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Precipitation information ;Metadata of the 22 databases analyzed in our study. Stem inclusion criterion refers to the diameter at breast height (dbh), except for data from Vieira et al., who used height values. The data used in the analysis from Chazdon and Griffith et al. are for repeated measures over three years, given the small number of plots (n = 6). For these databases, the age range in the chronosequences corresponds to the variation in the last year sampled. S. G. Letcher database include some plots studied by R. L. Chazdon. ;Effect of precipitation on the predictability of successional trajectories. Predictability was measured as the goodness-of-fit (R²adj) of the relationship between each vegetation attribute and forest stand age. ;Effect of precipitation, minimum stem diameter, and plot size on the recovery rate of species richness, density of individuals and basal area along secondary succession. We estimated recovery rate through the equation: [(15 years predicted value – 20 years predicted value)/5], where 5 corresponds to the age interval in years. The predicted values for the fixed age of 15 and 20 years were obtained from the relationship between each vegetation attribute and forest stand age, using generalized additive models.;Effect of landscape forest cover on the predictability of successional trajectories considering differently sized concentric landscapes (i.e. buffers of 1 to 10-km radius, at 1 km intervals). Predictability was measured as the goodness-of-fit (R²adj) of the relationship between each vegetation attribute and forest stand age using generalized additive models. Because the deviance explained by the models was highest when considering landscapes of 4-km radius for all vegetation attributes (in bold), this landscape radius was selected as the scale of forest cover effect (Jackson & Fahrig 2015).

Despite substantial progress in understanding global biodiversity loss, major taxonomic and geographic knowledge gaps remain. Decision makers often rely on expert judgement to fill knowledge gaps, but are rarely able to engage with sufficiently large and diverse groups of specialists. To improve understanding of the perspectives of thousands of biodiversity experts worldwide, we conducted a survey and asked experts to focus on the taxa and freshwater, terrestrial, or marine ecosystem with which they are most familiar. We found several points of overwhelming consensus (for instance, multiple drivers of biodiversity loss interact synergistically) and important demographic and geographic differences in specialists’ perspectives and estimates. Experts from groups that are underrepresented in biodiversity science, including women and those from the Global South, recommended different priorities for conservation solutions, with less emphasis on acquiring new protected areas, and provided higher estimates of biodiversity loss and its impacts. This may in part be because they disproportionately study the most highly threatened taxa and habitats. Front Ecol Environ 2022;.

Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research-from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for certain regions of the world and for specific taxonomic groups, posing a real barrier to progress in these fields. To overcome this challenge, we developed the Tallo database, a collection of 498,838 georeferenced and taxonomically standardized records of individual trees for which stem diameter, height and/or crown radius have been measured. These data were collected at 61,856 globally distributed sites, spanning all major forested and non-forested biomes. The majority of trees in the database are identified to species (88%), and collectively Tallo includes data for 5163 species distributed across 1453 genera and 187 plant families. The database is publicly archived under a CC-BY 4.0 licence and can be access from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6637599. To demonstrate its value, here we present three case studies that highlight how the Tallo database can be used to address a range of theoretical and applied questions in ecology-from testing the predictions of metabolic scaling theory, to exploring the limits of tree allometric plasticity along environmental gradients and modelling global variation in maximum attainable tree height. In doing so, we provide a key resource for field ecologists, remote sensing researchers and the modelling community working together to better understand the role that trees play in regulating the terrestrial carbon cycle.

This documents correspondtoChapter 1 of the IPBES methodological assessment of the diverse values and valuation of nature and its supplementary material.

These documents correspond to Chapter 1 of the IPBES methodological assessment of the diverse values and valuation of nature and its supplementary material., Suggested citation: Balvanera, P., Pascual, U., Christie, M., Baptiste, B., Lliso, B., Monroy, A.S., Guibrunet, L., Anderson, C.B., Athayde, S., Barton, D.N., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Jacobs, S., Kelemen, E., Kumar, R., Lazos, E., Martin, A., Mwampamba, T.H., Nakangu, B., O'Farrell, P., Raymond, C.M., Subramanian, S.M., Termansen, M., Van Noordwijk, M., Vatn, A., Contreras, V., and González-Jiménez, D. (2022). Chapter 1: The role of the values of nature and valuation for addressing the biodiversity crisis and navigating towards more just and sustainable futures. In: Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. P. Balvanera, U. Pascual, C. Michael, B. Baptiste, and D. González-Jiménez (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6418971

These documents correspondtoChapter 1 of the IPBES methodological assessment of the diverse values and valuation of nature and its supplementary material.

Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research—from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for certain regions of the world and for specific taxonomic groups, posing a real barrier to progress in these fields. To overcome this challenge, we developed the Tallo database, a collection of 498,838 georeferenced and taxonomically standardized records of individual trees for which stem diameter, height and/or crown radius have been measured. These data were collected at 61,856 globally distributed sites, spanning all major forested and non-forested biomes. The majority of trees in the database are identified to species (88%), and collectively Tallo includes data for 5163 species distributed across 1453 genera and 187 plant families. The database is publicly archived under a CC-BY 4.0 licence and can be access from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6637599. To demonstrate its value, here we present three case studies that highlight how the Tallo database can be used to address a range of theoretical and applied questions in ecology—from testing the predictions of metabolic scaling theory, to exploring the limits of tree allometric plasticity along environmental gradients and modelling global variation in maximum attainable tree height. In doing so, we provide a key resource for field ecologists, remote sensing researchers and the modelling community working together to better understand the role that trees play in regulating the terrestrial carbon cycle.

