Pteridophytes as field indicators of natural biodiversity restoration in the Scottish flora

Summary

The pteridophyte flora of Scotland, as with that of the British Isles as a whole, is still recovering from the great reduction of its original diversity caused by the Pleistocene glaciations. However, the isolation of the British Isles, their range of suitable habitats and their climatic and edaphic opportunity has provided conditions in which processes of natural biodiversity restoration in pteridophytes can be demonstrated and monitored. The modern pteridophyte vegetation of Scotland is analyzed in this evolutionary perspective. Using the examples of both ferns and fern allies, it is suggested that it is at least as important to conserve suitable sites for the continued origin of novel taxa as it is to allow for the perpetuation of existing taxa and communities.     

Geospatially structured biodiversity information as a component of a regional biodiversity clearing house

To function effectively, the international biodiversity Clearing HouseMechanism (CHM), based on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), needs tobe rooted at the regional and local levels. This article presents an example ofhow stakeholders of regional data and information can be encouraged to formnetworks linked to national biodiversity focal points (NFPs). We pay specialattention to exploiting the geospatial properties of biodiversity data andinformation, and demonstrate how data and information can best be filtered,classified and labelled to facilitate geographically based information retrievalon the Internet. The geocodability of bibliographic reports proved to be poor,indicating an urgent need to reconsider the geographical properties ofbiodiversity information under production. Also, it is useful to utilisenetworking processes with information from fields other than biodiversity wheninitiating the network. Finally, we present and discuss problems of integrityand interoperability of data, and also the process of biodiversity informationproduction from the point of view of general information theory and innovationsoffered by modern information technology.     

Using a network framework to quantitatively select ecological indicators

Ecological indicators are often constructed as an integrated set to represent key information and characteristics of the ecosystem which are tightly linked to management objectives. As an effective tool, ecological indicators play an increasingly important role in ecosystem monitoring, assessment and management. Reasonable selection of an indicator is a prerequisite for effectively using it. A defined protocol with scientific rigor to select ecological indicators is imperative to solve the challenges in ecological indicator selection. This paper compares the Causal Network (CN) with the Ecological Hierarchy Network (EHN) as a framework to select ecological indicators. These frameworks are not exclusive but interdependent in constructing a network framework. Based on the network framework, a quantitative ecological indicator selection method is demonstrated through a theoretical example. In the selection process, the criteria and requirements considering the balance of science and utility are proposed and translated into quantitative constraints of a selection model. By resolving the model under a mathematical operation, the human arbitrary disturbance will be reduced and random selection minimized.     

A typology of indicators of biodiversity change as a tool to make better indicators

Indicators of biodiversity change are of growing political relevance. To be effective, they need to meet a number of scientific requirements, some of which are not easy to fulfil. Here we use a simple typology of biodiversity indicators according to the following two requirements: (1) indicators should reflect changes in biodiversity in general rather than the ups and downs of particular species and species groups, and (2) indicators should be linked to environmental drivers. We apply this typology to existing indicators developed for the Dutch Environmental Data Compendium and describe how the typology may guide the development of indicators of biodiversity change. We conclude that more conceptual and statistical work is needed to make better biodiversity indicators.     

Using the Rao's Q diversity index as an indicator of protected area effectiveness in conserving biodiversity

Developing innovative monitoring systems for biodiversity outcomes in protected areas (PAs) are important to enable effective adaptive management. Here we show how to quantitatively detect and monitor temporal and spatial patterns in environmental heterogeneity, an important indicator of ecological integrity and biodiversity patterns. We used a 28-year time series (1991–2018) generated from freely available Landsat satellite imagery and Rao's quadratic index to calculate relative heterogeneity and trends in heterogeneity for 41 PAs across South Africa. We selected PAs where mega-herbivore assemblages were similar and where management objectives were broadly aligned with South African legislation to protect biodiversity. There was a three-fold difference in heterogeneity among PAs, mainly linked to variation in topography and rainfall. Heterogeneity decreased in 12 (29%), increased in three (7%) and remained stable in 26 (64%) PA's. These trends were not explained by overall heterogeneity, PA size, or rainfall – i.e., PAs that were smaller, drier, and more homogenous were not more likely to show decreasing trends than PAs that were larger, wetter, and generally more heterogenous. Rather trends in heterogeneity are likely the result of interactions between regional process (e.g., rainfall) and local factors such fire regimes, megaherbivore densities, and park management. The framework presented here can be extended to include every PA nationally, or even globally, and the data product fully automated. This presents an opportunity for conservation management to incorporate this important biodiversity indicator in PA monitoring programs as well as other large-scale ecological monitoring initiatives.     

