Constantine Alexander's Journal

News in Brief (September 30, 2010)

 

Marine biology: Out of the blue

The ten-year Census for Marine Life is about to unveil its final results. But how deep did the $650-million project go? It took just an hour and a half to get the ball rolling, says Jesse Ausubel, thinking back to the day in July 1996 when Frederick Grassle came to his office at the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Grassle, a marine scientist at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, had come armed with a year-old report from the US National Research Council highlighting just how little scientists understood about marine biodiversity. Even well-explored ecosystems such as coral reefs, temperate bays and estuaries contained vast numbers of undiscovered species, to say nothing of the unknown organisms lurking in remote, under-sampled areas such as the polar seas and hydrothermal vents. The report, which Grassle had helped to write, argued that there was an "urgent need" to expand such research, not least because it is so important for fish management and marine conservation. …

'Slavery' uncovered on trawlers fishing for Europe

Shocking evidence of conditions akin to slavery on trawlers that provide fish for European dinner tables has been found in an investigation off the coast of west Africa. Forced labour and human rights abuses involving African crews have been uncovered on trawlers fishing illegally for the European market by investigators for an environmental campaign group. The Environmental Justice Foundation found conditions on board including incarceration, violence, withholding of pay, confiscation of documents, confinement on board for months or even years, and lack of clean water. …

Modern-day slavery: horrific conditions on board ships catching fish for Europe

When environmental campaigners began tracking a hi-tech South Korean trawler off the coast of West Africa, they were looking for proof of illegal fishing of dwindling African stocks. What they uncovered was an altogether different kind of travesty: human degradation so extreme it echoed the slavery they thought had been abolished more than a century ago. …

Allis shad migrate downstream on the Rhine

The allis shad (Alosa alosa) reintroduction LIFE project has made an exciting discovery. For the first time in more than 50 years, juvenile allis shad have migrated downstream on the river Rhine. The species has been considered extinct in the river since 1940. The downstream migration, which used to regularly occur in late summer, is part of the diadromous lifecycle of the allis shad. The aim is to reach feeding habitats in the sea, from where the adults return for spawning after three to five years. The discovery was made by a professional fisherman, who closely co-operates with the migratory fish program in North Rhine-Westphalia. He recently caught more than ten of the young fish. Due to their markings, which were carried out by the project’s French partners prior to stocking, the juvenile shads could be proven to originate from the larval shads that were stocked by the project. These findings underline the success of the reintroduction project. Though the Rhine is still subject to anthropogenic pressures, the young shads are now able to utilize suitable habitats and to grow. …

'Oldest whimbrel' recorded on Shetland

A whimbrel ringed on a Shetland island almost a quarter of a century ago is now believed to be the world's oldest, RSPB Scotland has said. The bird was ringed on Fetlar in 1986 and has now been identified breeding on the same island. RSPB Scotland said it was believed to be the oldest surviving ringed whimbrel in the world, more than doubling the typical 11-year lifespan. The previous oldest 16-year-old was shot in France in 1995. …

War of the Whales: How Laurens de Groot keeps his head in the fight

All you really need to survive a three-month stretch in Antarctic waters is a laptop, a few cans of beans, and a zen state of mind — or so says Laurens de Groot, who takes to the high seas again on the third season of Whale Wars. The premiere (airing tonight at 9 p.m., on Animal Planet) follows the Sea Shepherds, a non-profit conservation group, as they continue chasing and combating Japanese whale poachers in the Southern Ocean. …

Oil Rush in Gray Whales’ Last Redoubt

With reserves of as much as 45 billion barrels of crude by some estimates, the waters around Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East are seen as one of the world’s most promising frontiers for oil exploration. So despite the island’s frigid weather and rough seas, new fields continue to come online, like the Odoptu field of Exxon Mobil, which is to start production this week. But while proliferating rigs and drilling vessels off Sakhalin translate into growing profits for Russian-owned and multinational oil companies and a new supply of oil for an energy-thirsty region, they also pose a intensifying threat to a critically endangered population of gray whales. …

Back Biodiversity 100, save our wildlife

The Convention on Biological Diversity is next week in Japan, and to press governments into action, not platitudes, about preserving wildlife, here is the list of 26 actions you helped compile. But there is still work to be done. In less than a month, unless we can rouse sufficient public indignation to avert it, a widespread suspicion that humanity is incapable of looking after this planet will be confirmed. The world's governments will meet at Nagoya in Japan to discuss the catastrophic decline of the world's wildlife. The outcome is expected to be as tragic and as stupid as the collapse of last year's climate talks in Copenhagen. …

Pygmy rabbit won't get species protection in U.S.

