Making robust policy decisions using global biodiversity indicators

In order to influence global policy effectively, conservation scientists need to be able to provide robust predictions of the impact of alternative policies on biodiversity and measure progress towards goals using reliable indicators. We present a framework for using biodiversity indicators predictively to inform policy choices at a global level. The approach is illustrated with two case studies in which we project forwards the impacts of feasible policies on trends in biodiversity and in relevant indicators. The policies are based on targets agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Nagoya in October 2010. The first case study compares protected area policies for African mammals, assessed using the Red List Index; the second example uses the Living Planet Index to assess the impact of a complete halt, versus a reduction, in bottom trawling. In the protected areas example, we find that the indicator can aid in decision-making because it is able to differentiate between the impacts of the different policies. In the bottom trawling example, the indicator exhibits some counter-intuitive behaviour, due to over-representation of some taxonomic and functional groups in the indicator, and contrasting impacts of the policies on different groups caused by trophic interactions. Our results support the need for further research on how to use predictive models and indicators to credibly track trends and inform policy. To be useful and relevant, scientists must make testable predictions about the impact of global policy on biodiversity to ensure that targets such as those set at Nagoya catalyse effective and measurable change.     

A suite of essential biodiversity variables for detecting critical biodiversity change

Key global indicators of biodiversity decline, such as the IUCN Red List Index and the Living Planet Index, have relatively long assessment intervals. This means they, due to their inherent structure, function as late‐warning indicators that are retrospective, rather than prospective. These indicators are unquestionably important in providing information for biodiversity conservation, but the detection of early‐warning signs of critical biodiversity change is also needed so that proactive management responses can be enacted promptly where required. Generally, biodiversity conservation has dealt poorly with the scattered distribution of necessary detailed information, and needs to find a solution to assemble, harmonize and standardize the data. The prospect of monitoring essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) has been suggested in response to this challenge. The concept has generated much attention, but the EBVs themselves are still in development due to the complexity of the task, the limited resources available, and a lack of long‐term commitment to maintain EBV data sets. As a first step, the scientific community and the policy sphere should agree on a set of priority candidate EBVs to be developed within the coming years to advance both large‐scale ecological research as well as global and regional biodiversity conservation. Critical ecological transitions are of high importance from both a scientific as well as from a conservation policy point of view, as they can lead to long‐lasting biodiversity change with a high potential for deleterious effects on whole ecosystems and therefore also on human well‐being. We evaluated candidate EBVs using six criteria: relevance, sensitivity to change, generalizability, scalability, feasibility, and data availability and provide a literature‐based review for eight EBVs with high sensitivity to change. The proposed suite of EBVs comprises abundance, allelic diversity, body mass index, ecosystem heterogeneity, phenology, range dynamics, size at first reproduction, and survival rates. The eight candidate EBVs provide for the early detection of critical and potentially long‐lasting biodiversity change and should be operationalized as a priority. Only with such an approach can science predict the future status of global biodiversity with high certainty and set up the appropriate conservation measures early and efficiently. Importantly, the selected EBVs would address a large range of conservation issues and contribute to a total of 15 of the 20 Aichi targets and are, hence, of high biological relevance.     

The global decline of freshwater megafauna

Freshwater ecosystems are among the most diverse and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. At the same time, they are among the most threatened ecosystems but remain underrepresented in biodiversity research and conservation efforts. The rate of decline of vertebrate populations is much higher in freshwaters than in terrestrial or marine realms. Freshwater megafauna (i.e., freshwater animals that can reach a body mass ≥30 kg) are intrinsically prone to extinction due to their large body size, complex habitat requirements and slow life‐history strategies such as long life span and late maturity. However, population trends and distribution changes of freshwater megafauna, at continental or global scales, remain unclear. In the present study, we compiled population data of 126 freshwater megafauna species globally from the Living Planet Database and available literature, and distribution data of 44 species inhabiting Europe and the United States from literature and databases of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and NatureServe. We quantified changes in population abundance and distribution range of freshwater megafauna species. Globally, freshwater megafauna populations declined by 88% from 1970 to 2012, with the highest declines in the Indomalaya and Palearctic realms (?99% and ?97%, respectively). Among taxonomic groups, mega‐fishes exhibited the greatest global decline (?94%). In addition, freshwater megafauna experienced major range contractions. For example, distribution ranges of 42% of all freshwater megafauna species in Europe contracted by more than 40% of historical areas. We highlight the various sources of uncertainty in tracking changes in populations and distributions of freshwater megafauna, such as the lack of monitoring data and taxonomic and spatial biases. The detected trends emphasize the critical plight of freshwater megafauna globally and highlight the broader need for concerted, targeted and timely conservation of freshwater biodiversity.     

