scholarly journals Predicting Global Forest Reforestation Potential

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Crowther ◽  
Henry Glick ◽  
Daniel Maynard ◽  
Will Ashley-Cantello ◽  
Tom Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Executive Summary ◽  
Forest Landscape Restoration ◽  
Forested Areas

Executive SummaryForests are important determinants of the carbon cycle, and they provide countless ecosystem services to support billions of people worldwide. Global-scale forest restoration is one of our most effective weapons in the fight against biodiversity loss, rural poverty and climate change. In this report, we generate a spatial map of tree density within the potential forest restoration areas delineated by the IUCN/WRI’s “Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities” to estimate the potential number of trees that could be restored at a global scale. We also estimate the number of trees that might be saved by avoiding deforestation in currently forested areas.We show that the restoration areas have the capacity to support a total of 1.33 trillion trees. However, given that a considerable proportion of these areas already contain forests, we estimate that 589 billion new trees (larger than 10 cm diameter) could be restored within these areas, which would have the potential to store 65–91 Gigatonnes of carbon after reaching forest maturation. These values will increase marginally over time, as deforestation is responsible for the removal of living trees within the restoration areas. However, if only 50% or 25% of the mosaic areas (the largest of the designated restoration types) are available for reforestation, this total number will fall to approximately 360, or 246 billion trees, respectively, with corresponding decreases in potential carbon storage. Given that anthropogenic carbon emissions are currently in the order of 9–12 Gigatonnes per year, effective global-scale restoration might potentially have a valuable impact on global-scale climate mitigation over the rest of this century.This report was produced with funding from WWF-UK as part of the Trillion Trees programme with the Wildlife Conservation Society and BirdLife International

Uphill Battle: Forest Rights and Restoration on Podu Landscapes in Keonjhar, Odisha

2022 ◽  
pp. 097317412110573
Author(s):  
Laura M. Valencia
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Forest Policy ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Plantation Forest ◽  
Tree Plantation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Forest Landscape Restoration ◽  
Forest Tenure

In response to the global climate emergency and biodiversity loss, environmental advocates promote ecological restoration of millions of hectares of the world’s degraded forest lands. Lands of high value to restoration are home to nearly 300 million people, including 12% of low- and middle-income country populations. In this article, I respond to calls for greater empirical investigation into the social impacts of forest landscape restoration. Through spatial and ethnographic analysis of forest restoration in Keonjhar, Odisha (India), I show that state-led afforestation efforts contradict a decade of forest tenure reform which sought to decentralize and decolonize forest governance. I explore how state-led efforts ignore (and inhibit) the continued protagonism of forest-dwelling communities in forest regeneration on their customary lands. Weaving accounts from 1992 onwards across six villages and 22 plantations, I characterize state strategies as an ‘uphill battle’: by systematically selecting shifting cultivation (podu) uplands for enclosure and tree plantation, forest agencies contribute to a lose-lose situation where neither forest restoration nor forest rights are realized. Investigating this process from colonial forest policy to the present, I leverage a critical political ecology perspective that supports calls for rights-based restoration.

Are local losses of biodiversity causing degraded ecosystem function?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Vellend
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Degraded Ecosystem ◽  
Biodiversity Change ◽  
Local Extirpation

This chapter highlights the scale dependence of biodiversity change over time and its consequences for arguments about the instrumental value of biodiversity. While biodiversity is in decline on a global scale, the temporal trends on regional and local scales include cases of biodiversity increase, no change, and decline. Environmental change, anthropogenic or otherwise, causes both local extirpation and colonization of species, and thus turnover in species composition, but not necessarily declines in biodiversity. In some situations, such as plants at the regional scale, human-mediated colonizations have greatly outnumbered extinctions, thus causing a marked increase in species richness. Since the potential influence of biodiversity on ecosystem function and services is mediated to a large degree by local or neighborhood species interactions, these results challenge the generality of the argument that biodiversity loss is putting at risk the ecosystem service benefits people receive from nature.

Mistletoes in a changing world: a premonition of a non-analog future?

Botany ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (9) ◽  
pp. 479-488
Author(s):  
Francisco E. Fontúrbel
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Plant Animal Interactions ◽  
Changing World

Mistletoes are a group of flowering plants that have developed a parasitic lifeform through complex eco-evolutionary processes. Despite being considered a pest, mistletoes represent a keystone forest resource and are involved in complex plant–plant and plant–animal interactions. Their parasitic lifeform and specialized ecological interactions make mistletoes an ideal model with which to understand the effects of anthropogenic disturbances in a changing world. The accelerated growth of the human population has altered all ecosystems on Earth, leading to biodiversity loss. Land-use changes (involving habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, and transformation processes) can alter the ecological scenario for mistletoe by altering hosts, mutualists, and nutrient cycling. Those changes may have large consequences at the community level, changing the spatial structure of mistletoes, as well as interaction effectiveness, facilitation process, interaction disruption, and novel interactions with invasive species, leading to non-analog communities in the long run. Furthermore, climate change effects operate on a global scale, enhancing the effects of land-use changes. As temperatures increase, many species would alter their distribution and phenology, potentially causing spatial and temporal mismatches. But more critical is the fact that water stress is likely to disrupt key ecological interactions. Thus, mistletoes can provide valuable insights for what we can expect in the future, as a result of human disturbances.

