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There is growing interest in aligning the wildlife conservation and restoration agenda with climate change mitigation goals. However, the presence of large herbivores tends to reduce aboveground biomass in some open-canopy ecosystems, leading to the possibility that large herbivore restoration may negatively influence ecosystem carbon storage. Belowground carbon storage is often ignored in these systems, despite the wide recognition of soils as the largest actively-cycling terrestrial carbon pool. Here, we suggest a shift away from a main focus on vegetation carbon stocks, towards inclusion of whole ecosystem carbon persistence, in future assessments of large herbivore effects on long-term carbon storage. Failure to do so may lead to counterproductive biodiversity and climate impacts of land management actions. Grasslands are often overlooked global reservoirs of carbon, with soil carbon stocks large enough to compensate for the lower aboveground biomass carbon compared to forests. Due to a larger fraction of ecosystem carbon stored belowground, particularly in more persistent mineral-associated fractions, grazed grassland carbon stocks may be less vulnerable to perturbations than systems with higher aboveground carbon storage. To optimise restoration efforts to achieve both biodiversity and climate mitigation goals, we need to shift away from focusing only on building immediate carbon stocks to include carbon persistence. Herbivores can increase the persistence of ecosystem carbon through redistributing carbon from aboveground vegetation pools vulnerable to disturbances into persistent soil pools. This is particularly important in ancient fire-prone grasslands, but increasing disturbance frequencies across many ecosystems make herbivore restructuring of carbon pools relevant in a wider range of systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We created the Site Rewilding Potential Score to provide a framework to quantify rewilding potential. • We applied the framework and used Denmark as our case study. • The Site Rewilding Potential Score can identify areas with rewilding potential at a national scale. Meeting national and international biodiversity targets requires strategies supported by systematic planning, as this enables and supports decision-makers in selecting actions and designating funds. As rewilding is part of the solution in delivering restoration targets, land managers, policy makers and funding organisations require transparent tools for prioritisation of where to set aside land for rewilding. However, rewilding has not been integrated well into the target focused systematic conservation planning (SCP) discipline, because rewilding is an open-ended process-led approach with less measurable targets. Developing an SCP approach to rewilding would allow to improve land allocation to rewilding. Therefore, we need a qualifying framework, which will enable systematic rewilding planning at national level. We developed a systematic rewilding priotisation framework to fill this gap. Using measurable indicators of abiotic and biotic variation, the framework enables ranking site potential to develop self-regulating ecosystems. We applied this framework across Denmark and produced prioritised lists of sites, which were then used as a tool in the political process of designating 15 rewilding sites across Denmark. This study illustrates how to apply a systematic prioritising framework at national level, supporting the delivery of national and international biodiversity strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Protected and unprotected forest commons show similar biodiversity. • Human disturbances on forest commons have positive impact on tree species diversity. • Management in protected areas with Fagus sylvatica may emulate small scale disturbances. Abstract The establishment and maintenance of protected areas is the backbone of global conservation strategies to halt biodiversity loss. However, despite the more than 200,000 legally designated protected sites worldwide, the rate of species extinction has not decreased, for which some debate the real effectiveness of protected areas to preserve biodiversity. Using data from tropical areas, many studies have attempted to test the effectiveness of protected areas by comparing species richness in protected and neighbouring unprotected sites, without reaching a consensus. Here, we extend this line of research with data from temperate deciduous forests inside and outside Picos de Europa National Park and Biosphere Reserve (N Spain). Specifically we compare data from mixed broadleaved woodlands, beech forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) forests. We conducted botanical inventories and recorded ecological data from 25 0.2-ha concentric plots distributed in forest commons inside the reserve and from other 25 similar plots established in neighbouring not protected forest commons. Data were used to construct a set of ecological indicators and evaluated using modelling methods. We found no significant differences in species composition between plots in protected and non-protected forest commons, likely due to the similar management criteria applied in both land uses. We found less active management outside the protected area, which helps to maintain stands in a semi-natural state. In contrast, we observed the presence of silvicultural treatments inside the protected area, although these treatments were non-intensive, promoting vegetation composition associated to late-successional ecosystems. We only detected significant differences between plots inside and outside the protected area when relation between species richness was analysed with reference to forest habitat type. Precisely, plots of beech forests inside Picos de Europa were more homogenous than plots outside the protected area, which may indicate that management practices inside the protected area do not favour tree species diversity. Non-intensive silviculture management in beech forests inside Picos de Europa seems to promote the presence of the dominant tree species Fagus sylvatica L., which in the absence of perturbations is characterized by conforming monospecific vegetation communities. Overall, our results do not support the idea that protected areas hold more biodiversity than surrounding forest commons. Conservation treatments applied in protected areas should promote the presence of species associated to disturbances, particularly in stands tending to homogeneous species composition at late-successional stages, as this may enhance their resilience under the current rapid global changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The climate and biodiversity crises are inextricably linked and curbing both requires large-scale ecosystem restoration to be put into practice. In this context, trophic rewilding, which focusses on the restoration of megafauna and their ecological roles, remains a particularly major challenge. Many landscapes across the globe currently have low densities of megafauna or have lost these species altogether. Although some megafauna species have recovered in some places, through both passive and active rewilding, they are often confined to small areas. There is an increasing recognition that protected areas alone may not suffice to retain and recover high trophic complexity over large spatial extents in most of the world. This raises a clear need to scale up rewilding initiatives. Here, we discuss major challenges and potential solutions for such a scaling up of trophic rewilding, including land availability, supportive policies, the supply of animals for translocations