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Honey bees play a vital role in providing essential ecosystem services and contributing to global agriculture. However, the potential effect of climate change on honey bee distribution is still not well understood. This study aims to identify the most influential bioclimatic and environmental variables, assess their impact on honey bee distribution, and predict future distribution. An ensemble modelling approach using the biomod2 package in R was employed to develop three models: a climate‐only model, an environment‐only model, and a combined climate and environment model. By utilising bioclimatic data (radiation of the wettest and driest quarters and temperature seasonality) from 1990 to 2009, combined with observed honey bee presence and pseudo absence data, this model predicted suitable locations for honey bee apiaries for two future time spans: 2020–2039 and 2060–2079. The climate‐only model exhibited a true skill statistic (TSS) value of 0.85, underscoring the pivotal role of radiation and temperature seasonality in shaping honey bee distribution. The environment‐only model, incorporating proximity to floral resources, foliage projective cover, and elevation, demonstrated strong predictive performance, with a TSS of 0.88, emphasising the significance of environmental variables in determining habitat suitability for honey bees. The combined model had a higher TSS of 0.96, indicating that the combination of climate and environmental variables enhances the model's performance. By the 2020–2039 period, approximately 88% of highly suitable habitats for honey bees are projected to transition from their current state to become moderate (14.84%) to marginally suitable (13.46%) areas. Predictions for the 2060–2079 period reveal a concerning trend: 100% of highly suitable land transitions into moderately (0.54%), marginally (17.56%), or not suitable areas (81.9%) for honey bees. These results emphasise the critical need for targeted conservation efforts and the implementation of policies aimed at safeguarding honey bees and the vital apiary industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closed landfills represent a large portion of land that cannot be developed but can potentially be ecologically rehabilitated using capping technologies such as phytocapping. This study aims to identify and quantify the value of landfills for ecological rehabilitation in Queensland, Australia, using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and multi-criteria analysis. Multiple environmental features were used for this study and were selected to represent ecosystem services and connectivity. These features were used to create two novel scores (environmental and habitat score), representing the total area and number of environmental features. The evaluation shows there is high value for ecological rehabilitation of landfills in South East Queensland and the Wet Tropics, signifying the importance of ecological rehabilitation in these biogeographic regions. Landfill rehabilitation can create high-value habitats for endangered species and enhance connectivity. It is recommended that landfill after-use is considered by regulators and stakeholders as a potential vehicle for achieving environmental sustainability and ecological conservation. The developed methodology in this study can be used to inform the decision-making process for landfill after-use and the strategic prioritisation of landfills within local governmental areas for achieving ecological rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Banked systems that modify natural wetlands to enhance reliability of grass production for cattle are common along coastal Central Queensland. These are mostly positioned in the supratidal zone of extensive marine plains, leaving mangroves and saltmarsh with regular tidal influence intact. Perceived negative impacts on fisheries and carbon sequestration are frequently cited as reasons to remove banks and restore tidal influence, yet there is no specific evidence relating to the banked wetlands in this region. All ecosystem services provided by these systems need to be considered before decisions are made. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the biodiversity values of marine plains with tide-exclusion banks. Methods: Five banked sites (39 000 ha) were compared to a single unbanked site of similar vegetation and tidal position with multiple counts of waterbirds (13-48/site) over several years. Key results. Banked sites collectively supported six threatened and 22 migratory species, including 17 migratory shorebirds, some with counts of international importance. All sites matched criteria used to define Ramsar wetlands. Banked sites had more waterbird species and a similar species richness of migratory shorebirds to the unbanked site. Conclusions: Given these wetlands support substantial numbers of migratory shorebirds and endangered species such as Capricorn Yellow Chat, as well as their importance to food production and improving water quality reaching reef ecosystems, any proposed 'restoration' of these areas to the previous tide-influenced state should be subject to impact assessment. Implications. Our study demonstrates that existing tide-excluded banked wetlands are beneficial for biodiversity and economic production, soundly justifying their retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity offsetting is increasingly used to mitigate biodiversity impacts from development, but the practice of offsetting rarely considers how to also mitigate losses of ecosystem services. Offset