The hardships facing the pygmy rabbit of the western United States don't warrant protections under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Wednesday. The pygmy rabbit is the smallest and one of only two rabbits in North America that creates its own burrows. An adult is from 9 to 12 inches in length and weighs from a half-pound to 1 pound (440 grams). …

Hungry bears spell trouble for humans in Rockies

A shortage of berries and other foods that hungry bears normally rely on to bulk up before hibernation has sent conflicts with humans spiraling to unprecedented levels in the Rocky Mountain West. Wildlife officials in parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming say they are experiencing a record year for so-called problem bears, which wander from the wilds into civilization -- and into trouble. State and federal bear biologists say they are overrun this season with reports about errant grizzly and black bears foraging in everything from garbage cans to garages, in every place from golf courses to city centers. …

Wind will power fossil fuel-free Denmark in 2050, report predicts

The falling cost of renewable energy and rising cost of oil and gas will allow Denmark to develop an energy network entirely free of fossil fuels by 2050, according to a report published by the government's climate commission. The committee predicted that wind and biomass energy could meet the bulk of the country's energy requirements. It also argued that switching to renewables would be cheaper than continuing to use fossil fuels, particularly if predictions of soaring oil and gas prices are borne out. …

EUROPARC’S Newsletter

This month EUROPARC brings you news from Australia, where Carol Ritchie attended the Parks Forum conference last month, tell you about the European Day of Parks next year, tell you about Aitken Clark’s memorial service and the new EUROPARC publications. In addition it bring you information about the hosts of the International Junior Ranger camp in 2011, some call outs concerning Natura 2000, funding and awards and of course up-dates from EUROPARC’s sections. In the spotlight this month is Paklenica National Park (HR). …

Royal Society launches new climate change guide

The UK's national academy of science, the Royal Society, has launched a new guide to the science of climate change. The guide has been updated partly as a result of complaints by 43 of the Royal Society's members who were concerned about the tone of its previous guide. That was a point-by-point rebuttal of arguments put forward by those who doubt climate change is man-made. …

Science safe in Brazil elections

Like many other Brazilians, the nation's scientists are hoping that the presidential elections of 3 October will bring as little change as possible. After nearly a decade of solid support for science from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his likely successor, Dilma Rousseff, has much to live up to. …

California Senate debate turns on environment

California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina traded jabs over the environment, healthcare and jobs in the second debate on Wednesday of a close campaign. Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co, and Democrat Boxer, seeking a fourth term in the Senate, both promised jobs and fiscal responsibility, two issues foremost on the minds of voters in the most populous U.S. state, which is reeling with an unemployment rate of more than 12 percent and a $20 billion state budget deficit. …

Eco-friendly, solar powered, bio-degradable, wooden watches

Through a joint tree-planting scheme American company WeWOOD has become the latest in a line of watch manufacturers to boost their environmental credentials. WeWOOD manufacture watches from 100% natural and toxin free materials. On September 27 the eco-timepiece company announced a partnership with environmental organization American Forests. Through this partnership the company promise to plant one tree for every WeWOOD watch purchased; the watches available in a variety of woods retail for upwards of 88€. …

First ever international plan to save the Mediterranean Basin ecosystem unites 34 countries on 3 continents.

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
© David Lee

The first ever comprehensive plan to preserve the unique and beautiful ecology of the Mediterranean Basin will be launched today at the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in Paris.

The five-year plan, which will focus on delivering the biggest conservation impacts – including terrestrial impacts - by targeting resources carefully at the most threatened and biologically important areas, has been devised by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) - a partnership of the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), , the Government of Japan, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Conservation International. The plan was also funded by the Mava Foundation and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. A first $10 million installment is available to support biodiversity conservation over the next 5 years.

With nearly half a billion people living around the Mediterranean Basin and more than 220 million tourists visiting the region each year, efforts to reduce pressures on the ecosystem are vital, and new approaches are needed to ensure that the region maintains the services and biodiversity that have supported civilization in the region for millennia.

Efforts to overcome unsustainable use of the region’s limited fresh water and to ensure that tourism brings economic benefits without “killing the goose that laid the golden egg” and destroying the ecosystems that made the Mediterranean such a magnet for vacations will be critical.

Gilles Kleitz, project manager at Agence Française de Développement (AFD) said: “The ecosystem of the Mediterranean Basin underpins the livelihoods of tens of millions of people in both the EU and outside, both directly through agriculture, tourism, fishing, forestry or any of the multitude of other industries that draw directly on the natural resources of the area, or indirectly by providing freshwater, pest control, pollination and other key services. Our legacy must be that this global biodiversity hotspot is maintained and restored so the people of the Mediterranean can continue to thrive.”