and reintroductions, and funding. We illustrate these challenges and opportunities for two cases, the steppes of Kazakhstan and the Mediterranean rangelands. We highlight that ongoing structural change and agricultural abandonment offers opportunities for trophic rewilding in different world regions. Making use of these opportunities would require mainstreaming land-use planning that supports rewilding regardless of the current protection status of landscapes, and a reorientation of subsidies for agricultural activities in marginal lands to supporting restoration efforts. The supply of animals for reintroduction and population reinforcement projects represents another key challenge. This could be supported through a transition from farming to wildlife ranching, combined with ambitious breeding programs for keystone megafauna. Upscaling restoration efforts has recently been agreed upon as a global conservation target, and we here highlight the challenges and opportunities for restoring megafauna and their key role in ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High spatial resolution mapping of natural resources is much needed for monitoring and management of species, habitats and landscapes. Generally, detailed surveillance has been conducted as fieldwork, numerical analysis of satellite images or manual interpretation of aerial images, but methods of object-based image analysis (OBIA) and machine learning have recently produced promising examples of automated classifications of aerial imagery. The spatial application potential of such models is however still questionable since the transferability has rarely been evaluated. We investigated the potential of mosaic aerial orthophoto red, green and blue (RGB)/near infrared (NIR) imagery and digital elevation model (DEM) data for mapping very fine-scale vegetation structure in semi-natural terrestrial coastal areas in Denmark. The Random Forest (RF) algorithm, with a wide range of object-derived image and DEM variables, was applied for classification of vegetation structure types using two hierarchical levels of complexity. Models were constructed and validated by cross-validation using three scenarios: (1) training and validation data without spatial separation, (2) training and validation data spatially separated within sites, and (3) training and validation data spatially separated between different sites. Without spatial separation of training and validation data, high classification accuracies of coastal structures of 92.1% and 91.8% were achieved on coarse and fine thematic levels, respectively. When models were applied to spatially separated observations within sites classification accuracies dropped to 85.8% accuracy at the coarse thematic level, and 81.9% at the fine thematic level. When the models were applied to observations from other sites than those trained upon the ability to discriminate vegetation structures was low, with 69.0% and 54.2% accuracy at the coarse and fine thematic levels, respectively. Evaluating classification models with different degrees of spatial correlation between training and validation data was shown to give highly different prediction accuracies, thereby highlighting model transferability and application potential. Aerial image and DEM-based RF models had low transferability to new areas due to lack of representation of aerial image, landscape and vegetation variation in training data. They do, however, show promise at local scale for supporting conservation and management with vegetation mappings of high spatial and thematic detail based on low-cost image data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Coastal dunes are dynamic systems maintained and renewed by disturbance. Concerns have been raised over shrub and tree encroachment, changes in species composition and decreasing species richness in coastal dunes with nitrogen (N) deposition and loss of natural dynamics acknowledged as pressures. We tested the effects of N-deposition and disturbance on Danish dune grassland vegetation. We applied simulated trampling, grazing, blowouts and N-deposition in a randomized design to ten sites along the major natural gradient in the area. After three years we recorded plant, bryophyte and lichen biomass as well as species frequency, foliar N and P, soil pH and soil organic matter content. We hypothesized that species richness would increase with disturbance and decrease with N-addition while biomass was expected to increase with N-addition. Disturbance was expected to counteract the effects of N-addition. The hypotheses were tested using linear mixed effects models on species richness, biomass and phylogenetic community structure with treatments and interactions among treatments as explanatory variables and site as a random effect. Although N-deposition affected plant nutrient balance, the effect of N-addition on vegetation was consistently smaller than the effect of disturbance, especially cutting. Disturbances all had the opposite effect to N-addition causing an increase in species richness and decrease of biomass. The subordinate effect of N-addition likely reflects that growth is limited by moisture rather than nitrogen. Disturbances apparently relaxed the ecological filtering during community assembly, resulting in a more diverse community of less related species. Anthropogenic suppression of disturbances by wind, coastal erosion or grazing animals may potentially be a larger threat to dune biodiversity than increased N-deposition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Forest phylogenetic and functional structures along disturbance gradient are examined. [•] Gymnosperms strongly affect phylogenetic structure instead of functional structure. [•] Phylogenetic and functional clustering excluding gymnosperms declines over succession. [•] Phylogenetic and functional structure differs among stem size classes. [•] Functional structure is more strongly related to a disturbance indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Species distribution modeling (SDM: statistical and/or mechanistic approaches to the assessment of range determinants and prediction of species occurrence) offers new possibilities for estimating and studying past organism distributions. SDM complements fossil and genetic evidence by providing (i) quantitative and potentially high-resolution predictions of the past organism distributions, (ii) statistically formulated, testable ecological hypotheses regarding past distributions and communities, and (iii) statistical assessment of range determinants. In this article, we provide an overview of applications of SDM to paleobiology, outlining the methodology, reviewing SDM-based studies to paleobiology or at the interface of paleo- and neobiology, discussing assumptions and uncertainties as well as how to handle them, and providing a synthesis and outlook. Key methodological issues for SDM applications to paleobiology include predictor variables (types and properties; special emphasis is given to paleoclimate), model validation (particularly important given the emphasis on cross-temporal predictions in paleobiological applications), and the integration of SDM and genetics approaches. Over the last few years the number of studies using SDM to address paleobiology-related questions has increased considerably. While some of these studies only use SDM (23%), most combine them with genetically inferred patterns (49%), paleoecological records (22%), or both (6%). A large number of SDM-based studies have addressed the role of Pleistocene glacial refugia in biogeography and evolution, especially in Europe, but also in many other regions. SDM-based approaches are also beginning to