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Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 5, p e62111 (2013), Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC, instname, PLoS ONE
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2013.
-
Abstract
- 25 páginas, 8 figuras, 6 tablas.<br />[EN] An understanding of risks to biodiversity is needed for planning action to slow current rates of decline and secure ecosystem services for future human use. Although the IUCN Red List criteria provide an effective assessment protocol for species, a standard global assessment of risks to higher levels of biodiversity is currently limited. In 2008, IUCN initiated development of risk assessment criteria to support a global Red List of ecosystems. We present a new conceptual model for ecosystem risk assessment founded on a synthesis of relevant ecological theories. To support the model, we review key elements of ecosystem definition and introduce the concept of ecosystem collapse, an analogue of species extinction. The model identifies four distributional and functional symptoms of ecosystem risk as a basis for assessment criteria: A) rates of decline in ecosystem distribution; B) restricted distributions with continuing declines or threats; C) rates of environmental (abiotic) degradation; and D) rates of disruption to biotic processes. A fifth criterion, E) quantitative estimates of the risk of ecosystem collapse, enables integrated assessment of multiple processes and provides a conceptual anchor for the other criteria. We present the theoretical rationale for the construction and interpretation of each criterion. The assessment protocol and threat categories mirror those of the IUCN Red List of species. A trial of the protocol on terrestrial, subterranean, freshwater and marine ecosystems from around the world shows that its concepts are workable and its outcomes are robust, that required data are available, and that results are consistent with assessments carried out by local experts and authorities. The new protocol provides a consistent, practical and theoretically grounded framework for establishing a systematic Red List of the world’s ecosystems. This will complement the Red List of species and strengthen global capacity to report on and monitor the status of biodiversity
- Subjects :
- Biodiversity
Endangered species
HABITAT LOSS
FOOD-WEB PERSPECTIVE
Ecosystem services
Species extinction
Theoretical Ecology
Global Change Ecology
RELATIVE RESILIENCE
IUCN Red List
Conservation of Natural Resource
Conservation Science
Multidisciplinary
Ecology
Environmental resource management
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
EXTINCTION RISK
Biota
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Community Ecology
BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Medicine
Ecological risk
Trophic interactions
Research Article
Marine ecosystems
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecological Metrics
General Science & Technology
Science
Theoretical ecology
Biology
Risk Assessment
Ecosystems
ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE
Endangered Specie
Systems Ecology
MD Multidisciplinary
Systems ecology
VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION
Marine ecosystem
Ecosystem
Theoretical Biology
Science & Technology
GLOBAL SYNTHESIS
business.industry
ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES
Endangered Species
Restoration Ecology
Models, Theoretical
Ecosystem functioning
business
Ecological Environments
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 5, p e62111 (2013), Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC, instname, PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....02ece20d077b846bb121de10b0097a1c