rules, such as how near an offset must be to an impact site, may help ensure biodiversity offsets also counterbalance losses of ecosystem services but this has not yet well understood.We explored how different rules for siting coastal offsets could change net impacts to a provisioning ecosystem service: fishery resources in Queensland, Australia. A spatially explicit model incorporating supply, flow and demand of fishery resources was developed to simulate contributions of offset sites to commercial fisheries in Queensland, Australia. We simulated offsets for losses due to 63 real projects that damaged mangroves and 14 projects damaging seagrasses.We found that the percentage of species suffering net negative outcomes for the whole commercial fishery increased from about 68% when offsets were located close to impact sites to >85% when there were no restrictions on offset location. All fisheries for seagrass offsets suffered net economic losses under both scenarios, but these were worse when offsets were not required to be near to impact sites.Offsetting outcomes varied substantially across species. Species with shorter maximum dispersal distance and higher dispersal decay parameters suffered greater net losses.Synthesis and applications. Our model quantified impacts of fishery habitat depletion and offsets on fishery resources and the approach can be applied to assess impacts of losses of fishery habitats globally. The findings suggest that to minimize losses of fishery resources caused by habitat depletion, offset policy should generally locate offset sites at the locations available for restoration that are nearest to impact sites, unless specific information about the relative contributions of sites to impacted fisheries is available to guide offset location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor water quality caused by intensive sugarcane farming has been among the main causes of coastal degradation around the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Despite regulations and incentives, water quality in the GBR has yet to reach government targets, and there is an urgent need to investigate alternative management approaches. In this study, we have employed a social‐ecological approach to understand farmers' attitudes to existing nutrient and sediment management approaches, assess farmers' perceptions of managing coastal wetlands to ameliorate agricultural run‐off, and propose how these findings could inform integrative policy development for the GBR. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with sugarcane farmers in the Wet Tropics to understand perceptions of ecosystem services, coastal wetlands and industry challenges. We linked our analysis of key issues of concern to farmers with broader environmental and land use issues and have outlined future policy considerations in the face of socio‐economic and climatic change. Our conclusions emphasise the need to rethink future land tenure in low‐lying areas of North Queensland, the importance of considering ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands in policy models and the need for a payments for ecosystem services (PES) model to safeguard the future of the GBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in Queensland, Australia contains globally significant seagrasses supporting key ecosystem services, including habitat and food for threatened populations of dugong and turtle. We compiled 35 years of data in a spatial database, including 81,387 data points with georeferenced seagrass and species presence/absence, depth, dominant sediment type, and collection date. We include data collected under commercial contract that have not been publicly available. Twelve seagrass species were recorded. The deepest seagrass was found at 76 m. Seagrass meadows are at risk from anthropogenic, climate and weather processes. Our database is a valuable resource that provides coastal managers and the global marine community with a long‐term spatial resource describing seagrass populations from the mid‐1980s against which to benchmark change. We address the data issues involved in hindcasting over 30 years to ensure confidence in the accuracy and reliability of data included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Literature review extracted 350 condition indicators from 12 key habitats. • Expert's workshops iterations led to the integration of 42 condition indicators across 3 habitat types. • Metric flexibility enables robust but simple evidence-based monitoring. • Engagement with practitioners ensures enrichment and uptake of indicator framework. • Standardisation ensures reliable and comparable habitat condition assessments. Marine and estuarine habitat degradation threatens ecosystem function and delivery of ecosystem services. An increasing number of management interventions aiming to improve ecological condition within impacted marine and estuarine habitats are being implemented. Monitoring the ecological outcomes of management interventions to evaluate their effectiveness supports adaptive management. However, the lack of a standardised set of indicators has impeded reliable assessment and knowledge sharing. The objective of this research project is to develop a cross-ecosystem standardised indicator framework to assess changes in benthic habitat conditions. The rapid Marine and Estuarine Condition Assessment Tool (MarECAT) was developed for Queensland, Australia; however, it can be applied elsewhere. A literature review was undertaken to identify indicators and metrics for habitat condition assessment that were reviewed by subject matter experts through