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 sinking ark: pollution and the worldwide loss of biodiversity

Humans are making increasing demands on natural ecosystems. One recent study has concluded that our species is consuming or diverting some 40% of the net photosynthetic productivity of our planet. Many habitats are being converted to simpler systems which provide more harvestable goods to people. As a result, genetic diversity, species and whole ecosystems are disappearing; some scientists suggest that as many as 25% of the world's species could be lost in the next several decades.The sinking ark is usually characterized in terms of pollution, habitat loss, poaching, introduced species and illegal trade in wildlife products, but these are symptoms rather than causes. At a more fundamental level, many of the same factors which have enabled pollution to become such a problem have also been responsible for the loss in biodiversity; the most important factor is that the effects of pollutants on biodiversity have been considered an externality, an unintended side effect of industrial activity which brought measurable benefits to people. Development activities which have depleted biodiversity have proven profitable only because the real costs have been hidden.Keeping the ark afloat will require the Five-I Approach: investigation (learning how natural systems function); information (ensuring that the facts are available to inform decisions); incentives (using economic tools to help conserve biodiversity); integration (promoting a cross-sectoral approach to conserving biodiversity); and international support (building productive collaboration for conserving biodiversity).     

A comparative study of the distribution of genus size in twenty angiosperm floras

The biodiversity of floras has until recently been measured solely in terms of their species number or species density, with little regard to the breadth of phylogenetic diversity represented by the species. The latter is partly a function of the size of the flora, and partly of the pattern of distribution of the species into higher taxa. To determine whether floras differ in this respect, this study compares the frequency distribution of genus size in 20 island and regional floras. Certain floras (Cape Region, S.W. Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii) are found to have high concentrations of genera containing many species. Others are notably lacking in large genera (Java, Jamaica, Nepal, Niger), though this group tend to be family-rich. In floras with high endemism (Cape, New Zealand, Fiji, Jamaica, Hawaii), the level of endemism is consistently higher in larger genera. Possible reasons for the observed differences between floras are geographic and temporal isolation, level of habitat diversity, climatic history, volcanic, orogenic and tectonic events. Clusters of large genera may indicate recent speciation, possibly following the last glaciation. Genus size may be an important consideration when limited conservation resources have to be targetted to retain the maximum phylogenetic diversity in a threatened flora.     

家养动物多样性研究要素和成就

家养动物多样性的研究多年来侧重于经济性状和生态多样性及品种多样性。近几年来在遗传多样性方面取得重大进展 ,在品种聚类、系统保种、遗传多样性与经济性状和生态多态性的相关研究都取得了重要结果 ,有的已经做到数量性状基因定位、转基因和克隆动物检测等。家养动物与其野生近缘种的基因分析和利用野生种血液的育种也取得一定的效果。利用多样性鉴别技术已确认许多地方品种为中国特有种 ,引起了国际广泛关注     

Magnitude and drivers of plant diversity loss differ between spatial scales in Scania,Sweden 1957–2021

Questions

Changed land use, nitrogen deposition, climate change, and the spread of non-native species have repeatedly been reported as the main drivers of recent floristic changes in northern Europe. However, the relevance of the geographical scale at which floristic changes are observed is less well understood and it has only rarely been possible to quantify biodiversity loss. Therefore, we assessed changes in species richness, species composition and mean ecological indicator values (EIVs) at three nested geographic scales during two different time periods, each ca 30 years, since the mid-1900s.

Location

Two parishes in central Scania, southernmost Sweden.

Methods

We analyzed species presence/absence data from three inventories at ca 30-year intervals over 1957–2021 and three geographic scales (157 m², ca 7 km² and ca 45 km²) to document temporal trends and differences between geographic scales in terms of species richness, species composition and mean EIVs.

Results

We found shifts in species composition across all geographical scales. However, the magnitude of biodiversity loss and the main drivers of these changes were scale-dependent. At the smallest spatial scale, we saw a dramatic loss of plant biodiversity with local species richness in 2021 being only 48% of that of 1960. In contrast, at the larger geographic scales no significant changes in species richness were observed because species losses were compensated for by gains of predominantly non-native species, which made up at least 78% of the new species richness. At the smallest spatial scale, changed land use (ceased grazing/mowing and intensified forestry) appeared as the main driver, while an increasing proportion of non-native species, as well as climatic changes and increasing nitrogen loads appeared relatively more important at larger geographic scales.

