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The aim of the study is to identify changes in genetic diversity at the BoLA-DRB3 gene exon 2 of Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy cows on the example of a breeding herd where, over the past decade, targeted selection for increasing Holstein bloodlines has been carried out to improve milk production. Changes in genetic diversity were determined by comparing the biodiversity of the experimental herd with Holstein populations. In three stages, blood samples were obtained from 391 cows of the Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy breed from the Kozatska Dolyna 2006 breeding farm, Khmelnytsky oblast, Ukraine. The allelic spectrum of the BoLA-DRB3 gene exon 2 was determined by PCR–RFLP. The study was carried out in stages: in 2008–2010 in the first population (maternal herd, n = 162), in 2014–2017 in the second population (daughter herd, n = 123), and in 2019–2022 in the third population (granddaughter herd, n = 106). For comparison, the study includes previously published data on Holsteins: United States (n = 1100), Canada (n = 835), Chile (n = 113), Argentina (n = 424), Bolivia (n = 159), Paraguay (n = 139), and Peru (n = 133). The high polymorphism of the BoLA-DRB3 exon 2 gene makes it convenient for analyzing the genetic diversity of cattle. The assessment by Simpson and Berger-Parker indices shows that the measured herd of Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy breed has more genetic diversity at the BoLA-DRB3 gene than the Holstein populations. The allelic structure of the studied herds, evaluated by the Pielu index and Buzas and Gibson evenness, is more uniform. Significant genetic diversity of the Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy breed is confirmed by the Shannon index and the effective number of alleles. Their values are significantly higher than those for all the considered Holstein cattle populations. In the time trend, a decrease in genetic diversity at the BoLA-DRB3 gene was found in Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy cows compared to Holstein cows. The linear forecast for the future period showed that the level of its genetic biodiversity will decrease at the current level of use of Holstein genetic material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the need to protect and conserve biodiversity has become more critical than ever before, as a prerequisite for both sustainable development and the very survival of the human species. This has made it a priority for the scientific community to develop technological solutions that provide data and information for monitoring, directly or indirectly, biodiversity and the drivers of change. A new era of satellite earth observation upgrades the potential of Remote Sensing (RS) to support, at relatively low cost, but with high accuracy the extraction of information over large areas, at regular intervals, and over extended periods of time. Also, the recent development of the Earth Observation Data Cubes (EODC) framework facilitates EO data management and information extraction, enabling the mapping and monitoring of temporal and spatial patterns on the Earth's surface. This submission presents the ELBIOS EODC, specifically developed to support the biodiversity management and conservation over Greece. Based on the Open Data Cube (ODC) framework, it exploits multi-spectral optical Copernicus Sentinel-2 data and provides a series of Satellite Earth Observation (SEO) biodiversity products and spectral indices nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Monitoring pollinator populations is crucial for understanding biodiversity trends and ensuring the health of ecosystems, especially in agricultural landscapes. This study introduces the "Knautia Pollinator Walk" as a new method for tracking pollinator diversity and abundance. By observing pollinators visiting the inflorescence of Knautia arvensis, we found significant correlations between pollinators and land use, and there were significant differences in pollinator communities between regions. Our findings highlight the importance of habitat type in influencing pollinator populations, offering a valuable tool for conservation efforts. Declining populations of native pollinators, especially wild bees, underline the urgent need for effective monitoring within agricultural ecosystems. This study aims to (i) establish the 'Knautia Pollinator Walk' as an innovative pollinator monitoring method, (ii) examine the link between pollinator richness/density and land cover, and (iii) assess if specialist solitary bees indicate pollinator abundance and morphogroup richness. The approach involves surveying 500 Knautia arvensis inflorescences per site thrice per season. Observations of 11,567 pollinators across 203 taxa showed significant correlations between pollinator diversity and land use. Pollinator populations fluctuated with land cover type, increasing in open areas but decreasing or stabilising in forested and shrubby regions. Noteworthy differences in pollinator types were seen between Russia (solitary bees, small Diptera, Lepidoptera) and Sweden (bumblebees, beetles, furry Diptera). The "Knautia Pollinator Walk" shows promising signs of being an effective tool for monitoring spatiotemporal biodiversity trends. The method offers a scalable approach to pollinator monitoring, which is essential for developing conservation strategies and supporting pollinator populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the recently adopted Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 196 Parties committed to reporting the status of genetic diversity for all species. To facilitate reporting, three genetic diversity indicators were developed, two of which focus on processes contributing to genetic diversity conservation: maintaining genetically distinct populations and ensuring populations are large enough to maintain genetic diversity. The major advantage of these indicators is that they can be estimated with or without DNA‐based data. However, demonstrating their feasibility requires addressing the methodological challenges of using data gathered from diverse sources, across diverse taxonomic groups, and for countries of varying socio‐economic status and biodiversity levels. Here, we assess the genetic indicators for 919 taxa, representing 5271 populations across nine countries, including megadiverse countries and developing economies. Eighty‐three percent of the taxa assessed had data available to calculate at least one indicator. Our results show that although the majority of species maintain most populations, 58% of species have populations too small to maintain genetic diversity. Moreover, genetic indicator values suggest that IUCN Red List status and other initiatives fail to assess genetic status, highlighting the critical importance of genetic indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree-related microhabitats (TReMs) have been proposed as important indicators of biodiversity to guide forest management. However, their application has been limited mostly to temperate ecosystems, and it is largely unknown how the diversity of TReMs varies along environmental gradients. In this study, we assessed the diversity of TReMs on 180 individual trees and 44 plots alongside a large environmental gradient on Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We used a typology adjusted to tropical ecosystems and a tree-climbing protocol to obtain quantitative information on TreMs on large trees and dense canopies. We computed the diversity of TReMs for each individual tree and plot and tested how TReM diversity was associated with properties of individual trees and environmental conditions in terms of climate and human impact. We further used non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to investigate the composition of TReM assemblages alongside the environmental gradients. We found that diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of the first branch were the most important determinants of TReM diversity on individual trees, with higher DBH and lower first branch height promoting TReM diversity. At the plot level, we found that TReM diversity increased with mean annual temperature and decreased with human impact. The composition of TReMs showed high turnover across ecosystem types, with a stark difference between forest and non-forest ecosystems. Climate and the intensity of human impact were associated with TReM composition. Our study is a first test of how TReM diversity and composition vary along environmental gradients in tropical ecosystems. The importance of tree size and architecture in fostering microhabitat diversity underlines the importance of large veteran trees in tropical ecosystems. Because diversity and composition of TReMs are sensitive to climate and land-use effects, our study suggests that TReMs can be used to efficiently monitor consequences of global change for tropical biodiversity.