Contrasting functional traits maintain lichen epiphyte diversity in response to climate and autogenic succession

Aim Lichen epiphytes are important for biodiversity conservation and are also widely applied as environmental indicators. However, biogeographical and ecological knowledge underpinning lichen epiphyte conservation, and the use of lichens as indicators, is based primarily on a limited range of ‘macrolichen’ species. Wider trends in epiphyte biodiversity remain largely unexplored. This paper examines the community structure of lichen epiphytes on aspen (Populus tremula L.) in Scotland, including species across all functional groups and comprising, therefore, taxonomically difficult ‘microlichens’. Location Northern Britain (Scotland). Methods Epiphytes were sampled from 12 sites throughout Scotland and examined at two scales: between and within aspen stands. Species were classified into contrasting functional groups and ordination by detrended correspondence analysis was used to summarize community structure. Results Within aspen stands (between trees) epiphyte communities showed successional patterns related to tree age. These successional patterns changed predictably for stands aligned along a climatic gradient (between stands). Main conclusions A dual climatic–successional trend in epiphyte community structure is presented. Large‐scale trends in epiphyte diversity are explained as the local response of species with contrasting functional traits to climate and autogenic succession. Turnover of functional groups between stands is positively related to β‐diversity, and ecological limits to the frequency of contrasting functional groups are presented. Accordingly, the study and application of lichen species with similar functional traits may inadequately represent patterns of biodiversity. This prompts criticism of the currently accepted conservation strategy, i.e. (1) an emphasis in the conservation literature on ‘macrolichen’ species with similar ecologies and (2) the application of lichen indices over climatically variable geographical areas.     

城市公园和郊区公园生物多样性评估的指标

随着城市化进程的加快,城市的生物多样性不可避免地受到城市化的各种影响,城市及其郊区的生物多样性保护越来越受到人们的重视。城市公园与郊区公园中往往具有高度多样化的生境,并保存着某些自然植被片段和动物物种,那里的生物多样性较高。可见,在城市和郊区的生物多样性保护中,公园生物多样性的保护是一个非常关键的环节,而对其生物多样性的评估又是有效保护的基础。目前,我国生物多样性评估方面的研究工作多集中于物种水平,而对生境的研究较少,但实践证明,保护生境比保护物种更为重要。本文介绍了比利时学者Hermy & Cornelis在比利时西佛兰德省的Loppem市立公园的保护实践中构建的一种对城市公园和郊区公园中的生物多样性进行评估的方法。该方法从两个方面展开：生境多样性和物种多样性。在生境水平上,首先对各种生境单元进行分类,这些单元被分为面状、线状和点状要素。针对每种要素,分别计算了Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和饱和度指数。饱和度指数是实际的多样性指数与最大可能的多样性指数之比。在物种水平上,使用了物种数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和饱和度指数来评估公园中的高等植物、蝴蝶、两栖动物和饲养的鸟类等物种。这样,就获得了20个生物多样性指标,根据这些指数就可以对Loppem市立公园内的生物多样性进行评估。结合我国生物多样性评估工作的实际要求,文章最后对上述方法进行了讨论,指出该方法对我国公园的生物多样性评估工作具有借鉴意义,但在运用时各地需要结合本地的实际情况。     

Building essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) of species distribution and abundance at a global scale

