A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems

Abstract

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.

Allometric scaling and allocation patterns: Implications for predicting productivity across plant communities

“…The biome is an important construct for organizing knowledge about terrestrial ecosystems, for examining diversityproductivity relationships, modeling historical distributions and shifts following climate change. We followed the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al, 2022), which recognizes seven terrestrial biomes: (1) tropical-subtropical forests (T1); (2) temperate-boreal forests and woodlands (T2); (3) shrublands and shrubby woodlands (T3); (4) savannas and grasslands (T4); (5) deserts and semi-deserts (T5); (6) polar-alpine biomes (T6); and (7) intensive land-use (T7) biome. Each of these biomes is characterized by different ecosystem functional groups described in detail in Keith et al (2022).…”

“…We followed the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al, 2022), which recognizes seven terrestrial biomes: (1) tropical-subtropical forests (T1); (2) temperate-boreal forests and woodlands (T2); (3) shrublands and shrubby woodlands (T3); (4) savannas and grasslands (T4); (5) deserts and semi-deserts (T5); (6) polar-alpine biomes (T6); and (7) intensive land-use (T7) biome. Each of these biomes is characterized by different ecosystem functional groups described in detail in Keith et al (2022). The present analysis was limited to T1, T2, T3, and T4 as these have trees as the main or co-dominating components.…”

Predicting Ecosystem Pattern across Landscapes

“…Instead, we emphasize spatial concordance within and between biotic and abiotic domains (plot AB -right panel). This integrative approach reflects the reciprocal roles (Gignoux et al 2011, Richter and Billings 2015 of biotic-abiotic constituents and processes in ecosystem assembly (Keith et al 2022). It also provides a means to parse individual and aggregate (Table S1) sources of ecosystem variation and to identify the strongest co-varying biotic-abiotic relationships.…”

“…In this Forum, we propose a novel framework for spatially explicit modelling of ecosystem pattern. Our framework differs from other spatial ecosystem models in that it accords biotic and abiotic components equally, commensurate with their joint influence on ecosystem assembly (sensu Keith et al 2022). Under this approach, the ecosystem is modelled as a spatially explicit place demarcated by the strength of concordance among constituent biotic and abiotic variables (Box 1).…”

Contributions of Red Lists of Ecosystems to risk-based design and management of protected and conserved areas in Africa

“…They represent higher levels of ecological organisation, comprising multiple species, their genes and physical environments, and the typically complex interactions and dependencies among them. The full diversity of Earth's ecosystem types encompasses variations in ecological processes that are key to maintaining the diversity of life and ecological functions throughout the planetary system (Keith et al 2022). For people, ecosystems underpin the supply of essential resources, livelihoods, cultural and spiritual fabric of societies, and contribute to mental and physical health (IPBES 2019).…”