The European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2030 (EUBDS) aims to regain biodiversity through enhanced forest conservation and protection, which may lead to increased timber harvest in non‐EU countries. We aimed to identify the potential leakage of biodiversity risks as induced by the EUBDS. We created an indicator framework that allows one to quantify vulnerability of forest biodiversity. The framework is based on 26 biodiversity indicators for which indicator values were publicly available. We weighted single indicator values with countrywise modeled data on changed timber production under EUBDS implementation. Nearly 80% of the indicators pointed to higher vulnerability in the affected non‐EU countries. Roundwood production was transferred to countries with, on average, lower governance quality (p = 0.0001), political awareness (p = 0.548), forest coverage (p = 0.034), and biomass (p = 0.272) and with less sustainable forest management (p = 0.044 and p = 0.028). These countries had more natural habitats (p = 0.039) and intact forest landscapes (p = 0.0001) but higher risk of species extinction (p = 0.006) and less protected area (p = 0.0001) than the EU countries. Only a few indicators pointed to lower vulnerability and biodiversity risks outside the EU. Safeguards are needed to ensure that implementation of EUBDS does not cause harm to ecosystems elsewhere. The EU regulation on deforestation‐free supply chains might have limited effects because the sustainable management of existing and even expanding forests is not well considered. Sustained roundwood production in the EU is needed to avoid placing more pressure on more vulnerable ecosystems elsewhere. Decreasing species and habitat indicator values nevertheless call for global conservation and protection schemes. The EUBDS helped pave the way to the Kunming–Montreal Biodiversity Framework. Yet, lower values for the indicators mean governance and biodiversity engagement in non‐EU countries suggest that this global framework might not sufficiently prevent leakage of risks to biodiversity. Effective land‐use planning is necessary to balance conservation schemes with roundwood production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To effectively address biodiversity loss, it is essential to prioritize conservation efforts by identifying areas of high conservation value. Ecological uniqueness is a valuable metric for this purpose that decomposes beta diversity into local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD), thereby measuring the contribution of each site within a region to overall biodiversity variation. LCBD has been used extensively to evaluate ecological uniqueness from community composition data, but biodiversity is a multifaceted concept, and community-based ecological uniqueness may not capture the full range of ecological uniqueness occurring at other levels of biological organization. We investigated ecological uniqueness estimates derived from community and species population levels in a watershed of south-central Chile and analyzed their responses to water and habitat quality variables. Ecological uniqueness was estimated at the community level from fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages and at the population level using genetic and morphological data gathered for two invertebrates, the gastropod Chilina dombeiana and the water bug Aquarius chilensis. Our results revealed low spatial congruence between the levels of ecological uniqueness calculated for these different biodiversity components, with mismatches occurring among sites with high LCBD values. Water and habitat quality were major drivers of beta diversity in this watershed, accounting for 43.8% to 74.3% of the spatial variation in LCBDs, and their effects differed among the ecological uniqueness estimates. Overall, our results underscore the idiosyncratic nature of ecological uniqueness metrics, emphasizing the importance of using multiple components of biodiversity to guide conservation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the need to protect and conserve biodiversity has become more critical than ever before, as a prerequisite for both sustainable development and the very survival of the human species. This has made it a priority for the scientific community to develop technological solutions that provide data and information for monitoring, directly or indirectly, biodiversity and the drivers of change. A new era of satellite earth observation upgrades the potential of Remote Sensing (RS) to support, at relatively low cost, but with high accuracy the extraction of information over large areas, at regular intervals, and over extended periods of time. Also, the recent development of the Earth Observation Data Cubes (EODC) framework facilitates EO data management and information extraction, enabling the mapping and monitoring of temporal and spatial patterns on the Earth’s surface. This submission presents the ELBIOS EODC, specifically developed to support the biodiversity management and conservation over Greece. Based on the Open Data Cube (ODC) framework, it exploits multi-spectral optical Copernicus Sentinel-2 data and provides a series of Satellite Earth Observation (SEO) biodiversity products and spectral indices nationwide.

The North Sea is one of the most heavily used shelf regions worldwide with a diversity of human impacts, including shipping, pollution, fisheries, and offshore constructions. These stressors on the environment can have consequences for marine organisms, such as our study species, the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), which is regarded as a sentinel species and hence has a high conservation priority in the European Union (EU). As EU member states are obliged to monitor the population status, the present study aims to estimate trends in absolute harbor porpoise abundance in the German North Sea based on almost two decades of aerial surveys (2002-2019) using line-transect methodology. Furthermore, we were interested in trends in three Natura2000 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), which include the harbor porpoise as designated feature. Trends were estimated for each SAC and two seasons (spring and summer) as well as the complete area of the German North Sea. For the trend analysis we applied a Bayesian framework to a series of replicated visual surveys, allowing to propagate the error structure of the original abundance estimates to the final trend estimate and designed to deal with spatio-temporal heterogeneity and other sources of uncertainty. In general, harbor porpoise abundance decreased in northern areas and increased in the south, such as in the SAC Borkum Reef Ground. A particularly strong decline with a high probability (94.9%) was detected in the core area and main reproduction site in summer, the SAC Sylt Outer Reef (3.79% per year). The overall trend for the German North Sea revealed a decrease in harbor porpoise abundance over the whole study period (1.79% per year) with high probability (95.1%). The assessment of these trends in abundance based on systematic monitoring should now form the basis for adaptive management, especially in the SAC Sylt Outer Reef, where the underlying causes and drivers for the large decline remain unknown and deserve further investigation, also in a regional North Sea wide context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlight: Sæther, B. E., Engen, S., & Solbu, E. B. (2023a). Assessing the sensitivity and resistance of communities in a changing environment. Journal of Animal Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2656.14003. In the face of global change, conservation strategies can be informed by understanding which biological communities are most at risk. Metrics that reflect the 'resilience' of communities to change could have great utility, but there is still no consensus on the most useful way to measure it. Sæther et al. introduce an intuitive approach to thinking about and measuring resilience based on how variation in the total number of individuals within a community affects the number of species. By using dynamic species abundance distribution models, they also quantify the different sources of population‐level variation that contribute to community resilience. Evenness emerges as an important predictor of resilience, with more even communities predicted to be more sensitive to abundance loss. An attractive feature of their approach is the ability to estimate the key parameters using commonly used generalized linear mixed effects models, which they illustrate with a case study on forest bird communities. The approach is ripe for comparison across different systems to explore how these proposed metrics complement existing biodiversity metrics and how they help understand the risk of communities from environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary forests are spatially diverse terrestrial ecosystems with unique characteristics, being naturally regenerative and heterogeneous, which supports the stability of their carbon storage through the accumulation of live and dead biomass. Yet, little is known about the interactions between biomass stocks, tree genus diversity and structure across a temperate montane primary forest. Here, we investigated the relationship between tree structure (variability in basal area and tree size), genus-level diversity (abundance, tree diversity) and biomass stocks in temperate primary mountain forests across Central and Eastern Europe. We used inventory data from 726 permanent sample plots from mixed beech and spruce across the Carpathian Mountains. We used nonlinear regression to analyse the spatial variability in forest biomass, structure, and genus-level diversity and how they interact with plot-level tree age, disturbances, temperature and altitude. We found that the combined effects of genus and structural indices were important for addressing the variability in biomass across different spatial scales. Local processes in disturbance regimes and uneven tree age support forest heterogeneity and the accumulation of live and dead biomass through the natural regeneration, growth and decay of the forest ecosystem. Structural complexities in basal area index, supported by genus-level abundance, positively influence total biomass stocks, which was modulated by tree age and disturbances. Spruce forests showed higher tree density and basal area than mixed beech forests, though mixed beech still contributes significantly to biomass across landscapes. Forest heterogeneity was strongly influenced by complexities in forest composition (tree genus diversity, structure). We addressed the importance of primary forests as stable carbon stores, achieved through structure and diversity. Safeguarding such ecosystems is critical for ensuring the stability of the primary forest, carbon store and biodiversity into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining populations of native pollinators, especially wild bees, underline the urgent need for effective monitoring within agricultural ecosystems. This study aims to (i) establish the ‘Knautia Pollinator Walk’ as an innovative pollinator monitoring method, (ii) examine the link between pollinator richness/density and land cover, and (iii) assess if specialist solitary bees indicate pollinator abundance and morphogroup richness. The approach involves surveying 500 Knautia arvensis inflorescences per site thrice per season. Observations of 11,567 pollinators across 203 taxa showed significant correlations between pollinator diversity and land use. Pollinator populations fluctuated with land cover type, increasing in open areas but decreasing or stabilising in forested and shrubby regions. Noteworthy differences in pollinator types were seen between Russia (solitary bees, small Diptera, Lepidoptera) and Sweden (bumblebees, beetles, furry Diptera). The “Knautia Pollinator Walk” shows promising signs of being an effective tool for monitoring spatiotemporal biodiversity trends. The method offers a scalable approach to pollinator monitoring, which is essential for developing conservation strategies and supporting pollinator populations.