Birds as biodiversity indicators in the planning of Forest Nature Reserves in Uganda

Baltzer, M., Matthews, R., Howard, P., Kigenyi F. & Viskanic, P. 2000. Birds as biodiversity indicators in the planning of Forest Nature Reserves in Uganda. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 291.

In Uganda a policy decision has been taken to set aside 20% of the nation's 1.4 million hectare forest estate as Forest Nature Reserves, for the protection of biodiversity. The estate comprises 713 Forest Reserves, ranging in size from just a few hectares to well over 100 000 hectares, scattered all over the country. In order to select appropriate areas for designation as Nature Reserves, the Forest Department (with assistance from the European Community and Global Environmental Facility) has evaluated all the larger reserves for biodiversity, focusing on birds and four other biological indicator groups (woody plants, mammals, butterflies and moths). Building on earlier work, teams of departmental staff carried out detailed systematic biodiversity surveys of 65 major forests between May 1992 and March 1995. The work on birds involved 1 442 person-days of field observation and 1.2 million metre net-hours of mist-netting effort. Altogether 5 744 species-site records were made, involving 604 of Uganda's 1011 species: this brings the total number of species known from Uganda's forest reserves to 841 (83% of the country's birds). Several species not previously known from Uganda were recorded, especially in the north and east of the country where birds of the northern (Sudan/Guinea) savannas and Somali-Masai regions reach the extreme limits of their ranges. The bird data have been analysed alongside comparable data for the other four indicator taxa. Fortunately, areas of high species richness and levels of endemism for the five groups tend to coincide. Priority conservation sites have been identified and a national network of Forest Nature Reserves has been designed as part of a representative and efficient protected areas system for Uganda.     

Acting effectively for biodiversity: a strategic framework for environmental non-governmental organisations

Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) are major operators of conservation initiatives both in the political sphere and in the field. The context within which they operate can change rapidly and dramatically. As a result, they need to plan new strategies, and do so by taking up the challenges of strategic design like any institutionalised organization. However, the specific characteristics and situations of ENGOs call for new, relevant approaches to strategic analysis and design. Based on successive cycles of case studies and conceptual work drawing on the biodiversity and strategic management literatures, the present paper proposes a new framework to articulate four fundamental dimensions of ENGOs’ strategy: the choice of goals in terms of ecological priorities; the choice of how to act and press for change; the development of capacity (i.e. organization, internal governance and resources); and finally, a strategy to manage an often ambivalent mix of competition and cooperation with other ENGOs. The value of the framework is illustrated here by a case study of the French NGO ‘Humanité et Biodiversité’ (mankind and biodiversity), with dramatic changes in strategy to match and major strategic organizational challenges to be identified and resolved.     

vcluster: a framework for auto scalable virtual cluster system in heterogeneous clouds

Cloud computing is an emerging technology and is being widely considered for resource utilization in various research areas. One of the main advantages of cloud computing is its flexibility in computing resource allocations. Many computing cycles can be ready in very short time and can be smoothly reallocated between tasks. Because of this, there are many private companies entering the new business of reselling their idle computing cycles. Research institutes have also started building their own cloud systems for their various research purposes. In this paper, we introduce a framework for virtual cluster system called vcluster which is capable of utilizing computing resources from heterogeneous clouds and provides a uniform view in computing resource management. vcluster is an IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) based cloud resource management system. It distributes batch jobs to multiple clouds depending on the status of queue and system pool. The main design philosophy behind vcluster is cloud and batch system agnostic and it is achieved through plugins. This feature mitigates the complexity of integrating heterogeneous clouds. In the pilot system development, we use FermiCloud and Amazon EC2, which are a private and a public cloud system, respectively. In this paper, we also discuss the features and functionalities that must be considered in virtual cluster systems.     

