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Species richness declines and biotic homogenisation have slowed down for NW-European pollinators and plants
Concern about biodiversity loss has led to increased public investment in conservation. Whereas there is a widespread perception that such initiatives have been unsuccessful, there are few quantitative tests of this perception. Here, we evaluate whether rates of biodiversity change have altered in recent decades in three European countries (Great Britain, Netherlands and Belgium) for plants and flower visiting insects. We compared four 20-year periods, comparing periods of rapid land-use intensification and natural habitat loss (1930-1990) with a period of increased conservation investment (post-1990). We found that extensive species richness loss and biotic homogenisation occurred before 1990, whereas these negative trends became substantially less accentuated during recent decades, being partially reversed for certain taxa (e.g. bees in Great Britain and Netherlands). These results highlight the potential to maintain or even restore current species assemblages (which despite past extinctions are still of great conservation value), at least in regions where large-scale land-use intensification and natural habitat loss has ceased
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Species richness declines and biotic homogenisation have slowed down for NW-European pollinators and plants |
Carvalheiro LG, Kunin WE, Keil P, Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Ellis WN, Fox R, Groom Q, Hennekens S, Van Landuyt W, Maes D, Van de Meutter F, Michez D, Rasmont P, Ode B, Potts SG, Reemer M, Roberts SP, Schaminée J, Wallisdevries MF, Biesmeijer JC |
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Derived from: Publication # 10.1111/ele.12121
Contact person(s): Carvalheiro LG, Kunin WE, Keil P, Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Ellis WN, Fox R, Groom Q, Hennekens S, Van Landuyt W, Maes D, Van de Meutter F, Michez D, Rasmont P, Ode B, Potts SG, Reemer M, Roberts SP, Schaminée J, Wallisdevries MF, Biesmeijer JC
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Date of upload: 14.12.2013
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Scaling properties and non-linearities of anthropogenic processes affecting biodiversity
Natura 2000 sites have been selected for protection based on their conservation importance, and may be particularly vulnerable to environmental pressures. Human-induced drivers (factors that directly or indirectly cause ecosystem changes) can impact with differing intensities at various spatial scales. When driver intensity varies markedly across spatial scales it is described as non-linear. An analysis of drivers across administrative levels, from national to local, identified clear non-linearities in drivers. The characteristics of drivers at higher administrative levels (e.g. country) are informative for describing broad land use contexts, but are not reliable predictors of the intensity of drivers at the scale of individual Natura 2000 sites. Therefore it is imperative for policies targeting nature conservation to take into account drivers at multiple scales with mitigation responses targeted at the appropriate administrative level.
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Scaling properties and non-linearities of anthropogenic processes affecting biodiversity |
Anna V. Scott, Antonios Mazaris, Simon G. Potts and
Joseph Tzanopoulos |
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Contact person(s): Anna V. Scott, Antonios Mazaris, Simon G. Potts and
Joseph Tzanopoulos
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Date of upload: 11.11.2012
Uploaded by: Pavel Stoev
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What is beta diversity and why is it important?
Biodiversity conservation and policy often focuses on species richness. This is called local or alpha diversity by scientists. However, there is another fundamental aspect of biodiversity that often receives less attention. Ecologists call it species turnover, spatial change in species composition, compositional similarity, or beta diversity. It applies to any change of species composition in space or even time. It can be expressed in many forms, from simple gains or losses of species one encounters while moving from site A to site B, to indices based on the numbers of species shared between two sites and the numbers of unique species at each site. Moreover, beta diversity is the link between species richness (alpha diversity) at smaller and larger scales. Knowledge about beta diversity and the factors that explain it can support applied biodiversity conservation and policy. It is particularly important in the design or assessment of networks of protected areas that together capture, in an efficient way, all of the targeted biodiversity and when assessing natural corridors and migration barriers. This knowledge is also important when designing monitoring schemes to secure that all targeted components of biodiversity are covered at an appropriate scale.
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Beta diversity of European fauna and flora: the role of dispersal limitations, climate and land-cover at multiple scales |
Petr Keil
With contributions from: David Storch, Mikko Kuussaari, William E. Kunin, Oliver Schweiger, Ingolf Kühn, Josef Settele, Guy Pe’er, Lluís Brotons, Szabolcs Lengyel, Aristides Moustakas, Francesc S. Palomera, Henning Steinicke, Klaus Henle, Reinhard Klenke
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Derived from: Publication #
Contact person(s): Petr Keil
With contributions from: David Storch, Mikko Kuussaari, William E. Kunin, Oliver Schweiger, Ingolf Kühn, Josef Settele, Guy Pe’er, Lluís Brotons, Szabolcs Lengyel, Aristides Moustakas, Francesc S. Palomera, Henning Steinicke, Klaus Henle, Reinhard Klenke
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Date of upload: 16.02.2012
Uploaded by: Pavel Stoev
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