a series of Technical Group meetings. Three indicator groups were identified based on the presence or absence of structural macrobiota attributes (i.e., macroflora, macrofauna, and substrate-dominated). The panel of experts endorsed a list of 42 condition indicators with associated metrics representing all ecosystem components, enabling a comprehensive assessment of habitat condition for a rapid assessment tool. A level of confidence nominated by practitioners was allocated to each condition indicator metric to inform the interpretation of assessments. Another outcome of the expert workshops was the endorsement of 10 threat indicators representing key pressures in marine and estuarine habitats, along with a specific assessment scale. The scoring method developed for the MarECAT will facilitate reliable assessment of management intervention outcomes and implementation of adaptive management to improve project success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rodents are the most widespread and diverse order of vertebrate mycophagists and are key to the dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi. Rodents consume and subsequently disperse fungi through their feces on every continent except Antarctica. This study examines the fungal taxa consumed by the Hastings River mouse (Pseudomys oralis), an endangered Australian endemic rodent from the family Muridae. We analyzed 251 fecal samples collected over a 19-year period between 1993 and 2012 at sites throughout the distribution of the animal in New South Wales and Queensland. We show that at least 16 genera of mycorrhizal fungi are eaten by this species and that it is therefore playing an important role as a vector of ectomycorrhizal truffle-like fungi in eastern Australia. Similar to the fungal diets of other mammals in eastern Australia, seasonal fungal consumption was greatest in autumn and winter. The dietary diversity of P. oralis also appeared to follow a geographic trend from south to north; samples collected at sites in the southern part of the species' range had greater diversity than those from sites in the northern part of the range, and overall, diets from southern sites yielded more fungal taxa than did northern sites. This study provides novel insights into the diet of P. oralis and highlights the importance of previously overlooked ecosystem services this species provides through its dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streams and rivers are biodiverse and provide valuable ecosystem services. Maintaining these ecosystems is an important task, so organisations often monitor the status and trends in stream condition and biodiversity using field sampling and, more recently, autonomous in-situ sensors. However, data collection is often costly, so effective and efficient survey designs are crucial to maximise information while minimising costs. Geostatistics and optimal and adaptive design theory can be used to optimise the placement of sampling sites in freshwater studies and aquatic monitoring programs. Geostatistical modelling and experimental design on stream networks pose statistical challenges due to the branching structure of the network, flow connectivity and directionality, and differences in flow volume. Geostatistical models for stream network data and their unique features already exist. Some basic theory for experimental design in stream environments has also previously been described. However, open source software that makes these design methods available for aquatic scientists does not yet exist. To address this need, we present SSNdesign, an R package for solving optimal and adaptive design problems on stream networks that integrates with existing open-source software. We demonstrate the mathematical foundations of our approach, and illustrate the functionality of SSNdesign using two case studies involving real data from Queensland, Australia. In both case studies we demonstrate that the optimal or adaptive designs outperform random and spatially balanced survey designs implemented in existing open-source software packages. The SSNdesign package has the potential to boost the efficiency of freshwater monitoring efforts and provide much-needed information for freshwater conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much Indigenous culture has been lost as a result of colonisation, and the current Iningai generation do not speak their language and know little of their history. The Yumbangku Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Tourism Development Aboriginal Corporation (YACHATDAC) based in Barcaldine has been formed by key members of the Traditional custodian families of the Iningai lands in Central West Queensland. The board is composed of 80% Aboriginal and 20% non Aboriginal members. Gracevale is an 8870 ha property in Central West Queensland owned by YACHATDAC. It will become a sustainable place of education and centre of excellence based on consensus around resolution of reconciliation and teaching, and an important example of Indigenous management in the conservation and extension of culture and best-practice land management in the arid zone of Australia under a changing climate. YACHATDAC is working to rediscover language and the cultural significance of local rock art and ceremonial sites; developing sustainable land-use practices using traditional methods, along with science and technology, to restore degraded land, natural springs and waterways; enhance above- and below-ground biodiversity; and create native fauna reserves. Income streams to support sustainable management of the system are being developed. They