Extended Abstract Introduction and Objective: In order to protect and protect forests, these valuable resources, it is necessary and necessary to better understand the relationships between plants and the habitat conditions of these ecosystems and the biodiversity in them. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of slope and altitude from sea level on biodiversity in Arasbaran forests. Material and Methods: 30 sample plots of 1000 square meters (0.1 hectare) by dimensions 10 m×100m were surveyed in the study area. In the sample plots, the slope and height above sea level were recorded, and the slope was divided into three levels: 30%, and the altitude from sea level was also divided into two levels, 1700 m. In the sample plots, diameter at the breast height, type and abundance of species were recorded. The biodiversity indices computed were Simpson and Shannon-Wiener's, Margalf's and Menchnik's richness indices, and Pylo's and Hill's evenness indices. Biodiversity indices values ​​were computedby Past software. Results: According to the results, the highest frequency was related to the species of Quercus macranthera and Crataegus meyeri. The results showed that Hill's uniformity index decreases initially with increasing slope and then increases. Although the amount of other biodiversity indicators increases with the increase of the slope, statistically, the slope does not have a significant effect on these statistical indicators. Also, altitude above sea level did not have a significant effect on Species diversity indices. Conclusion: The present research showed that the slope has a significant effect on Hill's evenness index and has no significant effect on other Species diversity indices of plant species. Also, the height above the sea level had no significant effect on the Species diversity of tree species of plant species. This importance can be due to the proximity to residential areas and destruction by villagers.

Primary forests are spatially diverse terrestrial ecosystems with unique characteristics, being naturally regenerative and heterogeneous, which supports the stability of their carbon storage through the accumulation of live and dead biomass. Yet, little is known about the interactions between biomass stocks, tree genus diversity and structure across a temperate montane primary forest. Here, we investigated the relationship between tree structure (variability in basal area and tree size), genus-level diversity (abundance, tree diversity) and biomass stocks in temperate primary mountain forests across Central and Eastern Europe. We used inventory data from 726 permanent sample plots from mixed beech and spruce across the Carpathian Mountains. We used nonlinear regression to analyse the spatial variability in forest biomass, structure, and genus-level diversity and how they interact with plot-level tree age, disturbances, temperature and altitude. We found that the combined effects of genus and structural indices were important for addressing the variability in biomass across different spatial scales. Local processes in disturbance regimes and uneven tree age support forest heterogeneity and the accumulation of live and dead biomass through the natural regeneration, growth and decay of the forest ecosystem. Structural complexities in basal area index, supported by genus-level abundance, positively influence total biomass stocks, which was modulated by tree age and disturbances. Spruce forests showed higher tree density and basal area than mixed beech forests, though mixed beech still contributes significantly to biomass across landscapes. Forest heterogeneity was strongly influenced by complexities in forest composition (tree genus diversity, structure). We addressed the importance of primary forests as stable carbon stores, achieved through structure and diversity. Safeguarding such ecosystems is critical for ensuring the stability of the primary forest, carbon store and biodiversity into the future.

Including biodiversity indicators into forest planning is increasing in importance as it is a supporting service for other ecosystem services. To forecast biodiversity potential, forest planners use models that simulate forest growth and other biological and ecological processes. As models are simplifications of reality, they may ignore components of biodiversity’s multi-scales and multi-facets. To address this issue, we explored if current models used in forest planning can characterize biodiversity in a similar way as it is defined in ecology. We performed a narrative review of ecological papers to identify the main aspects of biodiversity defined in ecology. We then reviewed 64 forest planning articles to identify the indicators they use and what aspects of biodiversity they represent. We compared the aspects identified in ecology and forest planning to evaluate the discrepancies between the two fields and suggest improvements for future biodiversity studies in forest planning.We identified spatial and temporal connectivity, structure, and abiotic factors as the main biodiversity drivers defined in ecology and genetic, species, and functional diversity as the main responses. Based on this classification, we found that biodiversity models used in forest planning mainly focus on structure and species elements, with minor focus on connectivity and functions and none on genetic diversity. We found that most studies base their choice of biodiversity indicators on the outputs available from traditional forest simulators. Additionally, many studies do not frame biodiversity rigorously or acknowledge its complexity. This trend is explained by the traditional focus of forest planning on the economic value of the forest and maximization of timber volumes rather than its ecological value and the presence of diverse habitats. Our results describe and quantify the importance given to the different biodiversity aspects in forest planning studies and highlight the current limitations. We anticipate that improvements can be achieved through the inclusion of connectivity and we suggest paths to improve future biodiversity models.

As the multi-scale study of biodiversity is extremely resource-intensive, proxy indicators taken from various databases are often used to answer questions on a larger spatial scale. Considering differences in the scale and methods, the application of such indicators (especially from different monitoring systems) requires careful consideration and standard methods of validation. In order to demonstrate this, we validated the results of the MAES-HU (National Ecosystem Assessment of Hungary) forest condition assessment (based on the Hungarian NFD – National Forestry Database) with thematically richer, finer-scale field data. We also examined the relationships of some MAES-HU indicators with other variables significant for nature conservation, not currently included in the NFD. We found the MAES-HU scoring was similar to the fine-scale score results in the case of tree species composition indicators, however, less so for structural indicators. The MAES-HU assessment uses the values of the NFD, averaged for forest management units, and thus tends to underestimate structural variety. This highlights a potential loss of important conservation-related information. During the examination of relationships with other indicators that are not included in the large-scale MAES-HU assessment, we found that the presence of large-diameter and old trees correlates with tree-related microhabitats and large standing deadwood, but no relationship was found for other investigated indicators (game pressure, further deadwood indicators). This highlights the need for integrating some key conservation indicators (presence of old and large trees, quantity and quality of standing and lying deadwood) into existing forest monitoring systems in order to optimise the resources dedicated to multipurpose data collection. Our study also highlights that applying indicators as proxies requires the full knowledge of monitoring methods and validated indicator-indicanda relationships.