The plan is built around a 251 page “ecosystem profile” which identifies key biodiversity areas, threats to them and identifies what is needed  to solve them. It has been created with input from civil society groups in the areas where funding will be directed. CEPF will be issuing grants to organizations in these areas to undertake the actual work needed to deliver the conservation outcomes.

John Watkin, CEPF grant director who has overseen the project, said: “The Mediterranean Basin’s extraordinary place in human history and its role linking European, Middle Eastern and North African cultures has been made possible by its incredible ecology - from the abundance of its sea and the fertility of its lands to the rich variety of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. This ecology is still crucial for the economic and social development of the Mediterranean, and CEPF has devised a plan to try to ensure that, for millennia to come, it continues to support human wellbeing.”

While the profile identifies more than 1567 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in both EU and non EU countries, funding will be directed toward non-EU countries which have less access to other sources of funding for biodiversity, and six specific areas have been defined as priorities where the greatest overall impact can be achieved with CEPF investment.

Güven Eken of Doğa Derneği, the Turkish Nature Association, which led the development of the ecosystem profile for CEPF said: “It is hard to overstate the importance of the Mediterranean Basin from both an environmental and a social perspective. This biodiversity hotspot is the second largest and one of the most biodiverse in the world. But it is also hugely complicated to work in as it covers 34 countries with numerous different languages, alphabets, cultures and religions. It is also seriously threatened, with only five per cent of native habitat remaining, particularly damaging are coastal development for tourism and water extraction for agriculture. Much damage has already been done, but finally we have a strategy which transcends national boundaries and can protect this incredible place.”

The six priority areas identified by CEPF are:

1.       Cyrenaican Peninsula: (Egypt and Libya) 3,037,789 hectares (ha) of Mediterranean wetlands and desert, containing 11 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), and home to more than 100 endemic plant species. It is also home to other important animals including the critically endangered Egyptian Tortoise Testudo kleinmanni. Key threats include: Unsustainable tourism development, conversion of coastal wetlands into housing areas, unsustainable traditional hunting practices, agricultural expansion, charcoal production to serve nearby urban areas, and road building.

2.       Mountains, Plateaus, and Wetlands of  the Algerian Tell and Tunisia: (Algeria and Tunisia) This incredibly diverse area of 13,405,573ha  contains 75 KBAs but less than 1 per cent is protected.  It covers a wide range of gradients from the sea to cork oak forest to the mountains and is home to the last wild populations of Barbary macaque Macaca sylvanus – the Mediterranean’s only primate, the Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia and the Serval Felis serval.  Key threats are unsustainable tourism development and water pollution.

3.       The Atlas Mountains: (Morocco) This mountainous region of 12,812,888ha which contains 30KBAs is the source of the most important rivers in the Maghreb region. The vast array of unique species found here include 237 endemic flowering plants, the Atlas Cedar Cedrus atlantica, the Snub Nosed Viper (or Lataste’s Viper) Vipera latastei and the Critically Endangered Addax, or Screwhorn Antelope Addax nasomaculatus, which has been reintroduced to the region. It also contains one of only three remaining breeding colonies of the Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita. The biggest threats are overexploitation of plants – the area is particularly important for wild species of flowering bulbs, unsustainable water management, in particular damming for irrigation and water storage, agricultural intensification, and overgrazing causing soil erosion.

4.       The Orontes Valley and Lebanon Mountains: (Lebanon, Syria, Turkey) Covering 2,631,528ha and holding 40KBAs, this corridor hosts essential watersheds and habitats ranging from sea level up to snow-capped peaks of 3,000 meters.  The corridor delivers nearly all of the water for the entire country of Lebanon and has significant inflows into neighboring Syria.  It is home to 31 globally threatened species, and many endemic fish, lizards and snakes, including the Endangered Lebanon Viper Montivipera bornmuelleri.  The Upper Akkar/Hermel region is distinct in its 21 percent forest cover of ancient trees and as the entry bottleneck for soaring bird migration from Europe.  The main threats in this corridor are residential and urban development, illegal hunting, and agricultural intensification.

5.        The Southwest Balkans: (Albania, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia) Over a region of 5,713,629 ha containing 42KBAs, the lakes, mountains and coastlines of the Southwest Balkans contain many of the last large undeveloped stretches of coastline in the European Mediterranean. This corridor hosts important freshwater systems, including Lake Ohrid – a world heritage site - and neighboring Lake Prespa.  These sites contain an array of endemic species including the Endangered Albanian Water Frog Pelophylax shqipericus, Belvica Salmo ohridanus, the Ohrid Trout Salmo Letnica, and an array of endemic mollusks, crustacea and plants. However, hunting and overfishing and habitat destruction along the coast are taking a toll.

