| 1. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(författare)
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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
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| 2. |
- Dahms, Henriette, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting diversity patterns of epigeic arthropods between grasslands of high and low agronomic potential
- 2010
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Ingår i: Basic and Applied Ecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1618-0089 .- 1439-1791. ; 11:1, s. 6-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract in UndeterminedIncreasing demand for food, fuel and fibre promotes the intensification of land-use, particularly in areas favourable for agricultural production. In less-favourable areas, more wildlife-friendly farming systems are often either abandoned or under pressure of conversion, e.g. for bioenergy production. This raises the question, to which extent areas of different agronomicpotential contribute to regional biodiversity. To approach this question on a regional scale, we established our study within a region where sites of high and lowagronomicpotential (AP) alternate on a small spatial scale. We selected 13 high-AP and 13 low-AP grasslands to quantify the contribution of these classes to the regional diversity of four epigeicarthropod taxa (ants, springtails, functional groups of ground beetles, and spiders). The regional diversity (γ) was partitioned into species richness per site (α-diversity), diversity among sites within one class (βwithin-diversity), and diversity between the two classes (βbetween-diversity). The β-diversity generally accounted for the largest share of the γ-diversity, with patterns of diversity components being highly taxon- and class-specific. Carnivorous carabids had a higherα-diversity at high-AP sites. Ants, springtails, and cursorial spiders had a higherβwithin-diversity in low-AP grasslands. Low-AP sites also harboured many more species that occurred exclusively in one grassland class. We conclude that grasslands that may be unfavourable for agricultural production contributed more to regional diversity of epigeicarthropods than favourable grasslands. We therefore suggest that future agricultural schemes should promote arthropod biodiversity by specifically targeting agri-environment schemes or other wildlife-friendly farming approaches to areas of lowagronomicpotential, since this bears the greatest potential to preserve a comparatively high species turnover (β-diversity) and in consequence high regional diversity.
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| 3. |
- Dahms, Henriette, et al.
(författare)
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Restoration of Seminatural Grasslands : What is the Impact on Ants?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Restoration Ecology. - 1061-2971 .- 1526-100X. ; 18:3, s. 330-337
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The number of species-rich seminatural grasslands in Northern Europe has decreased significantly due to the abandonment of traditional land use practices. To preserve these habitats, an increasing number of abandoned and overgrown grasslands have been restored by cutting down trees and shrubs and reintroducing grazing. These practices are considered a useful tool to recover the species richness of vascular plants, but their impact on other taxa is hardly known. Here we studied ants as one important group of grassland insects. We investigated (1) the effects of restoration of nongrazed and afforested seminatural grasslands, compared to continuously managed reference sites; and (2) the modulating impacts of habitat characteristics and time elapsed since restoration. We found a total of 27 ant species, 11 of these were characteristic of open habitats and seven characteristic of forests. Neither species richness per site nor the number of open-habitat species, nor the number of forest species differed between restored and reference sites. Yet, within the restored sites, the total species richness and the number of open-habitat species was positively related to the time since restoration and the percentage of bare rock. High frequencies of most open-habitat species were associated with low vegetation, older restored sites, and reference sites. Most forest species showed their highest frequencies in tree- and shrub-dominated habitat. We conclude that restoration efforts have been successful in terms of retrieving species richness. A regular and moderate grazing regime subsequent to the restoration is suggested in order to support a high abundance of open-habitat species.
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| 4. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N., et al.
(författare)
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The PREDICTS database : a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:24, s. 4701-4735
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - ). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.
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| 5. |
- Styles, David, et al.
(författare)
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Climate regulation, energy provisioning and water purification : Quantifying ecosystem service delivery of bioenergy willow grown on riparian buffer zones using life cycle assessment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment. - Cham : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 45:8, s. 872-884
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whilst life cycle assessment (LCA) boundaries are expanded to account for negative indirect consequences of bioenergy such as indirect land use change (ILUC), ecosystem services such as water purification sometimes delivered by perennial bioenergy crops are typically neglected in LCA studies. Consequential LCA was applied to evaluate the significance of nutrient interception and retention on the environmental balance of unfertilised energy willow planted on 50-m riparian buffer strips and drainage filtration zones in the Skåne region of Sweden. Excluding possible ILUC effects and considering oil heat substitution, strategically planted filter willow can achieve net global warming potential (GWP) and eutrophication potential (EP) savings of up to 11.9 Mg CO2e and 47 kg PO4e ha−1 year−1, respectively, compared with a GWP saving of 14.8 Mg CO2e ha−1 year−1 and an EP increase of 7 kg PO4e ha−1 year−1 for fertilised willow. Planting willow on appropriate buffer and filter zones throughout Skåne could avoid 626 Mg year−1 PO4e nutrient loading to waters.
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| 6. |
- Walther, Gian-Reto, et al.
(författare)
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Alien species in a warmer world: risks and opportunities
- 2009
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Ingår i: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-8383 .- 0169-5347. ; 24:12, s. 686-693
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change and biological invasions are key processes affecting global biodiversity, yet their effects have usually been considered separately. Here, we emphasise that global warming has enabled alien species to expand into regions in which they previously could not survive and reproduce. Based on a review of climate-mediated biological invasions of plants, invertebrates, fishes and birds, we discuss the ways in which climate change influences biological invasions. We emphasise the role of alien species in a more dynamic context of shifting species' ranges and changing communities. Under these circumstances, management practices regarding the occurrence of 'new' species could range from complete eradication to tolerance and even consideration of the 'new' species as an enrichment of local biodiversity and key elements to maintain ecosystem services.
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| 7. |
- Wamser, Sabine, et al.
(författare)
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Delayed colonisation of arable fields by spring breeding ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in landscapes with a high availability of hibernation sites
- 2011
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2305 .- 0167-8809. ; 144:1, s. 235-240
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The colonisation of winter barley fields by spring breeding carabids and its temporal modulation by the amount of potential hibernation sites was studied. Species richness of carabids was lower in landscapes with high length of boundaries and a high amount of non-cropped open habitats during early stages of the beetles’ colonisation of arable fields. Species number of beetles with high dispersal potential responded to this landscape features at coarse spatial scales whereas beetles with low dispersal potential responded to intermediate scales. However, the negative impact of potential hibernation sites on colonisation diminished in later sampling phases. The patterns observed may be explained by both overwintering in arable soils in less complex landscapes and delayed colonisation in more complex landscapes. The seasonal patterns of landscape control suggest a need to account for temporal dynamics in interactions between species or functional groups and landscape properties. A high temporal resolution is needed in studies that focus on ecosystem function and services in agricultural landscapes, as direction of effect (positive/negative) of management on animal communities may change across spatial scales and within short time periods.
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