Global biodiversity is facing a crisis, which must be solved through effective policies and on‐the‐ground conservation. But governments, NGOs, and scientists need reliable indicators to guide research, conservation actions, and policy decisions. Developing reliable indicators is challenging because the data underlying those tools is incomplete and biased. For example, the Living Planet Index tracks the changing status of global vertebrate biodiversity, but taxonomic, geographic and temporal gaps and biases are present in the aggregated data used to calculate trends. However, without a basis for real‐world comparison, there is no way to directly assess an indicator's accuracy or reliability. Instead, a modelling approach can be used. We developed a model of trend reliability, using simulated datasets as stand‐ins for the "real world", degraded samples as stand‐ins for indicator datasets (e.g., the Living Planet Database), and a distance measure to quantify reliability by comparing partially sampled to fully sampled trends. The model revealed that the proportion of species represented in the database is not always indicative of trend reliability. Important factors are the number and length of time series, as well as their mean growth rates and variance in their growth rates, both within and between time series. We found that many trends in the Living Planet Index need more data to be considered reliable, particularly trends across the global south. In general, bird trends are the most reliable, while reptile and amphibian trends are most in need of additional data. We simulated three different solutions for reducing data deficiency, and found that collating existing data (where available) is the most efficient way to improve trend reliability, whereas revisiting previously studied populations is a quick and efficient way to improve trend reliability until new long‐term studies can be completed and made available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various biodiversity indicators, such as species richness, total abundance, and species diversity indices, have been developed to capture the state of ecological communities over space and time. As biodiversity is a multifaceted concept, it is important to understand the dimension of biodiversity reflected by each indicator for successful conservation and management. Here we utilized the responsiveness of biodiversity indicators' dynamics to environmental changes (i.e., environmental responsiveness) as a signature of the dimension of biodiversity. We present a method for characterizing and classifying biodiversity indicators according to environmental responsiveness and apply the methodology to monitoring data for a marine fish community under intermittent anthropogenic warm water discharge. Our analysis showed that 10 biodiversity indicators can be classified into three super‐groups based on the dimension of biodiversity that is reflected. Group I (species richness and community mean of latitudinal center of distribution (cCOD)) showed the greatest robustness to temperature changes; Group II (species diversity and total abundance) showed an abrupt change in the middle of the monitoring period, presumably due to a change in temperature; Group III (species evenness) exhibited the highest sensitivity to environmental changes, including temperature. These results had several ecological implications. First, the responsiveness of species diversity and species evenness to temperature changes might be related to changes in the species abundance distribution. Second, the similar environmental responsiveness of species richness and cCOD implies that fish migration from lower latitudes is a major driver of species compositional changes. The study methodology may be useful in selecting appropriate indicators for efficient biodiversity monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Protecting structural features, such as tree‐related microhabitats (TreMs), is a cost‐effective tool crucial for biodiversity conservation applicable to large forested landscapes. Although the development of TreMs is influenced by tree diameter, species, and vitality, the relationships between tree age and TreM profile remain poorly understood. Using a tree‐ring‐based approach and a large data set of 8038 trees, we modeled the effects of tree age, diameter, and site characteristics on TreM richness and occurrence across some of the most intact primary temperate forests in Europe, including mixed beech and spruce forests. We observed an overall increase in TreM richness on old and large trees in both forest types. The occurrence of specific TreM groups was variably related to tree age and diameter, but some TreM groups (e.g., epiphytes) had a stronger positive relationship with tree species and elevation. Although many TreM groups were positively associated with tree age and diameter, only two TreM groups in spruce stands reacted exclusively to tree age (insect galleries and exposed sapwood) without responding to diameter. Thus, the retention of trees for conservation purposes based on tree diameter appears to be a generally feasible approach with a rather low risk of underrepresentation of TreMs. Because greater tree age and diameter positively affected TreM development, placing a greater emphasis on conserving large trees and allowing them to reach older ages, for example, through the establishment of conservation reserves, would better maintain the continuity of TreM resource and associated biodiversity. However, this approach may be difficult due to the widespread intensification of forest management and global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Various biodiversity indicators, such as species richness, total abundance, and species diversity indices, have been developed to capture the state of ecological communities over space and time. As biodiversity is a multifaceted concept, it is important to understand the dimension of biodiversity reflected by each indicator for successful conservation and management. Here we utilized the responsiveness of biodiversity indicators' dynamics to environmental changes (i.e., environmental responsiveness) as a signature of the dimension of biodiversity. We present a method for characterizing and classifying biodiversity indicators according to environmental responsiveness and apply the methodology to monitoring data for a marine fish community under intermittent anthropogenic warm water discharge. Our analysis showed that 10 biodiversity indicators can be classified into three super‐groups based on the dimension of biodiversity that is reflected. Group I (species richness and community mean of latitudinal center of distribution (cCOD)) showed the greatest robustness to temperature changes; Group II (species diversity and total abundance) showed an abrupt change in the middle of the monitoring period, presumably due to a change in temperature; Group III (species evenness) exhibited the highest sensitivity to environmental changes, including temperature. These results had several ecological implications. First, the responsiveness of species diversity and species evenness to temperature changes might be related to changes in the species abundance distribution. Second, the similar environmental responsiveness of species richness and cCOD implies that fish migration from lower latitudes is a major driver of species compositional changes. The study methodology may be useful in selecting appropriate indicators for efficient biodiversity monitoring.

Biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes due to intensification of agriculture and degradation and loss of semi-natural habitats is a major issue that life cycle assessment (LCA) methods intend to address. No current LCA method is able to assess and compare impacts on the biodiversity of vegetable production systems as a function of farming practices and the local context. Based on a literature review and consultation with experts, the SALCA-BD expert system, originally designed to assess impacts on the biodiversity of cropland and grassland at field, rotation, and farm levels, was adapted to vegetable production systems. SALCA-BD is based on an inventory of the habitats found on a farm and a list of practices that can be implemented in these habitats. We distinguished an open field and a greenhouse as two distinct “level I” habitats, as a habitat’s openness favours the exchange of species with surrounding habitats. These two habitats were subdivided into “level II” habitats that corresponded to vegetable crops. Given the many types of vegetables, we used a clustering method to create a few categories that grouped vegetables that had similar potential to host biodiversity. We created a category for intercropped vegetables for fields in which multiple vegetables are grown at the same time, which is common on microfarms. We tested the expert system at field and farm levels using scenarios and a farm case study. We quantified effects of changes to individual practices and practice intensities at the field level on biodiversity. The results highlighted the importance of semi-natural habitats for preserving biodiversity, in addition to low-intensity practices, which indicates that assessment at the farm level is more informative than that at the field level. Because it considers habitats and practices in detail, SALCA-BD is useful for assessing biodiversity at field and farm levels and for comparing farming systems with the same land use and type of management (organic or conventional), which other LCA methods for assessing biodiversity cannot do. Field size, which is a driver of biodiversity, is considered indirectly only when semi-natural habitats are included. As SALCA-BD does not consider impacts of the background system, combining SALCA-BD with comprehensive methods for assessing impacts on biodiversity is a promising perspective for more complete assessment.