Sustainability requires a combination of meaningful co-production of locally relevant solutions, synthesis of insights gained across regions, and increased cooperation between science, policy and practice. The Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) has been coordinating Place-Based Social-Ecological Sustainability Research (PBSESR) across the globe and emphasizes the need for regional scientific nodes from diverse biocultural regions to inform sustainability science and action. In this paper, we assess the strengths of the PBSESR communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). We provide an overview of PBSESR literature associated with this region and highlight the achievements of two prominent regional networks: The Social-Ecological Systems and Sustainability Research Network from Mexico (SocioEcoS) and the South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies from Uruguay (SARAS Institute). Finally, we identify the potential in these nodes to constitute a regional PECS node in Latin America and discuss the capacity needed to ensure such function. The results of the literature review show that while still loosely interconnected across the region, networks play key roles in connecting otherwise cloistered teams and we illustrate how the SocioEcoS network (focusing on transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge towards sustainability) and the SARAS Institute (focusing on innovative approaches for looking at complex social-ecological problems, rooted in slow science and arts) operate as key connectors in the region. We conclude that these organizations combined can embody a Latin American node for PECS, and would thereby not only contribute to regional but also global capacities to advance the sustainability agenda. Incluye referencias bibliográficas

Relational values are values of desirable relationships between people and nature and amongpeople (through nature). We report on the approach to capture relational values of nature’scontributions to people in the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia of theIntergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).We present a framework considering indicators along four relational value dimensions aboutpeople’s relationships with nature: security and sovereignty; health; equity and justice; andheritage, social identity and stewardship. The framework has been operationalized for threenature’s contributions to people (NCP): regulation of freshwater quality and quantity, foodand feed, and physical and psychological experiences derived from nature. We identify waysto empirically assess relational values of nature’s contributions to people at regional andcontinental scales with social-ecological indicators and proxies, ranging from biophysicalindicators to indicators that intersect socio-economic with biophysical data. We concludethat many of the identified indicators can be considered as useful proxies of relational valuesin a quantitative way. The analysis shows that relational values are essential to consider at thescience-policy interface as they are an important set of values that people hold about natureand that go beyond instrumental relations.

Díaz, Sandra, Settele, Josef, Brondízio, Eduardo, Ngo, Hien T., Guèze, Maximilien, Agard, John, Arneth, Almut, Balvanera, Patricia, Brauman, Kate, Butchart, Stuart, Chan, Kai, Garibaldi, Lucas, Ichii, Kazuhito, Liu, Jianguo, Subramanian, Suneetha Mazhenchery, Midgley, Guy, Miloslavich, Patricia, Molnár, Zsolt, Obura, David, Pfaff, Alexander, Polasky, Stephen, Purvis, Andy, Razzaque, Jona, Reyers, Belinda, Roy, Rinku, Shin, Yunne-Jai, Hamakers, Ingrid Visseren-, Willis, Katherine, Zayas, Cynthia (2019): Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services - unedited advance version. Bonn: IPBES, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2671522, URL: https://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/summary_for_policymakers_ipbes_global_assessment.pdf The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps used in the present report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. These maps have been prepared for the sole purpose of facilitating the assessment of the broad biogeographical areas represented therein. &nbsp

Tropical forests are converted at an alarming rate for agricultural use and pastureland, but also regrow naturally through secondary succession. For successful forest restoration, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of secondary succession. These mechanisms may vary across forest types, but analyses across broad spatial scales are lacking. Here, we analyse forest recovery using 1,403 plots that differ in age since agricultural abandonment from 50 sites across the Neotropics. We analyse changes in community composition using species-specific stem wood density (WD), which is a key trait for plant growth, survival and forest carbon storage. In wet forest, succession proceeds from low towards high community WD (acquisitive towards conservative trait values), in line with standard successional theory. However, in dry forest, succession proceeds from high towards low community WD (conservative towards acquisitive trait values), probably because high WD reflects drought tolerance in harsh early successional environments. Dry season intensity drives WD recovery by influencing the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in convergence of the community WD over time as vegetation cover builds up. These ecological insights can be used to improve species selection for reforestation. Reforestation species selected to establish a first protective canopy layer should, among other criteria, ideally have a similar WD to the early successional communities that dominate under the prevailing macroclimatic conditions.

This document contains the draft Chapter 2.1 of the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Governments and all observers at IPBES-7had access to these draft chapters eight weeks prior to IPBES-7. Governments accepted the Chapters at IPBES-7 based on the understanding that revisions made to the SPM during the Plenary, as a result of the dialogue between Governments and scientists, would be reflected in the final Chapters.

