The latest report on the state of nature in Europe (2013–2018) shows that biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, with most protected species and habitats in poor condition. Despite an ...increasing volume of collected biodiversity information, urgent action is needed to integrate biodiversity data and knowledge to improve conservation efforts.
We conducted a study in Catalonia (NE Spain), where we collected management measures implemented between 2013 and 2018, including allocation, budget, pressures aimed, and habitats/species potentially benefiting. We integrated information on pressures and habitats/species with the measures to identify non-spatial management gaps. Then, we integrated the spatially explicit information to determine the spatial management gap, identifying geographical areas where species/habitats are under pressure without registered measures. We demonstrated the importance of integrating existing information.
Our findings revealed that resources were often not distributed adequately across species/habitats, with biases towards certain taxa being a common issue. The non-spatial management gap analysis identified taxonomic groups, especially plants and mollusks with the wider management gaps. We also identified threatened areas, especially in the northeast of the region with the larger spatial management gaps. These results could guide priority objectives to optimize conservation efforts.
Integrating different information sources provided a broader view of the challenges that conservation science is facing nowadays. Our study offers a path toward bending the curve of biodiversity loss by providing an integrative framework that could optimize the use of the available information and help narrow the knowing-doing gap. In the context of the EU, this example demonstrates how information can be used to promote some environmental policy instruments, such as the Prioritized Action Frameworks (PAFs). Additionally, our findings highlight the importance of supporting decision-making with systematic assessments to identify deficiencies in the conservation process, reduce the loss of critical ecosystems and species, and avoid biases among taxa.
•Last report on the state of nature in Europe reveals declines in biodiversity.•We collected information on conservation measures regionally during 2013–2018.•We integrated this with species, habitats, and pressure distribution data.•We detected non-spatial management gaps across groups and spatial management gaps.•Results could enhance effective environmental policy instruments in Europe.
1. It has been argued that wildfires are one of the major agents involved in landscape transformation in many European regions and their impact is expected to increase in the near future. Despite the ...recognized impact of fire on wildlife at a local scale, we lack information on the species responses to fire at larger spatial scales. 2. In this study, we used the ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana to evaluate the potential effects of wildfires on open-habitat species distribution. In contrast to most European countries, this farmland species has experienced a consistent range expansion during the last decades in Catalonia (northeast Iberian peninsula). Distribution data of the species collected at different time periods allowed us to test the role of fires in determining range expansions at a regional scale, and to evaluate the importance of dispersal constraints on distribution changes. 3. Analyses of distribution data from 1975-1983 and 1999-2002 showed a consistent expansion of the ortolan bunting in Catalonia. After correcting for differences in sampling effort, changes in distribution showed a strong spatial pattern with colonization and stability, but not local extinction, being clumped in space. Patterns of change were also strongly and significantly associated with the amount of shrubland burnt between the two time periods, since areas that experienced a larger impact of fires in terms of burnt area showed a much higher probability of maintaining species presence or of being colonized. Colonization events appeared to be more likely in areas affected by fire especially when surrounding areas had already been colonized by the species. 4. Synthesis and applications. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that wildfires, especially those affecting open woodlands or shrubby areas, play a critical role in the ecology of the ortolan bunting and have contributed to the recent expansion of the species in Catalonia. Furthermore, we have shown that colonization appears to be limited, not only by the availability of new burnt habitat but also by specific dispersal constraints. We suggest that, for several European threatened species associated with open habitats, burnt areas may partially compensate for the widespread loss and deterioration of farmland habitat, opening new management opportunities for their conservation.
In Europe, population estimates of breeding birds are produced nationally and are periodically compiled at EU or pan-European scales. Until now, no other source was available to explore the ...robustness of these estimates. In this study, we compared population sizes reported in the latest edition of the European Red List of Birds (ERLoB) with those produced using data from the second European Breeding Bird Atlas (EBBA2) to assess their consistency and determine parameters behind variability in population estimates that deserve further attention in the future. In general, European population estimates derived from summing local abundance data from EBBA2 were similar to those obtained from ERLoB, although for some species they differed considerably, particularly in those distributed mainly in southern Europe. National population estimates from EBBA2 also did not differ markedly from those in ERLoB. However, we found that EBBA2 provided larger national population sizes than ERLoB for widespread species, suggesting that spatial information is more relevant for properly assessing their population size than for localised species. Our analysis also showed that, in general, population estimates based on robust methodological protocols (e.g. complete counts, statistical inference) contributed to reducing differences between ERLoB and EBBA2 values. Interestingly, EBBA2 and ERLoB estimates were quite similar for species classified in Europe as “Threatened” or “Near Threatened”, whereas the values for “Least Concern” species were consistently different between these two sources. Our results indicate which type of species would benefit from additional efforts to improve national population estimates and their consistency across countries, issues that are of paramount importance for guiding conservation strategies in Europe.