Biodiversity accounting is promoted as a way of improving the conservation of species and ecosystems. Advancing the theory and practice of biodiversity accounting is driven by the United Nation's standardization of ecosystem accounting in 2021 and a desire to make production of ecosystem accounts commonplace and useful. While the theory of biodiversity accounting has advanced, in practice few accounts have been produced and all have focused on iconic or threatened species. We present a set of novel biodiversity accounts for the 92 butterfly species of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), spanning 1978–2021, using historical records and systematic surveys of 224 sites between 2014–15 and 2020–21 in the Southern Hemisphere survey season (Spring‐Autum). We conclude that species level biodiversity accounting is useful for biodiversity conservation and that species accounting must go beyond accounting for iconic and threatened species and reflect other characteristics, such as the distribution, abundance, residential status, breeding status, endemism, and ecological status of all species. Habitat specialization provides a link to ecosystem condition accounting, with changes in the distribution and abundance of habitat specialists a likely indicator of ecosystem condition. With such information, species accounts can be used to assess and target conservation activity and examples for ACT butterflies are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand the process by which biodiversity performance indicators can be developed. In doing so, this paper examines how biodiversity performance measurements are inherently imperfect and reflects on the implications of that imperfectness. Using document analysis and semi‐structured interviews, this research outlines the case of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and their work in developing biodiversity indicators. Based on the concept of imperfect measurements, this paper outlines the conditions under which imperfect biodiversity indicators can be productive measurements leading to fertile debate and constant improvements, rather than flawed measurements that actors 'make do' with. This paper concludes the biodiversity indicators construction process requires a collaboration between a broad set of diverse organisations, including NGOs and research centres. Lastly, this paper outlines the need for ongoing and rigorous review of adopted measurements to reduce the potentially harmful nature of imperfect biodiversity performance measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the publication of a Decree that has established a List of the Italian old-growth forests, we have analyzed, using text mining software, the state of the art of Italian research in this field. We have analyzed 188 ISI and 72 non-indexed papers or reports. The analysis has identified 165 locations of which more than 50% are on pure beech or mixed beech and silver fir stands. The analysis was focused mainly on structural characteristics and bio-indicators. The current knowledge represents reliable support for the establishment of an Italian network of old-growth forests and this green infrastructure offers important opportunities for research and collaboration between research, natural resource management, and local, regional, and state administrations.

In Mediterranean Europe, both intensification and abandonment of traditional cultural practices represent main drivers for the loss of natural and semi-natural elements in agricultural settings. Once common in rural landscapes, these habitats have to be conserved or restored to ensure resilience and resistance of agroecosystems against biodiversity loss and socio-ecological changes. In particular, linear landscape elements (LE) fall among the high-biodiversity landscape features that require to be increased in agricultural lands to facilitate species mobility and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. However, within the framework of environmental accounting procedures, there is still a need for a thorough methodology to assess conditions of LE and, subsequently, of the hosting agroecosystems. The present research is therefore aimed at (i) proposing a method for a thorough assessment of LE conditions, with a special focus on biodiversity support capacity, (ii) investigating the potential effect of extrinsic determinants on LE conditions, such as contiguity to protected habitats and governance framework, and (iii) identifying useful parameters to guide LE ecological restoration actions. Based on different structural, compositional and landscape indicators, the proposed assessment method was tested in eight administrative units of two Mediterranean Europe countries. In the study sites, favorable LE conditions were found to be strongly associated with contiguity to protected habitats, by showing marked structural continuity, dominance of trees, active dynamics, and good quality of the surrounding landscape mosaic. Potential applications of the results have been finally explored in both ecosystem accounting and ecological restoration processes. • Linear landscape elements (LE) play a key role in making agroecosystems resilient. • An assessment of LE condition based on biodiversity support capacity is proposed. • In Mediterranean Europe, LE condition improves with contiguity to protected habitat. • Structural continuity is the most important factor characterizing contiguous LE. • Proposed assessment can be used for agroecosystem accounting and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Biodiversity accounting is promoted as a way of improving the conservation of species and ecosystems. Advancing the theory and practice of biodiversity accounting is driven by the United Nation's standardization of ecosystem accounting in 2021 and a desire to make production of ecosystem accounts commonplace and useful. While the theory of biodiversity accounting has advanced, in practice few accounts have been produced and all have focused on iconic or threatened species. We present a set of novel biodiversity accounts for the 92 butterfly species of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), spanning 1978–2021, using historical records and systematic surveys of 224 sites between 2014–15 and 2020–21 in the Southern Hemisphere survey season (Spring‐Autum). We conclude that species level biodiversity accounting is useful for biodiversity conservation and that species accounting must go beyond accounting for iconic and threatened species and reflect other characteristics, such as the distribution, abundance, residential status, breeding status, endemism, and ecological status of all species. Habitat specialization provides a link to ecosystem condition accounting, with changes in the distribution and abundance of habitat specialists a likely indicator of ecosystem condition. With such information, species accounts can be used to assess and target conservation activity and examples for ACT butterflies are provided.