scholarly journals Terrestrial Vertebrate Biodiversity Loss under Future Global Land Use Change Scenarios

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Chaudhary ◽  
Arne Mooers
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
National Development ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Diversity Loss ◽  
Global Biodiversity

Efficient forward-looking mitigation measures are needed to halt the global biodiversity decline. These require spatially explicit scenarios of expected changes in multiple indicators of biodiversity under future socio-economic and environmental conditions. Here, we link six future (2050 and 2100) global gridded maps (0.25° × 0.25° resolution) available from the land use harmonization (LUH) database, representing alternative concentration pathways (RCP) and shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs), with the countryside species–area relationship model to project the future land use change driven rates of species extinctions and phylogenetic diversity loss (in million years) for mammals, birds, and amphibians in each of the 804 terrestrial ecoregions and 176 countries and compare them with the current (1900–2015) and past (850–1900) rates of biodiversity loss. Future land-use changes are projected to commit an additional 209–818 endemic species and 1190–4402 million years of evolutionary history to extinction by 2100 depending upon the scenario. These estimates are driven by land use change only and would likely be higher once the direct effects of climate change on species are included. Among the three taxa, highest diversity loss is projected for amphibians. We found that the most aggressive climate mitigation scenario (RCP2.6 SSP-1), representing a world shifting towards a radically more sustainable path, including increasing crop yields, reduced meat production, and reduced tropical deforestation coupled with high trade, projects the lowest land use change driven global biodiversity loss. The results show that hotspots of future biodiversity loss differ depending upon the scenario, taxon, and metric considered. Future extinctions could potentially be reduced if habitat preservation is incorporated into national development plans, especially for biodiverse, low-income countries such as Indonesia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Philippines, and The Democratic Republic of Congo that are otherwise projected to suffer a high number of land use change driven extinctions under all scenarios.

scholarly journals Forest landscape restoration: state of play

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 201218
Author(s):  
John A. Stanturf ◽  
Stephanie Mansourian
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Landscape Restoration ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Landscape Degradation ◽  
Forest Landscape Restoration

Tree planting has been widely touted as an inexpensive way to meet multiple international environmental goals for mitigating climate change, reversing landscape degradation and restoring biodiversity restoration. The Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests, motivated by widespread deforestation and forest degradation, call for restoring 350 million ha by 2030 by relying on forest landscape restoration (FLR) processes. Because the 173 million ha commitments made by 63 nations, regions and companies are not legally binding, expectations of what FLR means lacks consensus. The frequent disconnect between top-level aspirations and on-the-ground implementation results in limited data on FLR activities. Additionally, some countries have made landscape-scale restoration outside of the Bonn Challenge. We compared and contrasted the theory and practice of FLR and compiled information from databases of projects and initiatives and case studies. We present the main FLR initiatives happening across regional groups; in many regions, the potential need/opportunity for forest restoration exceeds the FLR activities underway. Multiple objectives can be met by manipulating vegetation (increasing structural complexity, changing species composition and restoring natural disturbances). Livelihood interventions are context-specific but include collecting or raising non-timber forest products, employment and community forests; other interventions address tenure and governance.

scholarly journals Endangered Exotic Pets on Social Media in the Middle East: Presence and Impact

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonarda B. Spee ◽  
Susan J. Hazel ◽  
Eleonora Dal Grande ◽  
Wayne S.J. Boardman ◽  
Anne-Lise Chaber
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Negative Comments ◽  
Exotic Animal ◽  
Exotic Pets

The popularization of exotic pets on celebrity social media in the Middle East has led to questionable impacts on exotic pet demand and threats to species conservation. The objective of this study was to identify exotic animal species featured on Middle Eastern celebrity social media account posts, the public perception of those posts, and their potential impacts on exotic pet demand and conservation (for global-scale extrapolation). Public social media accounts of highly influential persons from oil-rich Middle Eastern regions were manually investigated to evaluate subject demographics, species features, and post information (likes, comments) between January 2017 and August 2018. Twenty-five subjects possessed active social media accounts, from which 418 social media posts were extracted based on their inclusion of a privately owned exotic animal. SPSS Version 25 was used for frequency and descriptive analyses of these posts, in addition to comment analyses to evaluate quantitative (emojis) and qualitative (text) audience perceptions from a total of 10 social media posts of CITES Appendix I- or II-listed species. A greater frequency of positive than negative comments was observed (n = 8017), demonstrating the higher likelihood of social media promotion rather than negation of the exotic pet trade. Public education on wildlife conservation and exotic animal trade risks is imperative for successful conservation and welfare protection.

scholarly journals Wildlife conservation in a fragmented landscape: the Eurasian red squirrel on the Isle of Wight

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie A. Hardouin ◽  
Helen Butler ◽  
Marin Cvitanović ◽  
Rainer G. Ulrich ◽  
Vanessa Schulze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Landscape Management ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Fragmented Landscape ◽  
Red Squirrel ◽  
The South ◽  
Isle Of Wight ◽  
Island Populations

