Article
Ecology
Martin Drechsler, Frank Waetzold, Volker Grimm
Summary: This article introduces a general understanding of the causes and solutions for biodiversity loss and presents a guide for generic ecological-economic modelling, aimed at readers with knowledge in ecology, economics, and mathematical modelling. It emphasizes the practical aspects of modelling and aims to demonstrate that ecological-economic modelling is manageable.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Alison C. Smith, Paula A. Harrison, Nicholas J. Leach, H. Charles J. Godfray, Jim W. Hall, Sarah M. Jones, Sarah S. Gall, Michael Obersteiner
Summary: Agricultural and environmental policies are being reviewed and redesigned in the UK after Brexit to address the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development. The study shows that dietary changes, improvements in agricultural productivity, and waste reduction can lead to synergistic effects in achieving multiple sustainability targets under limited land availability.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Shimin Gu, Myron P. Zalucki, Fang Ouyang, Feng Ge
Summary: The spatial distribution of ecological subsidies can affect local and neighborhood factors, shaping large-scale ecosystem functions. This study found that the importance of neighborhood factors exceeded local factors in explaining variations in predator-to-aphid abundance ratio, wheat yield, and parasitism rate. Integrating both local and neighborhood factors into models increased the explanatory power for wheat yield and parasitism rate.
ENTOMOLOGIA GENERALIS
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Baoming Ge, Jing Zhou, Ruiping Yang, Senhao Jiang, Li Yang, Boping Tang
Summary: Land reclamation, an ancient practice, has evolved over time due to population growth and societal changes. This study focused on a reclaimed area on the coast of the Yellow Sea in Jiangsu, China, approximately 100 years ago, revealing that lower-intensity land use conversion can increase soil macrofaunal biodiversity.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Mathilde Borg Dahl, Andrea Sollinger, Paul Siguros, Josep Penueas, Ivan Janssens, Bjarni D. Sigurdsson, Andreas Richter, Alexander Tveit, Tim Urich
Summary: Soil warming significantly affects soil microbiota and can lead to a trophic downgrading in the soil microbial food web. This shift could have important implications for soil carbon sequestration and nutrient dynamics in a warming world.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Min Song, Can Hu, Jiahai Yuan, Anlu Zhang, Xuemei Liu
Summary: This article examines the evolutionary process of China's land use policies in the context of ecological civilization (EC). Through text mining of 220 national land use plans initiated in China between 1986 and 2021, the study provides an overview and deconstruction of China's land use policy evolution in the context of EC. The findings reveal that China's land use policies have evolved through three stages, with significant changes in the number, focus, goals, concepts, measures, and reform approaches of the policies. The transformation in land use policies centers around four dimensions, which align with the governance concepts of efficient development, symbiosis of humans and nature, social harmony, and green development in EC.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Heloise Gibb, Colin J. Silvey, Chloe Robinson, Felicity A. L'Hotellier, David J. Eldridge
Summary: Research indicates that the reintroduction of digging mammals may have direct and indirect effects on predatory invertebrates, leading to reductions in bare ground in the ecosystem and changes in predator abundance and composition.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William D. Hintz, Shelley E. Arnott, Celia C. Symons, Danielle A. Greco, Alexandra McClymont, Jennifer A. Brentrup, Miguel Canedo-Arguelles, Alison M. Derry, Amy L. Downing, Derek K. Gray, Stephanie J. Melles, Rick A. Relyea, James A. Rusak, Catherine L. Searle, Louis Astorg, Henry K. Baker, Beatrix E. Beisner, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Zeynep Ersoy, Carmen Espinosa, Jaclyn Franceschini, Angelina T. Giorgio, Norman Gobeler, Emily Hassal, Marie-Pier Hebert, Mercedes Huynh, Samuel Hylander, Kacie L. Jonasen, Andrea E. Kirkwood, Silke Langenheder, Ola Langvall, Hjalmar Laudon, Lovisa Lind, Maria Lundgren, Lorenzo Proia, Matthew S. Schuler, Jonathan B. Shurin, Christopher F. Steiner, Maren Striebel, Simon Thibodeau, Pablo Urrutia-Cordero, Lidia Vendrell-Puigmitja, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer
Summary: Human-induced salinization poses a major threat to freshwater ecosystems. Current water quality guidelines are insufficient to protect lake food webs. New guidelines are urgently needed to safeguard lake ecosystems.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Deli Saavedra, Nestor Fernandez, Jens-Christian Svenning
Summary: The climate and biodiversity crises are intertwined, requiring large-scale ecosystem restoration. Trophic rewilding, focusing on restoring megafauna and their ecological roles, remains a major challenge. Protected areas alone may not be sufficient for high trophic complexity, necessitating the scaling up of rewilding initiatives. Challenges include land availability, policies, animal supply, and funding. Structural change in agriculture offers opportunities for trophic rewilding globally.
JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andrea Montero, Joan Marull, Enric Tello, Claudio Cattaneo, Francesc Coll, Manel Pons, Juan Infante-Amate, Alexander Urrego-Mesa, Alfredo Fernandez-Landa, Manuel Vargas
Summary: The study reveals that deforestation has been reversed in Costa Rica, but the expansion of export monocultures and urban sprawl has fragmented and isolated tropical forests, leading to a decrease in ecological connectivity. Changes in land use have negatively impacted the distribution of plants and birds, and urban expansion has had a detrimental effect on coffee agroforestry.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Fabio de Oliveira Roque, Angelica Guerra, Matthew Johnson, Carlos Padovani, Juliano Corbi, Alan P. Covich, Donald Eaton, Walfrido Moraes Tomas, Francisco Valente-Neto, Ana Claudia Piovezan Borges, Alexandra Pinho, Alexeia Barufatii, Bruno do Amaral Crispim, Rafael Dettogni Guariento, Maria Helena da Silva Andrade, Ary Tavares Rezende-Filho, Rodolfo Portela, Marcia Divina, Julio Cesar Sampaio da Silva, Cassio Bernadino, E. Erica Fernanda Goncalves Gomes de Sa, Pedro Cordeiro-Estrela, Arnaud Desbiez, Isabel M. D. Rosa, Lisa Yon
Summary: A study estimated the pesticide load in the Pantanal and surrounding highlands region for 2050 under different scenarios, predicting varying levels of pesticide usage depending on the scenario. Higher pesticide usage is expected in subbasins with greater agricultural areas within major hydrographic basins.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Felipe Rezende, Pablo A. P. Antiqueira, Owen L. Petchey, Luiz Felipe M. Velho, Luzia C. Rodrigues, Gustavo Q. Romero
Summary: This study reveals that while biodiversity promotes stability, trophic interactions and environmental changes play a crucial role in modulating this relationship in multitrophic communities. The loss of top predators indirectly decreases community stability by increasing mesopredator abundance and reducing species asynchrony and stability. Understanding the destabilizing effects of trophic downgrading is essential for the management of large food webs in the face of biodiversity loss and climate changes.
Article
Ecology
Joana Viana Canelas, Henrique Miguel Pereira
Summary: Land-use intensity has negative impacts on ecological stability and ecosystem productivity. More biodiverse agricultural systems and homogeneous harvest distributions can reduce the impacts of land-use intensity, increase total yields, and reduce yield uncertainty.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Qing Yang, Gengyuan Liu, Marco Casazza, Stefano Dumontet, Zhifeng Yang
Summary: Ecological restoration programs have been beneficial to ecosystem services improvement, but challenges remain in planning and management due to climate change, rapid land use change, and insufficient simulation and identification of thresholds. A new framework is proposed to address these challenges, including attribution analysis, assessment of climate-land use change impacts, simulation of restoration program effects, and threshold identification. Recommendations for future research directions are also provided.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Qian Tang, Jinman Wang, Zhaorui Jing, Youlong Yan, Hebin Niu
Summary: Resource-based cities experience significant land use changes due to resource exploitation, leading to serious ecological issues. Analyzing the relationship between land use and ecological vulnerability is crucial for sustainable development in these cities. In the case of Datong city, land use patterns have shifted from 2000 to 2018, affecting ecological vulnerability and presenting challenges for local governments to manage and improve the ecological environment.