The species composition, taxonomic structure, dominant complex, abundance and biomass, and indices of phytoplankton biodiversity have been determined for the first time using the results of studies of the Vasyugan River in July 2019 and 2021. We have identified 166 species and intraspecies taxa of algae from eight divisions, and green algae (the division Chlorophyta) form the basis of species richness. The dominant phytoplankton complex includes centric diatoms, green algae, and non-heterocyst cyanoprokaryotes. Biodiversity indices reflect high species richness and close to moderate complexity and evenness of the phytoplanktocenosis structure. The trophic status of the river corresponds to the eutrophic category of waters, and the water quality ranges from class 3 (satisfactory purity) to class 4 (polluted). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In October, nations of the world will begin negotiations for the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. An influential ambition is “bending the curve of biodiversity loss,” which aims to reverse the decline of global biodiversity indicators. A second relevant, yet less prominent, milestone is the 20th anniversary of the publication of The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Here, I apply neutral theory to show how global biodiversity indicators for population size (Living Planet Index) and extinction threat (Red List Index) decline under neutral ecological drift. This demonstrates that declining indicators are not solely caused by deterministic species‐specific or geographical patterns of biodiversity loss. Instead, indicators are sensitive to nondirectional stochasticity. Thus, “bending the curve” could be assessed relative to a counterfactual based on neutral theory, rather than static baselines. If used correctly, the 20‐year legacy of neutral theory can be extended to make a valuable contribution to the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Seagrass has been widely recognized as ecosystem engineers and habitat-builders increasing biodiversity and abundance of associated fauna. However, seagrass habitats are being degraded globally due to modification of coastline, terrestrial inputs, and climate change. While the effects of seagrass meadows vegetation density on associated macrofauna standing stocks and taxonomic richness have been widely investigated, the relationships with functional diversity aspects remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate if macrofauna standing stocks and richness indicators (both taxonomic and functional) are related to the habitat-builders presence and structural characteristics (density, biomass, diversity) in temperate Zostera marina Linnaeus, 1753 meadows (Baltic Sea). Relationships between faunal (density, biomass, species and functional trait composition and diversity), vegetation and sediment indicators were tested based on materials collected by scuba divers. Macrofauna density (ranging from 587.6 ± 188.2 to 4514.1 ± 977.8 ind. 0.1 m−2), biomass (ranging from 43.1 ± 28.3 to 13.6 ± 30.8 g 0.1 m−2) and species richness (ranging from 7 ± 1.4 to 20 ± 1.4) responded positively to seagrass presence regardless of meadows characteristics. Functional trait richness ranged from 203.7 ± 64.3 to 44.7 ± 41.1 and was enhanced only in presence of the greatest macrophyte diversity. Therefore, it is the diversity of meadows that boosts the functional richness of associated fauna. This implies that 1) monospecies seagrass meadows do not necessarily provide a higher number of functions than neighboring bare sediments in systems with low diversity such as Baltic Sea, 2) both taxonomic and functional indicators should be used to describe macrofauna communities. This result is an important message for conservation planning for systems with low diversity, as restoration of at least a few macrophytes species not only the dominant seagrass species could be considered to secure greater taxonomic and functional richness.

Background: Biodiversity varies in space and time, and often in response to environmental heterogeneity. Indicators in the form of local biodiversity measures-such as species richness or abundance-are common tools to capture this variation. The rise of readily available remote sensing data has enabled the characterization of environmental heterogeneity in a globally robust and replicable manner. Based on the assumption that differences in biodiversity measures are generally related to differences in environmental heterogeneity, these data have enabled projections and extrapolations of biodiversity in space and time. However so far little work has been done on quantitatively evaluating if and how accurately local biodiversity measures can be predicted. Methods: Here I combine estimates of biodiversity measures from terrestrial local biodiversity surveys with remotely-sensed data on environmental heterogeneity globally. I then determine through a cross-validation framework how accurately local biodiversity measures can be predicted within ("predictability") and across similar ("transferability") biodiversity surveys. Results: I found that prediction errors can be substantial, with error magnitudes varying between different biodiversity measures, taxonomic groups, sampling techniques and types of environmental heterogeneity characterizations. And although errors associated with model predictability were in many cases relatively low, these results question-particular for transferability-our capability to accurately predict and project local biodiversity measures based on environmental heterogeneity. I make the case that future predictions should be evaluated based on their accuracy and inherent uncertainty, and ecological theories be tested against whether we are able to make accurate predictions from local biodiversity data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the publication of a Decree that has established a List of the Italian oldgrowth forests, we have analyzed, using text mining software, the state of the art of Italian research in this field. We have analyzed 188 ISI and 72 non-indexed papers or reports. The analysis has identified 165 locations of which more than 50% are on pure beech or mixed beech and silver fir stands. The analysis was focused mainly on structural characteristics and bio-indicators. The current knowledge represents reliable support for the establishment of an Italian network of old-growth forests and this green infrastructure offers important opportunities for research and collaboration between research, natural resource management, and local, regional, and state administrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow adoption by the agricultural sector of practices to promote biodiversity are thought to originate from three interrelated issues. First, we know little about which incentives effectively motivate farmers to integrate biodiversity into daily farm management. Second, few studies so far have produced evidence that biodiversity-based approaches produce benefits in terms of key variables for farmers (yield, profit). Third, there is a large communication gap between the scientists investigating biodiversity-based farming practices and the farmers who have to implement them. To overcome these barriers, SHOWCASE will review and test the effectiveness of a range of economic and societal incentives to implement biodiversity management in farming operations and examine farmer and public acceptance. Focus will be on three promising approaches: (i) result-based incentives, (ii) involvement in citizen science biodiversity monitoring and (iii) biodiversity-based business models. SHOWCASE will co-produce together with stakeholders solid interdisciplinary evidence for the agro-ecological and socio-economic benefits of biodiversity management in 10 contrasting farming systems across Europe. SHOWCASE will also design communication strategies that are tailor-made to farmers and other key stakeholders operating in different socio-economic and environmental conditions. SHOWCASE will develop a multi-actor network of 10 Experimental Biodiversity Areas in contrasting European farming systems that will be used for in-situ research on biodiversity incentives and evidence for benefits as well as knowledge exchange. This network will be used to identify and test biodiversity indicators and targets relevant to all stakeholders and use them in a learning-by-doing approach to improve benefits of biodiversity management on farms, both within the network and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of study: Practically and simply assessing biodiversity by using inventory variables in four types of forest plantation stands (mixed and pure) including species such are chestnut, blue gum and maritime pine. Area of study: Northwest Portugal in Vale do Sousa (14,840 ha), which is 97% covered with plantation forests. Material and methods: Simulated data, from 90-year stand-level forest management planning, were considered using three indicators: tree species (number of different species and species origin—native or exotic), mean diameter at breast height (DBH), and shrub biomass. Two shrub regeneration types (fully regenerated by seed and fully regenerated by resprouting), and three site quality conditions were also considered. Main results: Mean biodiversity scores varied between very low (10.13) in pure blue gum stands on lowest-quality sites with shrub regeneration by seed, and low (29.85) in mixed stands with a dominance of pine, on best-quality sites with shrub regeneration by resprouting. Site quality and shrub regeneration type significantly affected all biodiversity scores in mixed stands dominated by pine and pure chestnut stands, while less affected pure blue gum stands and mixed stands were dominated by blue gum. Research highlights: The considered biodiversity indicators cover the major biodiversity aspects and allow biodiversity assessment over time. The findings are relevant for biodiversity conservation and fire protection management.