Exploring fungal biodiversity for the production of water-soluble pigments as potential natural food colorants

The production of many currently authorized natural food colorants has a number of disadvantages, including a dependence on the supply of raw materials and variations in pigment extraction. Fungi provide a readily available alternative source of naturally derived food colorants that could easily be produced in high yields. The recent authorization of a fungal food colorant has fuelled research to explore the extraordinary chemical diversity and biodiversity of fungi for the biotechnological production of pigments as natural food colorants. These studies require an appropriate use of chemotaxonomic tools and a priori knowledge of fungal metabolites to carry out intelligent screening for known or novel colorants as lead compounds. Such screening would result in the preselection of some potential pigment producers and the deselection of pathogenic strains and toxin producers. With advances in gene technology, in the future it should be possible to employ metabolic engineering to create microbial cell factories for the production of food colorants.     

Metric-space indexes as a basis for scalable biological databases

Biochemical databases will be best served by the development of new specialized database management systems whose storage managers are based on metric-space indexing techniques and the development a database query languages that embody semantics derived from biochemical models of similarity and evolution. Important biochemical data types cannot be effectively mapped to low dimensional coordinate systems on which O(log n) indexing methods rely. It is clear from an abundance of bioinformatic discoveries that biochemical data is not random and exhibits interesting structure with respect to clustering. Metric-space indexing exploits a data set's intrinsic clustering to speed the execution of similarity queries, even when the data cannot be mapped to a coordinate system. Database management systems that seamlessly integrate semantically rich query languages with a metric-storage and retrieval mechanism will allow biologists to simply and concisely develop informatic studies that have traditionally been large and labor intensive.     

Defining freshwater as a natural resource: a framework linking water use to the area of protection natural resources

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - While many examples have shown unsustainable use of freshwater resources, existing LCIA methods for water use do not comprehensively address...     

A review and a framework for the integration of biodiversity monitoring at the habitat level

The monitoring of biodiversity at the level of habitats is becoming widespread in Europe and elsewhere as countries establish national habitat monitoring systems and various organisations initiate regional and local schemes. Parallel to this growth, it is increasingly important to address biodiversity changes on large spatial (e.g. continental) and temporal (e.g. decade-long) scales, which requires the integration of currently ongoing monitoring efforts. Here we review habitat monitoring and develop a framework for integrating data or activities across habitat monitoring schemes. We first identify three basic properties of monitoring activities: spatial aspect (explicitly spatial vs. non-spatial), documentation of spatial variation (field mapping vs. remote sensing) and coverage of habitats (all habitats or specific habitats in an area), and six classes of monitoring schemes based on these properties. Then we explore tasks essential for integrating schemes both within and across the major classes. Finally, we evaluate the need and potential for integration of currently existing schemes by drawing on data collected on European habitat monitoring in the EuMon project. Our results suggest a dire need for integration if we are to measure biodiversity changes across large spatial and temporal scales regarding the 2010 target and beyond. We also make recommendations for an integrated pan-European habitat monitoring scheme. Such a scheme should be based on remote sensing to record changes in land cover and habitat types over large scales, with complementary field mapping using unified methodology to provide ground truthing and to monitor small-scale changes, at least in habitat types of conservation importance.     

