Incorporating evolutionary and threat processes into crop wild relatives conservation

Biodiversity conservation calls for spatial explicit approaches to maximize the representation and persistence of genetic diversity given species idiosyncratic threats in mosaic landscapes, but conservation planning methodologies seldom account for this. Here, we introduce a novel approach that uses proxies of genetic diversity to identify conservation areas, applying systematic conservation planning tools to produce hierarchical prioritizations of the landscape. It accounts for: (i) evolutionary processes, including historical and environmental drivers of genetic diversity, and (ii) threat processes, considering taxa specific tolerance to human-modified habitats and their extinction risk status. We illustrate our approach with crop wild relatives (CWR) because their intra- and interspecific diversity is important for crop breeding and food security. Although we focus on Mesoamerican CWR within Mexico, our methodology offers new opportunities to effectively guide conservation and monitoring strategies to safeguard the evolutionary resilience of any taxa, including in regions of complex evolutionary histories and mosaic landscapes.

Envisioning the Future of Mosaic Landscapes: Actor Perceptions in a Mixed Cocoa/Oil-Palm Area in Ghana

The future and benefits of mosaic landscapes have been a source of scientific and societal concern due to increasing population growth, climate change, urbanization, and expanding agricultural commodities. There is a growing call for integrated landscape approaches in which landscape actors discuss trade-offs between different land uses with a view to reaching a negotiated decision on the allocation of land uses. Yet, the operationalization of such approaches is still in its infancy, and integrated methodologies to visualize actors’ landscape visions are still scarce. This study therefore presents a participatory spatial scenario-building methodology that uncovers local perceptions of landscape dynamics and needed actions in a mixed cocoa-oil-palm landscape in Ghana’s Eastern Region. The methodology visualizes landscape actors’ perceived plausible changes and desired future landscapes, and is designed to trigger discussions on actions needed to achieve these desired futures. Findings show that farmers and institutional actors are aware of their landscapes with future preferences coming close to actual landscape composition and spatial configuration, and that—contrary to common assumptions—only those in the oil-palm-dominated landscape who already experienced the drawbacks of increasing landscape homogenization desire a mosaic landscape. The paper concludes that the collective mapping process makes actors aware of challenges at landscape level and increases farmers’ negotiation power through active engagement in the process and visualization of their knowledge and visions. Application of the methodology requires dedicated funding, political will, and capacity to apply it as an ongoing process, as well as monitoring feedback loops.

Environmental, Economic, and Social Consequences of the Oil Palm Boom

Rising global demand for vegetable oil during the last few decades has led to a drastic increase in the land area under oil palm. Especially in Southeast Asia, the oil palm boom has contributed to economic growth, but it has also spurred criticism about negative environmental and social effects. Here, we discuss palm oil production and consumption trends and review environmental, economic, and social consequences in different parts of the world. The oil palm expansion has contributed to tropical deforestation and associated losses in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Simultaneously, it has increased incomes, generated employment, and reduced poverty among farm and nonfarm households. Around 50% of the worldwide oil palm land is managed by smallholders. Sustainability trade-offs between preserving global public environmental goods and private economic benefits need to be reduced. We discuss policy implications related to productivity growth, rainforest protection, mosaic landscapes, land property rights, sustainability certification, and smallholder inclusion, among others.

Открытые пространства в терминологии «Сокровенного сказания монголов» в контексте исторической географии: образы, локализация

Goals. The paper aims to reveal open space-related toponyms traced in The Secret History of the Mongols, and localize the sites. Materials. Investigation of spaces once reclaimed by Mongolic peoples is quite a topical issue in the history of nomadic communities. And a key stage in the Inner Asian expansion of Mongols depicted in The Secret History of the Mongols is of special significance for historical geography. The vast open spaces nowadays associated with Mongols proper had not actually been their indigenous territories. Names of open spaces known in the era of Genghis Khan and his military activities have been lost, and it is difficult enough to identify the former on present-day maps. The two terms related to open spaces in The Secret History of the Mongols are keer (‘steppe’) and belchir (‘confluence point’). Conclusions. The work reveals Mongols preferred areas with mosaic landscapes that would include both elevations and steppe plains. The Orkhon River valley — crossroads of steppe arterial roads to have served as historical headquarters to earlier nomadic empires — was inhabited by Mongols only after polyethnic Inner Asian communities were united by Genghis Khan. The article presents a number of original hypotheses dealing with localization of several sites mentioned in the written monument.