include: responsible grazing practice; cultural and ecotourism; a seed bank and commercialisation of native seeds and plants; and use of Gracevale as a living sustainable laboratory for the development and dissemination of knowledge about natural ecosystem functions and processes and the monetisation of ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity offsetting is widely used to offset negative impacts of development on biodiversity. However, offsets can affect the distribution of benefits among beneficiaries, due to the redistribution of ecosystem services caused by impacts and offsets. Here, we compared the distribution of fishery economic benefits and losses to commercial and recreational fishers under two different offset policy rules: offset locations in close proximity to impact sites, and spatially unrestricted offsetting. With a focus on mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in Queensland, Australia, we measured how the distribution of net outcomes would change using the Gini coefficient. Different offset policy rules had similar effects on the redistribution of fishery benefits among commercial and recreational fishers. However, both offset policy rules failed to fully compensate for losses of fishery benefits for most affected beneficiaries. Locating offsets in close proximity to impact sites achieved slightly more evenly-distributed benefits among recreational fishers and among most types of commercial fishers. The findings suggest that in this system, even though the distribution of net outcomes of impact-offset projects for fishers are somewhat evenly distributed, they tend to be uniformly negative for both recreational and commercial fishers. • Fish habitat offsets in Queensland fails to fully offset losses of fishery benefits for all affected fishery beneficiaries. • Different offset policy rules had similar effects on the redistribution of ecosystem services among beneficiaries. • Offsets generating more even distribution of benefits among beneficiaries may yield smaller ecological gains than losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing demands between diverse considerations and the benefits sought make urban street tree species selection an extremely complex and challenging process for municipal land and tree managers, influencing urban greening initiatives across the world as well as in Australia. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study with tree managers and other relevant officers from local municipal authorities in South-East Queensland, Australia that examined factors influencing street tree selection and planting. Participants outlined three predominant motives for planting street trees: environmental (100%), visual and aesthetic (92%), and statutory (92%). In contrast, participants identified species characteristics (100%), site factors (100%), costs (92%), and management and maintenance issues (83%) as the most important governing factors for street tree species selection. Only half of the officers noted ecosystem services (50%), along with visual and aesthetic benefits (50%) as species selection factors. Economic, health, socio-cultural and community benefits were not mentioned among the species-selection criteria. The interviews with municipal officers revealed that the parameters governing street tree species selection in South-East Queensland do not conform to the environmental and aesthetic reasons that were cited as the primary motivations for planting street trees. Local research focused on the benefits and problems of Australian street tree species may empower councils to revise their street tree policies and integrate ecosystem services and disservices as part of the process of selecting appropriate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation vertical structure is important for biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. In cities, however, while variation in the spatial extent and distribution of vegetation has been widely investigated, vertical vegetation structure and its potential drivers have not. Understanding how vegetation vertical structure varies across cities and identifying the potential drivers of this variation will improve the management of urban vegetation for biodiversity and ecosystem services., We used light detection and ranging (Li DAR) data to quantify the vertical structure of vegetation across Brisbane, Australia, at 1-km2 and 1-ha spatial scales and investigated how this structure varied in response to biophysical, socioeconomic, urban form and landscape structure variables., Using model selection techniques, we found that landscape structure variables related to tree cover (tree cover extent and spatial configuration) best explained the vegetation vertical structure at both spatial scales. Biophysical and urban form variables were also important, but only in combination with landscape structure., Mean vegetation vertical complexity, foliage projective cover and canopy height at a site all decreased as the treed proportion of the surrounding urban landscape decreased. In general, these vertical structure variables also increased where patches of vegetation were clustered together spatially., Synthesis and applications. Using light detection and ranging (Li DAR) data and model selection techniques, we show that the extent and vertical structure of urban vegetation are not independent and that reduced extent and increased fragmentation of urban vegetation are associated with simplification of its vertical structure. If common, this relationship means that managing urban vegetation for biodiversity and ecosystem services should not focus solely on the amount of tree cover or green space present across cities, but also on identifying where interventions to improve vegetation vertical complexity are required. Our study provides important insights into where these locations may be in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Protected areas often need to provide recreational opportunities whilst conserving biodiversity. Recreation brings important benefits to human well-being, and allowing people to experience nature in protected areas can also provide revenue and support for conservation objectives. However, not all recreational activities are compatible with environmental management goals. 