Agriculture erases climate constraints on soil nematode communities across large spatial scales

Anthropogenic conversion of natural to agricultural land reduces aboveground biodiversity. Yet, the overall consequences of land‐use changes on belowground biodiversity at large scales remain insufficiently explored. Furthermore, the effects of conversion on different organism groups are usually determined at the taxonomic level, while an integrated investigation that includes functional and phylogenetic levels is rare and absent for belowground organisms. Here, we studied the Earth's most abundant metazoa—nematodes—to examine the effects of conversion from natural to agricultural habitats on soil biodiversity across a large spatial scale. To this aim, we investigated the diversity and composition of nematode communities at the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic level in 16 assemblage pairs (32 sites in total with 16 in each habitat type) in mainland China. While the overall alpha and beta diversity did not differ between natural and agricultural systems, all three alpha diversity facets decreased with latitude in natural habitats. Both alpha and beta diversity levels were driven by climatic differences in natural habitats, while none of the diversity levels changed in agricultural systems. This indicates that land conversion affects soil biodiversity in a geographically dependent manner and that agriculture could erase climatic constraints on soil biodiversity at such a scale. Additionally, the functional composition of nematode communities was more dissimilar in agricultural than in natural habitats, while the phylogenetic composition was more similar, indicating that changes among different biodiversity facets are asynchronous. Our study deepens the understanding of land‐use effects on soil nematode diversity across large spatial scales. Moreover, the detected asynchrony of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity highlights the necessity to monitor multiple facets of soil biodiversity in ecological studies such as those investigating environmental changes.     

Projecting terrestrial biodiversity intactness with GLOBIO 4

Scenario‐based biodiversity modelling is a powerful approach to evaluate how possible future socio‐economic developments may affect biodiversity. Here, we evaluated the changes in terrestrial biodiversity intactness, expressed by the mean species abundance (MSA) metric, resulting from three of the shared socio‐economic pathways (SSPs) combined with different levels of climate change (according to representative concentration pathways [RCPs]): a future oriented towards sustainability (SSP1xRCP2.6), a future determined by a politically divided world (SSP3xRCP6.0) and a future with continued global dependency on fossil fuels (SSP5xRCP8.5). To this end, we first updated the GLOBIO model, which now runs at a spatial resolution of 10 arc‐seconds (~300 m), contains new modules for downscaling land use and for quantifying impacts of hunting in the tropics, and updated modules to quantify impacts of climate change, land use, habitat fragmentation and nitrogen pollution. We then used the updated model to project terrestrial biodiversity intactness from 2015 to 2050 as a function of land use and climate changes corresponding with the selected scenarios. We estimated a global area‐weighted mean MSA of 0.56 for 2015. Biodiversity intactness declined in all three scenarios, yet the decline was smaller in the sustainability scenario (?0.02) than the regional rivalry and fossil‐fuelled development scenarios (?0.06 and ?0.05 respectively). We further found considerable variation in projected biodiversity change among different world regions, with large future losses particularly for sub‐Saharan Africa. In some scenario‐region combinations, we projected future biodiversity recovery due to reduced demands for agricultural land, yet this recovery was counteracted by increased impacts of other pressures (notably climate change and road disturbance). Effective measures to halt or reverse the decline of terrestrial biodiversity should not only reduce land demand (e.g. by increasing agricultural productivity and dietary changes) but also focus on reducing or mitigating the impacts of other pressures.     

Interface processes between protected and unprotected areas: A global review and ways forward

Land‐use changes and the expansion of protected areas (PAs) have amplified the interaction between protected and unprotected areas worldwide. In this context, ‘interface processes' (human–nature and cross‐boundary interactions inside and around PAs) have become central to issues around the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This scientific literature review aimed to explore current knowledge and research gaps on interface processes regarding terrestrial PAs. At first, 3,515 references related to the topic were extracted through a standardized search on the Web of Science and analyzed with scientometric techniques. Next, a full‐text analysis was conducted on a sample of 240 research papers. A keyword analysis revealed a wide diversity of research topics, from ‘pure' ecology to sociopolitical research. We found a bias in the geographical distribution of research, with half the papers focusing on eight countries. Additionally, we found that the spatial extent of cross‐boundary interactions was rarely assessed, preventing any clear delimitation of PA interactive zones. In the 240 research papers we scanned, we identified 403 processes that were studied. The ecological effects of PAs were well documented and appeared to be positive overall. In contrast, the effects of PAs on local communities were understudied and, according to the literature focusing on these, were very variable according to local contexts. Our findings highlight key research advances on interface processes, especially regarding the ecological outcomes of PAs, the influence of human activities on biodiversity, and PA governance issues. In contrast, main knowledge gaps concern the spatial extent of interactive zones, as well as the interactions between local people and conservation actions and how to promote synergies between them. While the review was limited to terrestrial PAs, its findings allow us to propose research priorities for tackling environmental and socioeconomic challenges in the face of a rapidly changing world.     