Fil: Díaz, Sandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina. Fil: Díaz, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina. Fil: Settele, Josef. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung. Department of Community Ecology; Alemania. Fil: Brondízio, Eduardo. Indiana University Bloomington. Department of Anthropology; Estados Unidos. Fil: Ngo, Hien T. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; Alemania. Fil: Guèze, Maximilien. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; Alemania. Fil: Agard, John. University of the West Indies. Department of Life Sciences; Trinidad y Tobago. Fil: Arneth, Almut. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research. Atmospheric Environmental Research; Alemania. Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad; México. Fil: Brauman, Kate A. University of Minnesota. Institute on the Environment; Estados Unidos. Fil: Butchart, Stuart H. M. BirdLife International; Reino Unido. Fil: Chan, Kai. University of British Columbia. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability; Canada. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina. Fil: Ichii, Kazuhito. National Institute for Environmental Studies. Center for Global Environmental Research; Japón. Fil: Liu, Jianguo. Michigan State University. Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability; Estados Unidos. Fil: Mazhenchery Subramanian, Suneetha. United Nations University. Institute of Advanced Studies; Japón. Fil: Midgley, Guy. Stellenbosch University. Department of Botany and Zoology; Sudáfrica. Fil: Miloslavich, Patricia. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Oceans and Atmosphere; Australia. Fil: Molnár, Zsolt. Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Traditional Ecological Knowledge Research Group; Hungría. Fil: Obura, David. Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean; Kenya. Fil: Pfaff, Alexander. Duke University; Estados Unidos. Fil: Polasky, Stephen. University of Minnesota. Department of Applied Economics; Estados Unidos. Fil: Purvis, Andy. Natural History Museum. Department of Life Sciences; Reino Unido. Fil: Razzaque, Jona. University of the West of England. Faculty of Business and Law. Department of Law; Reino Unido. Fil: Reyers, Belinda. Stellenbosch University. Department of Conservation Ecology; Sudáfrica. Fil: Roy Chowdhury, Rinku. Clark University. Graduate School of Geography; Estados Unidos. Fil: Shin, Yunne J. Institute of Research for Development, Sète & Montpellier; Francia. Fil: Visseren Hamakers, Ingrid. George Mason University. Department of Environmental Science and Policy; Estados Unidos. Fil: Willis, Katherine. University of Oxford. Department of Zoology; Reino Unido. Fil: Zayas, Cynthia N. University of the Philippines. Center for International Studies; Filipinas. Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Old-growth tropical forests harbor an immense diversity of tree species but are rapidly being cleared, while secondary forests that regrow on abandoned agricultural lands increase in extent. We assess how tree species richness and composition recover during secondary succession across gradients in environmental conditions and anthropogenic disturbance in an unprecedented multisite analysis for the Neotropics. Secondary forests recover remarkably fast in species richness but slowly in species composition. Secondary forests take a median time of five decades to recover the species richness of old-growth forest (80% recovery after 20 years) based on rarefaction analysis. Full recovery of species composition takes centuries (only 34% recovery after 20 years). A dual strategy that maintains both old-growth forests and species-rich secondary forests is therefore crucial for biodiversity conservation in human-modified tropical landscapes.

This report represents a critical assessment, the first in almost 15 years (since the release of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005) and the first ever carried out by an intergovernmental body, of the status and trends of the natural world, the social implications of these trends, their direct and indirect causes, and, importantly, the actions that can still be taken to ensure a better future for all. These complex links have been assessed using a simple, yet very inclusive framework that should resonate with a wide range of stakeholders, since it recognizes diverse world views, values and knowledge systems. Fil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Settele, Josef. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Alemania Fil: Brondízio, Eduardo. Indiana University; Estados Unidos Fil: Ngo, Hien. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; Alemania Fil: Guèze, Maximilien. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; Alemania Fil: Agard, John. University of The West Indies; Trinidad y Tobago Fil: Arneth, Almut. Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie; Alemania Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Brauman, Kate. University of Minnesota; Estados Unidos Fil: Butchart, Stuart. University of Cambridge; Reino Unido Fil: Chan, Kai M. A.. University of British Columbia; Canadá Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural.; Argentina Fil: Ichii, Kazuhito. Chiba University; Japón Fil: Liu, Jianguo. Michigan State University; Estados Unidos Fil: Subramanian, Suneetha. United Nations University; Japón Fil: Midgley, Guy. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfrica Fil: Miloslavich, Patricia. Universidad Simon Bolivar.; Venezuela Fil: Molnár, Zsolt. Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Hungría Fil: Obura, David. Coastal Oceans Research and Development Indian Ocean; Kenia Fil: Pfaff, Alexander. University of Duke; Estados Unidos Fil: Polasky, Stephen. University of Minnesota; Estados Unidos Fil: Purvis, Andy. Natural History Museum; Reino Unido Fil: Razzaque, Jona. University of the West of England; Reino Unido Fil: Reyers, Belinda. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfrica Fil: Roy Chowdhury, Rinku. Clark University; Estados Unidos Fil: Shin, Yunne-Jai. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia Fil: Visseren-Hamakers, Ingrid. Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen; Países Bajos Fil: Willis, Katherine. University of Oxford; Reino Unido Fil: Zayas, Cynthia. University of the Philippines; Filipinas

The nutrient demands of regrowing tropical forests are partly satisfied by nitrogen-fixing legume trees, but our understanding of the abundance of those species is biased towards wet tropical regions. Here we show how the abundance of Leguminosae is affected by both recovery from disturbance and large-scale rainfall gradients through a synthesis of forest inventory plots from a network of 42 Neotropical forest chronosequences. During the first three decades of natural forest regeneration, legume basal area is twice as high in dry compared with wet secondary forests. The tremendous ecological success of legumes in recently disturbed, water-limited forests is likely to be related to both their reduced leaflet size and ability to fix N2, which together enhance legume drought tolerance and water-use efficiency. Earth system models should incorporate these large-scale successional and climatic patterns of legume dominance to provide more accurate estimates of the maximum potential for natural nitrogen fixation across tropical forests.

Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world's tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world's tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.

