeability of the matrix landscape. Current databases, in particular those in northwestern and central Europe now enable robust estimation of arrival probability in plant communities. We suggest a general hypothesis claiming that dispersal limitation according to arrival probability will have ecosystem‐level effects different from those arising due to random arrival. This hypothesis may be rendered more region‐, landscape‐ or ecosystem‐specific by estimating arrival probabilities for different background conditions.     

Global Scenarios: Background Review for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

The long-range outlook for the world’s ecosystems depends on the course taken by global development in the coming decades. Current global trends and ecological dynamics are consistent with very different outcomes, defined by alternative assumptions about the technological, economic, demographic, geopolitical, and social aspects of development and the ways in which institutions, personal and public values, and natural systems may be expected to respond to historically novel stressors. Recent advances in scenario analysis have addressed the dual methodological challenge of exploring these uncertainties in an organized way and determining what would be needed to make the transition to sustainability. This paper reviews global scenario research, setting current efforts in a historical context. It focuses on seven recent studies that are comprehensive, regionally disaggregated, and narratively rich—and thus of greatest relevance to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). It summarizes their social visions and the level of quantitative detail used in these exercises. Taken together, this suite of global scenario studies provides a useful platform for the MA by offering insight into the complex factors that drive ecosystem change, estimating the magnitude of regional pressures on ecosystems, sounding the alert on critical uncertainties that could undermine sustainable development, and understanding the importance of institutions and values. But these studies are only a point of departure. The integration of changing ecosystem conditions into global development scenarios, as both effects and causes, is at the cutting edge of scenario analysis. The paper concludes by identifying directions for this research program and suggesting ways that the MA can contribute to this effort.     

Integrating the spatial proximity effect into the assessment of changes in ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation

The assessment of the value of ecosystem services is a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation that can facilitate better environmental policy decision-making and land management, and can help land managers develop interventions to compensate for biodiversity loss at the patch level. Previous studies have suggested that it is appropriate to assess the value of biodiversity for conservation planning by considering both the condition of the landscape and the spatial configuration of adjacent land uses that can be reflected as a proximity effect. This research examines the influence of spatial proximity on biodiversity conservation from the ecosystem service perspective based on the assumption that the variation in the proximity effect caused by land cover change has positive or negative impacts on ecological services. Three factors related to the spatial characteristics of the landscape were considered in this approach: the relative artificiality of the land cover types, the distance decay effect of patches and the impact of one land cover type on others. The proximity effect change (PE_C) parameter reflected the relationship between the spatial proximity effect and biodiversity conservation. The results of a quantitative and spatial comparative analysis of the proposed method and the conventional method in Yingkou for the periods of 2000–2005 and 2005–2010 showed that the former can account for the temporal and spatial changes in ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation that were caused by patch-level changes as well as the interaction between the altered and adjacent patches from a spatial perspective. The metric can also identify the most critical areas for biodiversity protection and inform the efficient allocation of limited land resources for nature conservation to maximize the benefit to biodiversity by guiding the process of land-use change, particularly urbanization and agriculture. Future studies should focus on the other important factors that are applicable to the assessment of the value of biodiversity conservation in socio-ecological systems, where society and nature are mutually capable of fulfilling their roles.