Climate change has been associated with both latitudinal and elevational shifts in species' ranges. The extent, however, to which climate change has driven recent range shifts alongside other ...putative drivers remains uncertain. Here, we use the changing distributions of 378 European breeding bird species over 30 years to explore the putative drivers of recent range dynamics, considering the effects of climate, land cover, other environmental variables, and species' traits on the probability of local colonisation and extinction. On average, species shifted their ranges by 2.4 km/year. These shifts, however, were significantly different from expectations due to changing climate and land cover. We found that local colonisation and extinction events were influenced primarily by initial climate conditions and by species' range traits. By contrast, changes in climate suitability over the period were less important. This highlights the limitations of using only climate and land cover when projecting future changes in species' ranges and emphasises the need for integrative, multi-predictor approaches for more robust forecasting.
Aim We developed a model enabling us to evaluate the contribution of both natural and human-related factors to butterfly species richness in Catalonia, a Mediterranean area that harbours one of the ...most diverse butterfly faunas in Europe. Location The study was carried out in Catalonia (north-east Iberian Peninsula), a region of 31,930 km2lying between the Pyrenees, the Ebro depression and the Mediterranean sea. Methods Data from the Catalan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme were used to assess butterfly species richness from 55 transects spread all over the region. Three groups of environmental variables likely to affect the presence of butterfly species were calculated, above all from geographic information system data: (1) climatology and topography, (2) vegetation structure and (3) human disturbance. Because climatic and topographic variables are expected to be strongly correlated, we first performed a principal component analysis (PCA) to create a summarizing factor that would account for most of the variance within this set of variables. Subsequently, a backward stepwise multiple regression was performed in order to assess the effects of environmental factors on butterfly species richness. Results A total of 131 species were detected in the monitoring transects, representing 75.7% of the butterfly fauna known from Catalonia. Mean species richness per transect and per year was 41.4, although values varied greatly among sites (range: 14-76.8). The final regression model explained more than 80% of the total variance, which indicated a strong association between butterfly species richness and the studied environmental factors. The model revealed the very important contribution of climatic and topographic variables, which were combined into a single factor in the PCA. In contrast to what has been found in other, more northerly countries, species richness was negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with rainfall, except for extreme cold and wet conditions. This may be a consequence of the predictably adverse effects of the Mediterranean summer drought on herbivorous insects, and the fact that the limits of distribution of many butterflies correlate well with climatic variables. Human disturbance (defined as the proportion of urban and agricultural landscape cover in buffer areas of 5 km around the transect sites) was the second most important predictor for species richness. We found that a significant decrease in species numbers was associated with an increase in human pressure, a finding that indicates that not only building development, but also modern-day agricultural practices are detrimental to the conservation of Mediterranean butterflies. Surprisingly, vegetation variables had an almost negligible effect on butterfly species richness. Main conclusions Our findings strongly indicate that the current motors of global change will have a negative effect on Mediterranean butterfly assemblages. First, changes in land-use are transforming and fragmenting the landscape into an inhospitable and less permeable matrix for butterflies. Secondly, the negative correlation between species richness and temperature will lead to a predictable loss of diversity over the coming years, as predicted in the most plausible scenarios of climate change. Considering the high butterfly richness characterizing the Mediterranean Basin, this future trend will pose a serious threat to biodiversity.
Global climate change is driving species' distributions towards the poles and mountain tops during both non‐breeding and breeding seasons, leading to changes in the composition of natural ...communities. However, the degree of season differences in climate‐driven community shifts has not been thoroughly investigated at large spatial scales.
We compared the rates of change in the community composition during both winter (non‐breeding season) and summer (breeding) and their relation to temperature changes.
Based on continental‐scale data from Europe and North America, we examined changes in bird community composition using the community temperature index (CTI) approach and compared the changes with observed regional temperature changes during 1980–2016.