Sustainable management of forest ecosystems requires the use of reliable and easy to implement biodiversity and naturalness indicators. Tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) can fulfill these roles as they harbor specialized species that directly or indirectly depend on them, and are generally more abundant and diverse in natural forests or forests unmanaged for several decades. The TreM concept is however still recent, implying the existence of many knowledge gaps that can challenge its robustness and applicability. To evaluate the current state of knowledge on TreMs, we conducted a systematic review followed by a bibliometric analysis of the literature identified. A total of 101 articles constituted the final corpus. Most of the articles (60.3%) were published in 2017 or after. TreM research presented a marked lack of geographical representativity, as the vast majority (68.3%) of the articles studied French, German or Italian forests. The main themes addressed by the literature were the value of TreMs as biodiversity indicators, the impact of forest management on TreMs and the factors at the tree- and stand-scales favoring TreMs occurrence. Old-growth and unmanaged forests played a key role as a “natural” forest reference for these previous themes, as TreMs were often much more abundant and diverse compared to managed forests. Arthropods were the main phylum studied for the theme of TreMs as biodiversity indicators. Other more diverse themes were identified, such as restoration, remote sensing, climate change and economy and there was a lack of research related to the social sciences. Overall, current research on TreMs has focused on assessing its robustness as an indicator of biodiversity and naturalness at the stand scale. The important geographical gap identified underscores the importance of expanding the use of the TreMs in other forest ecosystems of the world. The notable efforts made in recent years to standardize TreM studies are an important step in this direction. The novelty of the TreM concept can partially explain the thematic knowledge gaps. Our results nevertheless stress the high potential of TreMs for multidisciplinary research, and we discuss the benefits of expanding the use of TreMs on a larger spatial scale.

Tree-related microhabitats (hereafter TreMs) are structures occurring on trees, such as rot holes, cavities, large nests, mould, fruiting bodies and mycelia of decomposer fungi. TreMs have been widely recognized as important substrates and structures useful for biodiversity conservation in forest ecosystems, and they can be used as indicators for describing and monitoring forest naturalness. However, most studies on the occurrence of TreMs have been mainly done in forest ecosystems of Central Europe, while less research has been conducted in Mediterranean mountain forests. In this study, we investigated the diversity and abundance of 23 types of TreMs on living trees and on deadwood in seven Mediterranean mountains unmanaged forests located in the Apennines (Italy). The abundance of TreMs was evaluated by counting the number of TreMs per tree, while the diversity of TreMs was evaluated by means of the Shannon-Wiener index. We focused on the relationships between diversity and abundance of TreMs, and tree size (e.g., diameter, height, volume), and the time since the last harvest. Among the investigated stands, 2612 living trees, 457 standing dead trees and snags, and 1247 lying deadwood pieces were analysed. For living trees, a generalized linear mixed model was applied to test the effect of several variables on the abundance of TreMs per tree. Diameter at breast height (DBH) of tree stems influenced the abundance and diversity of TreMs. The time since the last harvest also significantly affected the probability that TreMs could be formed in a long-term perspective. The interaction of the predictors “DBH2” and “Years since the last harvest” generated a better model than the one in which the two variables were kept separate. Indeed, these two factors together would better represent the transition of a previously managed forest to a more natural state over time. This study might provide useful information to land managers committed to forestry practices towards sustainable management and biodiversity conservation, especially referring to survey and inventory of forests of high nature value.

Floodwater spreading plays an important role in restoring and enhancing the vegetative cover, improving soil fertility, groundwater recharge and desertification control. These have been achieved in some of the arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Flood water spreading as a corrective measure, in soil seed bank composition and diversity was assessed in the Gareh Bygon Plain, Fasa, the province of Fars. Soil seed bank was evaluated in the water-spreading tracts, water-spreaders planted with Atriplex lentiformis harvesting and the control area (without water-spreading). Sampling of soil seed bank was carried out at a 0-10 cm depth prior to the initiation of seed growth in December 2017, and the composition of the soil seed bank was determined by the germination method in the greenhouse. The results indicated that from 42 species identified in the soil seed bank, 40, 40 and 24 species were present in the three areas. Water- spreaders, water-spreaders planted with Atriplex lentiformis harvesting and the control tracts, respectively. The highest species diversity and richness indices were obtained in the area under water-spreading. The RDA analysis showed that the species composition and functional groups of soil seed bank of the study area were affected by flood water spreading practices and Atriplex lentiformis harvesting planting. Furthermore, the soil seed bank density of plant functional groups was affected by water-spreading. The results indicated that 35 years of floodwater spreading has positively affected the composition, diversity and functional groups indices of the soil seed bank.

Context: Seed dispersal by birds plays a crucial role in structuring landscape dynamics. The dispersal process has been extensively studied at local scales; however, landscape scale approaches are scarce. The wide availability of bird species distribution data can be used to explore plant dispersal processes at large spatial scales. Objective: We investigated whether and at which scale bird-seed-dispersal indicators (BSDI) based on species distribution models (SDMs), together with climatic and landscape structure metrics related to habitat preferences of birds, aid the explanation of the distribution of Viscum album. Methods: We developed a set of BSDI (abundance, species richness, Turdus spp. richness, and specialization) at four different scales (500–3500 m). They served as predictors, along with other environmental variables, in generalized linear models to predict V. album distribution in Catalonia, Spain. Results: The indicator Turdus spp. richness (3500 m) explained up to 15% of variance. This contribution was smaller when it was considered alongside other predictors, where climatic conditions and % of olive groves explained ca. 35% and 13% variance, respectively. The abundance or species richness BSDI proved to be poor predictors of V. album distribution. Conclusions: We demonstrated the functionality of BSDI based on SDMs to predict the distribution of V. album and the importance to test them at different spatial scales. BSDI showed a clear larger effect with increasing scale, suggesting a strong link between the mobility of birds and the plant dispersal process. The modelling approach could be applied to different localities and species to understand plant seed dispersal at landscape scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural landscapes in Europe have suffered considerable land-use change in the last 50 years, with agricultural intensification in western regions and land abandonment in eastern and southern regions. The negative impacts of agricultural intensification on butterflies and other insects in western Europe have been well studied. However, less is known about the impacts of abandonment on mountain and humid areas of eastern and southern Europe, where landscapes have remained more natural. We sampled butterfly communities in the Picos de Europa National Park (Spain), a region which is undergoing a process of rural abandonment. 19 hay meadows with different periods of abandonment were studied (long-term 18 years or mid-term abandoned, 3–7 years) and compared to meadows continuously managed in a traditional way. We examined how local meadow characteristics and landscape variables affected butterfly community response to abandonment. Butterfly communities were affected by abandonment, with an overall increase in the density of individuals in the long term. Community composition appears to undergo major change over time, with a species turnover of around 50% in the first few years of abandonment, rising to around 70% after 18 years of abandonment. There was a tendency for species with higher preference for closed habitats to increase their densities as time since abandonment proceeded. Landscape variables had a major impact on butterfly communities, stronger than the effect of meadow management. Community preference for closed habitats was associated with higher forest cover in the surroundings of the meadows, but heterogeneous landscapes (in their composition or configuration) mitigated this effect. Implications for insect conservation: Our findings suggest that we should ensure that communities have time to react to the diverse stressors imposed by global change. Facilitating survival to all kinds of functional and taxonomic groups implies promoting landscape heterogeneity and connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring wildlife populations is essential if global targets to reverse biodiversity declines are to be met. Recent analysis of data from the UK’s long-term National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) suggests stable or increasing population trends for many bat species, and these statistics help inform progress towards national biodiversity targets. However, although based on robust citizen science survey designs, it is unknown how sensitive these trends are to spatial and environmental biases. Here we use Bayesian hierarchical modelling with integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA), to examine the impact of these types of biases on the population trends using relative occupancy of four species monitored by the NBMP Field Survey in Great Britain (GB): Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, Nyctalus noctula and Eptesicus serotinus. Where possible, we also disaggregated trends to national levels using the best model per species to determine if national differences in trends remain once sampling biases are accounted for. Although we found evidence of spatial clustering in the NBMP Field Survey locations, the previously reported GB-wide population trends are broadly robust to spatial autocorrelation. In most species, accounting for spatial autocorrelation and species-environment relationships improved model fit. The nationally disaggregated models highlighted that GB-wide trends mask differences between England and Scotland, consistent with previous analysis of these data, as well as illustrating large gaps in survey effort, especially in Wales. We suggest that although bat population trends were found to be broadly robust to sampling biases present in these data, small differences could propagate over time and this impact is likely to be more severe in less structured citizen science data. Therefore, ensuring trends are robust to sampling biases present in citizen science datasets is critical to effective monitoring of progress towards biodiversity targets, managing populations sustainably, and ultimately a reversal of global declines.

