Measuring Forest Biodiversity Status and Changes Globally

Hill, Samantha L. L.; Arnell, Andy; Maney, Calum; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Hilton‐Taylor, Craig; Ciciarelli, Carolyn; Davis, Crystal; Dinerstein, Eric; Purvis, Andy; Burgess, Neil D.

doi:10.3389/ffgc.2019.00070

Cited by 53 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…S1, A to K, and table S1). We partitioned two of the above datasets to calculate a median pixel values: IUCN range-size rarity raster (median = 0.006) ( 17 ) and small-range vertebrates raster (median = 24) ( 15 ). For both datasets, only pixels greater than or equal to the median values were used.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first cluster, species rarity, is intended to capture species that are naturally rare—that is, they have narrow ranges, occur at low densities, or exhibit both conditions ( 16 ). The following are the six layers comprising the species rarity cluster: single populations of endangered species [Alliance for Zero Extinction sites (AZE); zeroextinction.org ], an estimate of range rarity in vertebrates ( 17 ), ranges of threatened vertebrate species ( iucnredlist.org ), key biodiversity areas (KBAs) ( 18 ), vertebrate species distributions ( 15 ), and a new study of the spatial distribution of species rarity in plants ( 19 ). The distinct species assemblages cluster, intended to capture β-diversity—the turnover of plant and animal species communities with distance and along elevational or environmental gradients—includes remaining unprotected habitat of the biodiversity hot spots ( 20 ) and ecoregions of high β-diversity ( 11 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate

et al. 2020

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Global strategies to halt the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change are often formulated separately, even though they are interdependent and risk failure if pursued in isolation. The Global Safety Net maps how expanded nature conservation addresses both overarching threats. We identify 50% of the terrestrial realm that, if conserved, would reverse further biodiversity loss, prevent CO2 emissions from land conversion, and enhance natural carbon removal. This framework shows that, beyond the 15.1% land area currently protected, 35.3% of land area is needed to conserve additional sites of particular importance for biodiversity and stabilize the climate. Fifty ecoregions and 20 countries contribute disproportionately to proposed targets. Indigenous lands overlap extensively with the Global Safety Net. Conserving the Global Safety Net could support public health by reducing the potential for zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 from emerging in the future.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate

et al. 2020

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“…Central Africa, the Himalaya region, east Australia, and many oceanic islands, especially Mauritius, were identified as important sites for forest restoration, potential land protections, and multi-species reintroduction. These locations coincide with some of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and areas with high endemism [ 43 , 44 ]. Unfortunately, these are also areas that may continue to see dramatic land-use changes and habitat loss [ 4 , 44 – 47 ], thus benefiting from habitat restoration and protection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global assessment of forest quality for threatened terrestrial vertebrate species in need of conservation translocation programs

2021

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Conservation actions such as habitat protection, restoration, and translocations are critical actions in preventing further extinctions of threatened species. We used the 152 threatened species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List with conservation translocations as a recommended conservation action to access the habitat quality of these species’ ranges. We determined where multi-species conservation translocation and forest restoration efforts can be concentrated. To determine the habitat quality of species’ ranges, we assessed forest cover, forest restoration potential, protected area status, and invasive species concerns. Forty-four percent (67 species) of species with translocations recommended have part of their range in a protected area, existing forest cover, and currently no invasive species risk. However, the majority (85 species) currently need habitat management (63 species), invasive species control (71 species), or protection (34 species). We also identified key differences between species recommended for reintroductions (115 species) and benign introductions (37 species), such as the percentage of a species’ range within a protected area, in which reintroductions (median = 7.4%) had more than benign introductions (median = 0.9%). Mauritius, central Africa, eastern Australia and Himalaya regions each have areas with range overlap of three or more species recommended for translocations and forest restoration potential. For those species with CT programs in place, mean forest cover was 32% and restoration potential was 16%, suggesting potential minimum habitat requirements for initial releases. Results provide a global perspective on reintroduction and translocation needs of threatened species with evidenced-based information on habitat quality, i.e. forest restoration potential, forest cover, protected areas, and invasive species control, to aid conservation translocation scientists and ultimately improve the success of such projects.

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“…Tropical forest ecosystems host at least two-thirds of the terrestrial biodiversity and contain about 25 % of the carbon in the terrestrial biosphere [1,2]. The loss of biodiversity currently observed worldwide strongly impacts tropical forests [3]. This decline of biodiversity is induced by anthropogenic factors including land use change, exploitation of natural resources, and climate change, leading to forest disturbance and disappearance [4][5][6][7], with potential feedback due to climate-biosphere interactions [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating Imaging Spectroscopy in Tropical Forest with 3D Radiative Transfer Modeling

Ebengo¹,

Boissieu²,

Vincent³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Optical remote sensing can contribute to biodiversity monitoring and species composition mapping in tropical forests. Inferring ecological information from canopy reflectance is complex and data availability suitable to such a task is limiting, which makes simulation tools particularly important in this context. We explored the capability of the 3D radiative transfer model DART to simulate top of canopy reflectance acquired with airborne imaging spectroscopy in complex tropical forest, and to reproduce spectral dissimilarity within and among species, as well as species discrimination based on spectral information. We focused on two factors contributing to these canopy reflectance properties: the horizontal variability in leaf optical properties (LOP) and the fraction of non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPVf). The variability in LOP was induced by changes in leaf pigment content, and defined for each pixel based on a hybrid approach combining radiative transfer modeling and spectral indices. The influence of LOP variability on simulated reflectance was tested by considering variability at species, individual tree crown and pixel level. We incorporated NPVf into simulations following two approaches, either considering NPVf as a part of wood area density in each voxel or using leaf brown pigments. We validated the different scenarios by comparing simulated scenes with experimental airborne imaging spectroscopy using statistical metrics, spectral dissimilarity (within crowns, within species, and among species dissimilarity) and supervised classification for species discrimination. The simulation of NPVf based on leaf brown pigments resulted in the closest match between measured and simulated canopy reflectance. The definition of LOP at pixel level resulted in conservation of the spectral dissimilarity and expected performances for species discrimination. Our simulation framework could contribute to better understand performances for species discrimination and relationship between spectral variations and taxonomic and functional dimensions of biodiversity.

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Measuring Forest Biodiversity Status and Changes Globally

Cited by 53 publications

References 47 publications

A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate

A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate

Global assessment of forest quality for threatened terrestrial vertebrate species in need of conservation translocation programs

Simulating Imaging Spectroscopy in Tropical Forest with 3D Radiative Transfer Modeling

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