6.       The Taurus Mountains: (Turkey) This area, covering 11,724,896ha and 70KBAs contains examples of almost all of the Mediterranean’s varied habitats – from maquis and shrublands to forests, wetlands and alpine systems. The seas contain important seagrass meadows and populations of Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus and the mountains are home to the most intact remaining stands of Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani. Threats to this corridor include residential and commercial development for tourism, forests fires, dams, unsustainable water use, agriculture and aquaculture, and road building.

For further information contact:

Rob McNeil                              

Media Director, Conservation International

Tel: +1 703 341-2561; Mob: +1 571 232 0455; E: [email protected]

Patricia Yakabe Malentaqui

International Media Manager, Conservation International:

Tel: +1 703 341-2471; Mob: +1 571 225 8345; E [email protected]

Laure Weisgerber

Service de Presse, Agence Française de Développement

tél : +33 1 53 44 30 57 ;  [email protected].

Global study finds widespread threats to world's rivers

Report by CUNY, U. of Wisconsin and international partners is first to integrate impact of multiple environmental stressors on humans and biodiversity

Multiple environmental stressors, such as agricultural runoff, pollution and invasive species, threaten rivers that serve 80 percent of the world's population, around 5 billion people, according to researchers from The City College (CCNY) of The City University of New York (CUNY), University of Wisconsin and seven other institutions. These same stressors endanger the biodiversity of 65 percent of the world's river habitats and put thousands of aquatic wildlife species at risk.

The findings, reported in the September 30 issue of Nature, come from the first global-scale initiative to quantify the impact of these stressors on humans and riverine biodiversity. The research team produced a series of maps documenting the impact using a computer-based framework they developed.

"We can no longer look at human water security and biodiversity threats independently," said the corresponding author, Dr. Charles J. Vörösmarty, director of the CUNY Environmental CrossRoads Initiative and professor of civil engineering in The Grove School of Engineering at CCNY. "We need to link the two. The systematic framework we've created allows us to look at the human and biodiversity domains on an equal playing field." The framework offers a tool for prioritizing policy and management responses to a global water crisis.

Many stressors threaten human water security and biodiversity through similar pathways, but influence water systems in distinct ways. For example, reservoirs convey few negative effects on human water supply but they significantly challenge aquatic biodiversity by impeding migration routes and changing water flow regimes.

Understanding and responding to the myriad threats to water security requires new methods to make diagnoses and to act on these findings. "As is the case with preventive medicine, our study demonstrates that diagnosing and then limiting threats at their local source, rather than through costly remedies and rehabilitation, is a more effective and sensible approach to assure global water security for both humans and aquatic biodiversity, " notes Professor Vörösmarty.

"We've integrated maps of 23 different stressors and merged them into a single index," said study co-leader Dr. Peter McIntyre, assistant professor of zoology, University of Wisconsin. "In the past, policymakers and researchers have been plagued by dealing with one problem at a time. A richer and more meaningful picture emerges when all threats are considered simultaneously."

Among the stressors analyzed were the effects of pollution, dams and reservoirs, water overuse, agricultural runoff, loss of wetlands and introduction of invasive species. The authors said their findings are "conservative," since there is insufficient information to account for additional stressors like pharmaceutical compounds and mining wastes.

High incident threat levels to human water security were found in developed and developing nations around the world. Affected areas include much of the United States, virtually all of Europe and large portions of Central Asia, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and eastern China.

"We uncovered a broad management principal operating at the global scale," Professor Vörösmarty said. "In the industrialized world, we tend to compromise our surface waters and then try to fix problems by throwing trillions of dollars at the issues. We can afford to do that in rich countries, but poor countries can't afford to do it."

The researchers noted that causes of degradation of many of the developing world's most threatened rivers bear striking similarities to those of rivers in similar condition in wealthy countries. However, going down the path of instituting highly engineered solutions practiced traditionally by industrialized nations, which emphasize treatment of the symptoms rather than protection of resources, may prove too costly for poorer countries.

There are many more cost-effective solutions, they point out. For example, engineers, can re-work dam operating rules to achieve economic benefits while simultaneously providing water releases downstream that preserve habitat and biodiversity.

With the high price tag for bringing water quality and supply in the developing countries to levels found in industrialized economies, Professor Vörösmarty argues that a more economical approach is called for. A strategy called integrated water resource management, which balances the needs of humans and nature, would best meet the dual challenge of establishing human water security and preserving biodiversity in the developing world.

It would be more cost effective, he contends, to ensure that river systems are not impaired in the first place. This could be accomplished through better land use management, better irrigation techniques and emphasis on protecting ecosystems. Healthy ecosystems provide many valuable, and free, services to society by providing clean water, flood control, and food supplies. The value of such freshwater services is in the trillions of dollars per year.

