Habitat loss is a key driver of biodiversity loss. However, hardly any long-term time series analyses of habitat loss are available above the local scale for finer-level habitat categories. We ...analysed, from a long-term perspective, the habitat specificity of habitat-area loss, the change in trends in habitat loss since 1989 (dissolution of the communist state), and the impact of protected areas on habitat loss in Hungary. We studied 20 seminatural habitat types in 5000 randomly selected localities over 7 periods from 1783 to 2013 based on historical maps, archival and recent aerial photos and satellite imagery, botanical descriptions, and field data. We developed a method for estimating habitat types based on information transfer between historical sources (i.e., information from a source was used to interpret or enrich information from another source). Trends in habitat loss over time were habitat specific. We identified 7 types of habitat loss over time regarding functional form: linear, exponential, linear and exponential, delayed, minimum, maximum, and disappearance. Most habitats had continuous loss from period to period. After 1986 the average annual rates of habitat loss increased, but the trend reversed after 2002. Nature conservation measures significantly affected habitat loss; net loss was halted, albeit only inside protected areas. When calculating the degree of endangerment based on short-term data (52 years), we classified only 1 habitat as critically endangered, but based on long-term data (230 years), this increased to 7 (including habitat that no longer existed). Hungary will probably reach the global Convention on Biological Diversity Target 5 but will probably not achieve the EU Biodiversity Strategy target of halting habitat loss by 2020. Long-term trend data were highly useful when we examined recent habitat-loss data in a wider context. Our method could be applied effectively in other countries to augment shorter-term data sets on trends in habitat area. La pérdida de hábitats es un conductor importante de la pérdida de la biodiversidad. Sin embargo, difícilmente está disponible una serie de análisis a largo plazo por encima de la escala local para categorías de hábitat de un nivel más fino. Analizamos, desde una perspectiva de largo plazo, la especificidad del hábitat en la pérdida del área de hábitats, el cambio en las tendencias de pérdida de hábitats desde 1989 (disolución del estado comunista), y el impacto de las áreas protegidas sobre la pérdida de hábitat en Hungría. Estudiamos 20 tipos de hábitats seminaturales en 5000 localidades seleccionadas al azar a lo largo de siete periodos desde 1783 hasta 2013 con base en mapas históricos, fotografías aéreas recientes y de archivos e imágenes de satélites, descripciones botánicas, y datos de campo. Desarrollamos un método para estimar los tipos de hábitats basado en la transferencia de información entre las fuentes históricas (es decir, se usó información a partir de una fuente para interpretar o enriquecer la información proveniente de otra fuente). Las tendencias en la pérdida de hábitats fueron específicas por hábitat. Identificamos siete tipos de pérdida de hábitats a través del tiempo con respecto a la forma funcional: lineal, exponencial, lineal y exponencial, retrasada, mínima, máxima, y desaparición. La mayoría de los hábitats tuvieron una pérdida continua de un periodo o a otro. Después de 1986, las tasas anuales promedio de la pérdida de hábitats incrementaron, pero la tendencia se revirtió después del 2002. Las medidas de conservación de la naturaleza afectaron considerablemente a la pérdida de hábitats; se detuvo la pérdida neta, no obstante sólo fue dentro de las áreas protegidas. Cuando calculamos el grado de peligro basado en información de corto plazo (52 años), solamente clasificamos a un hábitat como en peligro crítico, pero con base en la información de largo plazo (230 años), esta clasificación incrementó a siete hábitats (incluyendo a un hábitat que ya no existía). Hungría probablemente alcanzará el Objetivo 5 global de la Convención sobre la Diversidad Biológica pero probablemente no sea el caso para el objetivo de detener la pérdida de hábitats para el 2020 impuesto por la Estrategia de Biodiversidad de la UE. La información de largo plazo sobre las tendencias fue muy útil cuando se examinaron datos recientes de pérdida de hábitats en un contexto más amplio. Nuestro método podría aplicarse efectivamente en otros países para aumentar los conjuntos de datos de corto plazo sobre las tendencias en áreas de hábitat. 生境丧失是生物多样性丧失的ー个关键驱动力。然而，目前几乎没有对局部尺度、高精度生境分类下的 生境丧失的长期时序分析。我们从长期的视角分析了匈牙利生境面积减少的生境特异性、自 1989年以来生境 丧失的变化趋势以及保护地对生境丧失的作用。我们利用历史地图、档案ヽ近期的航片及卫星影像、植物记录 和野外数据，在 5000 个随机选择的地区,研究了 20 个半自然生境类型从 1783 年到 2013 年的 7 个时间段内 的变化。我们建立了一个基于历史来源之间信息传递(即ー个来源的信息用于解释或完善另ー个来源的信息) 的方法来估计生境类型。生境丧失随时间发展的变化趋势有生境特异性。我们根据函数类型分出7 类随时间 发生的生境丧失: 线性、指数型、线性及指数型、延迟型、最小型、最大型以及生境消失。大部分生境都随着 时间流转持续地丧失。在 1986 年之后, 生境丧失的平均年变化率増加, 而这个趋势在 2002 年后有所逆转。自 然保护措施有效遏制了生境丧失，使净减少停止’ 尽管这一影响仅在保护地之内。当根据短期数据(52 年)计算 瀕危程度时, 只有一个生境被评为极度瀕危, 但根据长期数据(230 年) 评估’极度瀕危的生境増加到了 7 个（包 括已经不存在的生境) 。匈牙利很可能完成全球《生物多祥性公约》的第五个目标, 但可能难以达到〈〈欧盟生物 多样性战略》在 2020 年前遏止生境丧失的目标。长期变化趋势可用于在更大的背景下检验近期生境丧失的数 据。我们的方法可以有效应用于其它国家, 来补充生境面积变化的短期数据。