contribute to a suite of other research questions, such as historical constraints on current distributions and diversity patterns, the end-Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions, past community assembly, human paleobiogeography, Holocene paleoecology, and even deep-time biogeography (notably, providing insights into biogeographic dynamics >400 million years ago). We discuss important assumptions and uncertainties that affect the SDM approach to paleobiology – the equilibrium postulate, niche stability, changing atmospheric CO2 concentrations – as well as ways to address these (ensemble, functional SDM, and non-SDM ecoinformatics approaches). We conclude that the SDM approach offers important opportunities for advances in paleobiology by providing a quantitative ecological perspective, and hereby also offers the potential for an enhanced contribution of paleobiology to ecology and conservation biology, e.g., for estimating climate change impacts and for informing ecological restoration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The mechanisms that cause variation in commonness (abundances and range sizes) of species remain debated in ecology, and a repeatedly observed pattern is the positive relation between local abundances and larger scale range sizes. We used the Amazonian palm species (Arecaceae) to investigate the dependence between and potential determinants of commonness across three (local, landscape, continental) spatial scales. Commonness at the smaller scales (local abundance, landscape frequency) was estimated using data from 57 transects (5 × 500 m) in primary, non-inundated (terra firme) rainforest in a western Amazonian landscape, while commonness at the largest scale (continental range size) was estimated from digitized distribution maps. Landscape frequency was positively related to both local abundance and continental range size, which, however, were not related to each other. Landscape frequency was positively related to topographic niche breadth. Stem height correlated with continental range size and was the only species life-history trait related to any commonness measure. Distance from the study area to a species'' range centre did not influence any of the commonness measures. The factors determining commonness in the Amazonian palm flora appear to be scale-dependent, with the unrelated local scale abundance and continental range size probably being controlled by different driving factors. Interestingly, commonness at the intermediate, landscape scale seems linked to both the smaller and the larger scale. Our results point towards topographic niche breadth at the smaller scales and stem height, possibly reflecting species'' dispersal potential, at the continental scale as important determinants of commonness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This study examines the scope for efficiency gains in geopolitical coordination between the European Union member states. The increasing number of member states and the implementation of conservation actions at many different administrative levels indicate that geopolitical coordination will become increasingly important. The potential scale of efficiency gains is examined, using data on the distribution of 2676 plant species and 181 mammal species and data on the cost of reducing agricultural production as an illustrative measure of conservation cost. The study indicates there may be considerable improvements in species representation if conservation efforts between EU member states are coordinated. The current data set implies increased resource allocation to the southern parts of the EU, due to high numbers of range-restricted species. Surprisingly, coordination also involves increased allocation of resources to regions with high conservation costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: The main goal of the Habitats Directive, a key document for European conservation, is to maintain a ‘favourable’ conservation status of selected species and habitats. In the face of near-future climatic change this goal may become difficult to achieve. Here, we evaluate the sensitivity to climate change of 84 plant species that characterise the Danish habitat types included in the Habitats Directive. A fuzzy bioclimatic envelope model, linking European and Northwest African species’ distribution data with climate, was used to predict climatically suitable areas for these species in year 2100 under two-climate change scenarios. Climate sensitivity was evaluated at both Danish and European scales to provide an explicit European perspective on the impacts predicted for Denmark. In all 69–99% of the species were predicted to become negatively affected by climate change at either scale. Application of international Red List criteria showed that 43–55% and 17–69% would become vulnerable in Denmark and Europe, respectively. Northwest African atlas data were used to improve the ecological accuracy of the future predictions. For comparison, using only European data added 0–7% to these numbers. No species were predicted to become extinct in Europe, but 4–7% could be lost from Denmark. Some species were predicted to become positively affected in Denmark, but negatively affected in Europe. In addition to nationally endangered species, this group would be an important focus for a Danish conservation strategy. A geographically differentiated Danish conservation strategy is suggested as the eastern part of Denmark was predicted to be more negatively affected than the western part. No differences in the sensitivity of the Habitats Directive habitats were found. We conclude that the conservation strategy of the Habitats Directive needs to integrate the expected shifts in species’ distributions due to climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aphandra natalia (Balslev and Henderson) Barfod, an economically important fibre producing palm, is common in rainforest on low terraces along the Pastaza and Urituyacu rivers in Amazonian Peru. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial distribution and environmental preferences of Aphandra in old-growth terrace forest to which it is limited in this region. Densities of immature and mature individuals were 507±212 (S.D.)ha−1 and 19±8ha−1, respectively, in 11 (5×500m) transects placed in old growth terrace forest near four villages and 739±188ha−1 and 96±49ha−1, respectively, in six irregular transects placed in what the local villagers considered dense Aphandra stands. We examined environmental and spatial correlates of Aphandra occurrences using stepwise multiple autologistic regressions. Site, soil moisture, slope inclination, and topographic position influenced the spatial distribution of Aphandra. Furthermore, the distribution was strongly clumped, independently of environmental factors, with particularly the concentration of immature individuals around adults pointing to dispersal limitation as the likely causal mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes an attempt to predict ground flora species richness under various forest management scenarios. The approach is based on a geographic information system (GIS) and uses three standard map layers of topography, soils and stands to derive environmental gradients of light, nutrients, water and disturbance. A simple floristic survey provides the data necessary to relate plant distribution with environmental variables. The potential distribution of 60 understorey plant species is modelled based on the four derived gradients. The sum of these maps, i.e., the total potential diversity, is used as a proxy for the prediction of actual species richness. The model predicts high species diversity along