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In this study, we evaluated the integration of urban habitat data in spatial development documents across Poland's 28 largest cities and assessed the implications for urban environmental management and biodiversity conservation. The detailed habitat maps identify critical areas for protection, enhancing ecosystem services, and supporting nature-based solutions that positively impact residents' health and social cohesion. A total of 372 sources were analyzed and 467 habitat types were identified primarily from phytosociological surveys. However, only 33.2% of these habitats have been included in urban planning documents, highlighting a substantial integration gap. Complete taxa lists and habitat maps covering the entire city area, suitable for biodiversity management needs, are rarely included in urban planning documents. The findings have underscored the need for detailed habitat mapping to improve urban environmental management, biodiversity conservation, and public health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective biodiversity protection is generally associated with a strict rule of law and democratic participation in environmental decision making. Norway's exceptional ranking in terms of governance, however, has failed to be a predictor of effective biodiversity protection. Through a systematic review of the main regulatory frameworks relevant to protecting biodiversity in Norway, this article analyses the misconceptions, perverse incentives and institutional bottlenecks that lie at the centre of the problem. The analysis finds three overarching barriers that regulatory frameworks have created to the effective protection and promotion of biodiversity in Norway, namely, a governance system based on diffuse legal obligations and responsibilities, excessive trust in private operators and considerable discretion to local entities. Accordingly, this article proposes three enabling factors, and related reform suggestions, for mitigating such barriers and domesticating earth system governance in biodiversity matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Conservation Units in the conservationist perspective, as instruments to protect nature, assuring the maintenance of Brazilian biodiversity and biomes, in order to build an ecologically balanced environment under the terms of the Federal Constitution of 1988. Through deductive method, exploratory, documental, and bibliographic research, and indirect analysis of Environmental Ministry and Environmental, Sustainable Development State Office data, it makes a legal-theoretical appreciation of the issue in Brazil. By looking at the Brazilian scenario, it notices that most part of the Conservation Units were created by the States and were focused, respectively, on Mata Atlântica, Cerrado, and the Amazon, and had sustainability as a legal-political fundament. The conjuncture of Goiás indicates that stating the Conservation Units existence is not enough, since more than half of Conservation Units lack landing regularization. Also, six out of twenty-five Conservation Units still do not have an Administrative Counsel. Twenty Conservation Units do not have a working plan, which, added to financial and staff difficulties may compromise the expected protection of nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate a tritrophic system whose cyclic dominance is modelled by the rock–paper–scissors game. We consider that organisms of one or two species are affected by movement limitations, which unbalances the cyclic spatial game. Performing stochastic simulations, we show that mobility unevenness controls the population dynamics. In the case of one slow species, the predominant species depends on the level of mobility restriction, with the slow species being preponderant if the mobility limitations are substantial. If two species face mobility limitations, our outcomes show that being higher dispersive does not constitute an advantage in terms of population growth. On the contrary, if organisms move with higher mobility, they expose themselves to enemies more frequently, being more vulnerable to being eliminated. Finally, our findings show that biodiversity benefits in regions where species are slowed. Biodiversity loss for high mobility organisms, common to cyclic systems, may be avoided with coexistence probability being higher for robust mobility limitations. Our results may help biologists understand the dynamics of unbalanced spatial systems where organisms' dispersal is fundamental to biodiversity conservation. • Stochastic simulations of the rock–paper–scissors model with organisms facing mobility limitations were performed. • The pattern formation is investigated in the case of one or two species slowed by environmental mobility restrictions. • Species predominance is studied in terms of mobility unevenness in the cyclic spatial game. • The benefits of the mobility limitations for avoiding biodiversity loss are quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Maintaining biodiversity is a key goal of global forest policy which promotes ecosystem health and resilience in the face of changing land use and climate. Sustainable management of forest ecosystems is essential to the social and economic services that forests provide, is an important component of the environmental policies of national governments, and is a specific focus of the Conventional on Biological Diversity. Sustainable forest management supports the maintenance and enhancement of biodiversity, and relies on evidence based research to underpin associated policies and practices. Studies that take a focussed approach are particularly helpful in this regard where they identify mechanisms of ecological change in forest habitats, and predictors appropriate to determining the impact of management practices. Observational research can suggest likely mechanisms for ecological change, which can be tested and confirmed through experimental research. Predictors based on long-term research, on the mechanisms underlying ecological relationships, or on modelling approaches can be used to infer information about existing forests and to forecast future trends. This special issue presents a selection of papers which were first presented at the second international IUFRO conference on