2. Here, we show how a coastal protected area can be zoned to satisfy both recreational and conservation objectives. 3. We collected empirical data on the effect of recreational disturbance to foraging shorebirds in Moreton Bay Marine Park, Queensland, Australia, and calculated the benefit of alternative protected area zone types on shorebird representation using a zero-inflated negative binomial model. The predictions from this model were used to optimize a zoning plan in a linear programming framework that balances recreational use with shorebird conservation. Costs reflect foregone recreational opportunity, thereby facilitating solutions that minimize restrictions on recreational use of the coastline. 4. We discover a consistent negative effect of recreational use of the foreshore on shorebird occupancy and abundance and show that, despite this, zoning can be used to achieve shorebird representation targets with only a small cost to recreational opportunity. 5. When dog recreation is permitted at all sites, a 91% shorebird representation target can be met, indicating that de facto patterns of recreation were rather well segregated from areas used by shorebirds. By restricting dog recreation to five sites and allowing people to access all other foreshore sites, shorebird representation increased to 97%. 6. Synthesis and applications. Our approach of calculating the contribution of each zone type towards conservation objectives results in zoning plans with robust estimates of conservation benefit that can be readily implemented by managers. Specifically, we estimated the effects of removing people and domestic dog recreation within each intertidal site on shorebird abundance to inform coastal zoning plans. Incorporating cost as foregone recreational opportunity results in zoning plans that minimize the number of people required to make a behavioural change. Compliance to zone types is often ultimately voluntary so integrating the current intensity of recreational use is more likely to generate workable zoning plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riparian vegetation is crucial for providing a diverse range of ecosystem services. However, the role of riparian vegetation in storing carbon is recently being realised. This study aims to estimate the current status of biomass carbon from riparian vegetation and coarse-woody debris (CWD) along the Condamine River and its tributaries in Queensland, Australia. Trees, shrubs and CWD from 17 sample plots were inventoried using standard protocol and were converted into biomass and carbon mass. The average of total carbon for poor, good and excellent plots were 4.3 t/ha, 134.8 t/ha and 291.7 t/ha, respectively. This indicates that 291.7 tC/ha is easily achievable in riparian zone of Condamine Catchment where the edaphic, topographic and climatic factors are favourable for riparian vegetation. The results of this study would help landholders and policy makers to understand the carbon sequestration potential of riparian zones, and promote current government mixed species environmental plantings (MSEPs) activities under the Emissions Reduction Fund, which ultimately promotes more resilient, economically viable and environmentally sustainable land use practices on a landscape level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systems analysis perspective related to soil science is necessary to achieve many of the sustainability targets articulated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) framework is the international statistical standard for quantifying both the contributions that ecosystems make to the economy, and the impacts of economic activity on ecosystems. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining empirical data on ecosystem service flows, in many cases such quantification is informed by ecosystem service models. Previous research on the Mitchell catchment, Queensland Australia provided a novel opportunity to quantify the implications of using a model of hillslope erosion and sediment delivery in isolation (as represented in one of the most frequently used ecosystem service models - InVEST), by comparing such estimates against multiple lines of local empirical data, and a more comprehensive representation of locally important erosion and deposition processes through a sediment budget model. Estimates of the magnitude of hillslope erosion modelled using an approach similar to InVEST and the calibrated sediment budget differed by an order of magnitude. If an uncalibrated InVEST-type model was used to inform the relative distribution of erosion magnitude, findings suggest the incorrect erosion process would be identified as the dominant contributor to suspended sediment loads. However, the sediment budget model could only be calibrated using data on sediment sources and sinks that had been collected through sustained research effort in the catchment. A comparable level of research investment