roads and in relatively disturbed areas and low species diversity in stands with coniferous species and in stands of old, deciduous trees (mainly beech). The overall predicted pattern of species diversity corresponds well with observations made in the forests. However, the model explained only a fraction of the variation in the data set on the plot level. Dispersal effects, demographic stochasticity and biological factors are the probable causes of this. The combination of GIS-based spatial operations and fuzzy cognitive mapping proved to be an efficient way of producing gradient maps based on standard forestry maps and expert knowledge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Palm leaves are an important source of roof thatch for rural communities in many parts of the tropics. Often leaves are harvested from wild populations, and as a non-timber forest product may promote local commitment to forest conservation. Nevertheless, reports suggest that at least some wild populations are declining due to over-harvesting. In Amazonian Ecuador the understory palm Geonoma macrostachys Mart. is often the preferred species for thatching. Here we explore the limits to sustainable harvesting of this species combining ethnobotanical data on the use of this species by the Huaorani indigenous group with ecological data and transition matrix modeling. We find that due to severe light limitation there seems to be little scope for sustainable harvesting of this species from old-growth forest. Instead high rates of sustainable harvesting could probably be achieved in semi-open anthropogenic habitats, e.g. agroforestry systems or young secondary forests. We also find that harvesting scheme has a strong impact on sustainable harvesting rates; if only adults (leaf length 100–223 cm) are harvested, while subadults (leaf length 35–99 cm) are left unharvested, two to three times as much leaf material can be harvested per area (at a fixed density) as when subadults are also harvested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Secondary succession is threatening many species of open habitats in north-western Europe. This problem has caused an intense debate over whether the present-natural vegetation in this region would be closed forest or more open vegetation. Native large herbivores have been proposed as the key agents creating such open vegetation. Here I address this question by reviewing the palaeoecological evidence regarding vegetation openness in past oceanic interglacials and the pre-agricultural Holocene, i.e. before the onset of strong human impact. I conclude that closed forest would predominate, but include localized longer-lasting openings. Further, open vegetation would be frequent on floodplains, infertile soils, chalklands, and in continental and submeditteranean areas. Large herbivores and fire emerge as likely potential key factors in creating open vegetation in north-western Europe. Fire would probably also be important in the maintenance of light-demanding or short-statured woody species within closed upland forests. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Natural environments have been associated with mental health benefits, but globally access to these benefits is threatened by urban development and densification. However, it remains unclear how natural environments relate to mental health and how consistent the association is across populations. Here we use a life-course approach with a population consisting of 66 194 individuals from the Danish Blood Donor Study (DBDS) to investigate the association between green and blue space (e.g. parks and lakes) and self-evaluated mental well-being. Green and blue space was identified from remotely-sensed images from the Landsat program, while mental well-being was based on the mental component score (MCS) calculated using the 12-item short form health survey. We use multivariate linear regression models and logistic regression models to quantify the associations. We adjust for additional environmental (urbanization, and air pollution) and lifestyle factors (smoking, body mass index, socioeconomic status, and physical activity) and specifically evaluate the role of physical activity and air pollution as possible mediating factors. We found a positive association between the MCS and current and childhood green space, and a non-significant association for current and childhood blue space. Adjusting for environmental and the other factors attenuated the effect sizes indicating that a broad range of factors determine mental well-being. Physical activity and air pollution were both associated with the MCS as possible mediators of green space associations. In addition, the odds for successfully completing tasks', seeing others, and feeling less downhearted increased with higher levels of green space, and the odds of feeling calm increased with higher levels of blue space. In conclusion, we found support for an association between green and, to less degree, blue space and mental well-being throughout different life stages. In addition, we found a positive association with individual indicators of mental well-being such as being productive, feeling less downhearted and calmer, and being social. The healthy blood donor effect and the bias towards urban residency may explain why we found smaller effect sizes between green and blue space and mental well-being for this generally healthy and resourceful cohort compared to previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human introduction and spread of species in urban greenspace may lead to an increase in the similarity of plant species composition between distant areas. Univervsity campuses are an important element of greenspace in many cities, but we know little about the extent to which such biotic homogenization of plant species can be detected across different regions and plant growth forms. Here, we collected plant species occurrence data from 253 Chinese university campuses in 130 cities to explore patterns and drivers of plant diversity and biotic homogenizations across different geographical regions and growth forms. We found that native species richness was positively correlated to campus area at the national scale, while non-native species richness was significantly associated with mean annual temperature, precipitation seasonality, campus area and campus age. We found limited support for homogenization caused by non-native plants in most regions. For growth forms, tree species exhibited significant biotic homogenization at the national scale, with weak or no effect for shrubs or herbs. Plant compositional similarity varied among regions, and eastern China always had the highest similarity in species composition with other regions. Combined effects of mean annual temperature and geographic distance overshadowed the roles of other predictors in shaping compositional dissimilarity in most regions. These findings suggest that multi-region settings and plant growth forms should be considered in urban biodiversity management, with special attention towards avoiding homogenization in trees. Increasing native species with local characteristics and considering region-specific environmental and socio-economic conditions are beneficial to mitigate biotic homogenization in urban greenspace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Native, mixed-species plantings increase ecosystem services of reforested sites. • Long-lived Taxaceae species potentially increase forest structural complexity. • Large areas in China are suitable for Ta. cuspidata and To. grandis reforestation. • Shaded conditions are important for two Taxaceae species to avoid competition. • Using rare, native tree