Variation in the methods leads to variation in the interpretation of biodiversity–ecosystem multifunctionality relationships

生物多样性常常和生态系统多功能性(生态系统同时提供多个生态系统功能的能力)正相关。然而,生物多样性与生态系统多功能性的关系是否依赖于生态系统功能的数目有诸多争议。其中,生物多样性对生态系统多功能性的影响或许不随生态系统功能数目的变化而变化,或者随生态系统功能数目的增多而增强。我们期望通过研究不同生态系统多功能性指数的统计原理来解决这些争议。 我们使用了模型模拟和一系列来自不同空间尺度(从局域到全球)和不同生物群系(温带和高寒草地、森林和干旱地)的经验数据。我们回顾了量化生态系统多功能性的三种方法,包括平均值法、加和法和阈值法。我们发现随着生态系统功能数目的增加,生物多样性与生态系统多功能性的关系要么不变,要么增强。这些结果可由平均和加和的多功能性指数的统计原理来解释。具体来讲,当利用生态系统功能的平均值计算多功能性指数时,由于多样性对多功能性的效应等于多样性对单个生态系统功能效应的平均值,所以不会随生态系统功能数目的变化而变化。同样的道理,当利用单个生态系统的加和值计算多功能性指数时,多样性的效应会随着生态系统功能数目的增加而增强。我们提出了一个改进的多功能性指数,将平均或加和多功能性指数转化为标准化的多功能性指数, 以便于对不同研究的结果进行比较。此外,我们提出了基于变量数值范围的标准化方法来解决阈值法的数学假象问题(多样性效应随生态系统功能数目的增加而增强)。我们的研究结果表明,量化多功能性指数的方法不同,结果也不同。因此,有必要加深对不同方法数理基础的理解。而标准化的多功能性指数为比较不同研究中的生物多样性与生态系统多功能性的关系提供了有效的方法。     

Revisiting the dimensionality of biological diversity

Biodiversity can be represented by different dimensions. While many diversity metrics try to capture the variation of these dimensions they also lead to a ‘fragmentation’ of the concept of biodiversity itself. Developing a unified measure that integrates all the dimensions of biodiversity is a theoretical solution for this problem, however, it remains operationally impossible. Alternatively, understanding which dimensions better represent the biodiversity of a set of communities can be a reliable way to integrate the different diversity metrics. Therefore, to achieve a holistic understand of biological diversity, we explore the concept of dimensionality. We define dimensionality of diversity as the number of complementary components of biodiversity, represented by diversity metrics, needed to describe biodiversity in an unambiguously and effective way. We provide a solution that joins two components of dimensionality – correlation and the variation – operationalized through two metrics, respectively: evenness of eigenvalues (EE) and importance values (IV). Through simulation we show that considering EE and IV together can provide information that is neglected when only EE is considered. We demonstrate how to apply this framework by investigating the dimensionality of South American small mammal communities. Our example evidenced that, for some representations of biological diversity, more attention is needed in the choice of diversity metrics necessary to effectively characterize biodiversity. We conclude by highlighting that this integrated framework provides a better understanding of dimensionality than considering only the correlation component.     

A comparison of diversity estimators applied to a database of host–parasite associations

Understanding the drivers of biodiversity is important for forecasting changes in the distribution of life on earth. However, most studies of biodiversity are limited by uneven sampling effort, with some regions or taxa better sampled than others. Numerous methods have been developed to account for differences in sampling effort, but most methods were developed for systematic surveys in which all study units are sampled using the same design and assemblages are sampled randomly. Databases compiled from multiple sources, such as from the literature, often violate these assumptions because they are composed of studies that vary widely in their goals and methods. Here, we compared the performance of several popular methods for estimating parasite diversity based on a large and widely used parasite database, the Global Mammal Parasite Database (GMPD). We created artificial datasets of host–parasite interactions based on the structure of the GMPD, then used these datasets to evaluate which methods best control for differential sampling effort. We evaluated the precision and bias of seven methods, including species accumulation and nonparametric diversity estimators, compared to analyzing the raw data without controlling for sampling variation. We find that nonparametric estimators, and particularly the Chao2 and second-order jackknife estimators, perform better than other methods. However, these estimators still perform poorly relative to systematic sampling, and effect sizes should be interpreted with caution because they tend to be lower than actual effect sizes. Overall, these estimators are more effective in comparative studies than for producing true estimates of diversity. We make recommendations for future sampling strategies and statistical methods that would improve estimates of global parasite diversity.     