Article
Ecology
Corey T. Callaghan, Diana E. Bowler, Shane A. Blowes, Jonathan M. Chase, Mitchell B. Lyons, Henrique M. Pereira
Summary: Broad-scale biodiversity monitoring relies on citizen scientists. It is important to understand the spatial pattern of citizen scientists' sampling effort and its deviation from an optimal pattern. This study develops a workflow to estimate the optimal distribution of sampling effort for species diversity inference using citizen science data.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Josiane Segar, Corey T. Callaghan, Emma Ladouceur, Jasper N. Meya, Henrique M. Pereira, Andrea Perino, Ingmar R. Staude
Summary: Urban conservation gardening, cultivating declining native plant species in public and private green spaces, can be a viable approach to plant conservation, complementing traditional measures.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Patrick J. Comer, Jose Valdez, Henrique M. Pereira, Cristina Acosta-Munoz, Felipe Campos, Francisco Javier Bonet Garcia, Xavier Claros, Lucia Castro, Franciscio Dallmeier, Enrique Yure Domic Rivadeneira, Mike Gill, Carmen Josse, Indyra Lafuente Cartagena, Roberto Langstroth, Daniel Larrea-Alcazar, Annett Masur, Gustavo Morejon Jaramillo, Laetitia Navarro, Sidney Novoa, Francisco Prieto-Albuja, Gustavo Rey Ortiz, Marcos F. Teran, Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio, Miguel Fernandez
Summary: Documenting temporal trends in ecosystem extent is crucial for monitoring their status, and combining this with protection levels helps evaluate the effectiveness of societal efforts in conserving ecosystem diversity and services. The study in the Tropical Andes found significant loss in the extent of many ecosystem types over the past centuries, insufficient representation of ecosystem types within protected areas, and the potential for increased representation through protecting Key Biodiversity Areas.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria Voigt, Hjalmar S. Kuehl, Marc Ancrenaz, David Gaveau, Erik Meijaard, Truly Santika, Julie Sherman, Serge A. Wich, Florian Wolf, Matthew J. Struebig, Henrique M. Pereira, Isabel M. D. Rosa
Summary: Assessing the risk of future habitat loss for wildlife populations is crucial for land use planning and biodiversity conservation. By combining projections of future deforestation with species density information, this study provides insight into the potential decline of critically endangered Bornean orangutans. The findings highlight the importance of protecting forests and preventing their conversion for sustainable conservation efforts.
PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Joana Viana Canelas, Henrique Miguel Pereira
Summary: Land-use intensity has negative impacts on ecological stability and ecosystem productivity. More biodiverse agricultural systems and homogeneous harvest distributions can reduce the impacts of land-use intensity, increase total yields, and reduce yield uncertainty.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sean Hoban, Michael W. Bruford, Jessica M. da Silva, W. Chris Funk, Richard Frankham, Michael J. Gill, Catherine E. Grueber, Myriam Heuertz, Margaret E. Hunter, Francine Kershaw, Robert C. Lacy, Caroline Lees, Margarida Lopes-Fernandes, Anna J. MacDonald, Alicia Mastretta-Yanes, Philip J. K. McGowan, Mariah H. Meek, Joachim Mergeay, Katie L. Millette, Cinnamon S. Mittan-Moreau, Laetitia M. Navarro, David O'Brien, Rob Ogden, Gernot Segelbacher, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Cristiano Vernesi, Linda Laikre
Summary: The goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) have evolved to include maintaining genetic diversity, restoring genetic connectivity, developing national conservation strategies, and reporting on these using feasible indicators.
CONSERVATION GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Josiane Segar, Henrique M. Pereira, Lander Baeten, Markus Bernhardt-Roemermann, Pieter De Frenne, Nestor Fernandez, Frank S. Gilliam, Jonathan Lenoir, Adrienne Ortmann-Ajkai, Kris Verheyen, Donald Waller, Balazs Teleki, Jorg Brunet, Marketa Chudomelova, Guillaume Decocq, Thomas Dirnbock, Radim Hedl, Thilo Heinken, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Martin Kopecky, Martin Macek, Frantisek Malis, Tobias Naaf, Anna Orczewska, Kamila Reczynska, Wolfgang Schmidt, Jan Sebesta, Alina Stachurska-Swakon, Tibor Standovar, Krzysztof Swierkosz, Ondrej Vild, Monika Wulf, Ingmar R. Staude
Summary: Ungulate populations are increasing in Europe, while atmospheric nitrogen deposition is eutrophying forests. The increase in herbivory is associated with elevated species turnover over time, but this turnover depends on nitrogen levels. Under low nitrogen deposition, herbivory benefits threatened and small-ranged species, but this trend is reversed under high nitrogen deposition. Herbivores also reduce shrub cover, increasing light levels and exacerbating nitrogen effects.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jose W. W. Valdez, Corey T. T. Callaghan, Jessica Junker, Andy Purvis, Samantha L. L. Hill, Henrique M. M. Pereira