Applying abundance/biomass comparison curves to small mammals: a weak tool for detect urbanization-related stress in the assemblages?

Urbanization is a form of pervasive human-induced disturbance. We tested the effectiveness of Abundance/Biomass Comparisons (ABC) as an approach in detecting stress due to landscape urbanization in large small mammal assemblages obtained from pellets of Barn Owl (Tyto alba; Strigiformes). We compared three assemblages sampled in not urbanized contexts (agro-mosaic landscapes) with three assemblages preyed in highly urbanized contexts. In all assemblages, the role of strictly synanthropic species (in our case: rodents) emerged since almost all of total biomass was assigned to these species: indeed, everywhere (both in agro-mosaic and urbanized sites) species of low trophic level (i.e. omnivorous/herbivorous rodents) significantly prevail in biomass when compared to insectivorous species (i.e. shrews, Soricomorpha) linked to less anthropized habitats. This biomass dominance in rodent species is highlighted by the data on evenness, showing lower values in biomass when compared to abundance. This pattern did not match with the classic assumption expressed by the ABC model (i.e., species with higher biomass are typical of undisturbed assemblage) and could be wrongly interpreted. Our study evidenced as ABC approach is a not reliable tool to detect the effect of urbanization as landscape disturbance acting on small mammal assemblages. Therefore we suggest that the ABC assumptions are not universal but limited only to assemblages where high body mass species coincide to species of a higher trophic level.

Envisioning a future for Bornean orangutans: Conservation impacts of action plan implementation and recommendations for improved population outcomes

Sherman J, Ancrenaz M, Voigt M, Oram F, Santika T, Wich S, Meijaard E. 2020. Envisioning a future for Bornean orangutans: Conservation impacts of action plan implementation and recommendations for improved population outcomes. Biodiversitas 21: 465-477. Populations of the Critically Endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) are declining despite more than 10 years of conservation action plan implementation. Here we analyzed the impacts on species' population and habitat from orangutan conservation strategies implemented between 2007 and 2017. We also assessed data on investments into orangutan conservation, orangutan population trends and landcover change in orangutan range between 2007 and 2017. Diverse strategies addressed the range of threats to orangutans but were not implemented at scales that impacted species’ level populations and habitats. Since 2007 orangutan populations and forests across orangutan range have declined, with orangutan killing and deforestation as the major drivers of loss. Protected areas have increased since 2007, notably in Malaysian range states and in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. However, 80% or tens of thousands of orangutans live outside protected areas in Kalimantan alone. Our results underscore scientific findings that have demonstrated this species’ resiliency and modified previous understanding of their habitat use. Orangutans are regularly found using agriculture landscapes (acacia, oil palm, and timber plantations), and exploited forests. This plasticity must be considered to design more effective orangutan conservation strategies. We need to revise the notion of “orangutan habitat” to extend beyond forests alone, incorporating all landscapes where P. pygmaeus can be found. Orangutans cannot survive in exclusively monoculture production areas; they need some natural forest to fulfill their ecological requirements. However, individuals surviving in isolated forest patches or mosaic landscapes play an important role in sustaining the long-term viability of the local metapopulation through provision of crucial genetic, reproductive and socioecological connectivity. Our findings suggest removing these individuals through translocations weakens overall metapopulation health. All necessary efforts must be made to maintain individuals in isolated forest patches or mosaic landscapes in order to support healthy metapopulations. Improved orangutan population outcomes will require addressing habitat connectivity at the landscape level, incorporating both non-forested and anthropogenically modified areas, and developing efficient management strategies for human and orangutan co-existence within these multiple-use landscapes.