species in reforestation promotes their conservation. Ecosystem restoration is regarded as one of the most cost-effective ways of mitigating the effects of the ongoing climate- and anthropogenic changes and slow or revert the loss of biodiversity. Forest restoration has much potential to conserve forest specialist species and ecosystem services, by using multiple, native tree species to promote a high local diversity of trees, with likely positive effects on overall biodiversity and on ecosystem resilience. In this study, we assessed the potential of using two rare, native species of the yew family (Taxaceae) in forest restoration in China. Species of this family are only rarely used in reforestation despite their potential contribution to tree functional diversity as long-lived, shade-tolerant, evergreen understory trees with fleshy seed cones of value to frugivorous animals. By using species distribution modelling methods, we analysed national and local scale occurrence data for Taxus cuspidata and Torreya grandis to determine the climate-based potential ranges as well as important factors for growth on a local scale. The analyses showed that both species have large potential ranges driven mainly by precipitation and by comparing these ranges with the areas that have potential for sustaining forests, we found large areas available for forest restoration where these species could be included. On the local scale, we found that low light levels and low competition from co-occurring trees are more important for the growth of seedlings compared to the adult individuals of both species. If the ecological requirements for seedlings are ensured, i.e. by creating moderately shaded environments in which seedlings can escape competition, both Taxaceae species have high potential for reforestation in China and will increase the ecological qualities of a restored forest, and at the same time, the conservation of rare tree-species in their native ranges is ensured. Conclusively, both Ta. cuspidata and To. grandis are shade-tolerant, slow-growing trees that, by creating an evergreen scrubby layer, add to forest structural complexity and stability, thereby helping support ecosystem services and biodiversity, e.g. microhabitat and resources for birds and other animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various environmental challenges are rapidly threatening ecosystems and societies globally. Major interventions and a strategic approach are required to minimize harm and to avoid reaching catastrophic tipping points. Setting evidence-based priorities aids maximizing the impact of the limited resources available for environmental interventions. Focusing on protecting both food security and biodiversity, international experts prioritized major environmental challenges for intervention based on three comprehensive criteria – importance, neglect, and tractability. The top priorities differ between food security and biodiversity. For food security, the top priorities are pollinator loss, soil compaction, and nutrient depletion, and for biodiversity conservation, ocean acidification and land and sea use (especially habitat degradation) are the main concerns. While climate change might be the most pressing environmental challenge and mitigation is clearly off-track, other issues rank higher because of climate change's high attention in research. Research and policy agendas do not yet consistently cover these priorities. Thus, a shift in attention towards the high-priority environmental challenges, identified here, is needed to increase the effectiveness of global environmental protection. Unlabelled Image • We must prioritize global biodiversity and food threats for effective protection. • Our comprehensive prioritization included importance, neglect, and tractability. • Pollinator loss and soil degradation are top priorities for food security. • Biodiversity is best served by combatting ocean acidification and land use change. • Our results call for a shift in attention towards the high-priority challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The tree cover increased on average resulting in reduced light availability for the understory. • Ancient-forest species became more abundant. • The number of understory woody species increased. • The floristic composition of plots became more homogeneous in terms of species composition over time. We studied changes in the understory vegetation in two Danish forests (212 permanent plots in a 330 ha area) over a period of 23 years from 1993 to 2016. Changes were analyzed in relation to a shift in forest management towards close-to-nature silviculture, local natural disturbance (caused by storms), nitrogen deposition, and climatic change. The composition of the forests has gradually changed over time and have more deciduous forest stands, fewer coniferous stands and fewer open areas in 2016 compared to 1993. A total of 260 plant species was recorded in 212 plots surveyed four times between 1993 and 2016. Each plot consisted of two nested quadrats of 1 and 25 m2, respectively. The number of species found per survey was steady in the first three surveys, but decreased from 2005 to 2016: 1993: 172; 1998: 169; 2005: 175; and 2016: 147. The abundance of individual species changed over the years: 32 species became significantly more abundant (winner species) and 24 species became significantly less abundant (loser species). Among the winners were ancient-forest species, forest species in general, broad-leaved tree species and stress-tolerant species. The loser species were mainly ruderals and light-demanding species. The mean number of species per plot increased during the study and, at the same time, plots became more homogenous indicating a narrower ecological space in terms of species composition. An analysis of Ellenberg Indicator values showed that mean L (light) and T (temperature) values per plot decreased during the study period while Ellenberg M (moisture) showed a small increase and Ellenberg R (reaction of soil) and N (nitrogen) showed no significant change during the study period. We conclude that changes in the understory vegetation were mainly caused by a general darkening of the forests. This is partly driven by a switch in forestry management practice from high forestry to close-to-nature silviculture, and partly by recovery after a severe storm in 1981. On average, the tree crowns became denser, and the cover of overstory increased. Consequently, the light availability for understory vegetation is significantly lower. No change in Ellenberg Indicator Values related to effects of climate warming or nitrogen deposition could be detected in this study. The benefits of close-to-nature forest management are discussed in relation to biodiversity protection, where it seems to promote at least plant species characteristic of old-growth forest stands. However, close-to-nature forest management does not necessarily create suitable conditions for other organism groups and is not a general quick-fix for biodiversity protection as such. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Massive and accelerating degradation and fragmentation of natural vegetation with the expansion of bare ground was observed in the unprotected land in Mara ecosystem. • Directional change was minimal in the fully protected national reserve. • Vegetation resistance to drought was lowest on unprotected land, intermediate under community-based conservation and highest under full protection. • The Mara ecosystem is heavily threatened, but conservation management can counteract negative trends. • Semi-protected community-based land-sharing conservation offers clear, partial buffering against degradation. Savanna megafauna have become scarce outside of protected areas in Africa, largely because of land conversion for farming (smallholders and agribusiness) and expansion of settlements and other infrastructure. Intensification also isolates protected areas, even affecting natural processes within reserve boundaries. Here, we used satellite imagery from the past 32 years in the iconic Maasai Mara ecosystem to assess the capacity of different land tenures to prevent degradation. We compare unprotected land with two types of conservation management: fully protected land without livestock (land sparing) and semi-protected community-based conservation – protected land with regulated livestock densities (land sharing). On unprotected land (61% of the area), we detected massive and accelerating degradation and fragmentation of natural vegetation, with large losses of woodland (62%) and grassland (56%), resulting in the expansion of bare ground. In contrast, directional change was minimal in both types of protected areas. Vegetation resistance to drought was lowest on unprotected land, intermediate under community-based conservation and highest under full protection. Our results show that the Mara ecosystem is under heavy pressure, but that conservation management counteracts negative trends. Importantly, semi-protected community-based land-sharing conservation offers clear, partial buffering against degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Tree cover in China has undergone massive changes through deforestation, reforestation, and afforestation during the last 60 years. This study investigates the distribution of tree cover in the eastern part of China in 2010, and how it is related to climate, topography, and anthropogenic pressure. We use random forest modeling of remote sensing data for tree cover, together with data for topography, climate, and anthropogenic pressure. Our results show that 2,136,000 km2 had tree cover ≥25% in the eastern part of China in 2010 and that the areas with high tree cover were mainly distributed in north-eastern, southern, and south-central China. The variable that best explains the distribution of tree cover is actual evapotranspiration followed by slope and population density. The association between slope and tree cover increases as population density rises, suggesting that the association may be influenced by anthropogenic land use intensity and that slopes act as refugees for forests. Our study emphasizes the need to pay attention to the association between slope and tree cover and especially to the anthropogenic factors that, entirely or to some extent, drive this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Satellite imagery can be used to assess the state of vegetation in areas that are rarely visited. Here we report how satellite imagery clearly shows the outline of Mucheve Forest Reserve in Mozambique because the vegetation within the park has been severely degraded. This is contrast to several other protected areas, where the vegetation outside their boundaries is often more degraded than within. Possible reasons for the difference between the vegetation structure inside and outside the reserve are shortly discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

When dealing with the northern boundary of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) and the question of whether or not they dispersed into Southern Scandinavia, two contradictory hypotheses can be identified. The first, and also the most widely endorsed, hereafter, hypothesis A, argues primarily that Neanderthals did not occupy regions above 55°N because of 1) climatic constraints and 2) dispersal barriers. The second, hypothesis B, argues that they possibly occasionally dispersed above 55°N, but that factors such as 1) research- and/or 2) taphonomic bias are responsible for their archaeological invisibility. Here, we report an evaluation of these competing hypotheses. To this end, we reconstruct the environment for the time period and region of interest (the Last Interglacial Complex and Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia), based on three lines of evidence: palaeoenvironmental reconstruction combined with a novel habitat modelling approach, a review of relevant archaeological localities, and a discussion of the possible impacts of both research biases and the taphonomic effects on the archaeological data. We focus particularly on the climatic and geological explanatory factors relevant to the two hypotheses. Our results are inconsistent with the claim that climatic constraint and/or a lack of suitable habitats can fully explain the absence of Neanderthals in Southern Scandinavia during the Eemian Interglacial and Early Weichselian Glaciation. We do, however, find evidence that a geographic barrier may have impeded northerly migrations during the Eemian. The evidence reviewed here suggests that both research bias and taphonomy - consistent with hypothesis B - could account for the archaeological invisibility of Neanderthals in Southern Scandinavia, highlighting the need for further strategic survey and/or excavation efforts in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Without an understanding of the geography of traditional knowledge, implementing the Nagoya Protocol and national or regional strategies for benefit-sharing with local and indigenous communities will be difficult. We evaluate how much traditional knowledge about medicinal palm (Arecaceae) uses is unique and how much is shared across (i) four countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia), (ii) two cultural groups (Amerindian and non-Amerindian), (iii) 52 Amerindian tribes, (iv) six non-Amerindian groups, (v) 41 communities, and (vi) individuals in the 41 communities. Materials and methods We first sampled traditional knowledge about palms from 255 references and then carried out 2201 field interviews using a standard protocol. Using the combined data set, we quantified the number of “singletons” that were unique to one of the analyzed scales. For the 41 communities, we evaluated how many uses were cited by <10% and by ≥50% of informants. We performed a Kruskal–Wallis test to evaluate whether the number of unshared uses (cited by <10%) differed significantly in relation to the informants׳ gender and degree of expertise, and performed a two-way ANOVA to test for differences in the number of unshared and shared uses accounted for by the five birth cohorts. Results We found that most knowledge was not shared among countries, cultural groups, tribes, communities, or even individuals within them. Still, a minor knowledge component was widely shared, even across countries. General informants cited a significantly higher number of unshared uses than experts, whereas no significant differences were found in the number of unshared uses cited by men and women or by different age groups. Conclusion Our region-wide analysis highlights the geospatial complexity in traditional knowledge patterns, underscoring the need for improved geographic insight into the ownership of traditional knowledge in areas where biocultural diversity is high. This high geographic complexity needs consideration when designing property right protocols, and calls for countrywide compilation efforts as much localized knowledge remains unrecorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• From 2000 to 2020, the ecological sources of Ulanqab decreased in size and increased in fragmentation. • The extremely high areas of ecological resistance surfaces increased in Ulanqab from 2000 to 2020. • Precipitation, land use intensity and human footprints are the main driving factors of ecological