Much biodiversity data is collected worldwide, but it remains challenging to assemble the scattered knowledge for assessing biodiversity status and trends. The concept of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) was introduced to structure biodiversity monitoring globally, and to harmonize and standardize biodiversity data from disparate sources to capture a minimum set of critical variables required to study, report and manage biodiversity change. Here, we assess the challenges of a ‘Big Data’ approach to building global EBV data products across taxa and spatiotemporal scales, focusing on species distribution and abundance. The majority of currently available data on species distributions derives from incidentally reported observations or from surveys where presence‐only or presence–absence data are sampled repeatedly with standardized protocols. Most abundance data come from opportunistic population counts or from population time series using standardized protocols (e.g. repeated surveys of the same population from single or multiple sites). Enormous complexity exists in integrating these heterogeneous, multi‐source data sets across space, time, taxa and different sampling methods. Integration of such data into global EBV data products requires correcting biases introduced by imperfect detection and varying sampling effort, dealing with different spatial resolution and extents, harmonizing measurement units from different data sources or sampling methods, applying statistical tools and models for spatial inter‐ or extrapolation, and quantifying sources of uncertainty and errors in data and models. To support the development of EBVs by the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), we identify 11 key workflow steps that will operationalize the process of building EBV data products within and across research infrastructures worldwide. These workflow steps take multiple sequential activities into account, including identification and aggregation of various raw data sources, data quality control, taxonomic name matching and statistical modelling of integrated data. We illustrate these steps with concrete examples from existing citizen science and professional monitoring projects, including eBird, the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring network, the Living Planet Index and the Baltic Sea zooplankton monitoring. The identified workflow steps are applicable to both terrestrial and aquatic systems and a broad range of spatial, temporal and taxonomic scales. They depend on clear, findable and accessible metadata, and we provide an overview of current data and metadata standards. Several challenges remain to be solved for building global EBV data products: (i) developing tools and models for combining heterogeneous, multi‐source data sets and filling data gaps in geographic, temporal and taxonomic coverage, (ii) integrating emerging methods and technologies for data collection such as citizen science, sensor networks, DNA‐based techniques and satellite remote sensing, (iii) solving major technical issues related to data product structure, data storage, execution of workflows and the production process/cycle as well as approaching technical interoperability among research infrastructures, (iv) allowing semantic interoperability by developing and adopting standards and tools for capturing consistent data and metadata, and (v) ensuring legal interoperability by endorsing open data or data that are free from restrictions on use, modification and sharing. Addressing these challenges is critical for biodiversity research and for assessing progress towards conservation policy targets and sustainable development goals.     

生物多样性监测指标体系构建研究进展

生物多样性监测是为确定与预期标准相一致或相背离的程度,而对生物多样性进行定期或不定期的监视,目前已成为生物多样性研究和保护的热点问题。生物多样性监测指标则是一些简化的生物或环境特征参数,说明生物多样性现状和变化趋势,以及人类活动压力对生物多样性的影响,以促进科学界、政府和公众间的沟通,提高生物多样性管理水平。近10年来,国际组织、政府机构和各国学者对生物多样性指标体系的构建进行了大量的探索工作,取得了很多进展,其中有些指标已经应用于实际监测项目。本文综述了生物多样性监测指标筛选的一般标准和指标体系构建的主要理论,梳理目前已提出或应用的主要生物多样性监测指标,以期为我国构建国家或区域尺度生物多样性监测指标体系提供参考。在此基础上分析提出：生物多样性概念的泛化、指标含义模糊以及知识和数据的缺乏是构建生物多样性监测指标的主要困难。我国未来的生物多样性监测指标体系构建需要关注以下两个方面：（1）紧密联系实际,构建适应性的监测指标体系,加强对典型生态系统区域的监测;（2）发展经济社会发展方面的指标,分析生物多样性变化的驱动力,为生物多样性保护和区域可持续发展提供科学依据。     

A Biodiversity Indicators Dashboard: Addressing Challenges to Monitoring Progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets Using Disaggregated Global Data

Recognizing the imperiled status of biodiversity and its benefit to human well-being, the world''s governments committed in 2010 to take effective and urgent action to halt biodiversity loss through the Convention on Biological Diversity''s “Aichi Targets”. These targets, and many conservation programs, require monitoring to assess progress toward specific goals. However, comprehensive and easily understood information on biodiversity trends at appropriate spatial scales is often not available to the policy makers, managers, and scientists who require it. We surveyed conservation stakeholders in three geographically diverse regions of critical biodiversity concern (the Tropical Andes, the African Great Lakes, and the Greater Mekong) and found high demand for biodiversity indicator information but uneven availability. To begin to address this need, we present a biodiversity “dashboard” – a visualization of biodiversity indicators designed to enable tracking of biodiversity and conservation performance data in a clear, user-friendly format. This builds on previous, more conceptual, indicator work to create an operationalized online interface communicating multiple indicators at multiple spatial scales. We structured this dashboard around the Pressure-State-Response-Benefit framework, selecting four indicators to measure pressure on biodiversity (deforestation rate), state of species (Red List Index), conservation response (protection of key biodiversity areas), and benefits to human populations (freshwater provision). Disaggregating global data, we present dashboard maps and graphics for the three regions surveyed and their component countries. These visualizations provide charts showing regional and national trends and lay the foundation for a web-enabled, interactive biodiversity indicators dashboard. This new tool can help track progress toward the Aichi Targets, support national monitoring and reporting, and inform outcome-based policy-making for the protection of natural resources.     