One of the project's goals is to support international protocols to be used for water system protection since rivers maintain unique biotic resources and provide critical water supplies to people. An international approach is critical since more than 250 river basins cross international borders.

"It is absolutely essential to have information and tools that can be shared across nations," Professor Vörösmarty stressed. "Our knowledge of these systems is progressively worsening as nations fail to invest in basic monitoring, true for both water quantity and quality. How can we craft protocols on biodiversity protection and human water security without good information?

"Monitoring the world's fresh water would yield huge returns in terms of avoiding costly conflicts, providing food security, preserving unique life forms and a host of other valuable benefits. These benefits would cost pennies on the dollar."

In addition to Professors Vörösmarty and McIntyre authors of the Nature report include Mark Gessner of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology; David Dudgeon of the University of Hong Kong; Alex Prusevich and Stanley Glidden of the University of New Hampshire; Pamela Green of the City University of New York; Stuart Bunn of Griffith University, Australia; Caroline Sullivan of Southern Cross University, Australia; Cathy Reidy Liermann of the University of Washington; and Peter Davies of the University of Western Australia. The work was executed under the aegis and support of two elements of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP), which studies numerous aspects of global change science: the Global Water System Project (headquartered in Bonn) and the freshwaterBIODIVERSITAS project of DIVERSITAS, the International Programme of Biodiversity Science (Paris).

The CUNY Environmental Crossroads Initiative is a core component of the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), which facilitates high-end research by CUNY faculty in five key and emerging scientific disciplines. It will be based in a 200,000 square-foot facility now under construction on CCNY's South Campus.

Contact: Ellis Simon
[email protected]
212-650-6460
City College of New York

Penn biologists say species accumulate on Earth at slower rates than in the past

Computational biologists at the University of Pennsylvania say that species are still accumulating on Earth but at a slower rate than in the past.

In the study, published in the journal PLoS Biology, Penn researchers developed a novel computational approach to infer the dynamics of species diversification using the family trees of present-day species. Using nine patterns of diversification as alternative models, they examined 289 phylogenies, or evolutionary trees, representing amphibians, arthropods, birds, mammals, mollusks and flowering plants.

The study demonstrated that diversity is generally not at equilibrium. Nonetheless, speciation rates have typically decayed over time, suggesting that the diversification of species is somehow constrained, and that equilibrium may eventually be reached.

There are many competing theories for how species diversify and become extinct. Some suggest that species continually accumulate in time, always finding new ecological niches. Other theories suggest that the number of coexisting species is limited and that we will eventually have equilibrium. In other words, a species will be born only when another goes extinct.

The question that intrigued the Penn researchers was whether species diversity on Earth is in equilibrium or is still expanding. They also wondered whether the world has an invisible stop sign on species diversity that would eventually limit the diversity on the planet.

"What we see is diversification rates that are declining but not yet to zero," said Joshua Plotkin, assistant professor in the Department of Biology in the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn. "We are not yet in equilibrium. Either there is a limit to the total species number and we haven't reached it yet, or there is no such limit. But the rates of diversification are typically falling; when we will hit zero is not yet obvious."

While it is clear that Earth has recently lost species due to human impact, this study dealt with much longer, geologic time scales. Understanding these long-term dynamics is central to our understanding of what controls present-day biodiversity across groups and regions.

Even though the study did not deal with the current anthropogenic loss of biodiversity, researchers were surprised at how little extinction they actually saw in the evolutionary trees of species. The fossil record shows that many species have gone extinct over geologic time. For example, the diversity of whales has decreased during the last ~12 million years. But extinction was rarely apparent in this analysis of evolutionary trees.

The study also shows how analyzing molecular phylogenies can shed light on patterns of speciation and extinction; future work may reconcile this approach with the fossil record.

"By taking advantage of existing data from the flood of genomic research, we hope to combine efforts with paleontologists gathering fossil data," Plotkin said.

The study was conducted by Hélène Morlon and Plotkin of the Department of Biology in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences and Matthew D. Potts of the University of California, Berkeley. It was funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, James S. McDonnell Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Contact: Jordan Reese
[email protected]
215-573-6604
University of Pennsylvania

Harvesting temperate forests reduces soil carbon

A new analysis of temperate forests has estimated that, on average, tree-felling and the removal of tree biomass reduces carbon levels in the soil by 8 per cent. The reduction is greatest in the forest floor layer where about 30 per cent of carbon is lost.

About half of the Earth's carbon is stored in forests and approximately two-thirds of this amount is stored in the soil. This is significant in the global carbon cycle and for forest productivity. Improving our understanding of factors that affect forest soil carbon storage is important in anticipating changes in ecosystem goods and services, ranging from forest products and water resources, to greenhouse gas mitigation.