may not be available to inform ecosystem service assessments elsewhere. Findings for the Mitchell catchment demonstrate that practitioners should exercise caution when using model-derived estimates of the sediment retention ecosystem service, which have not been calibrated and validated against locally collected empirical data, to inform an ecosystem account and progress towards achieving the SDGs. • Quantification of ecosystem service flows is often informed by models. • Uncalibrated sediment retention models may prioritise an incorrect erosion process. • Uncalibrated and unvalidated sediment retention models should be used with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research has been conducted globally into conceptual frameworks for ecosystem services, the most notable being the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Millennium ecosystem assessment: ecosystems and human well-being; a framework for assessment. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, pp 51, 53–55, ). The South East Queensland (SEQ) Ecosystem Services Framework (Australia) aims to provide the tools to enable government, industry, business, researchers, non-government organizations and land managers to apply the concept of ecosystem services in their planning and management practices. This article describes the Framework and the process that has produced matrices and maps that identify and illustrate the linkages between ecosystems, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services and the community’s well-being. The matrices and maps derived can identify areas in the region where the most ecosystem services are generated. This allows areas to be considered as valuable natural assets of the region, deserving appropriate protection measures or significant offsets if they are diminished or degraded in any way. Although the Framework requires further refinement and ongoing development, the process applied and the products produced has enabled decision makers to turn the concept of ecosystem services into practical application in SEQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interviews with private landowners are used to identify important constraints on how market-based instruments can be used to expand woodland regeneration on marginal pastures in the southern Queensland region of Australia. Landowners highlighted three types of constraints: those related to the uncertainty over what rules will govern a mandatory carbon trading scheme in Australia; those related to how landowners can measure and sell their carbon credits; and those related to whether the initiative will be profitable for landowners. Case analysis of the 'Emissions Biodiversity Exchange Project for the 21st Century' (EBEX21) program of Landcare Research New Zealand are then used to reveal ways in which similar constraints have been successfully addressed in the context of marginal pastures in New Zealand. The EBEX21 program demonstrates how a government policy initiative can provide support to landowners by: (1) informing landowners about carbon trading opportunities; (2) ensuring satisfactory regeneration of woodlands (including the use of appropriate practices for fire and livestock exclusion and pest and weed management); (3) helping landowners measure and verify their carbon credits; and (4) providing a transparent system (through carboNZero) for landowners to engage with potential buyers of carbon credits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) contains extensive seagrass meadows with abundant and diverse herbivore populations. Typically, meadows in the region are multi-species and dominated by fast growing opportunistic seagrass species. However, we know little about how herbivores modify these types of seagrass meadows by grazing. We conducted the first megaherbivore exclusion study in the GBR at Green Island (Queensland) to understand how green turtle grazing structures these multi-species tropical seagrass meadows. After excluding green turtles for three months, we found that grazing only impacted seagrasses at one site, where green turtles created a grazing plot by actively feeding on both above and below ground seagrass structures, a rare observation for the species. Within this grazing plot at the end of the experiment, the un-caged control treatments open to grazing had a 60% reduction in both above and below ground biomass, and shoot height was reduced by 75%, but there was no impact of grazing on the seagrass species mix. Our study shows that grazing plot formation by green turtles occurs in GBR fast growing seagrass communities and reduces both above and below ground seagrass biomass, this behaviour may be targeting elevated leaf nutrients, or nutritional content of rhizomes. This study is the first documented case of grazing plot formation by green turtles in the GBR and suggests that grazing pressure has a major influence on seagrass meadow structure., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Tropical countries lie at the nexus of three pressing issues for global sustainability: agricultural production, climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. The forces that drive forest protection do not necessarily oppose those that drive forest clearance for development. This decoupling, enhanced by the stronger economic forces compared to conservation, is detrimental for the social-ecological sustainability of forested tropical landscapes. This paper presents an integrated, and spatially-explicit, Agent-Based Model that examines the future impacts of land-use change scenarios on the sustainability of the Wet Tropics