CTI increased faster in winter than in summer. This seasonal discrepancy is probably because individuals are less site‐faithful in winter, and can more readily shift their wintering sites in response to weather in comparison to the breeding season. Regional long‐term changes in community composition were positively associated with regional temperature changes during both seasons, but the pattern was only significant during summer due to high annual variability in winter communities. Annual changes in community composition were positively associated with the annual temperature changes during both seasons.
Our results were broadly consistent across continents, suggesting some climate‐driven restructuring in both European and North American avian communities. Because community composition has changed much faster during the winter than during the breeding season, it is important to increase our knowledge about climate‐driven impacts during the less‐studied non‐breeding season.
The authors provide compelling evidence that climate‐driven changes in natural communities are much faster during the less‐studied winter season. They found that regional changes in community composition were linked with regional temperatures both annually and over the long term.
Biotic homogenization (BH) is a process whereby some species (losers) are systematically replaced by others (winners). While this process has been related to the effects of anthropogenic activities, ...whether and how BH is occurring across regions and the role of native species as a driver of BH has hardly been investigated. Here, we examine the trend in the community specialization index (CSI) for 234 native species of breeding birds at 10 111 sites in six European countries from 1990 to 2008. Unlike many BH studies, CSI uses abundance information to estimate the balance between generalist and specialist species in local assemblages. We show that bird communities are more and more composed of native generalist species across regions, revealing a strong, ongoing BH process. Our result suggests a rapid and non-random change in community composition at a continental scale is occurring, most likely driven by anthropogenic activities.
Species' range shifts and local extinctions caused by climate change lead to community composition changes. At large spatial scales, ecological barriers, such as biome boundaries, coastlines, and ...elevation, can influence a community's ability to shift in response to climate change. Yet, ecological barriers are rarely considered in climate change studies, potentially hindering predictions of biodiversity shifts. We used data from two consecutive European breeding bird atlases to calculate the geographic distance and direction between communities in the 1980s and their compositional best match in the 2010s and modeled their response to barriers. The ecological barriers affected both the distance and direction of bird community composition shifts, with coastlines and elevation having the strongest influence. Our results underscore the relevance of combining ecological barriers and community shift projections for identifying the forces hindering community adjustments under global change. Notably, due to (macro)ecological barriers, communities are not able to track their climatic niches, which may lead to drastic changes, and potential losses, in community compositions in the future.
•A set of indicators was developed to assess the spatial distribution of a wide range of forest ecosystem services (ES).•Provisioning and regulating ES showed an aggregated spatial pattern, whereas ...cultural were more scattered.•Most ES were highly associated with climate and species richness variables.•Cultural ES were more associated with socioeconomic variables.
Forest ecosystems provide a wide range of goods and services to society and host high levels of biodiversity. Nevertheless, forest ecosystem services (ES) are often quantified and assessed using simplified methodologies (e.g., proxy methods based exclusively on Land Use Land Cover maps) that introduce substantial uncertainty in the analysis by ignoring, for instance, the species composition and spatial configuration of the ecosystems studied. In this work we defined and calculated a set of 12 indicators of several ES for the forests of the highly populated region of Catalonia (North-eastern Iberian Peninsula). The indicators combined different sources of information such as forest surveys, ecological model predictions and official statistics, but also included additional land cover information. All ES indicators were aggregated at the municipality level to compare their values and distribution patterns. We assessed spatial trade-offs and synergies among ES, as well as their relationships with a set of socioeconomic, climatic and biodiversity variables using correlation analyses and mixed-effects models. The results suggest a clustering of provisioning and regulating ES in mountainous zones towards the North of the study area. These two types of services showed a high degree of spatial similarity and presented high positive correlations. In contrast, cultural ES showed a more scattered pattern, which included lower elevation areas in the South of the study region. Climatic conditions were the main determinants of the spatial variability in the supply of the different ES, with most indicators being positively associated with precipitation and negatively associated with temperature. In addition, biodiversity (particularly woody species richness) showed positive relations with most of these ES, while socioeconomic variables (such as population density and the percentage employment in agriculture) showed negative associations with most of them. The combination of information from different data sources (including primary data) allowed for a detailed analysis of forest ES, likely removing some of the problems derived from approaches based only on proxy methods. In addition, the use of municipalities as study unit makes results directly relevant to management and planning strategies operating at this scale (e.g., forest management and planning).
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