{"title":"Challenges for policy and practice in meeting ambitious ecological restoration targets by 2030: A perspective from Colombia","authors":"Mauricio Aguilar-Garavito , Paola Isaacs-Cubides , Natalia Peña-González , Eleanor Warren-Thomas","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.110973","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.110973","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Targets for ecosystem restoration have been made at global, regional, and national scales, but monitoring of progress remains challenging. Differences in definitions, goals, and practices among restoration initiatives, linked to policy drivers and funding sources, add complexity. We evaluate the current state of ecological restoration activity in Colombia, where, since 2012, legal requirements to compensate for environmental damage may be driving widespread restoration efforts, alongside a long history of government and private restoration initiatives. We systematically searched several public databases, and circulated an online survey, to collect records of 675 terrestrial and coastal restoration projects initiated between 1963 and 2021, capturing data on: location, funding, monitoring, ecosystem type and actors. Location was reported for 613 projects at municipality level, and 261 projects at point level. Restoration aims included recovery of ecological processes, hydrological processes, soil erosion, and natural resources. Only 24 % reported any monitoring, with just 2 % monitoring effectiveness. Forty-one percent of projects were enacted under environmental compensation laws. Funding was mostly from within Colombia, with minimal international funding. This work highlights major gaps in the monitoring needed to achieve effective implementation of restoration targets. Enhancing coordination among institutions, and enhancing monitoring, will now be crucial to achieving restoration goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110973"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143146418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Valerie J. Cornet , Neal E. Cantin , Karen E. Joyce , William Leggat , Tracy D. Ainsworth , Scott F. Heron
{"title":"Enhancing coral bleaching predictive tools through integrating sensitivity to heat exposure","authors":"Valerie J. Cornet , Neal E. Cantin , Karen E. Joyce , William Leggat , Tracy D. Ainsworth , Scott F. Heron","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110958","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predicting coral bleaching events has been key to reef conservation management efforts. Current satellite-based bleaching prediction tools offer effective regional-scale alerts of bleaching risk, but lack reliability at the reef-scale. Bleaching models focus on predicted heat exposure during summer, omitting critical factors that influence heat stress responses and the subsequent coral reef community bleaching severity. The IPCC framework however assesses the susceptibility of a system to be harmed by climate change based on exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. In this perspective, we propose integrating the IPCC vulnerability framework to develop a holistic coral bleaching prediction model that accounts for reef-scale exposure to heat stress, species-specific sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. We specifically recommend: 1) incorporating historical temperature metrics to account for acclimatisation responses, 2) including community composition metrics to better reflect variations in sensitivity at the reef scale, and 3) addressing environmental conditions to identify potential refugia and refine predictions. We discuss these factors and the feasibility to inform metrics for use in prediction tools. Historical temperature is identified as a primary target, with community composition and environmental drivers recommended for further exploration as data availability improves. Future assessments of these <strong>sensitivity metrics</strong> should be integrated into an <strong>experimental framework</strong> to further refine and improve prediction tools. This perspective underscores the urgency of refining coral bleaching prediction models and directly supports reef conservation efforts in the face of climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110958"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143146611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebecca A. Cawood, Michael J. Samways, James S. Pryke
{"title":"Viable conservation of pondscapes includes the ecotones with dryland","authors":"Rebecca A. Cawood, Michael J. Samways, James S. Pryke","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110944","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110944","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marshlands are ecotones between standing water and terrestrial environments, where aquatic and terrestrial species overlap. However, little is known about the assembly rules of organisms inhabiting this ecotone, which is inherently dynamic according to the amount of available water. We separated the waterbody/dryland ecotone of 22 standing waterbodies into five zones according to plant composition, structure, and water depth. Here, the waterbodies had limited inflows and outflows, and were highly responsive to seasonal precipitation events. We then determined the extent to which insect species assemblages change across the five zones and identify environmental factors driving these changes. Each zone had a characteristic suite of plant species, which differed greatly among the standing waterbodies. Dragonflies were present across the entire ecotone, although turnover peaked at the ecotone centre, while butterflies peaked in the grassland zone, along with some marsh-associated species. Grasshoppers preferred grassland associated with the smaller waterbodies. Dragonfly, grasshopper, butterfly, and plant species compositions each responded to their own sets of both aquatic and terrestrial variables. Overall, pond ecotones had high species turnover and high conservation value for both aquatic and terrestrial species, indicating that ponds have a much larger footprint than just the extent of wet areas. The terrestrial buffer zones are required for protection of the local biota. In turn, wet areas provide increased opportunities for dryland species. Buffer zones should be determined not so much in linear metres, but rather should also include dryland, which varies among waterbodies according to micro-topography. Pondscape (all the standing waterbodies) conservation must include all the transition zones, so that the full habitat heterogeneity around such waterbodies is built into the set of functionally connected waterbodies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110944"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anna Massfeller , Marie Zingsheim , Alireza Ahmadi , Elin Martinsson , Hugo Storm