biodiversity in forest ecosystems and landscapes at University College Cork, Ireland in August 2012. The aim of this conference series is to ‘share knowledge, discuss new trends, reflect on future directions in biodiversity management for sustainable forestry, and provide a stronger scientific basis for biodiversity management in forest landscapes in the light of climate change’. The selected papers exemplify the use of observational and experimental approaches to identify mechanisms of ecological change in forests, and the use of indicators to predict current and future patterns of biodiversity. Trends in forest biodiversity were examined and discussed, drawing on what we know about forests to reconstruct ancient forested landscapes and to identify strategies for the management of forests into the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Species distribution models (SDMs) have been used to forecast the impact of climate change on species' potential distribution, with results that might support decisions for conservation and biodiversity management. Despite their vulnerability to parameterization and data quality input, SDM use has been increasing in the last decades. In fact, inappropriate inputs and the lack of awareness about the effects of methodological decisions on results can lead to potential unreliability in results, a problem that might gain relevance when SDMs are used to predict climate change impacts on species-suitable areas. Aiming to assess how far such a topic is considered, an analysis of the calibration data and methodological decisions was conducted for recent publications (2018 to 2022) that include SDMs in this context, aiming to identify putative deviations from the consensual best practices. Results show that the parameters presented more consistently are the algorithm in use (MaxEnt was used in 98% of the studies), the accuracy measures, and the time windows. But many papers fail to specify other parameters, limiting the reproducibility of the studies. Some papers fail to provide information about calibration procedures, others consider only a fraction of the species' range, and others provide no justification for including specific variables in the model. These options can decrease reliability in predictions under future scenarios, since data provided to the model are inaccurate from the start or there is insufficient information for output discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global biodiversity crisis and constantly growing human impact on the natural environment call for more evidence where conservation actions are the most urgent. As the agricultural lands are under increased pressure of growing human food needs here the literature survey on farmland bird conservation (FBC) was conducted to reveal geographical distribution in research intensity, the topics addressed and to identify potential drivers for the worldwide scientific effort. The Scopus database search has revealed 2290 papers dedicated to FBC from the period 1990-2020. The distribution was spatially uneven with most papers published in Western Europe and North America. Scientific collaboration was also spatially biased in favor of countries located close to each other and having high scientific capacity. The analysis also revealed 139 terms representing main topics raised in FBC research. The number of FBC papers per country was positively correlated with Gross Domestic Production (GDP), the total number of scientific papers, and number of threatened species, and negatively with the GDP from agricultural production, whereas it was not related to area of agricultural lands or bird species richness. Spatial and thematic biases in studies of farmland birds may have important consequences since uneven scientific evidence constrains development of proper conservation solutions and limits their implementation. We conclude that research on FBC should be globally coordinated and flexible enough to undertake burning conservation problems adjusted to regional differences in agriculture, socio-economy, and bird diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes occurring within small areas (patch-scale) that influence species richness and spatial heterogeneity of larger areas (landscape-scale) have long been an interest of ecologists. This research focused on the role of patch-scale deterministic chaos arising in phytoplankton assemblages characteristic of “Rock-Paper-Scissors” population dynamics (i.e., competitively non-hierarchical). We employed a simple 2-patch model configuration with lateral mixing and through-flow, and tested the robustness of species richness at the scale of the landscape and spatial heterogeneity. Three different assemblages were used that in a dimensionless box model configuration exhibited chaotic behavior. Our results showed that when a spatial dimension was added to the model configuration, and when all species were shared between patches (i.e., no invading populations), chaos-induced species richness and spatial heterogeneity were quickly reduced with the onset of mixing. While assemblages in each patch were comprised of exactly the same species, they differed in their proportional population densities due to differing stages of succession and the incidence of alternative assemblage structures. Even at very low mixing rates (0.001d−1), which produced low passive migration rates (0.1% of the total biomass per day), the incidence of high richness and heterogeneity decreased by ∼80%. Interestingly, this sensitivity was not the same for the three assemblages tested. Declines in species richness and spatial heterogeneity associated with mixing were greater in assemblages comprised of competitively dissimilar species (based on the area occupied in the resource-tradeoff space defined by the R* model). The underlying mechanisms may involve the degree to which nutrient dynamics are altered with the arrival of immigrants. Our findings suggest that in partially to well-mixed aquatic systems, the roles of patch-scale non-hierarchical competition and chaos as factors maintaining species richness and spatial heterogeneity may be limited. However, in aquatic systems that experience periods of very low mixing, or even disconnection, non-hierarchical competition and chaos might indeed contribute significantly to