region of tropical Queensland, Australia. In particular, the model integrates Bayesian Belief Networks, Geographical Information Systems, empirical data and expert knowledge, under a land-sharing/land-sparing analysis, to study the impact of different landscape configurations on trade-offs and synergies among biodiversity and two ecosystem services (sugarcane production and carbon sequestration). Contrary to most tropical regions, model simulations show that Business As Usual is helping to reconcile these contrasting goals in the forested landscape of the Wet Tropics. The paper analyses which combination of governance and socio-economic factors is causing these positive results. This is an outstanding achievement for a tropical region, considering that most tropical areas are characterized for having stronger economic-land clearing forces compared to conservation forces, which reduce important ecosystem services for human wellbeing and the health of ecosystems., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The unique benefits of wild pollinators to the productivity of agricultural crops have become increasingly recognized in recent decades. However, declines in populations of wild pollinator species, largely driven by the conversion of natural habitat to agricultural land and broad-spectrum pesticide use often lead reductions in the provision of pollination services and crop production. With growing evidence that targeted pollinator conservation improves crop yield and/or quality, particularly for pollination specialist crops, efforts are increasing to substitute agriculturally intensive practices with those that alleviate some of the negative impacts of agriculture on pollinators and the pollination services they provide, in part through the provision of suitable pollinator habitat. Further, similarities between the responses of some pollinators and predators to habitat management suggest that efforts to conserve pollinators may also encourage predator densities. We evaluated the effects of one habitat management practice, the addition of cacao fruit husks to a monoculture cacao farm, on the provision of pollination services and the densities of two groups of entomophagous predators. We also evaluated the impacts of cacao fruit husk addition on pollen limitation, by crossing this habitat manipulation with pollen supplementation treatments. The addition of cacao fruit husks increased the number of fruits per tree and along with hand pollination treatments, increased final yields indicating a promotion of the pollination ecosystem service provided by the specialist pollinators, midges. We also found that cacao fruit husk addition increased the densities of two predator groups, spiders and skinks. Further, the conservation of these predators did not inhibit pollination through pollinator capture or deterrence. The findings show that, with moderate habitat management, both pollinator and predator conservation can be compatible goals within a highly specialized plant-pollinator system. The effectiveness of this habitat manipulation may be attributable to the increased availability of alternative habitat and food resources for both pollinators and predators. The results exemplify a win-win relationship between agricultural production and biological conservation, whereby agricultural practices to support vital pollinators and pollination services can increase production as well as support species conservation., (© 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Regrowing forests on cleared land is a key strategy to achieve both biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation globally. Maximizing these co-benefits, however, remains theoretically and technically challenging because of the complex relationship between carbon sequestration and biodiversity in forests, the strong influence of climate variability and landscape position on forest development, the large number of restoration strategies possible, and long time-frames needed to declare success. Through the synthesis of three decades of knowledge on forest dynamics and plant functional traits combined with decision science, we demonstrate that we cannot always maximize carbon sequestration by simply increasing the functional trait diversity of trees planted. The relationships between plant functional diversity, carbon sequestration rates above ground and in the soil are dependent on climate and landscape positions. We show how to manage 'identities' and 'complementarities' between plant functional traits to achieve systematically maximal cobenefits in various climate and landscape contexts. We provide examples of optimal planting and thinning rules that satisfy this ecological strategy and guide the restoration of forests that are rich in both carbon and plant functional diversity. Our framework provides the first mechanistic approach for generating decision-makingrules that can be used to manage forests for multiple objectives, and supports joined carbon credit and biodiversity conservation initiatives, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation REDD+. The decision framework can also be linked to species distribution models and socio-economic models to find restoration solutions that maximize simultaneously biodiversity, carbon stocks, and other ecosystem services across landscapes. Our study provides the foundation for developing and testing cost-effective and adaptable forest management rules to achieve biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and other socio-economic co-benefits under global change., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)