The study carried out an analysis on 75 sets of data on the impact of harvesting (tree-felling and the removal of biomass) on the soil carbon of temperate forests around the world, including forests found in Denmark, France, Germany and Spain. Temperate forests are those with moderate temperatures and high rainfall. It estimated that harvesting reduced the amount of soil carbon on average by 8 per cent.

The carbon stored in the forest floor layer of soil is most vulnerable to harvesting and, on average, there is a loss of 30 per cent from this layer. The forest floor layer stores significant amounts of carbon, but the deeper mineral layers of soil, found below the forest floor, store much more. The impact of harvesting did not lead to an overall loss of carbon from the mineral soil layers. At the deepest level of the mineral soils, carbon concentration actually increased by 19 per cent after harvesting. This could be due to downward distribution of carbon after harvesting and the fact that deeper soils are not disrupted by surface tilling.

This impact of harvesting varied with forest and soil types. Hardwoods tended to lose more carbon from the forest floor (36 per cent) than coniferous or mixed forests (20 per cent). The greatest reduction tends to be from the Spodosol type of soil (often called 'podzols' in Europe) which tends to be acidic and of lower fertility than other soil types. Spodosols store large amounts of carbon in the forest floor layer and take 50 to 70 years to recover soil carbon loss from harvesting.

For mineral soils, the impact on carbon largely depended on the type of soil: there is greater loss from Inceptisols, which are poorly developed soils (13 per cent loss) and acidic Ultisols (7 per cent loss). The research indicated that these losses are recovered over time and recovery may be aided by avoiding tilling, as tilling accelerates carbon loss. Alternative management practices for preparing forest sites which do not involve tilling include burning or retaining the tree residue left after harvest.

Source: Nave, L.E., Vance, E.D., Swanston, C.W. & Curtis, P.S. (2010). Harvest impacts on soil carbon storage in temperate forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 259:857-866.

Contact: [email protected]

Bringing the ecosystem services concept into forestry

Practical barriers may be hampering the application of an ecosystem services approach to forests. A new analysis has outlined three strategies to overcome these barriers: fostering private markets, managing public land and raising awareness of ecosystem services.

Forests provide a number of ecosystem services that support human wellbeing, for example, timber production, wildlife habitat, water quantity and quality, air quality, soil protection, carbon storage and recreation. Applying the concept of ecosystem services can help to both protect forests and benefit humans. The study analysed three main strategies for doing this:

Fostering private markets and payment for ecosystem services. This works by placing an economic value on the ecosystem services of privately-owned forests. There are several ways this can be achieved. Government agencies or conservation organisations can pay landowners to retain their land as forest rather than convert it to pasture or urban development. Another option is to provide compensation to landowners for managing the forest in environmentally-friendly ways, such as planting buffer strips around streams to support biodiversity.

The value of forest products such as timber, mushrooms and berries, could also be increased, perhaps through environmental certification schemes. Finally, projects to protect forest ecosystem services could be set up with the financial support of carbon trading schemes where CO₂ emissions are offset through the creation of projects that lessen the impact of fossil fuels.

Managing public land and providing common ecosystem services. It is more difficult to involve forest ecosystem services on publicly owned or common land in an economic exchange. Due to the multiple stakeholders and multiple benefits derived from the services it can be difficult to decide on who should pay and which system to use, but this depends on the context and the management. In some cases it may be best to locate vulnerable ecosystem services so they can be overseen by designating them as protected areas or species and communicating their value to the public who use these forests for recreation or other purposes.

Raising awareness of ecosystem services. Increased public awareness of forest ecosystem services can lead to better funding and policy support. This can be achieved through understanding and improving accounting methods, such as ecological footprints and carbon calculators, which can also feed into decision making. Another way to raise awareness is through the valuation of ecosystem services. A number of tools have been designed to do this for forests, such as UFORE (the Urban Forest Effects Model)¹, in the USA, that raises awareness of the benefits of urban forests and street tree networks.

To ensure the concept of ecosystem services is used to protect forests, suitable indicators of success are needed. It is possible that revenue from ecosystem services could grow whilst actual services are declining. Care must be taken to align both of these objectives and measure their success.

1. See: www.ufore.org

Source: Patterson, T.M & Coelho, D.L. (2009). Ecosystem services: Foundations, opportunities, and challenges for the forest products sector. Forest Ecology and Management. 257:1637-1646.

Contact: [email protected]

Environmental diagnosis for Natura 2000 forest areas

A recent study has developed a method of diagnosing the environmental condition of wildlife habitats in forest areas. This allows biodiversity conservation to be integrated into the planning and management of the European-wide Natura 2000 nature protection areas.

