Browsing by Author "Pliscoff P."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems
    (Nature Research, 2022) Keith D.A.; Ferrer-Paris J.R.; Tozer M.G.; Suthers I.M.; Murray N.J.; Kingsford R.T.; Nicholson E.; Rowland J.A.; Andrade A.; Watermeyer K.E.; Bishop M.J.; Polidoro B.A.; Ramirez-Llodra E.; Nel J.L.; Roux D.J.; Mac Nally R.; Gregr E.J.; Essl F.; Faber-Langendoen D.; Franklin J.; Lehmann C.E.R.; Pennington R.T.; Etter A.; Stark J.S.; Terauds A.; Brummitt N.A.; Fernandez-Arcaya U.C.; Wiser S.K.; Donohue I.; Jackson L.J.; Iliffe T.M.; Gerovasileiou V.; Giller P.; Robson B.J.; Pettorelli N.; Lindgaard A.; Tahvanainen T.; Chadwick M.A.; Moat J.; Pliscoff P.; Zager I.
    © 2022, The Author(s).As the United Nations develops a post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity, attention is focusing on how new goals and targets for ecosystem conservation might serve its vision of ‘living in harmony with nature’1,2. Advancing dual imperatives to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services requires reliable and resilient generalizations and predictions about ecosystem responses to environmental change and management3. Ecosystems vary in their biota4, service provision5 and relative exposure to risks6, yet there is no globally consistent classification of ecosystems that reflects functional responses to change and management. This hampers progress on developing conservation targets and sustainability goals. Here we present the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology, a conceptually robust, scalable, spatially explicit approach for generalizations and predictions about functions, biota, risks and management remedies across the entire biosphere. The outcome of a major cross-disciplinary collaboration, this novel framework places all of Earth’s ecosystems into a unifying theoretical context to guide the transformation of ecosystem policy and management from global to local scales. This new information infrastructure will support knowledge transfer for ecosystem-specific management and restoration, globally standardized ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting and progress on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Review on Coastal Urban Ecology: Research Gaps, Challenges, and Needs
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2021) Graells G.; Marquet P.A.; Pliscoff P.; Gelcich S.; Graells G.; Gelcich S.; Graells G.; Lagos N.A.; Gelcich S.; Nakamura N.; Celis-Diez J.L.; Lagos N.A.; Marquet P.A.
    © Copyright © 2021 Graells, Nakamura, Celis-Diez, Lagos, Marquet, Pliscoff and Gelcich.Coastal urban areas have dramatically increased during the last decades, however, coastal research integrating the impacts and challenges facing urban areas is still scarce. To examine research advances and critical gaps, a review of the literature on coastal urban ecology was performed. Articles were selected following a structured decision tree and data were classified into study disciplines, approaches, type of analysis, main research objectives, and Pickett's paradigms in-, of-, and for- the city, among other categories. From a total of 237 publications, results show that most of the research comes from the USA, China, and Australia, and has been carried out mostly in large cities with populations between 1 and 5 million people. Focus has been placed on ecological studies, spatial and quantitative analysis and pollution in coastal urban areas. Most of the studies on urban ecology in coastal zones were developed at nearshore terrestrial environments and only 22.36% included the marine ecosystem. Urban ecological studies in coastal areas have mainly been carried out under the paradigm in the city with a focus on the disciplines of biology and ecology. Results suggest a series of disciplinary, geographical, and approach biases which can present a number of risks. Foremost among these is a lack of knowledge on social dimensions which can impact on sustainability. A key risk relates to the fact that lessons and recommendations of research are mainly from developed countries and large cities which might have different institutional, planning and cultural settings compared to developing and mid-income countries. Scientific research on coastal urban areas needs to diversify toward an ecology of and for the cities, in order to support coastal development in a diversity of countries and settings.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A systematic evidence map of conservation knowledge in Chilean Patagonia
    (Blackwell Publishing Inc., 2022) Martinez-Harms M.J.; Gelcich S.; Nahuelhual L.; Martinez-Harms M.J.; Armesto J.J.; Castilla J.C.; Fernandez M.; Gelcich S.; Marquet P.A.; Pliscoff P.; Martinez-Harms M.J.; Armesto J.J.; Pliscoff P.; Castilla J.C.; Marquet P.A.; Astorga A.; Daneri G.; Reid B.; Aylwin J.; Buschmann A.H.; Castro V.; Daneri G.; Fuentes-Castillo T.; Pliscoff P.; Gelcich S.; Gonzalez H.E.; Hucke-Gaete R.; Gonzalez H.E.; Nahuelhual L.; Morello F.; Nahuelhual L.; Rozzi R.; Rozzi R.; Guala C.; Tecklin D.