Land-use change in tropical dry forests can dramatically alter soil properties, but little is known about their resilience. We assessed soil resilience by examining resistance to, as well as recovery from, pasture use by smallholder farmers in western Mexico. We measured 25 soil and vegetation properties and compared old-growth forest (OGF) sites and pastures to evaluate resistance to pasture use. We assessed whether those properties recovered to OGF reference values after pasture abandonment by analyzing the trajectories of properties along a chronosequence of secondary vegetation. Finally, we assessed whether recovery of soil properties could be inferred from the recovery of vegetation properties. Nine out of 25 properties differed significantly between the OGF sites and pastures. From these nine nonresistant properties, six (i.e., penetration resistance, soil C concentration, soil C/N, basal area, individual density, rarefied species richness of woody vegetation) showed recovery as a significant positive relationship with forest age. In contrast, surface litter C, litter C/N, and soil available P showed no resistance and no recovery within the successional period examined (up to 35 y). The best vegetation indicator for the recovery of some soil properties was woody species richness. This may suggest that functional differences of colonizing plants matter for recovery after pasture use. Our findings indicate that soil was overall resilient to pasture use, but some properties did not recover synchronously with vegetation properties during succession. Thus, more attention should be paid to soil function, because full ecosystem recovery is often inferred from the recovery of vegetation properties.

Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world's tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world's tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.

Introduction: Transforming extensive areas of degraded and deforested lands into restored ecosystems and landscapes is a global imperative. Yet, we lack a clear understanding of how different modes of reforestation improve ecosystem and landscape functions and how these improvements benefit different stakeholders. Changes in ecosystem properties during reforestation depend on the environmental context and the approach used. Reforestation approaches include commercial tree plantations, spontaneous and assisted natural regeneration, restoration plantings of native species, and agroforestry. Objective: Based on a broad socio-ecological approach based on a Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) framework of the IPBES, we disaggregate the benefits that emerge from these five different reforestation approaches, assessing their implications for different stakeholders and the value tradeoffs among them that can potentially lead to social conflict and inequity. These conflicts can jeopardize short- and long-term outcomes of restoration. Methods: We conducted a rigorous literature search to synthesize published information on the quantity and quality of nine NCPs across different restoration approaches, encompassing direct and indirect material and non-material contributions. We then surveyed literature on perceived and realized benefits and costs across NCPs that vary widely across stakeholder groups at different scales. Results: Different modes of restoration provide NCPs at different levels and rates, leading to tradeoffs among types of benefits flows. The evidence base for NCPs from reforestation, however, is sparse and inadequate. Value tradeoffs can potentially create social conflict, inequality and restricted benefits to stakeholder groups involved in co-production of NCPs. Moreover, as benefits for stakeholders change over time, they are strongly affected by discounting rates and future societal expectations as well as how planning, management and governance of restoration is carried out. Our literature review reflects an emphasis of studies on carbon storage during reforestation and restoration, but few robust comparisons among different approaches. Even less information is available on temporal trajectories of NCP, which are needed to evaluate tradeoffs, to validate process models, and to develop realistic scenarios for planning restoration. Further, few studies have addressed how these NCPs impact different stakeholders at local and regional scales. Conclusions: We conclude by presenting a framework for assessing the benefits and burdens of NCP during forest restoration in the global tropics.

The ability to monitor changes in biodiversity, and their societal impact, is critical to conserving species and managing ecosystems. While emerging technologies increase the breadth and reach of data acquisition, monitoring efforts are still spatially and temporally fragmented, and taxonomically biased. Appropriate long-term information remains therefore limited. The Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) aims to provide a general framework for biodiversity monitoring to support decision-makers. Here, we discuss the coordinated observing system adopted by GEO BON, and review challenges and advances in its implementation, focusing on two interconnected core components — the Essential Biodiversity Variables as a standard framework for biodiversity monitoring, and the Biodiversity Observation Networks that support harmonized observation systems — while highlighting their societal relevance.

The emerging discipline of sustainability science is focused explicitly on the dynamic interactions between nature and society and is committed to research that spans multiple scales and can support transitions toward greater sustainability. Because a growing body of place-based social-ecological sustainability research (PBSESR) has emerged in recent decades, there is a growing need to understand better how to maximize the effectiveness of this work. The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) provides a unique opportunity for synthesizing insights gained from this research community on key features that may contribute to the relative success of PBSESR. We surveyed the leaders of PECS-affiliated projects using a combination of open, closed, and semistructured questions to identify which features of a research project are perceived to contribute to successful research design and implementation. We assessed six types of research features: problem orientation, research team, and contextual, conceptual, methodological, and evaluative features. We examined the desirable and undesirable aspects of each feature, the enabling factors and obstacles associated with project implementation, and asked respondents to assess the performance of their own projects in relation to these features. Responses were obtained from 25 projects working in 42 social-ecological study cases within 25 countries. Factors that contribute to the overall success of PBSESR included: explicitly addressing integrated social-ecological systems; a focus on solution- and transformation-oriented research; adaptation of studies to their local context; trusted, long-term, and frequent engagement with stakeholders and partners; and an early definition of the purpose and scope of research. Factors that hindered the success of PBSESR included: the complexities inherent to social-ecological systems, the imposition of particular epistemologies and methods on the wider research group, the need for long periods of time to initiate and conduct this kind of research, and power asymmetries both within the research team and among stakeholders. In the self-assessment exercise, performance relating to team and context-related features was ranked higher than performance relating to methodological, evaluation, and problem orientation features. We discuss how these insights are relevant for balancing place-based and global perspectives in sustainability science, fostering more rapid progress toward inter- and transdisciplinary integration, redefining and measuring the success of PBSESR, and facing the challenges of academic and research funding institutions. These results highlight the valuable opportunity that the PECS community provides in helping build a community of practice for PBSESR.