中国陆域生物多样性综合评估指标体系构建

陆域生物多样性综合评估是保护生物多样性的重要基础工作,评估生物多样性现状和变化趋势、分析其损失的影响因素,是制定生物多样性保护政策与措施的前提和必要条件。目前,我国在陆域生物多样性综合评估方面尚未形成统一的评估指标体系。本研究围绕《生物多样性公约》爱知生物多样性目标、联合国可持续发展目标,借鉴国际上生物多样性评估新趋势,基于压力-状态-响应(PSR)概念框架,构建了我国陆域生物多样性综合评估指标体系,确定了22项评估指标,其中状态指标8项,压力指标7项,响应指标7项,并对指标相关性和可获得性进行分析。指标体系不仅可以对陆域生物多样性基本状况、受威胁程度、保护成效进行单独定量评价,还可以用于陆域生物多样性综合定量评估,以优化调整生物多样性优先保护区和保护措施。本研究可以为管理部门核算绿色国内生产总值(GDP)、制定区域生态补偿政策等提供技术支撑。     

Southern Hemisphere biodiversity and global change: Data gaps and strategies

Long‐term datasets needed to detect the impacts of global change on southern biodiversity are still scarce and often incomplete, challenging adaptation planning and conservation management. Biological data are probably most limited in arid countries and from the oceans, where natural environmental variability (‘noise’) means that long time series are required to detect the ‘signal’ of directional change. Significant national and international investment and collaboration are needed for most southern nations to reliably track biodiversity trends and improve conservation adaptation to rapid climate change. Emerging early warning systems for biodiversity, incorporating regional environmental change drivers, citizen science and regional partnerships, can all help to compensate for existing information gaps and contribute to adaptation planning.     

Temporal degradation of data limits biodiversity research

Spatial and/or temporal biases in biodiversity data can directly influence the utility, comparability, and reliability of ecological and evolutionary studies. While the effects of biased spatial coverage of biodiversity data are relatively well known, temporal variation in data quality (i.e., the congruence between recorded and actual information) has received much less attention. Here, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding the influence of time on biodiversity data quality based on three main processes: (1) the natural dynamics of ecological systems—such as species turnover or local extinction; (2) periodic taxonomic revisions, and; (3) the loss of physical and metadata due to inefficient curation, accidents, or funding shortfalls. Temporal decay in data quality driven by these three processes has fundamental consequences for the usage and comparability of data collected in different time periods. Data decay can be partly ameliorated by adopting standard protocols for generation, storage, and sharing data and metadata. However, some data degradation is unavoidable due to natural variations in ecological systems. Consequently, changes in biodiversity data quality over time need be carefully assessed and, if possible, taken into account when analyzing aging datasets.     

Neutral theory reveals the challenge of bending the curve for the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

In October, nations of the world will begin negotiations for the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. An influential ambition is “bending the curve of biodiversity loss,” which aims to reverse the decline of global biodiversity indicators. A second relevant, yet less prominent, milestone is the 20th anniversary of the publication of The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Here, I apply neutral theory to show how global biodiversity indicators for population size (Living Planet Index) and extinction threat (Red List Index) decline under neutral ecological drift. This demonstrates that declining indicators are not solely caused by deterministic species‐specific or geographical patterns of biodiversity loss. Instead, indicators are sensitive to nondirectional stochasticity. Thus, “bending the curve” could be assessed relative to a counterfactual based on neutral theory, rather than static baselines. If used correctly, the 20‐year legacy of neutral theory can be extended to make a valuable contribution to the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.     

海洋保护区管理与保护成效评估的方法与进展

全球物种多样性的持续下降使得生物多样性保护面临巨大挑战, 海洋生物多样性的保护任务尤其艰巨。海洋保护区是保护生物多样性的有效方式之一, 如何对其成效进行评估是当前研究热点。然而, 目前针对海洋保护区的评估体系较少, 而且评估指标多侧重于管理成效。近年来随着全球生物多样性监测网络和数据库的建立, 以及多种新技术(如遥感、声呐系统、卫星追踪、基因组学等)在海洋生物多样性监测中的应用, 使得从生态系统到基因水平的多层次连续监测成为可能。基于此, 建议未来我国海洋保护区成效评估应在充分利用新技术方法的基础上, 加强长期科学监测, 建立并完善生物多样性监测数据库和信息共享机制, 发展跨学科的综合保护成效评估体系, 加强基于生物多样性监测的保护成效评估。     

