Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges

Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Journal Year: 2005, Volume and Issue: 81(2), P. 163 - 182

Published: Dec. 12, 2005

Freshwater biodiversity is the over-riding conservation priority during International Decade for Action -'Water Life' - 2005 to 2015. Fresh water makes up only 0.01% of World's and approximately 0.8 % Earth's surface, yet this tiny fraction global supports at least 100 000 species out 1.8 million almost 6% all described species. Inland waters freshwater constitute a valuable natural resource, in economic, cultural, aesthetic, scientific educational terms. Their management are critical interests humans, nations governments. Yet precious heritage crisis. experiencing declines far greater than those most affected terrestrial ecosystems, if trends human demands remain unaltered losses continue current rates, opportunity conserve much remaining fresh will vanish before 'Water decade ends Why so, what being done about it? This article explores special features habitats they support that them especially vulnerable activities. We document threats under five headings: overexploitation; pollution; flow modification; destruction or degradation habitat; invasion by exotic combined interacting influences have resulted population range reduction worldwide. Conservation complicated landscape position rivers wetlands as 'receivers' land-use effluents, problems posed endemism thus non-substitutability. In addition, many parts world, subject severe competition among multiple stakeholders. Protection perhaps ultimate challenge because it influenced upstream drainage network, surrounding land, riparian zone, case migrating aquatic fauna downstream reaches. Such prerequisites hardly ever met. Immediate action needed where opportunities exist set aside intact lake river ecosystems within large protected areas. For land trade-offs between use ecosystem goods services necessary. advocate continuing attempts check loss but, situations, urge adoption compromise conservation, functioning resilience, livelihoods order provide viable long-term basis conservation. Recognition need require new paradigm protection one has been appropriately termed 'reconciliation ecology'.

Language: Английский

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Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses

Global Environmental Change, Journal Year: 2006, Volume and Issue: 16(3), P. 253 - 267

Published: July 22, 2006

Language: Английский

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Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity

Nature, Journal Year: 2012, Volume and Issue: 486(7401), P. 59 - 67

Published: June 1, 2012

Language: Английский

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ADAPTIVE GOVERNANCE OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Journal Year: 2005, Volume and Issue: 30(1), P. 441 - 473

Published: July 25, 2005

▪ Abstract We explore the social dimension that enables adaptive ecosystem-based management. The review concentrates on experiences of governance social-ecological systems during periods abrupt change (crisis) and investigates sources renewal reorganization. Such connects individuals, organizations, agencies, institutions at multiple organizational levels. Key persons provide leadership, trust, vision, meaning, they help transform management organizations toward a learning environment. Adaptive often self-organize as networks with teams actor groups draw various knowledge for development common understanding policies. emergence “bridging organizations” seem to lower costs collaboration conflict resolution, enabling legislation governmental policies can support self-organization while framing creativity comanagement efforts. A resilient system may make use crisis an opportunity into more desired state.

Language: Английский

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Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services

Science, Journal Year: 2006, Volume and Issue: 314(5800), P. 787 - 790

Published: Nov. 3, 2006

Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, global fisheries data to test how biodiversity affects ecosystem services across temporal spatial scales. Overall, rates resource collapse increased recovery potential, stability, water quality decreased exponentially declining diversity. Restoration biodiversity, in contrast, productivity fourfold variability by 21%, on average. conclude that is increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity provide food, maintain quality, recover from perturbations. Yet available suggest at this point, these trends still reversible.

Language: Английский

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Let the concept of trait be functional!

Oikos, Journal Year: 2007, Volume and Issue: 116(5), P. 882 - 892

Published: May 1, 2007

In its simplest definition, a trait is surrogate of organismal performance, and this meaning the term has been used by evolutionists for long time. Over last three decades, developments in community ecosystem ecology have forced concept beyond these original boundaries, trait‐based approaches are now widely studies ranging from level organisms to that ecosystems. Despite some attempts fix terminology, especially plant ecology, there currently high degree confusion use, not only “trait” itself, but also underlying concepts it refers to. We therefore give an unambiguous definition trait, with particular emphasis on functional trait. A hierarchical perspective proposed, extending “performance paradigm” ecology. “Functional traits” defined as morpho‐physio‐phenological traits which impact fitness indirectly via their effects growth, reproduction survival, components individual performance. finally present integrative framework explaining how changes values due environmental variations translated into may influence processes at higher organizational levels. argue can be achieved developing “integration functions” grouped response (community level) effect (ecosystem algorithms.

Language: Английский

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Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt

Science, Journal Year: 2008, Volume and Issue: 319(5867), P. 1235 - 1238

Published: Feb. 8, 2008

Increasing energy use, climate change, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon a high priority. Biofuels are potential source, but whether biofuels offer savings depends on how they produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands produce food crop-based in Brazil, Southeast Asia, the United States creates "biofuel debt" by releasing 17 420 times more CO2 than annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that these would provide displacing fuels. In contrast, made waste biomass grown degraded abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little no debt can immediate sustained GHG advantages.

Language: Английский

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A distance‐based framework for measuring functional diversity from multiple traits

Ecology, Journal Year: 2010, Volume and Issue: 91(1), P. 299 - 305

Published: Jan. 1, 2010

A new framework for measuring functional diversity (FD) from multiple traits has recently been proposed. This was mostly limited to quantitative without missing values and situations in which there are more species than traits, although the authors had suggested a way extend their other trait types. The main purpose of this note is further develop suggestion. We describe highly flexible distance‐based measure different facets FD multidimensional space any distance or dissimilarity measure, number types (i.e., quantitative, semi‐quantitative, qualitative). approach allows weighting individual traits. also present index, called dispersion (FDis), closely related Rao's quadratic entropy. FDis multivariate analogue weighted mean absolute deviation (MAD), weights relative abundances. For unweighted presence–absence data, can be used formal statistical test differences FD. provide “FD” R language package easily implement our framework.

Language: Английский

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NEW MULTIDIMENSIONAL FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY INDICES FOR A MULTIFACETED FRAMEWORK IN FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY

Ecology, Journal Year: 2008, Volume and Issue: 89(8), P. 2290 - 2301

Published: Aug. 1, 2008

Functional diversity is increasingly identified as an important driver of ecosystem functioning. Various indices have been proposed to measure the functional a community, but there still no consensus on which are most suitable. Indeed, none existing meets all criteria required for general use. The main that they must be designed deal with several traits, take into account abundances, and facets diversity. Here we propose three quantify each facet community species distributed in multidimensional space: richness (volume space occupied by community), evenness (regularity distribution abundance this volume), divergence (divergence volume). estimated using convex hull volume index. new index based minimum spanning tree links space. Then quantifies regularity abundances along tree. measured novel how diverge their distances (weighted abundance) from center gravity We show index, instead set complementary these criteria. Through simulations artificial data sets, demonstrate independent other. Overall, our study suggests decomposition its primary components provides meaningful framework quantification classification indices. This has potential shed light role biodiversity functioning influence biotic abiotic filters structure communities. Finally, applying

Language: Английский

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Defining and classifying ecosystem services for decision making

Ecological Economics, Journal Year: 2008, Volume and Issue: 68(3), P. 643 - 653

Published: Oct. 29, 2008

Language: Английский

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