biodiversity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Environmental classifications are of paramount importance for assessing the impacts of land-use changes, for prioritizing conservation efforts, and for developing effective management strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of human activities. The aim of our research was to provide as complete an analysis as possible of the studies that have been carried out using the Braun-Blanquet approach. The global review of studies based on the Braun-Blanquet approach includes 1168 papers and was conducted using the PRISMA 2009 methodological recommendations, strict criteria for the selection/quality of papers, and modern methods of data analysis and visualization using VOSviewer software developed by Nees Jan van Eck and Ludo Waltman (Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University in the Netherlands) (version 1.6.18), which ensures a representative sample, minimization of subjective judgements, and reliability of conclusions. It was noted that the number of publications on Braun-Blanquet is growing exponentially. This is an indication of the scientific interest in this methodology and its continuous further development. Based on a detailed analysis of the keywords, the main research directions and challenges are identified. These include improving the conceptual and methodological foundations of the Braun-Blanquet approach; improvement in regional vegetation classifications, synthesizing them and producing a comprehensive classification for large areas as a basis for biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use; expansion of the geography; compilation and updating of databases of phytosociological data; management of dynamics and vegetation; discussion of the important problem of continuity and discreteness of vegetation in the context of ecological classifications; and vegetation mapping. The top 20 journals publishing the most cited articles were identified, as well as the top 20 most cited journals whose high citation rate is due to the large number of high-quality articles. The analysis of the bibliographic network of papers in dynamics has shown that the structure of relationships is not constant and has changed significantly. The analysis of the authors' publication activity showed that the vast majority of researchers have a low publication activity and have published only one to three papers. A peculiarity also emerges: if all the most cited authors are concentrated in Eurasia, then most of the most actively published authors are outside Eurasia. The importance of the Braun-Blanquet approach for the study and classification of forest vegetation should be emphasized. In this case, the Braun-Blanquet approach is integrated into forest typologies, increasing their ecological validity and environmental relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountains cover 24% of the land surface area and are home to 12% of the population of the world. The mountains within the Indian Himalayan region account for 16.2% (500, 000 km2) of India's total land area and while there is an age-old tradition of biodiversity conservation in this region, the area is under stress due to human population growth and climate change. Therefore, this region requires conservation management activities, however, our study has shown a substantial decrease in publications in this area between 2004 and 2019. In this study, we completed a bibliometric analysis to explore biodiversity protection in the Himalayas. The analysis revealed valuable information regarding current research trends as well as research gaps. This study uses bibliometric analysis to examine the changing landscape of biodiversity protection in the Himalayas. The study analysed 425 journal papers published from 2004 to 2023. This article contributes to understanding studies on Himalayan management challenges, including endangered species conservation, environmental protection, ecosystem dynamics, and conservation management. We hope this paper inspires scientists to complete research in the areas lacking data such that a baseline can be established and policies can be developed to support biodiversity conservation in the Indian Himalayas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity is in rapid decline globally with agriculture being one of the leading causes. Within agricultural landscapes, some features provide a benefit to biodiversity that is disproportionate to their spatial area. An interesting example is artificial ponds–or farm dams–which can support a large variety of taxa. Here, we present a global review of farm dam research related to biodiversity conservation objectives to provide an overview of the topics, key research insights, and the characteristics of current research. We used a three-stage process to screen literature and identified 104 relevant papers across 27 countries encompassing studies of 13 different taxa. Most of the studies were short-term (less than 5 years) with small sample sizes (less than 20 sites). Of the 104 papers, 88 were focussed primarily on ecological outcomes, such as species richness or abundance, and 15 on primary production outcomes, such as crop and livestock yield, despite addressing or measuring ecological metrics. Only one study measured both ecological and primary production outcomes. Studies frequently examined how the features of dams (79 studies) and attributes of the surrounding landscape (47 studies) impact particular species and communities. Terrestrial mammals (1 study) were under-represented in the literature with macrophytes (28 studies), macroinvertebrates (26 studies), and amphibians (19 studies) receiving the most attention. Our results reveal a growing trend towards recognizing farm dams as habitats for various taxa, including amphibians, beetles, dragonflies, and other macroinvertebrates within agricultural environments. Significant knowledge gaps exist in understanding how dam age, invasive species, and effective management practices impact the biodiversity conservation values of farm dams. Future research should emphasize enhancing biodiversity by collaborating with landholders to increase habitat through strategic vegetation planning, minimizing runoff and nutrient inflow, and restricting stock access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]