networks in Ulanqab. • Priority areas for protection and restoration are identified based on the distribution of ecological elements. Constructing an ecological network is crucial to maintaining ecosystem stability, optimizing ecological space, and ensuring regional ecological security. Using circuit theory, the study integrated habitat condition, ecosystem function, and landscape structure to construct ecological network in Ulanqab. The ecological networks consist of four basic components, including sources, resistance surfaces, corridors and nodes. Ecological sources refer to patches with high habitat quality, while the resistance to species movement between patches is named as ecological resistance surfaces, the important corridors for movement between patches are referred to as ecological corridors, and the vital spots in ecological network are referred to ecological nodes. In addition, the drivers affecting these changes were also analyzed using geographical detector. The results indicated that the area of ecological sources dropped by 19.1 % and the area of high value of ecological resistance surfaces increased from 2000 and 2020. The length of ecological corridors increased by 793.80 km. Mean annual precipitation is the main natural factor influencing the ecological network, and land use intensity and human footprint are the main anthropogenic factors. Our findings suggest that in this region, urban developing should minimize the encroachment on grasslands, forests and waters. Additionally, the availability of water resources should be considered in the planning and implementation of ecological restoration and protection. The findings of the study offer reasonable suggestions for the protection and restoration of priority regions, as well as a scientific foundation optimization and sustainable development of the regional ecological network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite broadly overlapping geographic distributions in the central Amazon basin, two congeneric palm species (Attalea attaleoides and Attalea microcarpa) have topographically separated distributions on a local scale in Reserva Ducke near Manaus. Our aim here was to determine if this local scale separation can be linked to (1) seedling stage specialization to different habitat conditions of the two species, and/or (2) environmentally-controlled seed dispersal. We assessed the role of these potential drivers by mapping the local distribution of the two species over a 25-km2 grid and testing for correlation to seed removal and seed germination patterns using seed sowing experiments. 360 seeds of each species were sown in 30 uniformly distributed plots (12 seeds of each species in each plot), and seed removal and germination were subsequently monitored. Adult populations of the two species showed opposite distribution patterns linked to topography. However, there was little evidence for specialization to different habitat conditions at the seedling stage: after 11 months, 26.1% of seeds of A. microcarpa had germinated along the entire topographic gradient, albeit with a tendency toward higher germination in more inclined areas. For A. attaleoides, only 2.2% seeds had germinated, and again along the entire topographic gradient. In contrast, there was evidence for environmentally-controlled seed dispersal: for both species, seed removal was higher in flat areas. Presence of adults did not affect germination or seed removal. Our results suggest that topographically differentiated distributions of A. attaleoides and A. microcarpa may be reinforced by steep slope avoidance by their seed dispersers. A direct environmental control mechanism remains to be identified to explain the consistent topographic associations, but our results show that this mechanism does not work at the seed germination stage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It has long been thought that environmental factors determine plant community assembly, but it is now increasingly argued that geographic spatial processes such as dispersal may also matter. Notably, the metacommunity framework considers local communities to be linked by dispersal and different theories hereunder assign varying importance to dispersal limitation and local environmental species sorting. At present the relative importance of these factors across habitats, geographic regions, and spatial scales remains unclear. The present study assessed the relative importance of species sorting by the local environment and broader-scale geographic spatial processes for local plant species composition using a data set of 3924 plots from coastal dunes across a large region (Denmark). We used ordination to identify the main gradients in species composition, and Linear Mixed-Effects modelling (LME) to estimate the relative importance of local environment and multi-scale random geographic factors as determinants of floristic gradients. In addition, we assessed the dependence of species composition on local environment and geographic distance using Mantel tests. The LME analyses found local species sorting to be the dominant determinant in this metacommunity system, with soil moisture, pH, and fertility requirement patterns explaining ≥77% of the compositional gradients, while geographic factors accounted for ≤2%. Partial Mantel tests confirmed this finding, with 31.6% of the variation in species dissimilarity explained by environmental species sorting and just 1.6% by geographical distance. The apparently limited impact of dispersal limitation or other geographic spatial processes may reflect high habitat continuity and efficient dispersal by strong winds and ocean currents in the Danish coastal-dune metacommunity system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Water Quality Index (WQI) is a primary metric used to evaluate and categorize surface water quality which plays a crucial role in the management of fresh water resources. Machine Learning (ML) modeling offers potential insights into water quality index prediction. This study employed advanced ML models to get potential insights into the prediction of water quality index for the Aik-Stream, an industrially polluted natural water resource in Pakistan with 19 input water quality variables aligning them with surrounding land use and anthropogenic activities. Six machine learning algorithms, i.e. Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), K-Nearest Neighbors (K-NN), Gradient Boosting (GB), Random Forests (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Bayesian Regression (BR) were employed as benchmark models to predict the Water Quality Index (WQI) values of the polluted stream to achieve our objectives. For model calibration, 80% of the dataset was reserved for training, while 20% was set aside for testing. In our comparative analyses of predictive models for water quality index, the Gradient Boost (GB) model stood out the fittest for its precision, utilizing a combination of just seven parameters (chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, oil & grease, Ammonia- nitrogen, arsenic, nickel and zinc), surpassing other models by achieving better results in both training (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 7.24) and testing (R2 = 0.85, RMSE = 8.67). Analyzing feature importance showed that all the selected variables, except for NO 3 N, TDS and temperature had an impact on the accuracy of the models predictions. It is concluded that the application of machine learning to assess water quality in polluted environments enhances accuracy and facilitates real-time tracking, enabling proactive risk mitigations. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on hunter-gatherer impact on interglacial vegetation in Europe, using a case study from the Early Holocene (9200–8700 BP). We present a novel agent-based model, hereafter referred to as HUMLAND (HUMan impact on LANDscapes), specifically developed to define key factors in continental-level vegetation changes via assessment of differences between pollen-based reconstruction and dynamic global vegetation model output (climate-based vegetation cover). The identified significant difference between these two datasets can be partially explained by the difference in the models themselves, but also by the fact that climate is not the sole factor responsible for vegetation change. Sensitivity analysis of HUMLAND showed that the intensity of anthropogenic vegetation modification mainly depended on three factors: the number of groups present, their preferences for vegetation openness around campsites, and the size of an area impacted by humans. Overall, both climate and human activities had strong impacts on vegetation openness during the study period. Our modelling results support the hypothesis that European ecosystems were strongly shaped by human activities already in the Mesolithic. • Novel agent-based model designed to explore how diverse factors affected paleo-landscapes. • Study suggests human impact on the environment as the primary non-climate factor affecting landscapes in the Early Holocene. • Modelling results show foragers' impact depends on population size, accessible area and vegetation openness around campsites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotic homogenization, the increasing similarity of biotas over time, is an important topic in biodiversity conservation and has been widely linked to anthropogenic factors, e.g., land use change and climate change. However, so far few studies have simultaneously tested the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional homogenization caused by human activities. Here, we analyzed the effects of land use change on biotic homogenization of bird communities in these three biodiversity dimensions in the steppe region in Inner Mongolia, China. The results showed that taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional similarities were significantly lower in relatively natural grassland than in the other disturbed habitats, i.e., planted woodland, farmland and village. In addition, there were also higher associations between bird community similarities and climate distances in natural grassland than in the other disturbed habitats. These results suggest that more intense land use types result in consistent taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional homogenization of bird communities, while at the same time diminish community turnover across climate gradients. These findings indicate that anthropogenic activities in this steppe region may not only cause biodiversity loss in taxonomic level, but also in other biodiversity dimensions, highlighting the important role of natural steppe in biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of climate change, populations have two survival options − they can remain in situ and tolerate the new climatic conditions (“stay”), or they can move to track their climatic niches (“go”). For sessile and small-stature organisms like alpine plants, staying requires broad climatic tolerances, realized niche shifts due to changing biotic interactions, acclimation through plasticity, or rapid genetic adaptation. Going, in contrast, requires good dispersal and colonization capacities. Neither the magnitude of climate change experienced locally nor the capacities required for staying/going in response to climate change are constant across landscapes, and both aspects may be strongly affected by local microclimatic variation associated with topographic complexity. We combine ideas from population and community ecology to discuss the effects of topographic complexity in the landscape on the immediate “stay” or “go” opportunities of local populations and communities, and on the selective pressures that may have shaped the stay or go capacities of the species occupying contrasting landscapes. We demonstrate, using example landscapes of different topographical complexity, how species’ thermal niches could be distributed across these landscapes, and how these, in turn, may affect many population and community ecological processes that are related to adaptation or dispersal. Focusing on treeless alpine or Arctic landscapes, where temperature is expected to be a strong determinant, our theorethical framework leads to the hypothesis that populations and communities of topographically complex (rough and patchy) landscapes should be both more resistant and more resilient to climate change than those of topographically simple (flat and homogeneous) landscapes. Our theorethical framework further points to how meta-community dynamics such as mass effects in topographically complex landscapes and extinction lags in simple landscapes, may mask and delay the long-term outcomes of these landscape differences under rapidly changing climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity is declining on a global scale and the limited resources available for conservation efforts and research need to be used efficiently. Fungi are a megadiverse taxonomic group where lack of knowledge impedes sufficient conservation focus. Inventories of fungi require a high level of expertise and are difficult and expensive due to seasonal variation and fluctuation in sporocarp formation. Lidar offers objective, fine-resolution and potentially cheap and broad scale data for representing vegetation structure and has proven useful for prediction of the diversity of plant and animal species. In this study, we used lidar-derived variables as explanatory variables in models of fungal species richness and controlling gradients of species composition, represented by three ordination axes derived from multidimensional scaling. The fungal data comprised a data set of 1527 species recorded in three inventories of 121 sites covering all major terrestrial habitat types across Denmark. We compared the performance of lidar-derived explanatory variables with two field inventory-based sets of variables: 1) lists of vascular plants and 2) recordings of soil, microclimate and vegetation structure. Lidar-derived variables performed best in predicting fungal richness and the first ordination axis, interpreted as a gradient from low and open herb-dominated communities over closed swards and scrubs to closed-canopy forests (cross validated r 2 of 0.50 and 0.81, respectively). The number of red-listed species and the second ordination axis were poorly predicted by lidar, and the third ordination axis was equally well detected by the three explanatory sets of variables (cross validated r 2 of 0.38). From a fungal conservation perspective, it is promising that lidar-based variables hold information suitable for detecting major gradients in fungal richness and composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as drought resistance, flood resistance, nutrient deposition, biodiversity, etc. This study presents a new multi-criteria, ecosystems service value-driven method to drive the optimal placement of restored wetlands in terms of maximizing selected ecosystem services which a wetland can provide or affect. We aim to answer two questions: 1) which of the ecosystem services indicators defines the placement of wetlands today? 2) Based on the ecosystem services indicator assessment, what are the recommendations for future selection of catchments for potential wetland reconstruction (i.e. restoration)? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]