The European Union (EU) has committed to an ambitious biodiversity recovery plan in its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Green Deal. These policies aim to halt biodiversity loss and move ...towards sustainable development, focusing on restoring degraded habitats, extending the network of protected areas (PAs), and improving the effectiveness of management, governance, and funding. The achievement of conservation goals must be founded on understanding past successes and failures. Here, we summarise the strengths and weaknesses of past EU biodiversity conservation policies and practices and explore future opportunities and challenges. We focus on four main aspects: i) coordination among and within the EU Member States, ii) integration of biodiversity conservation into socio-economic sectors, iii) adequacy and sufficiency of funds, and iv) governance and stakeholder participation.Whilst past conservation efforts have benefitted from common rules across the EU and funding mechanisms, they have failed at operationalizing coordination within and across the Member States, integrating biodiversity conservation into other sectoral policies, adequately funding and effectively enforcing management, and facilitating stakeholder participation in decision-making. Future biodiversity conservation would benefit from an extended and better-managed network of PAs, additional novel funding opportunities, including the private sector, and enhanced co-governance. However, it will be critical to find sustainable solutions to potential conflicts between conservation goals and other socio-economic objectives and to resolve inconsistencies across sectoral policies.
•The European Union needs more effective conservation as biodiversity declines.•Past success/ failure should guide the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy.•Better integration of conservation policy into socioeconomic sectors is needed.•More funds, management plans and stakeholder participation are also key.•Adequate planning should guide future efforts to minimise conflicts between sectors.
Invasive alien plants are a major threat to biodiversity and they contribute to the unfavourable conservation status of habitats of interest to the European Community. In order to favour ...implementation of European Union Regulation no. 1143/2014 on invasive alien species, the Italian Society of Vegetation Science carried out a large survey led by a task force of 49 contributors with expertise in vegetation across all the Italian administrative regions. The survey summed up the knowledge on impact mechanisms of invasive alien plants in Italy and their outcomes on plant communities and the EU habitats of Community Interest, in accordance with Directive no. 92/43/EEC. The survey covered 241 alien plant species reported as having deleterious ecological impacts. The data collected illustrate the current state of the art, highlight the main gaps in knowledge, and suggest topics to be further investigated. In particular, the survey underlined competition as being the main mechanism of ecological impact on plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats. Of the 241 species, only Ailanthus altissima was found to exert an ecological impact on plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats in all Italian regions; while a further 20 species impact up to ten out of the 20 Italian administrative regions. Our data indicate that 84 out of 132 Natura 2000 Habitats (64%) are subjected to some degree of impact by invasive alien plants. Freshwater habitats and natural and semi-natural grassland formations were impacted by the highest number of alien species, followed by coastal sand dunes and inland dunes, and forests. Although not exhaustive, this research is the first example of nationwide evaluation of the ecological impacts of invasive alien plants on plant communities and Natura 2000 Habitats.