The Natura 2000¹ network of conservation areas has been established by the EU to preserve the most important and endangered habitats and species across Europe. In this study, the researchers designed a method to evaluate the environmental condition of the different habitats found in forest ecosystems protected by the Natura 2000 network. It is based on a checklist of key factors (identified by forest experts) that indicate the overall health of the habitats.

The environmental diagnosis is intended to help decision-makers assess the conservation status of the habitats and to identify areas where targeted management interventions are needed.

The environmental diagnosis is broken down into three phases. In the first phase, the current conservation status of the habitats is assessed. This is based on the following criteria:

• the conservation of vital functions of the habitat - determined by how much of the habitat is damaged and the vitality of the habitat (e.g. the amount of foliage loss)
• richness of plants (assessed by the percentage of plant species typical for that habitat actually found in the habitat)
• forest structure
• area of the habitat in the protected zone at local and regional scales

Each of these criteria is 'scored' by experts according to conservation status. The statuses are: 'excellent', 'good', and 'intermediate to poor'.

In the second phase of the diagnosis, the vulnerability of different habitats to environmental change is assessed. This improves understanding of how possible actions, plans or projects could affect the habitat and is based on four criteria: fire hazard, erosion hazard, the ability and speed of the habitat to recover after a man-made or natural disturbance and the habitat vulnerability to changes in vegetation.

In the third phase, the first two assessments (conservation status and vulnerability) are combined to allow the territory to be divided into distinct management areas: unfavourable areas requiring urgent management action, intermediate areas with good conservation status but requiring further recovery measures and optimal areas having excellent conservation status with no need for intervention.

The conservation status establishes where action is most needed and the vulnerability indicates the urgency of these actions. Managers can then implement suitable management and monitoring strategies for the recovery and/or conservation of biodiversity, according to the results of the environmental diagnosis.

1. See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm

Source: Velázquez, J., Tejera, R., Hernando, A., Núñez, M.V. (2010). Environmental diagnosis: Integrating biodiversity conservation in management of Natura 2000 forest spaces. Journal for Nature Conservation. Doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2010.01.004.

Contact: [email protected]

Effects of climate change on insect pests in European forests

A recent study has assessed how climate change could affect the impact of European insect pests on forests to help develop effective forest protection strategies. Changing temperatures may cause some populations of insects to grow or move into new regions of Europe.

The consequences of climate change for forest ecosystems will vary according to a number of factors: the region, the exact changes in weather patterns, the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide, levels and changes to the amount of ultraviolet radiation and sunlight falling on the forests.

This research, conducted as part of an EU commissioned study¹ and under the EU PROMOTH project², examined both the direct and indirect effects of climate change on insects that feed and live on forest trees. Rising temperatures will directly affect the insect life cycles which will be completed earlier and more offspring will be produced in a season. The timing of flight development and spread of insect populations will be also directly affected by increasing temperatures.

In addition, warmer conditions may directly benefit insects with low frost resistance, such as the green spruce aphid, whereas species that need a period of dormancy to complete their life cycle and survive cold winters could suffer, such as the larch budmoth. Warmer winter temperatures will allow some plant-eating insects, such as the pine processionary moth, to move further uphill and attack previously unaffected mountain pine stands.

Insects will also be indirectly affected by the impact that climate change has on trees and forest structures. Increased CO₂ levels or drought stress would change plant chemistry, and this could reduce the nutritional balance of trees. In some cases, the host plant would develop increased resistance to insect attack (for example, through tougher foliage), reducing the survival and growth rates for some chewing insect pests. In other cases, climate change could reduce plant resistance, to the benefit of other insect species, such as bark beetles.

Climate change will also affect the current ranges of different insect herbivores. Higher temperatures in the northern distribution range (the alpine region and boreal zone) are likely to result in some defoliating insects and bark beetles' range expanding further northwards. In contrast, in parts of the Mediterranean and temperate continental zones, increased temperatures and the higher chance of drought will affect heat-sensitive insects: this could force a northward expansion but also a reduced range in the south. As a heat-tolerant species, the pine processionary moth will benefit from warmer conditions.

To improve strategies to protect forests from insect pests under climate change, the researchers recommend: improving our understanding of the relationship between climate and insect species, from individuals to whole forest communities, as well as identifying, evaluating and monitoring physical (abiotic) and biological (biotic) risks.

1. This research is largely based on a study commissioned by the European Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development: 'Impacts of Climate Change on European Forests and Options for Adaptation'. See: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/analysis/external/euro_forests/full_report_en.pdf 
2. PROMOTH (Global change and the pine processionary moth) was supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme. See: www.daapv.unipd.it/promoth

Source: Netherer, S., Schopf, A. (2010). Potential effects of climate change on insect herbivores in European forests - General aspects and the pine processionary moth as specific example. Forest Ecology and Management. 259: 831–838.