    © 2021 The Authors. Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.Mechanisms that reliably and efficiently guide practitioners to find relevant evidence are urgent for conservation decision-making in Chilean Patagonia. The objective of this study was to systematically collect, characterize, and synthesize the extensive evidence about conservation knowledge in Chilean Patagonia focusing on the impacts of global change drivers on ecosystems and human–nature relationships, identifying knowledge gaps, and providing policy recommendations. The quality of the evidence was assessed through a predefined level-of-evidence hierarchy scale, applied to a sample of the studies reviewed. We compiled ~1000 studies documenting that evidence focusing on terrestrial and marine ecosystems has grown exponentially. For terrestrial ecosystems, most studies have addressed climate change, habitat change, and invasive species; while for marine ecosystems, studies have focused on pollution, invasive species, and habitat change. We identified that an important gap is the study of the social dimensions of conservation, and future efforts should focus on incorporating traditional and local knowledge as this can help point the way to ecosystem conservation. The appraisal of the quality of the evidence showed that ~80% of the sample represented reliable evidence with underlying data and an experimental design. Enhanced efforts to deliver this evidence to decision-makers in a user-friendly format for evidence uptake in conservation policy are urgent. In this review, we provide a tool that can help practitioners to find evidence reliably to improve decision-making for the conservation of ecosystems in Chilean Patagonia.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Conservation planning for people and nature in a Chilean biodiversity hotspot
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2021) Martinez-Harms M.J.; Gelcich S.; Pliscoff P.; Martinez-Harms M.J.; Gelcich S.; Martinez-Harms M.J.; Wilson K.A.; Costa M.D.P.; Possingham H.P.; Costa M.D.P.; Marquet P.A.; Bryan B.A.; Possingham H.P.; Gelcich S.; Gelcich S.; Gelcich S.; Chauvenet A.; Pliscoff P.; Pliscoff P.
    © 2021 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological SocietyThe Mediterranean-type climate region of Chile is a globally unique biodiversity hotspot but its protected area system does not adequately represent the biological diversity, nor does it provide equitable access to people. We explored options to expand the protected area system to cost-effectively improve the conservation of forest ecosystem types while simultaneously enhancing social accessibility to protected areas. Social accessibility is defined as the access of municipalities to cultural ecosystem services provided by protected areas which depends on distance to highly demanded protected areas and income of the municipalities. Using systematic conservation planning methods, we identified priority areas for extending the existing protected area system that: (a) minimise land acquisition cost, (b) maximise social accessibility and (c) optimise for both cost and accessibility. The results show that it is possible to improve social accessibility while simultaneously minimising land cost. Considering cost alone, the protected area system could be expanded to improve biodiversity conservation by 86% at the cost of $47 million USD, which would also increase the accessibility of protected areas by 12%. Accessibility can be increased by a further 18% by jointly considering cost and accessibility without compromising the cost or biodiversity performance. New private conservation policy developed in Chile could help offset the costs of conservation through novel public–private partnerships. Our results can provide specific guidance to policymakers to strategically identify new locations for protected areas which cost-effectively improve biodiversity conservation, while at the same time reducing inequality in social accessibility. The consideration of social access in reserve design could increase the success of protected areas as a conservation tool by bringing people closer to nature. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The positive association between natural vegetation, native coccinellids and functional diversity of aphidophagous coccinellid communities in alfalfa
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2021) Grez A.A.; Oberti R.; Zaviezo T.; Casanoves F.; Pliscoff P.