•We surveyed impacts of IAPs on plant communities and Natura 2000 Habitats in Italy.•241 IAPs are impacting 84 Natura 2000 Habitats, with competition as main impact mechanism.•Information on IAPs impacts is very uneven at the national level.•Few IAPs are well-studied and impacts on Natura 2000 Habitats are scarcely known.•First evaluation of IAPs impacts on Natura 2000 Habitats at the national level.
Aim of study: To survey a yew tree grove and to evaluate its conservation status to ascertain whether its proposal to class it as Habitat 9580* is appropriate. Area of study: Eastern end of Central ...Mountain Range, Spain. Material and methods: We conducted a field survey collecting data of UTM coordinates, altitude, orientation, companion woody species, height, stem perimeter, sex and browsing evidence. Individuals were classified in four age groups, considering height and stem perimeter: 1) seedling, 2) juvenile, 3), adult and 4) old. Companion species were analysed to assess the presence of habitat 9580* according to the Habitats Directive. Population structural complexity, stability and compactness were analysed to assess the conservation status. Main results: We registered 8,304 yews along with seventeen distinctive accompanying species, thus confirming the presence of priority habitat of community interest 9580* "Mediterranean Taxus baccata woods”. Population analysis leads us to appreciate a favourable conservation status for the whole habitat in the study area. Research highlights: We have described the largest T. baccata grove registered to date in the Central Mountain Range of the Iberian Peninsula. We confirm the presence of priority habitat of community interest 9580* "Mediterranean Taxus baccata woods", being the first description of this habitat in the Community of Madrid. As the study area is located within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), we propose its inclusion on the SAC habitats list.
The rediscovery of the rare and endangered species Carabus (Hygrocarabus) variolosus is reported after its last record from 1909. The only known locality (Stara Planina Mts, Varshets Town) was ...confirmed. New records at similar habitats in the region could be expected in the future, based on extensive surveys with the proposed methods.
Aim of study: To survey a yew tree grove and to evaluate its conservation status to ascertain whether its proposal to class it as Habitat 9580* is appropriate.
Area of study: Eastern end of Central ...Mountain Range, Spain.
Material and methods: We conducted a field survey collecting data of UTM coordinates, altitude, orientation, companion woody species, height, stem perimeter, sex and browsing evidence. Individuals were classified in four age groups, considering height and stem perimeter: 1) seedling, 2) juvenile, 3), adult and 4) old. Companion species were analysed to assess the presence of habitat 9580* according to the Habitats Directive. Population structural complexity, stability and compactness were analysed to assess the conservation status.
Main results: We registered 8,304 yews along with seventeen distinctive accompanying species, thus confirming the presence of priority habitat of community interest 9580* "Mediterranean Taxus baccata woods”. Population analysis leads us to appreciate a favourable conservation status for the whole habitat in the study area.
Research highlights: We have described the largest T. baccata grove registered to date in the Central Mountain Range of the Iberian Peninsula. We confirm the presence of priority habitat of community interest 9580* "Mediterranean Taxus baccata woods", being the first description of this habitat in the Community of Madrid. As the study area is located within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), we propose its inclusion on the SAC habitats list.
The designation of a Natura 2000 site ROSCI0434 Siretul Mijlociu for the protection of habitats and species, whose development is closely tied to the aquatic environment, signifies that the ...management of water resources, and implicitly, the water footprint, has contributed to maintaining a balanced and favorable status for biodiversity conservation. Given that the Natura 2000 site was declared based on older studies, and the Management Plan for the protected natural area was not yet developed, we are now conducting an assessment of the impact of the water footprint in the current climatic conditions. This includes considering other predominant types of agricultural crops and changes in food habits. This evaluation aims to understand the relationship between the water footprint and the conservation status of species and habitats in light of these new circumstances.