An aggregation framework to link indicators associated with multifunctional land use to the stakeholder evaluation of policy options

In the last decade efforts have been carried out by the scientific community aimed at building integrated frameworks to support the decision-making process when sustainability issues are addressed. This paper proposes a further advancement in integrated assessment procedures by setting up an operational multi-scale and transparent framework, which comprises the assessment of European regions in terms of sustainability, and the identification of the impact that policy options might have on the sustainability of these regions. The framework is designed for use in ex ante sustainability impact assessment of policy scenarios on multifunctionality of land use and integrates economic, environmental and social issues across a variety of sectors (agriculture, forestry, transport, tourism and energy). The proposed method provides a conceptual framework applicable at different scales (European, regional), and takes into account the great variability of European regions. The described methodology is based on linear additive models to weight and aggregate selected indicators to a set of land use functions identified to describe the goods and services provided by the different land uses that summarise the most relevant economic, environmental and social issues of a region. The framework is designed to allow the evaluation of impacts at an international scale (e.g. the European Union), or on selected regions.The aggregation framework can be used to evaluate the impact that policy options have on the sustainability of multifunctional land use systems with competing demands. A conceptual envelope, called the “trade-off evaluation space”, delineates all possible developments in the functions of the land. The sustainability limits identify the subset of ‘acceptable’ policy options within the trade-off evaluation space, so that the distance of each land use function from sustainability limits can be estimated and trade-offs between the different functions of the multifunctional land use system can be identified. The proposed methodology is adaptable to different contexts: if the assumption is taken that all land use functions are equally weighted the framework can be used to analyse policy cases and take decisions on policy options at the European or regional level. However, at the local-scale the framework can also be applied through a participatory approach and the distribution of weights can be rediscussed with local stakeholders. In both cases the proposed system can be used as a tool for discussion among all interested parties.     

Forest ecosystem inventory and monitoring as a framework for terrestrial natural renewable resource survey programmes

ABSTRACT

The established practice of forest ecosystem inventory and monitoring is recognised as a main support for terrestrial natural renewable resource survey programmes. Inventory and monitoring programmes focused on an overall assessment of ecosystem attributes evolving into global environmental survey programmes have been devised, but implementation is still quite contradictory. The state-of-the-art is discussed here, with special reference to the European Union and Italy. Topical issues are reviewed, with selective concern to: remote sensing capability, probability sampling, forest type (habitat) classification and landscape ecology, sustainable management indicators. Benefits brought by information technology are highlighted. Its development and the implementation of approaches based on a sound “per habitat” landscape ecological perspective will bring unique benefits, thus leading to an effective integration among sector surveys aimed at global environmental inventory/monitoring.     

Using spider web types as a substitute for assessing web-building spider biodiversity and the success of habitat restoration

Arthropods have been regarded as good indicators of habitat quality due to their sensitivity to changes in habitat state. However, there are many constraints to working with arthropods that make them inaccessible to land managers and most volunteer-driven initiatives. Our study examined a novel approach for detecting changes in web-building spider communities by focussing on the types of webs that spiders build rather than the spider itself. This method was cost-effective, easy-to-use, and importantly, we found a strong congruency between the diversity of web architecture and the diversity of web-building spider genera. The metrics derived from this method could distinguish differences in web-building communities among habitat types that represented a successional gradient, and thus we concluded that the method was useful for monitoring the progress of restoration. Many other applications for the method are possible such as environmental impact assessment and agricultural pest management, and we encourage development in these areas.     

The Nature Index: a general framework for synthesizing knowledge on the state of biodiversity

The magnitude and urgency of the biodiversity crisis is widely recognized within scientific and political organizations. However, a lack of integrated measures for biodiversity has greatly constrained the national and international response to the biodiversity crisis. Thus, integrated biodiversity indexes will greatly facilitate information transfer from science toward other areas of human society. The Nature Index framework samples scientific information on biodiversity from a variety of sources, synthesizes this information, and then transmits it in a simplified form to environmental managers, policymakers, and the public. The Nature Index optimizes information use by incorporating expert judgment, monitoring-based estimates, and model-based estimates. The index relies on a network of scientific experts, each of whom is responsible for one or more biodiversity indicators. The resulting set of indicators is supposed to represent the best available knowledge on the state of biodiversity and ecosystems in any given area. The value of each indicator is scaled relative to a reference state, i.e., a predicted value assessed by each expert for a hypothetical undisturbed or sustainably managed ecosystem. Scaled indicator values can be aggregated or disaggregated over different axes representing spatiotemporal dimensions or thematic groups. A range of scaling models can be applied to allow for different ways of interpreting the reference states, e.g., optimal situations or minimum sustainable levels. Statistical testing for differences in space or time can be implemented using Monte-Carlo simulations. This study presents the Nature Index framework and details its implementation in Norway. The results suggest that the framework is a functional, efficient, and pragmatic approach for gathering and synthesizing scientific knowledge on the state of biodiversity in any marine or terrestrial ecosystem and has general applicability worldwide.     