    © 2021 The Royal Entomological SocietyA greater taxonomic and functional diversity of natural enemies in agroecosystems is frequently positively associated with more effective pest control, due to the complementarity of species or traits. But this diversity has declined with landscape homogenisation and loss of natural covers, particularly losing native species, which play an important role in pest suppression within crops. We evaluated the effect of landscape on coccinellid communities and aphids, and the relative contribution of coccinellids and aphids in shaping taxonomic and functional diversity of coccinellid communities in alfalfa fields. We characterised the landscape at 1 km radius surrounding 17 alfalfa fields, and the taxonomic and functional diversity of coccinellid communities collected throughout the season in alfalfa. Functional diversity indices considered four traits: body size, habitat specialisation, ubiquity and temporal variability. We found a positive association among native coccinellids in alfalfa and the amount of natural cover in the landscape, while aphids positively associated with agricultural cover. Also, we found a positive association among functional and taxonomic diversity indices with native coccinellids, and a negative association with exotics, demonstrating the contribution of native coccinellids in adding taxonomic and functional diversity to the aphidophagous communities in alfalfa fields. Aphids also associated positively with some functional and taxonomic diversity indices. Our results highlight the need to promote appropriate management practices in agricultural landscapes in order to conserve native coccinellid species in alfalfa, maintain a diversified species pool and their potential for aphid pest suppression.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The vegetation of Chile and the EcoVeg approach in the context of the International Vegetation Classification project
    (Pensoft Publishers, 2022) Luebert F.; Pliscoff P.
    Copyright Federico Luebert, Patricio Pliscoff.Aims: Chilean vegetation has previously received considerable attention, and several classifications are currently available. The most recent of these was presented for the first time in 2006 and updated in 2017 by the authors. Although widely utilized by researchers both in Chile and Latin America, this information is only available in Spanish, which hampers its usefulness for a broader scientific audience. Here, we provide an overview of the methods and the resulting classification and propose a correspondence between Chilean classification and the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) following the EcoVeg scheme. Study area: Continental Chile. Methods: Based on the criteria of the EcoVeg approach, we established a linkage of zonal and azonal vegetation units to the macrogroup level and to the formation classes of the IVC. We also generated a map to facilitate crosswalk between the classifications. Results: We recognize 23 macrogroups, 13 divisions and 11 formations of zonal vegetation, including three newly proposed macrogroups, one division and one formation. We further recognize 23 macrogroups, 23 divisions and 17 formations of intrazonal vegetation. Together, they encompass all six formation classes of natural vegetation of the IVC. We highlight those units so far not mentioned for Chile in the IVC. Finally, we provide a map of macrogroups and discuss the limitations and prospects of this approach for the classification of Chilean vegetation. Conclusions: Chilean zonal vegetation was successfully accommodated in the IVC down to the macrogroup level. The process of linking Chilean zonal vegetation and macrogroups led us to a few suggestions that may be used to improve the IVC.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Vegetation and vertebrate abundance as drivers of bioturbation patterns along a climate gradient
    (Public Library of Science, 2022) Kraus D.; Farwig N.; Brandl R.; Achilles S.; Bendix J.; Grigusova P.; Larsen A.; Pliscoff P.; Ubernickel K.
    © 2022 Public Library of Science. All rights reserved.Bioturbators shape their environment with considerable consequences for ecosystem processes. However, both the composition and the impact of bioturbator communities may change along climatic gradients. For burrowing animals, their abundance and composition depend on climatic and other abiotic components, with ants and mammals dominating in arid and semiarid areas, and earthworms in humid areas. Moreover, the activity of burrowing animals is often positively associated with vegetation cover (biotic component). These observations highlight the need to understand the relative contributions of abiotic and biotic components in bioturbation in order to predict soil-shaping processes along broad climatic gradients. In this study, we estimated the activity of animal bioturbation by counting the density of holes and the quantity of bioturbation based on the volume of soil excavated by bioturbators along a gradient ranging from arid to humid in Chile. We distinguished between invertebrates and vertebrates. Overall, hole density (no/ 100 m2) decreased from arid (raw mean and standard deviation for invertebrates: 14 ± 7.8, vertebrates: 2.8 ± 2.9) to humid (invertebrates: 2.8 ± 3.1, vertebrates: 2.2 ± 2.1) environments. However, excavated soil volume did not follow the same clear geographic trend and was 300-fold larger for vertebrates than for invertebrates. The relationship between bioturbating invertebrates and vegetation cover was consistently negative whereas for vertebrates both, positive and negative relationships were determined along the gradient. Our study demonstrates complex relationships between climate, vegetation and the contribution of bioturbating invertebrates and vertebrates, which will be reflected in their impact on ecosystem functions.