Land-use change occurs nowhere more rapidly than in the tropics, where the imbalance between deforestation and forest regrowth has large consequences for the global carbon cycle. However, considerable uncertainty remains about the rate of biomass recovery in secondary forests, and how these rates are influenced by climate, landscape, and prior land use. Here we analyse aboveground biomass recovery during secondary succession in 45 forest sites and about 1,500 forest plots covering the major environmental gradients in the Neotropics. The studied secondary forests are highly productive and resilient. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years was on average 122 megagrams per hectare (Mg ha-1), corresponding to a net carbon uptake of 3.05 Mg C ha 1 yr-1, 11 times the uptake rate of old-growth forests. Aboveground biomass stocks took a median time of 66 years to recover to 90% of old-growth values. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years varied 11.3-fold (from 20 to 225 Mg ha-1) across sites, and this recovery increased with water availability (higher local rainfall and lower climatic water deficit). We present a biomass recovery map of Latin America, which illustrates geographical and climatic variation in carbon sequestration potential during forest regrowth. The map will support policies to minimize forest loss in areas where biomass resilience is naturally low (such as seasonally dry forest regions) and promote forest regeneration and restoration in humid tropical lowland areas with high biomass resilience. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

A cornerstone of environmental policy is the debate over protecting nature for humans’ sake (instrumental values) or for nature’s (intrinsic values) (1). We propose that focusing only on instrumental or intrinsic values may fail to resonate with views on personal and collective well-being, or “what is right,” with regard to nature and the environment. Without complementary attention to other ways that value is expressed and realized by people, such a focus may inadvertently promote worldviews at odds with fair and desirable futures. It is time to engage seriously with a third class of values, one with diverse roots and current expressions: relational values. By doing so, we reframe the discussion about environmental protection, and open the door to new, potentially more productive policy approaches.

A cornerstone of environmental policy is the debate over protecting nature for humans’ sake (instrumental values) or for nature’s (intrinsic values) (1). We propose that focusing only on instrumental or intrinsic values may fail to resonate with views on personal and collective well-being, or “what is right,” with regard to nature and the environment. Without complementary attention to other ways that value is expressed and realized by people, such a focus may inadvertently promote worldviews at odds with fair and desirable futures. It is time to engage seriously with a third class of values, one with diverse roots and current expressions: relational values. By doing so, we reframe the discussion about environmental protection, and open the door to new, potentially more productive policy approaches.

The exponential development of the ecosystem services field has led to a wide range of variables that have and can be measured. Yet, this wide array of information is oſten overwhelming: guidance is needed on which ecosystem service variables should be measured and monitored. To address this increasingly common challenge, over the last 2 years, the Ecosystem Services Working Group of Earth Observation-Biodiversity Observation Network (ES-GEOBON-WG6) has been developing a conceptual and methodological framework for identifying essential ecosystem service variables through several workshops and working groups. We have developed a pathway for identifying a viable set of ecosystem services that are essential, that practitioners should measure and track across space and time measure to gauge the state and changes in ES. In this presentation we propose a conceptual framework for the identification of ecosystem service variables as well as its application to a wide range of ecosystem services. While our approach builds from the experience of developing and using essential biodiversity variables (EBVs), it offers new insights into the challenges that emerge from the social-interactions that are at the core of ecosystem services.

Key concepts relevant to understanding the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services Different facets of the biodiversity link to ecosystem services Biodiversity broadly encompasses the number, abundances, functional variety, spatial distribu-tion, and interactions of genotypes, species, populations, communities, and ecosystems. What levels of organization or components of biodiversity are likely to be most strongly linked with ecosystem services? For plant-dependent services, the local number of functional groups and total number of species (richness) can offer a crude first-order prediction for several ecosystem processes, such as productivity, and services, such as forage production. For animal-dependent services, species number and composition in mammalian communities are associated with reg-ulation of infectious disease, although the direction of this effect (amplification or dilution of disease) depends on the types and relative abundance of different vector species in the commu-nity (Ostfeld and Keesing, 2012). The equity of the abundances (evenness) of individual species is also important in relation to biological invasions. For example, reducing evenness in plant species communities can decrease resistance to invasion by exotic plants and insect herbivores (Wilsey and Polley, 2002). Theory predicts that increasing horizontal diversity (numbers of species within trophic lev-els) tends to promote several ecosystem functions that feed into ecosystem services; however, increasing vertical diversity (numbers of trophic levels) does not necessarily do so (Loreau, 2010). For plant-dependent ecosystem services, the level of service delivery probably depends most on local plant diversity because plant species interact at a local spatial scale, but there is some evidence that ecosystem services could depend on plant diversity at larger spatial scales (beta or gamma diversity; Isbell et al., 2011). The different components of ecosystem services A critical issue in ecosystem service assessments is the scant knowledge on how ecosystem services and their components (i.e. supply, delivery, use demand, value and benefits) are produced and maintained, how they are affected by system changes, such as land use change, and how they depend on different levels of biodiversity. To improve this knowledge, we distinguish between ecological processes (called 'supporting services' in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment; MA, 2005) and 'functions' that produce ecosystem services. Func-tions are intermediate products; they are necessary to the production of services but are not services themselves, i.e., not used or acknowledged directly by a beneficiary. These interme-diate products or processes often underpin or determine the potential service production or supply, which can benefit society. The delivery of a service arises from the interaction between its supply and the demand from stakeholders who benefit from it (Tallis et al., 2012). The benefit and value of a service reflect how people assign importance to the ser-vice, which can be evaluated in terms of market value or from a cultural perspective. For example, primary production (an ecosystem process) is needed to maintain abundance of fish population (the service supply), which can be harvested to provide food (delivery) and high nutritional value (benefit). As another example, nutrient cycling (process) is needed for water purification (supply) to provide clean water (delivery) for domestic use (benefit) (Raffaelli, 2016; Jax, 2016a).