Linking biodiversity indicators,ecosystem functioning,provision of services and human well-being in estuarine systems: Application of a conceptual framework

Assuming that human well-being strongly relies on the services provided by well-functioning ecosystems, changes in the ecological functioning of any system can have direct and indirect effects on human welfare. Intensive land use and tourism have expanded in recent decades along coastal ecosystems, together with increasing demands for water, food and energy; all of these factors intensify the exploitation of natural resources. Many of the interrelations between ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services (ES) still require quantification in estuarine systems. A conceptual framework to assess such links in a spatially and temporally explicit manner is proposed and applied to the Mondego estuary (Portugal). This framework relies on three consecutive steps and discriminates among biodiversity structural components, ecosystem functioning and stability and the services provided by the ecosystem.Disturbances in abiotic factors were found to have a direct effect on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ES. The observed changes in the species composition of communities had a positive effect on the ecosystem's productivity and stability. Moreover, the observed changes in the estuarine ES provision are likely to arise from changing structural and abiotic factors and in the present case from the loss or decline of locally abundant species. This study also indicates that linear relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services provision are unlikely to occur in estuarine systems. Instead, cumulative and complex relations are observed between factors on both temporal and spatial scales. In this context, the results suggest several additional conclusions: (1) biodiversity and ecosystem functioning interaction with human well-being need to be incorporated into decision-making processes aimed at the conservative management of systems; (2) the institutional use of research results must be part of the design and implementation of sustainable management activities; and (3) more integrative tools/studies are required to account for the interactions of estuarine ecosystems with surrounding socio-economic activities. Therefore, when performing integrated assessments of ecosystem dynamics, it becomes essential to consider not only the effects of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning on services provision but also the effects that human well-being and ES provision may have on estuarine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.The proposed framework implies taking into account both the functional and the commodities points of view upon natural ecosystems and by this representing a line of thought which will deserve further research to explore more in detail the conceptual links between biodiversity–ecosystem functioning–services provided.     

Towards a harmonised framework methodology for the environmental assessment of food and drink products

Introduction

??Food and drink?? products are the basis of life. However, it is recognised that their supply also contributes to the environmental impacts associated with production and consumption. Recently, an increasing number of food chain partners and public authorities have introduced a widening range of initiatives to provide information about the environmental performance of food and drink products. These initiatives show a high degree of diversity in terms of their chosen scope, assessment methodologies and means of communication, which has the potential to confuse or even mislead consumers and other stakeholders. In this context, the European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Round Table was launched by food supply chain partners and the European Commission with the vision of promoting a science-based, coherent approach to sustainable consumption and production in the European food sector.

Objectives

This article presents this European initiative by introducing its Guiding Principles and summarizing the proceedings of the scientific workshop held in Ispra on 14?C15 June 2010. The aim of the workshop was to identify scientific inputs for developing the harmonised framework methodology for assessing the environmental issues of food and drink products. In this context, the main purpose was to provide a common understanding of what is involved in reliable and robust environmental assessments of the food chain, current limitations, and how to go from detailed assessments to more focused criteria, guidance and tools.

Conclusion

The current experiences presented in the workshop demonstrate that much advancement has already been made towards the measurement and management of the environmental performance of food and drink products. Detailed methodologies and tools are already being used by various players. According to the workshop speakers, the definition of methodological choices concerning the functional unit, system boundaries, cut-off criteria, allocation rules and environmental impact categories are some of the key issues to be fixed in the harmonised framework methodology. The Round Table process has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the sustainable consumption and production of food and drink products. This model might be proposed and reiterated for other sectors as well.