In October, nations of the world will begin negotiations for the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. An influential ambition is "bending the curve of biodiversity loss," which aims to reverse the decline of global biodiversity indicators. A second relevant, yet less prominent, milestone is the 20th anniversary of the publication of The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Here, I apply neutral theory to show how global biodiversity indicators for population size (Living Planet Index) and extinction threat (Red List Index) decline under neutral ecological drift. This demonstrates that declining indicators are not solely caused by deterministic species‐specific or geographical patterns of biodiversity loss. Instead, indicators are sensitive to nondirectional stochasticity. Thus, "bending the curve" could be assessed relative to a counterfactual based on neutral theory, rather than static baselines. If used correctly, the 20‐year legacy of neutral theory can be extended to make a valuable contribution to the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a well-documented opportunity and need to incorporate biodiversity conservation priorities into REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiatives. This requires thorough monitoring of changes to biodiversity at appropriate temporal and spatial scales. A national forest inventory is one of the essential tools used to monitor carbon stock changes but can also be expanded to include biodiversity indicators. Here we analyse the progress and potential of 70 countries in monitoring primarily non-tree biodiversity using national forest inventories. Progress on national forest inventories among countries participating in REDD+ is variable: 11 countries have not started; 26 have started but do not include non-tree biodiversity indicators; the remaining 33 countries do include non-tree biodiversity indicators but use various methodological approaches, levels of detail and taxonomic groups. Very few of these provide comprehensive and accessible manuals or results, highlighting a need for greater transparency. The capacity of countries to fund ongoing national forest inventories is a constraining factor. Remote sensing technologies can help reduce costs for countries with limited monitoring capacity but the need to understand biodiversity variation at finer scales often limits the utility of such methods.

Effective assessments of the current status of biodiversity conservation are needed to support planning, policy and action, from local to global levels. Of particular use would be well documented, reproducible methods based on openly accessible data and tools. Such methods should provide an accurate estimate of the state of conservation of diversity, identifying gaps in current conservation systems, while providing a benchmark against which to measure success, including determining when conservation goals have been met. Here we introduce GapAnalysis, an open source R package developed to support the assessment of the state of conservation of taxa, both ex situ (in genebanks, botanic gardens and other repositories) and in situ (in protected natural areas). The eco‐geographic variation maintained in conservation repositories and that present within protected natural areas is compared with the full extent of eco‐geographic variation predicted within species' native ranges. Eco‐geographic conservation gaps are identified, and taxa are then prioritized for further action. The package enables users to quickly determine conservation status, gaps and priorities for as few as one to as many as thousands of taxa, for any wild flora or fauna for which occurrence data and species distribution models are available. To demonstrate the use of GapAnalysis, we provide case studies for wild plant taxa in the genera Capsicum L. and Cucurbita L, with an accompanying online R tutorial for three of the Cucurbita species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dragonets are one of the dominant species in Tosa Bay, Southwestern Japan. However, until now, there is no baseline information on the conservation status of its species and populations. This study gathered genetic and ecological data and information to analyze and measure the historical conservation status of dragonets in the Bay. Quantitative values were converted into qualitative ranges to measures the conservation status of dragonet species. Eight dragonet species/populations were found to be in stable condition in the early 1990s, namely: Callionymus planus Ochiai, 1955; Callionymus lunatus Temminck and Schlegel, 1845; Callionymus curvicomis Valenciennes, 1837; Callionymus japonicus Houttuyn, 1782; Callionymus enneactis Bleeker, 1879; Synchiropus altivelis (Temminck and Schlegel, 1845); Repomucenus virgis (Jordan and Fowler, 1903); and Repomucenus huguenini Bleeker, 1858. Others were globally endangered and rare {Callionymus draconis Nakabo, 1977), locally highly vulnerable {Callionymus valenciennei Temminck and Schlegel, 1845; Callionymus beniteguri (Jordan and Snyder, 1900), locally vulnerable {Callionymus formosanus Fricke, 1981; Bathycallionymus kaianus (Günther, 1981)), and globally highly vulnerable {Callionymus sokonumeri Kamohara, 1936). The information gained in this study provided baseline knowledge on the historical species risk status of dragonets in Tosa Bay, which can be used as a basis for future studies. It also provided some scientifically-based options for managing biodiversity in a defined spatial management unit, which is applicable to e.g., marine protected areas, parks, bays, islands, lakes, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity varies with elevation and is affected by disturbances. However, little is known about how the associations between the diversities of different bryophyte and macrolichen functional-taxonomic groups are altered along elevational gradients and by disturbances. Knowledge on the associations between these functional-taxonomic groups might be of importance in practical conservation biology, as identifying indicator taxa which are easy to monitor could be useful in estimating a wider biodiversity. We sampled the species richness of bryophytes and macrolichens in 92 plots distributed in disturbed and undisturbed stands along elevational gradients in the laurel forest of Madeira. We then calculated a matrix of correlations for all pairwise combinations of 18 different functional-taxonomic bryophyte and macrolichen groups and tested for average differences in correlations with elevation and disturbance history and whether particular functional-taxonomic groups can be used to estimate the richness of other taxa. Associations between the diversities of functional-taxonomic groups within the bryophyte group and within the macrolichen group were always positive and mainly strong. Although changes in elevation and disturbance history changed the associations between the different bryophyte and macrolichen functional-taxonomic groups, we found the species richness of mosses or liverworts to be suitable for predicting overall bryophyte species richness and the species richness of green-algae macrolichens to be reliable for estimating overall macrolichen species richness. Associations between diversities of bryophyte and macrolichen groups were generally weak, suggesting that the two groups have different ecological requirements and do not share the same environmental drivers. The fact that no single bryophyte taxon can be used to predict the richness of any macrolichen group, and vice versa, points to the need to study both bryophytes and lichens. However, we found indicator taxa that are relatively easy to monitor and therefore could be used to estimate the wider biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]