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼ 40,000 and ∼ 53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼ 19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼ 4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

No existen marcos espaciales integrados para evaluar los sistemas socio-ecológicos acoplados y para diseñar políticas públicas ad hoc. Utilizamos a México como caso de estudio para: i) desarrollar Un marco espacial socio-ecológico, las socio-ecorregiones, ii) describir los patrones resultantes, y iii) explorar cómo este marco podría ser usado para el diseño de políticas hacia la sustentabilidad. Usamos las ecorregiones y el Índice de Desarrollo Humano para construir las socio-ecorregiones. Mostramos cómo el marco socio-eco-regiones refleja la heterogeneidad ecológica y social del país. Este marco resulta ser útil para diseñar políticas socio-ecológicas. Discutimos que este marco puede ser fácilmente desarrollado para otras regiones, a nivel mundial o local, y contribuir al desarrollo de políticas más integradas hacia la sustentabilidad. Integrated spatial framework to assess coupled social-ecological systems and design ad hoc public policies is still lacking. We used the country of Mexico as a case study to: i) develop a social-ecological spatial framework, the socio-ecoregions, ii) describe the resulting patterns, and iii) explore how the framework can be used for designing policies towards sustainabillity. Ecoregions and Human Development Index were used to build socioecoregions. We showed how the socio-ecoregions framework reflects the ecological and social heterogeneity of the country. This framework was shown to be useful to design social-ecological policies. We discuss that this framework may easily be developed for other regions at global to local scales and contribute to the development of more integrated policies towards sustainability. Fil: Castellarini, Fabiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Siebe, Christina. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: Lazos, Elena. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: de la Tejera, Beatriz . Universidad Autonoma Chapingo; México. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Cotler, Helena. Universidad de Guadalajara; México Fil: Pacheco, Carlos. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México. Universidad de Guadalajara; México Fil: Boege, Eckart . Instituto Nacional de Antropologia E Historia; México Fil: Moreno, Ana Rosa. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: Saldívar, Américo. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: Larrazabal, Alejandra. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: Galán, Carla. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: Casado, José María. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Medicina; México Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Centro de Inv.de Ecosistemas; México

Debido a limitaciones para abordar la complejidad de la relación sociedad-naturaleza, los esfuerzos para solucionar los problemas ambientales han sido en general infructuosos. Aquí proponemos que el enfoque holístico de “socio-ecosistema” por parte de la academia, podría contribuir a disminuir estas limitaciones desde la adopción de cuatro cambios: i) ontológico, que presenta el concepto de “socio-ecosistemas”; ii) epistemológico, que propone a la transdisciplina como la forma de entenderlos, iii) metodológico, que sugiere intervenir en ellos de forma participativa y adaptativa y, iv) cambios institucionales que facilitarían la adopción de esta propuesta. Este planteamiento se complementa con la descripción de una experiencia transdiciplinaria en la cuenca del río San Juan Zitácuaro, México, en el contexto de un curso internacional de manejo de socio-ecosistemas. Given the difficulties to approach the complex relationship bettween society and nature, efforts to solve environmental problems have generally been unsuccessful. Here we suggest that a hollistic “socio-ecosystem” approach by the sciencies could help diminish these difficulties by embracing four kinds of changes: i) ontological, which introduces the concept of “socio-ecosystem”; ii) epistemological, which proposes transdiscipline as the way to understand them, iii) metholodogical, which suggests that in intervention in them must be participatory and adaptive, iv) institutional changes that would facilitate the adoption of this approach. This is then followed by a description of a transdisciplinary work experience in the Zitácuaro river basin, in Mexico, in the context of an international course on socio-ecosystem management. Fil: Ortega Uribe, Tamara. Universidad de Chile; Chile Fil: Mastrangelo, Matias Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Villarroel Torrez, Daniel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Piaz, Agustín Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Humanidades. Centro de Estudios de Historia de la Ciencia y de la Técnica ; Argentina Fil: Vallejos, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina Fil: Saenz Ceja, Jesús Eduardo. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas; México Fil: Gallego, Federico. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; Uruguay Fil: Franquesa Soler, Monserrat. Instituto de Ecología; México Fil: Calzada Peña, Leonardo. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Espinosa Mellado, Noelia. Universidad de la Armada; México Fil: Fiestas Flores, Jerico. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos; Perú Fil: Gill Mairhofer, Luis R.. Ministerio de la Defensa Pública; Paraguay Fil: González Espino, Zarahí. Instituto Superior de Tecnologías y Ciencias Aplicadas. Facultad de Medio Ambiente. Departamento de Meteorología; Cuba Fil: Luna Salguero, Betsabé Montserrat. Sociedad de Historia Natural Niparajá; México Fil: Martinez Peralta, Claudia María. Comisión de Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentable del Estado de Sonora. Dirección General de Conservación; México Fil: Ochoa, Olivia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Pérez Volkow,Lucía. No especifica; Fil: Sala, Juan Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Sánchez Rose, Isabelle. Universidad Central de Venezuela; Venezuela Fil: Weeks, Madeline. University of Cambridge; Reino Unido Fil: Ávila García, Daniela. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: García Reyes, Isabel Bueno. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas; México Fil: Carmona, Alejandra. Universidad Austral de Chile. Instituto de Economía Agraria; Chile Fil: Castro Videla, Fernando Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-San Juan; Argentina Fil: Ferrer Gonzalez, César Sergio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; Argentina Fil: Frank Buss, María Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina Fil: López Carapia, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Núñez Cruz, Martha. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Taboada Hermoza, Rossi. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Perú Fil: Benet, Daniel. Alternare A. C.; México Fil: Venegas, Ysmael. Alternare A. C.; México Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas; México Fil: Mwampamba, Tuyeni H.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas; México Fil: Lazos Chavero, Elena. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas; México Fil: Noellemeyer, Elke Johanna. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Maass, Manuel. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas; México