Conclusion

Our results highlight the precarious situation for biodiversity in the region and at the same time the fundamental importance of geographic scale in studies of biodiversity change. Both the magnitude and drivers of changes may differ depending on the geographic scale and must be considered also when previously published studies are interpreted.     

旅游干扰对九寨沟冷杉林下植物种类组成及多样性的影响

为揭示旅游活动对自然保护区生态环境的影响,作者选择九寨沟原始森林与草海两个景点,分别调查了每个景点内旅游干扰地段与未干扰地段岷江冷杉(Abiesfargesiivar.faxoniana)林林下植物种类组成的数量特征(重要值、频度、密度、盖度和高度)及物种多样性,分析了干扰对林下植物种类组成与物种多样性的影响及其差异性。结果表明:(1)旅游干扰显著改变了林下植物物种组成:耐荫喜湿的乡土植物局部消失,而喜旱耐扰动的植物种群扩大,外来和伴人植物种群侵入。(2)在原始森林景点,较重的旅游干扰明显降低了灌木与苔藓植物的频度和盖度,显著抑制了灌木与苔藓植物发育(高度、密度降低);在草海景点,较轻度的干扰只抑制了苔藓植物盖度,而灌木与草本植物没有受到显著影响,表明苔藓对旅游干扰强度更为敏感,同时也表明群落物种组成可以比频度、高度、盖度和密度更好地表达群落受干扰程度。综合分析表明,九寨沟旅游干扰与世界自然遗产保护目标即生物多样性保护有明显冲突,需要进一步强化管理,限制旅游干扰活动。     

《广西植物志》的编研历程——兼谈广西的植物分类学及相关学科发展愿景

广西位于中国南部,地质复杂地形多样,生物多样性丰富,是我国南方重要生态屏障。广西植物研究所自1935年建所以来一直致力于摸清广西植物资源家底,在全区开展了广泛的野外调查,累计采集植物标本约60万份,建立了全区馆藏量最大的广西植物标本馆(IBK),联合区内外28家单位完成《广西植物志》全部六卷的编研出版工作。该套志书共收录广西维管植物307科、2 073属、9 051种(含种下等级),是首次全面而系统描述广西植物资源的大型志书。该文介绍了《广西植物志》的基本情况和编著特色,系统回顾了该志书编研的曲折历程,并将编研历程分为三个阶段进行描述,最后简要介绍了《广西植物志》在业界同行获得的评价和各类荣誉。回顾历史展望未来,结合当前植物学科的发展趋势,笔者浅谈了广西的植物分类学及相关学科发展愿景,为今后广西植物资源的研究、保护和可持续利用提供借鉴。     

《国家重点保护野生动物名录》和其他保护名录对比分析

《国家重点保护野生动物名录》是指导开展物种保护工作, 尤其是受威胁物种拯救计划的重要法律依据之一。新版《国家重点保护野生动物名录》于2021年公布和实施, 这是32年来首次对该名录的重大调整。本文以新版《国家重点保护野生动物名录》为基础, 归纳整理后确定其共有1,520种(含亚种), 通过选取具有代表性和与保护相关的4种野生动物名录, 统计分析同一物种在不同名录间的保护与受威胁或受关注等级。结果显示, 新版《国家重点保护野生动物名录》扩大了保护范围, 在我们前期整理的1989年旧版名录收录的482种(含亚种)基础上, 增加了1,038种(国家一级新增43种, 国家二级新增995种), 物种的保护等级也有调整(一级降级3种, 二级升级66种, 等级不变共413种), 但依据《中国生物多样性红色名录: 脊椎动物》(2021版), 我国仍有超过半数的受威胁物种未被新版《国家重点保护野生动物名录》收录。建议未来对《国家重点保护野生动物名录》进行调整时全面关注物种的受威胁等级, 将受威胁物种全部纳入重点保护物种之列, 以推进我国受威胁物种全面和有效保护。若将受威胁等级为极危和濒危的物种列为国家一级重点保护野生动物, 则可将现有的164种国家二级重点保护野生动物升级为国家一级重点保护野生动物, 并新增162种国家一级重点保护野生动物; 若将受威胁等级为易危的物种列为国家二级重点保护野生动物, 则新增340种国家二级重点保护野生动物。同时, 建议构建国家重点保护野生动物名录综合数据库以实现对名录的规范化和动态管理。