{"title":"Action- or results-based payments for ecosystem services in the era of smart weeding robots?","authors":"Anna Massfeller , Marie Zingsheim , Alireza Ahmadi , Elin Martinsson , Hugo Storm","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.110998","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.110998","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are commonly used to reduce negative impacts on biodiversity by intensive agricultural production. Whether action- or results-based, the efficiency of PES schemes in terms of conservation benefit per costs, hinges on cost-effective monitoring, actions farmers are rewarded for, appropriate biodiversity indicators and, farmers' acceptance. Despite expectations that novel technologies, such as weeding robots, will reduce monitoring costs, the potential impact of their widespread use on optimal PES design for biodiversity conservation in arable farming remains unexplored. Our study investigates 1) the influence of weeding robots on optimal scheme design and 2) the challenges and options that arise for future PES scheme design. To this end, we use a simulation model to systematically compare how the availability of weeding robots changes the preferability of action-based versus results-based payments under various production and management conditions. This study sheds light on the transformative potential of weeding robots in optimising PES for biodiversity conservation. The results indicate that the difference in efficiency between action- and results-based schemes vanishes if robots can perform biodiversity-sensitive actions. Further, we find that it is even more important for the future design of PES to be able to define multidimensional biodiversity goals - a major challenge calling for interdisciplinary research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110998"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do the world's largest companies integrate natural capital risks and opportunities into their operations in a meaningful way?","authors":"Ian Trim, Aled Jones","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110916","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110916","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The destruction of natural capital is creating significant risks to the economy and society as a whole. Companies are fundamental to dealing with these risks as they impact and depend on nature, suggesting that it should be a material issue for them. This paper uses content analysis to assess how the world's largest companies disclose these impacts and dependencies on nature. It assesses whether companies consider these issues material to their operations and the degree to which they take actions to address them. It finds that few companies are taking comprehensive action to assess or address their impacts and dependencies, suggesting most do not consider it a material issue, treating it more as a form of impression management. The paper builds a theoretical nature positive journey and concludes that most companies have not yet reached the starting point.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110916"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145787","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiashuo Cao , Zhengyu Deng , Zhihao Huang , Guofa Cui
{"title":"Identifying Conservation Priority Areas of China: A methodological framework for ecosystem integrity and authenticity","authors":"Jiashuo Cao , Zhengyu Deng , Zhihao Huang , Guofa Cui","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110924","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110924","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The protection and restoration of ecosystems are recognized as a crucial component of the global nature conservation and are essential to sustainable development worldwide. Ecosystem integrity and authenticity can well reflect the degree of stability of ecosystem structure, function and process, as well as the ability to resist disturbance, and have therefore become the core indicators in ecosystem assessment. However, no scientific and universal assessment method has been developed yet. In this study, we proposed a methodological framework for ecosystem integrity and authenticity assessment based on multiple dimensions including landscape, vegetation and wildlife, comprising 3 perspectives and 6 indicators. We have constructed a comprehensive index of key protection value, exploring the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem integrity and authenticity for the first time, and selected China as a case study. The results indicate that the ecosystems of the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains, Changbai Mountains, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Hengduan Mountains, and some parts of the Zhejiang-Fujian hilly areas possess high key protection values. We have delineated conservation priority areas with the goal of protecting over 30 % of the national territory, and identified 70 regions with high conservation values among them that balance ecosystem typicality and representativeness, providing a basis for the next stage of national park construction in China. Linking ecosystem protection with the construction of protected areas, this methodological framework may serve as a useful paradigm for measuring the conservation value of natural ecosystems in countries worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110924"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas and community-managed lands in capturing multiple dimensions of frugivorous biodiversity in the Tropical Andes","authors":"Beth E. Gerstner , Phoebe L. Zarnetske","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110904","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110904","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Tropical Andes, known for its rich biodiversity, faces threats like habitat loss and climate change, making conservation in these areas crucial. Traditional conservation efforts often focus on taxonomic diversity (TD), overlooking functional diversity (FD), which is vital for ecosystem health. Understanding the role of community-managed lands in biodiversity protection is also essential for achieving conservation goals. This study used the <em>Frugivoria</em> trait database to assess FD of frugivorous birds and mammals in the Tropical Andes, species critical for seed dispersal and forest health. We analyzed the spatial alignment and mismatch between TD and FD in high diversity areas and evaluated the spatial distribution of Functionally Unique, Specialized, and Endangered (FUSE) species, which have irreplaceable functional roles. Our findings reveal spatial discrepancies between FD and TD, highlighting the limitations of relying solely on TD for conservation. Additionally, we examined biodiversity levels in strict and less strict protected areas (PAs), finding that strict PAs do not always contain higher biodiversity levels than less strict ones. Some strict PAs better represent FUSE species distributions, but many areas with more FUSE species and higher TD remain unprotected. Notably, community-managed lands exhibited higher FD than other PAs in the same IUCN PA category, underscoring the importance of Indigenous Lands and community-managed areas in protecting FD. As global conservation aims to protect 30 % of Earth's land by 2030, our findings emphasize the need to incorporate multiple biodiversity dimensions and utilize other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for effective and sustainable conservation in the Tropical Andes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110904"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dominick A. DellaSala , Brendan Mackey , Cyril F. Kormos , Virginia Young , Julee J. Boan , Jennifer L. Skene , David B. Lindenmayer , Zoltan Kun , Nuria Selva , Jay R. Malcolm , William F. Laurance