Los servicios ecosistémicos son los beneficios que las sociedades obtienen de los ecosistemas. Este concepto permite hacer más explícita la interdependencia del bienestar humano y el mantenimiento del adecuado funcionamiento de los ecosistemas. Los bosques tropicales del mundo, debido a su amplia distribución, elevada diversidad y contribución a funciones clave del planeta como la regulación climática e hidrológica proveen una serie de servicios ecosistémicos críticos. En este artículo se hace una revisión acerca de los servicios ecosistémicos que estos bosques ofrecen. Se analizan los principales servicios de suministro, regulación y culturales. Se discuten: i) la relación entre los componentes y procesos del ecosistema y su capacidad de proveer servicios, ii) los efectos del manejo sobre la provisión de servicios, iii) los factores sociales que subyacen la provisión de servicios y iv) las intervenciones que permiten mantener o recuperar los servicios ecosistémicos. Ecosystem services are the benefits societies obtain from ecosystems. This concept allows to explicitly address the interdependence of human well-being and the maintenance of the adequate functioning of ecosystems. Tropical forests provide critical ecosystem services worldwide due to the high biodiversity they host and their contribution to key ecological functions such as the regulation of climatic and hydrological processes. This article aims at reviewing the ecosystem services that these forests deliver, including an analysis of the main regulating and cultural services they provide. The topics discussed are: i) the relationship between the components and processes of tropical forests and their ability to deliver services, ii) the effects of management on the delivery of services, iii) the social drivers underpinnings of service delivery, iv) the interventions that contribute to maintaining or restoring ecosystem services. Proyectos SEP-CONACYT 2010-129740, SEP-CONACYT 83441, SEP-CONACYT 50955 y CYTED No. 409RT0376.

Las profundas diferencias económicas entre los países, combinadas con igualmente diferentes contextos históricos, sociales y culturales complican enormemente la organización de procesos de investigación científica a escala regional y global. Los diferentes países miembros de la Red Internacional de Investigación Ecológica a Largo Plazo (ILTER) han armado sus propias redes atendiendo a las necesidades, características y restricciones nacionales, pero con miras a participar de manera firme en el proceso internacional. En este artículo se presenta una reseña pormenorizada de las experiencias de dos países iberoamericanos, México y España, en su proceso de conformación de redes LTER nacionales. Los países comparten muchas similitudes culturales, pero con algunas diferencias importantes que han determinado la forma particular en que cada uno de ellos ha diseñado e implementado sus propias redes LTER. Se aborda para ambos casos el proceso de conformación de sus Redes Nacionales en el contexto de su entorno internacional. Asimismo, describe brevemente la manera como ambos grupos están participando en un primer esfuerzo de la red ILTER por detonar un proyecto de colaboración científica a nivel internacional sobre las relaciones existentes entre los motores socioeconómicos y los servicios ambientales de los ecosistemas. The profound differences between countries, combined with equally diverse historical, social and cultural contexts enormously complicates the organization of scientific research processes at the regional and global scales. The different member countries of the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) initiative have created their own networks, taking into account their needs, characteristics and national limitations, but with the vision of participating in a strong way in the international processes. In this article, we present a detailed review of the experience of two Ibero-American countries, Mexico and Spain, in their process of forming LTER networks. These two countries share many cultural similarities, but with some important differences that have determined the specific form that each has designed and implemented for their own networks. We address in both cases the process of conforming national networks in the international context, and at the same time we describe briefly the way that each group has participated in the first effort of the ILTER to coordinate a scientific project at the international level regarding the existing relationships between socio-economic drivers and ecosystem services.

"In the search for an integrated understanding of the relationships among productive activities, human well-being, and ecosystem functioning, we evaluated the services delivered by a tropical dry forest(TDF) ecosystem in the Chamela Region, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We synthesized information gathered for the past two decades as part of a long-term ecosystem research study and included social data collected in the past four years using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) conceptual framework as a guide. Here we identify the four nested spatial scales at which information has been obtained and emphasize one of them through a basin conceptual model. We then articulate the biophysical and socioeconomic constraints and drivers determining the delivery of ecosystem services in the Region. We describe the nine most important services, the stakeholders who benefit from those services, and their degree of awareness of such services. We characterize spatial and temporal patterns of the services' delivery as well as trade-offs among services and stakeholders. Finally, we contrast three alternative future scenarios on the delivery of ecosystem services and human well-being. Biophysical and socioeconomic features of the study site strongly influence human-ecosystem interactions, the ecosystem services delivered, the possible future trajectories of the ecosystem, and the effect on human well-being. We discuss future research approaches that will set the basis for an integrated understanding of human-ecosystem interactions and for constructing sustainable management strategies for the TDF."