AbstractIsland populations may have a higher extinction risk due to reduced genetic diversity and need to be managed effectively in order to reduce the risk of biodiversity loss. The Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the south of England only survive on three islands (the Isle of Wight, Brownsea and Furzey islands), with the Isle of Wight harbouring the largest population in the region. Fourteen microsatellites were used to determine the genetic structure of red squirrel populations on the Isle of Wight, as well as their relatedness to other populations of the species. Our results demonstrated that squirrels on these islands were less genetically diverse than those in Continental mainland populations, as would be expected. It also confirmed previous results from mitochondrial DNA which indicated that the squirrels on the Isle of Wight were relatively closely related to Brownsea island squirrels in the south of England. Importantly, our findings showed that genetic mixing between squirrels in the east and west of the Isle of Wight was very limited. Given the potential deleterious effects of small population size on genetic health, landscape management to encourage dispersal of squirrels between these populations should be a priority.

Empowering citizens to effect change – a case study of zoo-based community conservation

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Dunstan ◽  
Belinda Fairbrother ◽  
Monique Van Sluys
Keyword(s):  
Palm Oil ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Community Conservation ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Threat ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Definition Of

There is little doubt that humans are directly impacting our planet, with biodiversity loss now rated as the most critical global environmental threat alongside climate change. The imperative to act is urgent, and the definition of wildlife conservation is expanding to include humans as central to the solution. Increasingly, behaviour change theories are becoming critical to community campaigns led by zoos, in order to increase the uptake of pro-environmental behaviours. Zoos are in a unique position to address biodiversity loss and can do so by working to inspire and influence their many visitors to change their behaviour in order to help wildlife. By engaging their visitors through interactive encounters with wildlife and by creating emotive experiences, zoos can foster a connection between people and nature that can lead to action and enable the public to help secure a future that meets the needs of both wildlife and people. Here, we critically examine a community conservation campaign aimed at increasing uptake of sustainable palm oil (and thus reducing the use of unsustainable palm oil) led by zoos in Australia and New Zealand. Here, we share the elements of success and key learning to build understanding and improvement of these programs globally.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic homogenization of amphibian assemblages in human-altered habitats across the globe

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (15) ◽  
pp. E3454-E3462 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Justin Nowakowski ◽  
Luke O. Frishkoff ◽  
Michelle E. Thompson ◽  
Tatiana M. Smith ◽  
Brian D. Todd
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Habitat Conversion ◽  
Average Loss ◽  
Species Responses ◽  
Landscape Scales

Habitat conversion is driving biodiversity loss and restructuring species assemblages across the globe. Responses to habitat conversion vary widely, however, and little is known about the degree to which shared evolutionary history underlies changes in species richness and composition. We analyzed data from 48 studies, comprising 438 species on five continents, to understand how taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of amphibian assemblages shifts in response to habitat conversion. We found that evolutionary history explains the majority of variation in species’ responses to habitat conversion, with specific clades scattered across the amphibian tree of life being favored by human land uses. Habitat conversion led to an average loss of 139 million years of amphibian evolutionary history within assemblages, high species and lineage turnover at landscape scales, and phylogenetic homogenization at the global scale (despite minimal taxonomic homogenization). Lineage turnover across habitats was greatest in lowland tropical regions where large species pools and stable climates have perhaps given rise to many microclimatically specialized species. Together, our results indicate that strong phylogenetic clustering of species’ responses to habitat conversion mediates nonrandom structuring of local assemblages and loss of global phylogenetic diversity. In an age of rapid global change, identifying clades that are most sensitive to habitat conversion will help prioritize use of limited conservation resources.

scholarly journals Nitrogen, science, and environmental change: the politics of the Green Revolution in Chile and the global nitrogen challenge

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 777 ◽  
Author(s):  
William San Martín
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizers ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
N Fertilizers

Abstract The widespread use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers during the second half of the 20th century radically transformed agricultural production and ecosystems on a global scale. Although the "N challenge" or the "N problem" has had limited public attention compared to biodiversity loss and climate change, scientists consider N pollution a leading ecological concern for the 21st century. Accordingly, a major challenge for scientists and policymakers around the world today is how to meet food production demands while also protecting the environment. Using Chile as a case study—one of the highest consumers of N fertilizer per hectare in the Americas—this article examines the transnational politics of production and destruction in this process of agricultural modernization. In the Cold War context, a transnational network of scientists, agencies, and authorities created an institutional framework for the transference of knowledge and technology in Chile during the 1960s. Paradoxically, as local and global reliance on N fertilizers increased, scientists were able to generate a narrative about the negative environmental effects of intensive N use and highlight the ecological limits of the Green Revolution. After 1973, however, this knowledge network suffered as a result of the Chilean government's anti-communist crackdown and adoption of market-based agricultural policies. Understanding this history of how politics shaped N consumption, science, and policy is critical to current efforts to create new of agricultural production on a regional and global scale. Keywords: nitrogen, fertilizers, the Green Revolution, Cold War, Chile, science, environment, policy, Global Nitrogen Challenge, agriculture, United States

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