Assessing the Effectiveness of Reserve Acquisition Programs in Protecting Rare and Threatened Species

Abstract:  Measuring the effectiveness of reserve networks is essential to ensure that conservation objectives such as species persistence are being met. We devised a new approach for measuring the effectiveness of land conservation in protecting rare and threatened species and applied it to an ecosystem of global significance. We compiled detailed global distributional data for 36 rare and threatened plants and animals found in the Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem in central Florida (U.S.A.). For each species, we developed a set of protection indices based in part on criteria used to categorize species for the World Conservation Union's Red List. We calculated protection indexes under three different conservation scenarios: a past scenario, which assumed recent, major land-acquisition efforts never occurred; a current scenario, which assumed no additional areas are saved beyond what is currently protected; and a targeted scenario, which assumed all of the remaining areas targeted for protection are eventually acquired. This approach enabled us to quantify the progress, in terms of reduced risk of extinction, that conservationists have made in protecting target species. It also revealed the limited success these land-acquisition efforts have had in reducing those extinction risks associated with loss of habitat or small geographic ranges. Many species of the Lake Wales Ridge will remain at high risk of extinction even if planned land-acquisition efforts are completely successful. By calculating protection indexes with and without each site for all imperiled species, we also quantified the contribution of each protected area to the conservation of each species, enabling local conservation decisions to be made in the context of a larger (global) perspective. The protection index approach can be adapted readily to other ecosystems with multiple rare and threatened species.     

Examining the colonization process of exotic species varying in competitive abilities using a cellular automaton model

Current threats of invasive species have significant implications for ecological systems. Given their potential impacts, invasive species have been the subject of extensive empirical and theoretical studies. However, these studies have tended to focus on species that produce highly visible ecological and economic impacts. In our study, we take a step back from focusing on these high-impact invasive species, and examine the general colonization (invasion) process of exotic species that have various “competitive abilities” against the native species. Using a two-species cellular automaton model, we demonstrate that: (1) a threshold level of competitive ability is required for the exotic species to successfully establish in a new landscape and (2) an exotic species with superior competitive ability does not necessarily become dominant in a landscape (alternatively, a species that has inferior competitive ability may successfully colonize a new system). Our findings have significant implications for the study of species invasions and also provide clues to how species assemble in ecological communities.     

宁夏荒漠草原恢复演替过程中物种多样性与生产力的变化

荒漠草原一直是生态学者关注的焦点。文章以宁夏灵武的荒漠草原区为研究对象,对围栏条件下退化群落的物种多样性、生产力和群落演替及其生态机制进行探讨,为荒漠草原的植被恢复和重建提供理论基础。结果表明:群落生产力除受物种多样性的影响外,也受物种本身特征和环境资源的影响。在荒漠草原中功能群盖度与群落初级生产力无显著的相关关系。荒漠植物群落物种多样性指数在时间尺度上的变化表现为随着围栏时间的延续逐渐增加,而生态优势度变化趋势则相反。在不同年份年降水量直接影响植物群落物种数的多少、丰富度和生产力。     

Designing Cost-Effective Payments for Conservation Measures to Generate Spatiotemporal Habitat Heterogeneity

Abstract:  Many endangered species depend on certain types of agricultural or other forms of human land use. To conserve such species, schemes are set up in which land users receive payments for voluntarily managing their land in a biodiversity-enhancing manner. We developed a model-based framework for designing cost-effective payment schemes that generate spatiotemporal habitat heterogeneity to maximize the survival of multiple species under budget constraints. The framework integrates ecological and economic knowledge and consists of the derivation of an ecological benefit function and a budget function that are then combined to determine the cost-effective degree of spatiotemporal habitat heterogeneity. The ecological benefit function considers the timing of conservation measures, the induced habitat dynamics, and different degrees of substitutability among species. The budget function considers that the conservation agency may lack information about land users' individual conservation costs and personal attitudes and that land users can choose among different conservation measures. We applied the framework to a case study of grassland management, where the survival of three endangered species protected by the EU Habitats Directive depends on different types of land use. The lack of information available to the agency and the choice options of land users reduced the amount of conservation that can be financed with a given budget. Neglecting such findings may lead to an overestimation of the benefits of conservation programs.     

三江平原典型环型湿地生物多样性

以三江平原典型环型湿地为研究对象,在前人研究的基础上,结合野外调查,研究环型湿地生境多样性和物种多样性的现状及其形成原因,并探讨2者之间的关系。研究表明,三江平原环型湿地生境较为复杂,生境多样性高,生境多样性主要是由水文和地貌在不同层次的时空尺度上相互作用而形成和维持的;由环型湿地中心向边缘,湿地植物的丰富度指数和多样性指数呈先增加后减少的趋势,在塔头苔草(Carexcasiocaepa)群落处达到最大值,而漂筏苔草(Carexpseudocuraica)群落和沼柳-越菊柳(Salixbrachypoda Salixmyrtilloides)群落较低。湿地动物物种多样性丰富,大型土壤动物多样性与均匀性以芦苇-苔草群落为最高而其优势度最低,中小型土壤动物的均匀度和多样性以小叶章(Calamagrosticsangustifolia)沼泽化草甸最高而其优势度最低;三江平原环型湿地物种多样性和生境多样性关系密切。     

The Environmental Limits to Globalization

Abstract:  Criticisms of globalization have been largely based on its socioeconomic effects, but the environmental impacts of globalization are equally important. These include acceleration of climate change; drawdown of global stocks of cheap energy; substantial increases in air, water, and soil pollution; decreases in biodiversity, including a massive loss of crop and livestock varieties; depletion of ocean fisheries; and a significant increase in invasions of exotic species, including plant, animal, and human pathogens. Because of negative feedback from these changes, the future of globalization itself is bleak. The environmental and social problems inherent in globalization are completely interrelated—any attempt to treat them as separate entities is unlikely to succeed in easing the transition to a postglobalized world.     

雷州半岛红树林资源及其效益

对雷州半岛红树林资源及其效益进行调查分析。初步查明，雷州半岛沿海自然环境优越，适宜红树林生长发育，红树林资源丰富；现有红树植物15科26种，面积12422．9hm^2，分别占全国的93．8％、83．9％和32％；该地区的红树林在抵御风浪灾害、生物多样性保护、淤积造陆、防治污染等方面的生态环境效益及社会经济效益十分显著。