中国生物多样性相关传统知识调查与评估指标体系构建

基于调查获得的数据开展生物多样性相关传统知识评估, 明确面临的主要压力和保护空缺, 可为相关管理部门决策提供科学依据。指标是开展评估的主要工具, 但是目前尚未有关于生物多样性相关传统知识评估指标体系的文献报道。我们基于压力-状态-响应(pressure-state-response, PSR)模型, 充分考虑生物多样性相关传统知识的基本特征、主要威胁因子、保护和传承措施, 初步构建了区域和国家尺度的生物多样性相关传统知识评估指标体系。然后通过专家咨询, 确定了30项指标, 其中压力指标7项、状态指标14项、响应指标9项。这些指标不仅可以用于生物多样性相关传统知识的综合评估, 还可以对其基本状况、受威胁状况、保护与传承状况、相关遗传资源进行单独评价。此外, 基于评估参数计算的数据需求, 我们借鉴国内外民族植物学和生物多样性相关传统知识调查的主要研究成果, 建立了“全国生物多样性相关传统知识调查技术方法体系”, 并通过试点调查进行修改完善。 “全国生物多样性相关传统知识调查”以关键人物访谈、问卷调查和参与观察为主, 并辅以生物学和生态学调查; 采用滚雪球抽样法对目标群体进行抽样, 确定访谈对象。     

The Living Planet Index: using species population time series to track trends in biodiversity

The Living Planet Index was developed to measure the changing state of the world's biodiversity over time. It uses time-series data to calculate average rates of change in a large number of populations of terrestrial, freshwater and marine vertebrate species. The dataset contains about 3000 population time series for over 1100 species. Two methods of calculating the index are outlined: the chain method and a method based on linear modelling of log-transformed data. The dataset is analysed to compare the relative representation of biogeographic realms, ecoregional biomes, threat status and taxonomic groups among species contributing to the index. The two methods show very similar results: terrestrial species declined on average by 25% from 1970 to 2000. Birds and mammals are over-represented in comparison with other vertebrate classes, and temperate species are over-represented compared with tropical species, but there is little difference in representation between threatened and non-threatened species. Some of the problems arising from over-representation are reduced by the way in which the index is calculated. It may be possible to reduce this further by post-stratification and weighting, but new information would first need to be collected for data-poor classes, realms and biomes.     

生物多样性国际研究态势分析

生物多样性研究是综合性和高度交叉性的跨学科研究领域,是1997年底Science周刊上预测的1998年及近期的6个重大科学热点之一。检索1986—2008年间SCIE文献数据库中关于生物多样性的研究论文(article,proceedings paper和review),利用Thomson Data Analyzer(TDA)分析工具和Aureka分析平台进行数据挖掘。分析表明,该研究涉及多个学科领域,近年来在生态学领域的论文数量增加最多,而生物多样性保护、进化生物学、生物化学与分子生物学方面的论文增长速度较快。生物多样性研究越来越重视全球变化和人类社会对生物多样性的影响,DNA技术和基因工程等先进技术在生物多样性研究和保护中的作用也更加突出。     

Dramatic decline of two freshwater killifishes,main anthropogenic drivers and appropriate conservation actions

Freshwater fish biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean Basin is regarded as among the highest globally, with long-term population data sets required to discern long-term population trends of threatened species, in order to design appropriate conservation interventions. In this study, we assessed the population trends of two threatened freshwater fishes, Valencia letourneuxi and Valencia robertae, employing the most recent and largest compiled database to date (16 populations over 14 years). We applied the innovative methodology of the Living Planet Index (LPI) to assess the average rate of change over time across a set of V. letourneuxi and V. robertae populations in Greece. The LPI application revealed a dramatic decline of both species, with V. letourneuxi declining by 97.7% and V. robertae by 91.0%. Beta regression showed that water pollution, eutrophication and alien Eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki’ presence were the three best fitting predictors of the decline of V. letourneuxi and V. robertae populations. Based on the above, we outline the conservation measures urgently required to revert the near collapse of the populations of the two species. Conservation actions include the strict protection of the their lowland spring habitats, habitat improvement through changes in water management and agricultural practices, mosquitofish invasion prevention and mosquitofish impact mitigation measures, as well as translocation actions and captive breeding. Lastly, the association patterns of the proposed conservation actions with anthropogenic pressures and their expected outcomes were analysed through an alluvial diagram, providing insights on the scale of pressures mitigated by conservation actions and on their conservation benefits.     