澜沧江流域水生昆虫群落分类多样性和功能多样性海拔格局的空间尺度依赖性

群落分类多样性和功能多样性的海拔格局研究, 是了解生物多样性空间分布现状、揭示多样性维持和变化机制的重要途径。当前对水生昆虫分类多样性和功能多样性沿海拔梯度分布格局, 及其尺度依赖性依旧缺乏深入研究。本文基于2013-2018年在云南澜沧江流域500-3,900 m海拔梯度共149个溪流点位的水生昆虫群落调查数据, 利用线性或二次回归模型探索并比较了局部尺度(点位尺度)和不同区域尺度(100 m、150 m、200 m、250 m海拔段)的分类多样性指数(物种丰富度指数、Simpson多样性指数和物种均匀度指数)和功能多样性指数(树状图功能多样性指数(dbFD)、Rao二次熵指数(RaoQ)和功能均匀度指数(FEve))的海拔格局。结果表明, 在局部尺度, 物种丰富度指数和dbFD指数沿海拔梯度均无显著分布特征, Simpson多样性指数、RaoQ指数、物种均匀度指数和FEve指数沿海拔梯度呈现U型或者单调递减趋势。在区域尺度, 随着区域海拔带宽度的增加, 物种丰富度指数沿海拔呈不显著的单调递减格局, 但dbFD指数沿海拔分布由U型转变为单调递减趋势; Simpson多样性指数和RaoQ指数沿海拔梯度由显著U型趋势转变为无显著分布特征; 物种均匀度指数沿海拔梯度无显著分布特征, 但FEve指数呈显著增加的海拔格局。综上, 群落分类多样性指数和功能多样性指数沿海拔梯度分布存在局部和区域尺度的空间差异, 但区域尺度下二者海拔格局随海拔带宽度的增加存在一定程度的一致性。     

中国造礁石珊瑚分类厘定

造礁石珊瑚是珊瑚礁框架建造者, 具有维持珊瑚礁生态系统功能和稳定性的重要作用, 其分类对于造礁石珊瑚和珊瑚礁的研究与保护至关重要。目前, 随着分子系统学的不断发展, 造礁石珊瑚的分类体系发生改变, 伴随着出现大量同物异名。近年来也出现许多无中文学名的中国造礁石珊瑚新记录种, 这些都给物种认定和命名带来困难, 阻碍了中国造礁石珊瑚的研究与保护工作。为此, 本文收集了中国造礁石珊瑚物种记录文献资料, 采用最新的造礁石珊瑚分类体系, 确认同物异名, 形成中国造礁石珊瑚物种名录, 并对中国造礁石珊瑚物种的中文名进行统一的规范和命名。结果表明, 中国共有造礁石珊瑚2个类群16科77属445种。与《中国动物志·腔肠动物门·珊瑚虫纲·石珊瑚目·造礁石珊瑚》相比, 科级分类阶元新增7个科, 变更5个科; 属级分类阶元新增26属, 变更1属, 合并3属; 种级分类阶元新增291种, 变更13种, 合并20种, 新命名305个物种的中文名。并且筛选出187个同物异名。此外, 由于造礁石珊瑚分类体系现仍有部分争议, 文章也进行了讨论说明。     

物种分布模型在大型真菌红色名录评估及保护中的应用: 以冬虫夏草为例

我国大型真菌资源丰富, 由于受气候变化和人类活动等的影响, 近年来很多物种受到不同程度的威胁, 亟待保护。红色名录评估是物种保护的第一步, 为有效保护我国大型真菌多样性, 2016年生态环境部和中国科学院联合启动中国大型真菌红色名录评估项目。合理的评估依赖于完善的物种地理分布、种群数量规模及其动态变化信息。大型真菌评估信息较少, 需要引入新的方法解决评估信息不足的问题。冬虫夏草(Ophiocordyceps sinensis)是一种重要的食药用菌, 具有较高的经济价值, 受到全世界的广泛关注, 评估信息相对充足, 此次被评为易危物种。利用物种分布模型对冬虫夏草未来分布区变化的预测在评估过程中发挥了重要作用。为了将物种分布模型分析方法引入大型真菌的受威胁等级评估, 本文以此前我们利用物种分布模型预测冬虫夏草的潜在分布区及其对气候变化响应的研究为例, 介绍了应用物种分布模型预测大型真菌的潜在分布区、未来气候变化情景下分布区变化趋势的方法和流程, 以及在应用中可能存在的问题和解决方案。通过本文的分析, 我们认为物种分布模型在大型真菌的红色名录评估和保护中具有重要的应用潜力, 值得推广应用。