Contact: [email protected]

Climate change will hit Mediterranean forests hardest

A new study has highlighted the regional variation in the impacts that climate change may have on European forests. In northern and western Europe there may be positive effects on forest growth, whilst increasing drought and fires in the Mediterranean could damage forests.

Climate change can have an impact on forests in a number of ways. Higher temperatures can extend the growing season, whilst changes in water availability can restrict productivity. It can also change the frequencies of pest outbreaks, droughts and forest fires. This EU-funded study1 analysed previous research on the impacts of climate change on five different types of European forests: boreal, temperate continental, temperate oceanic, Mediterranean and mountainous.

Warmer temperatures and higher levels of CO₂ caused by climate change will increase the growing period for trees in the Boreal region, which includes Norway, Finland and Sweden, and is characterised mainly by coniferous forests. This will produce bigger amounts of timber in the mid- to long-term and the distribution of tree species may change, with broad-leaved deciduous trees expanding northwards.

In the Temperate Oceanic region, which includes France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, extreme events, such as storms, droughts, flooding and heat waves are the greatest risks for forests. Summers are likely to be dryer and hotter with temperature increases of up to 4°C which may cause outbreaks of pests, such as bark beetles and fungal diseases.

The Temperate Continental (Eastern Europe) and Mediterranean forests are the most water-limited and will suffer most from droughts. In Temperate Continental forests, increases in annual temperature of 3-4°C may trigger outbreaks of pests. The Mediterranean is most at risk from forest fires and there may be an increased chance of desertification with rainfall dropping by up to 50 per cent in the summer in some places. Tree growth is likely to decrease in Mediterranean mountain ranges where water is scarce and in the Alps and Carpathians there could be an increasing number of broadleaved species.

The study also analysed the capacity of European forests to adapt to climate change. Forests have some natural mechanisms for adaption, such as genetic changes and natural selection, but these are slow processes and natural adaptation may not be quick enough for forests to survive. Socio-economic adaptation is thus also needed, for example, through development of adaptive forest management strategies to secure sustainable wood production and provisioning of ecosystem services.

Currently there are considerable differences in socio-economic adaptive capacity across regions in Europe. The Mediterranean region has the least capacity, as large forest areas here are unmanaged and this is where the largest impacts from climate change are expected.

1. This research is based on a study commissioned by the European Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development: 'Impacts of Climate Change on European Forests and Options for Adaptation'. See: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/analysis/external/euro_forests/full_report_en.pdf

Source: Lindner, M., Maroschek, M., Netherer, S. et al. (2010). Climate change impacts, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability of European forest systems. Forest Ecology and Management. 259:698-709.

Contact: [email protected]

Climate change may be increasing tree mortality

Droughts and temperature rises caused by climate change may already be increasing the die-off of forests, according to a new study. To combat this threat researchers have called for greater knowledge on the status of the forests and the ways in which climate change could have an impact on forest ecosystems.

There is great concern that climate change will increase tree mortality through physiological stress on the trees, insect outbreaks and wildfire. However, there has been no attempt to systematically track climate-driven tree mortality. This study provided the first global assessment of recent tree mortality attributed to drought and heat stress by analysing 88 well-documented cases where this has occurred.

The study looked at the evidence on a continental scale. In Europe, forest mortality is mainly concentrated in the Mediterranean region. For example, there has been increased death of many mixed conifer and broadleaf species in Spain with up to 19 per cent of some populations dying There have also been high levels of tree mortality further north due to drought and stress from insect pests, for example, there was a loss of 111,000 m³ of timber from English oak (Quercus robur) in Poland due to moths and other pests.

Although the study did not establish a direct causal link between climate change and forest die-off, it does demonstrate the concerning impact of heat stress and drought on many types of forest. It indicates that climate change is associated with increases in tree death from heat stress, drought and pest infestations.

The mortality of trees is influenced by a number of factors. Drought and heat stress caused by climate change could act as triggers for death in trees that are vulnerable due to age or poor tree condition and location, which could be enhanced by other factors, such as wood-boring insects and fungal diseases. More recently, research has indicated that climate change could affect other physiological mechanisms in addition to water regulation, such as metabolic processes. This means that even forests receiving adequate rainfall could suffer.

The researchers identified a number of gaps in our knowledge. More accurate data on global mortality patterns in forests are needed, as are detailed spatial data on environmental conditions in forests. There also needs to be a better understanding of how climate change physiologically affects trees and how it affects populations of insect pests in forests. All these uncertainties make it much more difficult to predict future forest mortality and to develop policies that effectively address the threat of climate change on forests.

Source: Allen, C.D., Macalady, A.K., Chenchouni, H. et al. (2010). A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 259:660-684.

Contact: [email protected]