Identifying and explaining regional differences in tropical forest dynamics, structure, diversity, and composition are critical for anticipating region-specific responses to global environmental change. Floristic classifications are of fundamental importance for these efforts. Here we provide a global tropical forest classification that is explicitly based on community evolutionary similarity, resulting in identification of five major tropical forest regions and their relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. African and American forests are grouped, reflecting their former western Gondwanan connection, while Indo-Pacific forests range from eastern Africa and Madagascar to Australia and the Pacific. The connection between northern-hemisphere Asian and American forests is confirmed, while Dry forests are identified as a single tropical biome.Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world’s tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world’s tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.

Global sustainability initiatives are gaining momentum and impact, and place-based research can provide complementary insights to strengthen them. Here, we explore the current and potential role of place-based research into informing global sustainability initiatives by assessing the strengths, challenges, and opportunities. We show that place-based research allows for a better understanding of global social–ecological dynamics, and that transformations towards sustainability are often triggered at the local scale through the co-construction of local solutions. We discuss that the very nature of place-based research can hinder its transferability because its global integration faces temporal, spatial and governance scale mismatches, and we identify some of the key challenges of scaling-up its findings. We highlight new opportunities to mainstream place-based research that are emerging from first, long-term networks of place-based research, second, new institutional research settings that contribute with conceptual comprehensive frameworks and capacity building tools, third, a global community of practice, and fourth, the concept of region as a bridge between local and global sustainability initiatives. We believe that the time is ripe to promote the role of place-based social–ecological research as a key contributor to achieve global sustainability goals.

IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body comprising over 130 member Governments. Established by Governments in 2012, IPBES provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as options and actions to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets. The IPBES Methodological Assessment of the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature was initiated following a decision from the IPBES Plenary at its sixth session (IPBES 6, Medellin, 2018), and considered by the IPBES Plenary at its ninth session (IPBES-9, Bonn, 2022). It is composed of a summary for policymakers which was approved at IPBES-9, and six chapters, which were accepted at IPBES 9., Suggested citation: IPBES (2022): IPBES (2022). Summary for Policymakers of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Pascual, U., Balvanera, P., Christie, M., Baptiste, B., González-Jiménez, D., Anderson, C.B., Athayde, S., Barton, D.N., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Jacobs, S., Kelemen, E., Kumar, R., Lazos, E., Martin, A., Mwampamba, T.H., Nakangu, B., O'Farrell, P., Raymond, C.M., Subramanian, S.M., Termansen, M., Van Noordwijk, M., and Vatn, A. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6522392

The values assessment is a ‘methodological assessment regarding the diverse conceptualizations of the multiple values of nature and its benefits, including biodiversity and ecosystem services’ as set out in IPBES/6/INF/9. The overall scope of the values assessment is to assess multiple sources and traditions of knowledge regarding diverse values of nature, including the strengths and weaknesses associated with existing valuation methods and approaches to make such values visible. The assessment provides conceptual and practical tools to aid policymakers in the recognition and accounting of nature’s values in different decision-making contexts. The values assessment provides guidelines, criteria, tools and a road map to navigate the ways in which values play out in decisions, as well as the role values and valuation can have in achieving more sustainable pathways. It should be noted that the assessment does not provide quantifications (e.g., in monetary or other indicators) of the diverse values of nature across the globe as its emphasis is on methodologies. The assessment report is composed of the summary for policymakers together with the six chapters and some front and back matters, which will be added following the ninth session of the Plenary., Suggested citation: IPBES (2022). Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Balvanera, P., Pascual, U., Christie, M., Baptiste, B., and González-Jiménez, D. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6522522

The complex links and feedbacks between ecosystems and people are now sharply in focus. Our growing understandings of the complex relations between ecosystems and people, the social and ecological drivers of changes in nature, and the different dimensions of a good quality of life, from local to global scales, have made these inter- dependencies ever more visible (IPBES 2019; Díaz et al. 2019). Furthermore, recent studies have revealed how dramatically unsustainable and inequitable the interactions between ecosystems and people are, as a result of a long legacy of consumerism and utilitarianism, patriarchy and colonialism, and the global expansion of production-oriented relationships with nature. Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Jacobs, Sander. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Bélgica Fil: Nagendra, Harini. Azim Premji University; India Fil: O'Farrell, Patrick. University of Cape Town; Sudáfrica Fil: Bridgewater, Peter. University of Canberra; Australia. Utrecht University; Países Bajos Fil: Crouzat, Emilie. Universite Grenoble Alpes; Francia Fil: Dendoncker, Nicolas. University of Namur; Bélgica Fil: Goodwin, Sean. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Países Bajos Fil: Gustafsson, Karin M.. Örebro University; Suecia Fil: Kadykalo, Andrew N.. Carleton University; Canadá Fil: Krug, Cornelia B.. Universitat Zurich; Suiza Fil: Matuk, Fernanda Ayaviri. University of Agriculture Wageningen; Países Bajos. Federal Institute of Minas Gerais; Brasil Fil: Pandit, Ram. University of Western Australia; Australia. Hokkaido University; Japón Fil: Sala, Juan Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; Argentina Fil: Schröter, Matthias. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Alemania Fil: Washbourne, Carla Leanne. Colegio Universitario de Londres; Reino Unido