{"title":"Measuring forest degradation via ecological-integrity indicators at multiple spatial scales","authors":"Dominick A. DellaSala , Brendan Mackey , Cyril F. Kormos , Virginia Young , Julee J. Boan , Jennifer L. Skene , David B. Lindenmayer , Zoltan Kun , Nuria Selva , Jay R. Malcolm , William F. Laurance","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110939","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110939","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forests harbor some 80 % of Earth's terrestrial biodiversity and play a crucial role in sequestering and storing carbon that is linked to their ecological integrity and biological diversity functions. Forest degradation—the loss of forest-ecosystem integrity measured by changes to native-species composition, functional processes, and keystone structures—is a major source of emissions and significant cause of biodiversity decline. Addressing this loss is critically important for fulfilling the Paris Climate Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Additionally, the United Nations (2021a) Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 calls for a halt to both deforestation and degradation by 2030. However, many countries, particularly in the Global North, fail to fully acknowledge forest degradation as a problem within their own borders, and countries are not presently on track to meet the 2030 deadline. Building from established literature, we propose a principle, criteria, indicator and verifier (PCIV) approach that would enable monitoring of degradation at various scales, ranging from the loss of large, old trees to intact landscapes relative to reference conditions derived from primary, mature, historic, and semi-natural conditions. Degradation drivers include multiple forms of commercial logging and road building that alters native species composition, structure, and functionality. Case studies from three major forested biomes (temperate, boreal, and tropical) illustrate the geographic extent and types of degradation. We highlight an urgent call for countries to better detect and assess the cumulative damages of forest-degradation and to end it as promised.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110939"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gabriel Marcacci , Roland R. Kaboré , Ambroise N. Zongo , Serge T. Zoubga , Bakary Diakité , Reto Spaar , Franziska Kaguembèga-Müller , Alain Jacot
{"title":"The potential of farmer-managed small-scale grazing exclusions as an adaptive management to restore degraded lands in arid regions","authors":"Gabriel Marcacci , Roland R. Kaboré , Ambroise N. Zongo , Serge T. Zoubga , Bakary Diakité , Reto Spaar , Franziska Kaguembèga-Müller , Alain Jacot","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110949","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110949","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The combined effects of anthropogenic pressures and climate change are primary causes of land degradation. In the Sahel region, livestock grazing and deforestation threatens ecosystems and the livelihoods of rural communities dependent upon them. Urgent restoration efforts are needed, often structured in large-scale top-down initiatives, while local and adaptable bottom-up approaches are less studied, preventing their dissemination. This study focuses on the potential of assisted natural regeneration through small-scale grazing exclusions to restore degraded drylands of Burkina Faso. We assessed grazing exclusions of 3 ha selected along a temporal gradient in which we conducted detailed tree inventories and compared them with adjacent control plots. We found that grazing exclusions had a higher tree richness (+ 121 %), and density (+ 360 %), a different species composition, and these differences increased with time. They had a higher proportion of young trees, thus a greater regeneration potential. A comparison between two biogeographic regions yielded similar results, suggesting that they are also efficient in more arid landscapes. Our study demonstrates the great potential of small-scale grazing exclusions managed by individual farming households as an adaptative measure to combat land degradation. Due to the voluntary basis of this measure and the ability to adjust their management to maximize benefits while retaining ownership, they are well-accepted by rural communities, who can capitalize by the ecosystems services they provide. They may represent a model system of sustainable use of natural resources which can be upscaled to boost dryland restoration efforts to meet the ambitious targets of our decade.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110949"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143146342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Negative long-term effects of changed water availability on auchenorrhynchan communities in dry grassland reserves","authors":"Sebastian Schuch , Karsten Wesche","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110955","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110955","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insect decline has been documented in an increasing number of studies, but attribution to potential drivers remains challenging. Climate change poses threats to insect biodiversity, and there is still little data on how climate change is already affecting insect communities. We present a resampling study on long-term trends in leafhopper and planthopper communities of dry grassland reserves in Germany, comparing samples from three sampling decades: 1960s, 2000s and 2010s. Diversity and abundance data were related to weather data and to information on conservation management. Insect communities changed significantly with respect to decade, season and seasonal precipitation but not with respect to mean seasonal temperature. Conservation management had limited effect. Specifically, wetter conditions resulted in significantly higher abundance and richness of insect communities. We infer that apparent decline of water availability in dry grasslands - among other drivers on landscape-level - plays a significant role in shaping communities of phytophagous insects in Central European cultural landscapes. Conservation management has to be adjusted to this development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"302 ","pages":"Article 110955"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}