中国实施2020年全球生物多样性目标的进展

针对日益严峻的生物多样性丧失形势,国际社会于2010年通过了《生物多样性战略计划》（2011-2020年）。该战略计划确定了2020年全球生物多样性目标。采用“压力-状态-惠益-响应”模型,建立了评估2020年目标进展的指标体系。该指标体系包括生物多样性现状、生态系统服务、压力和响应4个方面,涉及17个一级指标、42个二级指标。研究表明,除目标2、16和18因缺乏相应指标无法评估外,目标1、3、4、5、7、10、11、14、15、17、19、20的相关评估指标均有不同程度的改善,表明这些目标的实施正沿着正确的轨道推进,特别是目标3（鼓励措施）、目标5（减少生境退化和丧失）、目标11（强化保护区系统和有效管理）、目标14（恢复和保障重要生态系统服务）、目标15（增强生态系统的复原力和碳储量）进展较大;但目标5中的草原生态系统保护,目标6（可持续渔业）、目标8（控制环境污染）、目标9（防治外来入侵物种）、目标12（保护受威胁物种）、目标13（保护遗传资源）的相关评估指标大多呈现恶化的趋势,表明虽然已开展了大量工作,但尚需采取更加有效的策略和措施才能实现这些目标。今后应进一步开发生物多样性价值、可持续消费、生态退化、农林渔业对生物多样性的影响、气候变化对生物多样性的影响、保护区的生态代表性和管理有效性、遗传资源和相关传统知识的获取与惠益分享等方面的指标,更加重视生态功能和生物多样性的恢复,重视濒危物种和遗传资源的保护以及外来入侵物种的防控。     

国家公园生态系统完整性评价研究进展

建立国家公园可促进生态环境和生物多样性的保护, 而国家公园生态系统完整性评价对于维持生态系统平衡、生态系统健康、生物多样性以及典型生态系统的完整性具有重要意义。本文介绍了生物完整性指数评价体系(Index of Biotic Integrity, IBI)、三级法评估框架(Three Level Approach, TLA)和生态系统完整性评估框架(Ecosystem Integrity Assessment Framework, EIAF)三种国家公园生态系统完整性评价方法, 其中生物完整性指数评价体系基于高强度的野外调查和室内实验分析, 虽然花费大、耗时长以及生物鉴定专业性要求较高, 但评价结果准确可靠; 三级法评估框架分为三个级别, 即远程型评价(Remote Assessment)、快速型评价(Rapid Assessment)和密集型评价(Intensive Assessment), 在评价独立且较为复杂的生态系统完整性时具有极大的灵活性; 生态系统完整性评估框架吸取了生物完整性指数评价体系和三级法评估框架的优点, 扩充了评价体系的指标, 优化了生态系统完整性评价计分统计方法, 是目前最为成熟的评价方法之一。同时,本文也探讨了目前国家公园生态系统完整性评价研究中存在的一些问题,如评价指标不全、评价形式单一和评价方法主观性较强等。作者指出, 国家公园生态系统完整性的研究需要注重自然-经济-社会的结合与统一, 加强社会经济可持续发展与人类健康等方面的研究, 挖掘外来入侵物种与生态环境之间的关系, 继续寻找能够反映生态系统完整性状态和变化趋势的新的指示物种, 进而制定统一标准的评价方法体系。     

Establishing Baseline Indices for the Quality of the Biodiversity of Restored Habitats Using a Standardized Sampling Process

The need for standardized biodiversity assessment methods to enable biodiversity quality to be measured is outlined. A general approach to sampling is suggested. The results of the use of this sampling process are given for two case studies of different taxonomic groups. The data assessment is made easier by the use of a bespoke computer program. Examples of the program output are presented. The advantage of this standardized measurement of biodiversity compared to species lists and the use of indicator species are outlined in the case studies macrofungi and butterflies. It was shown that the biodiversity quality of sites can be compared by the use of a range of measured biodiversity indices in a way that allows sites to be compared through time or between sites/treatments. In one case (butterflies), data that have been collected systematically in a recording scheme have been analyzed retrospectively and yielded valuable information on changes in biodiversity quality. The uses of this method in establishing baselines in restoration ecology are discussed. The importance of restoration ecology in the conservation of biodiversity could be underlined by the use of the methods presented in this article.