The blue and grey water components of the water footprint are the ones that directly affect the natural protected area out of the three components of the water footprint: green, blue, and grey water. The ecological impact of water use in ROSCI0434 Siretul Mijlociu is extensive, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Pollutants can harm habitats and species, while agricultural water usage alters habitats and disrupts hydrological patterns, impacting breeding and foraging grounds. Additionally, changes in water quantity and quality diminish ecosystem services like water purification and habitat provision, affecting biodiversity and human well-being.
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•Water footprint gauge human impact on water supplies and ecosystems.•Includes consumption, population growth, water infrastructure in water footprint.•Grey water important for habitat viability and species conservation.
Unsustainable fossil fuel emissions have prompted a global shift towards renewable energy sources, such as wind. This has led to a strong expansion of wind power generation infrastructures, often ...conflicting with biodiversity conservation. Relatively large flying animals, such as birds and bats, have frequently been reported to collide with wind turbines, resulting in casualties that can depress population size and lead to local extinctions. Migratory species that move across continents through their year-round displacements may be especially at risk. We comprehensively assessed wind turbine exposure for a colonial migratory raptor of European conservation interest, the lesser kestrel Falco naumanni, based on the distribution and size of >1800 colonies and a large GPS-tracking dataset (>350 individuals) for three distinct biogeographical populations (from Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas). 26 % of the European population has at least one wind turbine within the foraging areas around colony sites, Italian colonies being most at risk. The main European network of protected areas, the Natura 2000 network, failed to mitigate the potential negative impact of wind turbines on breeding populations. GPS-tracking revealed that exposure was negligible in the African non-breeding areas (Sahel region), particularly high during migration, and lower during breeding for Iberian and Balkan individuals but not for Italian ones. Different countries should prioritize different measures to mitigate collision risk with wind power generation infrastructures. This case study can be leveraged by conservationists and renewable energy stakeholders to mitigate conflicts between biodiversity conservation and expected wind energy infrastructure development in the near future.
Large river-floodplain systems are hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem services but are also used for multiple human activities, making them one of the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. There ...is wide evidence that reconnecting river channels with their floodplains is an effective measure to increase their multi-functionality, i.e., ecological integrity, habitats for multiple species and the multiple functions and services of river-floodplain systems, although, the selection of promising sites for restoration projects can be a demanding task. In the case of the Danube River in Europe, planning and implementation of restoration projects is substantially hampered by the complexity and heterogeneity of the environmental problems, lack of data and strong differences in socio-economic conditions as well as inconsistencies in legislation related to river management. We take a quantitative approach based on best-available data to assess biodiversity using selected species and three ecosystem services (flood regulation, crop pollination, and recreation), focused on the navigable main stem of the Danube River and its floodplains. We spatially prioritize river-floodplain segments for conservation and restoration based on (1) multi-functionality related to biodiversity and ecosystem services, (2) availability of remaining semi-natural areas and (3) reversibility as it relates to multiple human activities (e.g. flood protection, hydropower and navigation). Our approach can thus serve as a strategic planning tool for the Danube and provide a method for similar analyses in other large river-floodplain systems.
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•Large river-floodplains are multi-functional hotspots altered by multiple pressures.•Restoring and conserving floodplains requires systematic planning.•We prioritize reaches based on multi-functionality, reversibility and costs.•Our framework can serve as a planning tool for conservation and restoration.
Romania has aligned itself with objectives related to the conservation and protection of biodiversity, the safeguarding of natural habitats, and the protection of wild species by identifying and ...assessing Natura 2000 sites. These are recognized and protected not only at the European level but also internationally. They can be connected to broader ecological networks, such as the PanEuropean Ecological Corridors and international biodiversity protection networks, playing a significant role in promoting sustainable development by integrating nature conservation with socioeconomic activities. Additionally, they provide opportunities for biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource utilization, tourism development, and involvement of local communities. The study aims to identify the main forms of tourism practiced, as well as those with potential within the 15 Natura 2000 sites in the North-East region of Romania. In a comparative manner, it highlights best practices and measures necessary for promoting ecotourism and other sustainable economic activities that support nature conservation.
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