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.
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.
•Special Protected Areas (SPAs) are dominated by well-preserved natural habitats.•The conservation importance of SPAs for different habitats varied significantly.•Habitat coverage by SPAs increases ...with habitat rareness and threat.•Birds are reliable indicators for territorial protection.•SPAs are important for the conservation of natural habitats.
Territorial protection of nature in any country is limited by various factors and therefore it is necessary to carefully select protected areas. Currently, they are often selected according to particular indicator taxa because of the simplicity and applicability of this approach. For example, Natura 2000 Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in EU are established to protect selected species of birds. We asked how well do SPAs cover valuable natural habitats, i.e., whether the areas selected for the protection of birds are also important for the conservation of natural habitats. We focused on the Czech Republic because detailed data on habitat composition are available for the whole country. Although SPAs covered only 9% of the whole country they contained disproportionately high part of the whole area of preserved natural habitats (36%). This was because 64% of SPAs area was covered by natural habitats compared to only 11% in the rest of the country. However, the importance of SPAs for different habitats and their formation groups varied significantly. Further, we found a positive relationship between habitat rareness and the proportion of rare habitats within SPAs. Despite their relatively small overall area SPAs host disproportionally large areas of natural habitats in the Czech Republic. This pattern suggests that birds are reliable indicators for territorial protection. SPAs thus show large importance for habitat conservation.
Wind energy is the leading renewable technology towards achieving climate goals, yet biodiversity trade-offs via land take are emerging. Thus, we are facing the paradox of impacting on biodiversity ...to combat climate change. We suggest a novel method of spatial planning that enhances windfarm sustainability: investments are prioritized in the most fragmented zones that lie outside the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. We showcase it in Greece, a biodiversity hotspot with a strong climate policy and land conflict between conservation and wind energy schemes. The analysis indicates that the suggested investment zone supports wind harnessing 1.5 times higher than the 2030 national goal, having only marginally lower (4%) wind speed. It performs well for the conservation of the annexed habitats and species of the two Nature Directives and it greatly overlaps with the Important Bird Areas (93%) and the roadless areas (80%) of Greece. It also greatly overlaps (82%–91%) with the exclusion zones suggested according to three sensitivity maps for bird conservation. Since land use change triggers biodiversity decline, we underline the necessity of such approaches for meeting both climate and biodiversity goals and call for a greater environmental policy convergence towards biodiversity conservation and no net land take.
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•A paradox of impacting on biodiversity to combat climate change emerges.•Sustainable scenario: locate windfarms in fragmented land outside protected areas.•The scenario hampers fragmentation and benefits biodiversity in Greece.•The scenario meets climate goals for 2030 and beyond.•Need for environmental policy towards the no net land take milestone.
We examined the effects of human connection to nature on residents’ concerns about justice in conservation policies of Natura 2000. Expansion of Natura 2000 conservation network has resulted in local ...communities having to consider Natura 2000 in their development plans, and justice concerns have been strong in some communities near Natura 2000 sites. We conceptualized Natura 2000 justice within a framework composed of 3 domains of conservation justice: distribution, recognition, and representation. To examine the effect of nature connection on perceived justice of Natura 2000, we conducted a door‐to‐door survey of rural resident (80.09% response rate) in 3 municipalities of Pomerania in Poland. The effect of connection to nature on perceived distribution of Natura 2000 benefits was positive (b = 0.187, t = 7.057, p < 0.001); perceived communication about Natura 2000 was positive (b = 0.089, t = 2.940 p < 0.01); perception of limitations was positive (b = 0.078, t = 2.416, p < 0.01); perceived recognition was positive (b = 0.117, t = 3.367, p < 0.001); and perceived representation was positive (b = 0.123, t = 5.015, p < 0.001). Our results suggest local residents’ bonds with nature matter and they should be considered when new conservation approaches, such as Natura 2000, are introduced.
Efectos de la Conexión de los Residentes con la Naturaleza sobre la Percepción de la Política de Justicia de Conservación de Natura 2000 Stzelecka et al.
Resumen
Examinamos los efectos de la conexión humana con la naturaleza sobre los intereses de los residentes en cuanto a la justicia en las políticas de conservación de Natura 2000. Como resultado de la expansión de la red de conservación Natura 2000, las comunidades locales han tenido que considerarla dentro de sus planes de desarrollo y el interés por la justicia se ha fortalecido en algunas comunidades cercanas a los sitios de esta red. Definimos la justicia de Natura 2000 dentro de un marco compuesto por tres dominios de justicia de la conservación: distribución, reconocimiento y representación. Para analizar el efecto de la conexión con la naturaleza sobre la justicia percibida de Natura 2000, realizamos una encuesta a domicilio a los residentes rurales (80.09% de respuesta) de tres municipios de Pomerania en Polonia. El efecto de la conexión con la naturaleza fue positivo para las percepciones de la distribución de los beneficios (b = 0.187, t = 7.057, p < 0.001), la comunicación (b = 0.089, t = 2.940 p < 0.01), las limitaciones (b = 0.078, t = 2.416, p < 0.01), el reconocimiento (b = 0.117, t = 3.367, p < 0.001) y la representación (b = 0.123, t = 5.015, p < 0.001) de Natura 2000. Nuestros resultados sugieren que los lazos de los residentes locales con la naturaleza son importantes y deberían considerarse cuando se introduzcan nuevas estrategias de conservación, como Natura 2000.
与自然的联系对于居民看待Natura 2000保护政策公正性的影响
【摘要】我们研究了人类与自然的联系对于居民看待Natura 2000保护政策公正性的影响。Natura 2000保护网络的扩展导致当地社区不得不在其发展计划中考虑Natura 2000, 这引发了一些Natura 2000位点附近社区的人们对公正性的强烈担忧。我们提出了一个由保护公正性的三个领域(分配、认可和代表)组成的框架, 构建了Natura 2000公正性的概念。为了研究与自然的联系对Natura 2000公正性认知的影响, 我们在波兰波美拉尼亚的3个城市对乡村居民进行了逐户调查(受访率为80.09%)。结果表明, 居民与自然的联系对于其对Natura 2000利益分配的认知有积极影响(b=0.187, t=7.057, p<0.001);对Natura 2000交流情况的认知有积极影响(b=0.089, t=2.940 p<0. 01);对限制(b = 0.078, t = 2.416, p < 0.01)、认可(b = 0.117, t = 3.367, p < 0.001)、代表(b = 0.123, t = 5.015, p < 0.001)的认识都具有积极影响。我们的结果表明, 当地居民与自然的联系很重要, 在引入新的保护方法(如Natura 2000)时, 应考虑这些问题。【翻译:胡怡思;审校:聂永刚】
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