Search results for " conservation."
showing 10 items of 1297 documents
Substantial decline of Northern European peatland bird populations: Consequences of drainage
2017
Northern European peatlands are important habitats for biological conservation because they support rich biodiversity and unique species compositions. However, historical management of peatland habitats has had negative consequences for biodiversity and their degradation remains a major conservation concern. Despite increasing awareness of the conservation value of peatlands, the statuses and ecological requirements of peat land species have remained largely understudied. Here, we first analysed temporal trends of Northern European peatland birds to document the status of their populations using bird data from five different countries. Second, we used Finnish monitoring data to assess habit…
Trade-offs between ecosystem service provision and the predisposition to disturbances: a NFI-based scenario analysis
2020
Abstract Background Scenario analyses that evaluate management effects on the long-term provision and sustainability of forest ecosystem services and biodiversity (ESB) also need to account for disturbances. The objectives of this study were to reveal potential trade-offs and synergies between ESB provision and disturbance predisposition at the scale of a whole country. Methods The empirical scenario model MASSIMO was used to simulate forest development and management from years 2016 to 2106 on 5086 sample plots of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI). We included a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and four scenarios of increased timber harvesting. Model output was evaluated with indic…
Red Listing plants under full national responsibility: Extinction risk and threats in the vascular flora endemic to Italy
2018
Abstract Taxa endemic to a country are key elements for setting national conservation priorities and for driving conservation strategies, since their persistence is entirely dependent on national policy. We applied the IUCN Red List categories to all Italian endemic vascular plants (1340 taxa) to assess their current risk of extinction and to highlight their major threats. Our results revealed that six taxa are already extinct and that 22.4% (300 taxa) are threatened with extinction, while 18.4% (247; especially belonging to apomictic groups) have been categorized as Data Deficient. Italian endemic vascular plants are primarily threatened by natural habitat modification due to agriculture, …
Conserving plant diversity in Europe: outcomes, criticisms and perspectives of the Habitats Directive application in Italy
2016
Habitat Directive is the core strategy of nature conservation in Europe aiming at halting biodiversity loss. In this study the results of the third Italian assessment regarding the conservation status (CS) of plants listed in the Habitat Directive (Flora of community interest—FCI) was presented. Data was collected from several sources related to plant distribution, population data, habitats and pressures. Following the official European procedure, all parameters were evaluated and combined to give the CS of each taxon in each biogeographical region of presence. A comparison between the recent Italian IUCN and Reporting assessments was performed in order to evaluate the consistency between t…
Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea
2020
The Mediterranean Sea is currently experiencing a decline in the abundance of several key species, as a consequence of anthropogenic pressures (e.g., increase in human population, habitat modification and loss, pollution, coastal urbanization, overexploitation, introduction of non-indigenous species and climate change). Herbaria and natural history collections are certainly fundamental for taxonomic studies, but they are also an invaluable, if currently underestimated, resource for understanding ecological and evolutionary responses of species to environmental changes. Macroalgae herbarium collections, which are really consistent (ranging from 200,000 to approximately 500,000 specimens) in …
Fifteen operationally important decisions in the planning of biodiversity offsets
2018
Many development projects, whether they are about construction of factories, mines, roads, railways, new suburbs, shopping malls, or even individual houses, have negative environmental consequences. Biodiversity offsetting is about compensating that damage, typically via habitat restoration, land management, or by establishment of new protected areas. Offsets are the fourth step of the so-called mitigation hierarchy, in which ecological damage is first avoided, minimized second, and third restored locally. Whatever residual damage remains is then offset. Offsetting has been increasingly adopted all around the world, but simultaneously serious concerns are expressed about the validity of the…
New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #16 to #20
2020
New data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 3120, 3260, 6310, 9180* and 92A0 are reported in this contribution. In detail, 3 new occurrences in Natura 2000 Sites are presented and 5 new cells in the EEA 10 km x 10 km Reference grid are added. The new data refer to Italy and in particular to the Administrative Regions of Liguria, Sardinia, Sicily and Umbria. This issue of the section “Habitat records” includes an Errata corrige referring to the last released issue.
Stream restorations with meanders increase dragonfly and damselfly diversity and abundance, including an endangered species.
2021
10 pages; International audience; This study presents examples of successful restoration projects for biodiversity conservation. In West France, the Pinail National Nature Reserve is a protected wetland interspersed with more than 6000 ponds. This wetland is inhabited by 50 species of Odonata and thus is a key biodiversity area for damselflies and dragonflies conservation. In the past, when the limestone was exploited, the streams of the plateau were artificially channeled rectilinearly, running to the Vienne River. Eventually streams were blocked by biomass and sediments resulting in water flowing mainly underground. In 2011, two restoration projects dug and recreated lost habitats such as…
Evolution of sexually dimorphic pheromone profiles coincides with increased number of male‐specific chemosensory organs in Drosophila prolongata
2019
Abstract Binary communication systems that involve sex‐specific signaling and sex‐specific signal perception play a key role in sexual selection and in the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits. The driving forces and genetic changes underlying such traits can be investigated in systems where sex‐specific signaling and perception have emerged recently and show evidence of potential coevolution. A promising model is found in Drosophila prolongata, which exhibits a species‐specific increase in the number of male chemosensory bristles. We show that this transition coincides with recent evolutionary changes in cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles. Long‐chain CHCs that are sexually monomorphic …
Sex ratio at mating does not modulate age fitness effects in Drosophila melanogaster
2019
Abstract Understanding the effects of male and female age on reproductive success is vital to explain the evolution of life history traits and sex‐specific aging. A general prediction is that pre‐/postmeiotic aging processes will lead to a decline in the pre‐ and postcopulatory abilities of both males and females. However, in as much the sexes have different strategies to optimize their fitness, the decline of reproductive success late in life can be modulated by social context, such as sex ratio, in a sex‐specific manner. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster to investigate whether sex ratio at mating modulates age effects on male and female reproductive success. As expected, male…