Summary: Although previous research has provided conflicting results, this study assessed the ability to detect global biodiversity trends using local species richness. The analysis considered factors such as the number of monitoring sites, sampling interval, measurement error, spatial grain of monitoring, and spatial sampling biases. The study found that while a monitoring network with hundreds of sites could detect global change in species richness within a 30-year period, detecting yearly trends and trends within shorter timeframes was challenging. Measurement errors and spatial sampling biases also had significant impacts on the ability to detect trends. The findings suggest that monitoring a representative network of sites at the national level, combined with models accounting for errors and biases, can improve our understanding of global biodiversity change.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Teresa Berezowska-Cnota, Maciej K. Konopinski, Kamil Barton, Carlos Bautista, Eloy Revilla, Javier Naves, Aleksandra Biedrzycka, Hubert Fedyn, Nestor Fernandez, Tomasz Jastrzebski, Bartosz Pirga, Maria Viota, Zenon Wojtas, Nuria Selva
Summary: Effective management is crucial for the coexistence of people and wildlife. This study found evidence of individual differences in conflict behavior among brown bears and highlighted the importance of considering the whole population when addressing conflicts.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Ecology
Rowan Dunn-Capper, Martin Quaas, Christopher J. J. Sandom, Jens-Christian Svenning, Henrique M. M. Pereira
Summary: As we enter the United Nations' Decade of Restoration, we are faced with two challenges: the need for scaling up restoration efforts due to past global failures, and the changing focus on functional and dynamic restoration goals. Rewilding, an emerging ecological restoration strategy, provides a promising avenue for restoration funding in Europe by restoring self-sustaining complex ecosystems with minimal human interference. However, the unique characteristics of rewilding may pose challenges when accessing existing funding streams, necessitating modifications to better suit rewilding's special needs.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Rowan Dunn-Capper, Laura C. Quintero-Uribe, Henrique M. Pereira, Christopher J. Sandom
Summary: This study assesses nature recovery scenarios in an urban boundary landscape using a multicriteria mapping study and the Nature Futures Framework. The results show that the Nature Futures Framework is a reliable framework for evaluating diverse stakeholder values for land use change.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Annika M. Zuleger, Andrea Perino, Florian Wolf, Helen C. Wheeler, Henrique M. Pereira
Summary: In the past decades, agricultural land abandonment and declining land-use intensity in Mediterranean countries have created opportunities for rewilding and population expansion of large mammals. However, conflicts between wild and domestic mammal species may arise. Therefore, it is crucial to study ecological interactions between these species to understand the impact of land abandonment and rewilding on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Camera traps have been employed for long-term monitoring with minimal interference, providing an effective tool for studying species interactions and occupancy dynamics.
BIODIVERSITY DATA JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
HyeJin Kim, Garry D. Peterson, William W. L. Cheung, Simon Ferrier, Rob Alkemade, Almut Arneth, Jan J. Kuiper, Sana Okayasu, Laura Pereira, Lilibeth A. Acosta, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Eefje den Belder, Tyler D. Eddy, Justin A. Johnson, Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Marcel T. J. Kok, Paul Leadley, David Leclere, Carolyn J. Lundquist, Carlo Rondinini, Robert J. Scholes, Machteld A. Schoolenberg, Yunne-Jai Shin, Elke Stehfest, Fabrice Stephenson, Piero Visconti, Detlef van Vuuren, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, Juan Jose Alava, Ivon Cuadros-Casanova, Kathryn K. Davies, Maria A. Gasalla, Ghassen Halouani, Mike Harfoot, Shizuka Hashimoto, Thomas Hickler, Tim Hirsch, Grigory Kolomytsev, Brian W. Miller, Haruka Ohashi, Maria Gabriela Palomo, Alexander Popp, Roy Paco Remme, Osamu Saito, U. Rashid Sumalia, Simon Willcock, Henrique M. Pereira
Summary: The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) is a tool for creating positive futures for nature and people. It explores different perspectives on nature and describes how it can be applied in modeling to support decision-making. The paper presents key considerations for developing qualitative and quantitative scenarios, as well as three approaches to modeling Nature Futures scenarios in policy processes.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Corey T. Callaghan, Luis Borda-de-Agua, Roel van Klink, Roberto Rozzi, Henrique M. Pereira
Summary: This study examines global species abundance distributions (gSADs) of 39 taxonomic classes using data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The results demonstrate that the shape of the gSAD changes as sampling effort increases, indicating a universal pattern across taxonomic classes. The Poisson log-normal distribution was found to be the best statistical fit for most classes, suggesting the presence of general ecological or evolutionary mechanisms governing species commonness and rarity on Earth.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Isla Botting, Fernando Ascensao, Laetitia M. Navarro, Maria Paniw, Zulima Tablado, Jacinto Roman, Eloy Revilla, Marcello D'Amico
Summary: This study explores the importance of considering multiple types of linear infrastructure in landscape connectivity modeling. The findings highlight the significant impact of fences and wildlife road-crossing structures on landscape connectivity, particularly with regards to altering estimated movement pathways. Therefore, a holistic approach that incorporates various linear infrastructure is crucial for a more accurate understanding of wildlife movement and effective implementation of mitigation and conservation measures.