Biodiversity loss threatens human well-being.

The diversity of life on Earth is dramatically affected by Human alterations of ecosystems. Compelling evidence now shows that the reverse is also true: biodiversity in the broad snsse affects the properties of ecosystem and, therefore, the benefits that humans obtain from them. In this article, we provide a synthesis of the most crucial messages emerging from the latest scientific literature and international assessments of the role of biodiversity in ecosystem services and human well- being. Human societies have beeb built on biodiversity. Many activities indispensable for human subsistence lead to biodiversity loss, and this trend is ikely to continue in the future. We clearly benefit from the diversity of organisms that we have learned to use for medicines, food, fibers, and other renwable resources. In addition, biodiversity has always been an integral part of the human experience and there are many moral reasons to preserve it for its own sake. What has been less recognized is that biodiversity also influences human well- being, including the access to water and basic materials for a satifactory life, and security in the face of environmental change, through its effects on the ecosystem processes that lie at the core of the Earth´s most vital life support system.Fil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Fargione, Joseph. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. University Of New Mexico; Estados UnidosFil: Chapin III, Francis Stuart. University Of Alaska; Estados UnidosFil: Tilman, David. University of Minnesota; Estados Unido

Going beyond 'it depends:' the role of context in shaping participation in natural resource management

Public participation is increasingly advocated in natural resource management to meet a spectrum of instrumental to normative goals. However, the success of participation in achieving these goals is highly variable, depending on both societal and institutional contexts. Whether participation realises its benefits or succumbs to its pitfalls is shaped by dynamic interactions operating among three contextual dimensions: participatory rationales (instrumental to normative), institutional fit of different levels (types) of participation (information delivery to partnership to delegation), and social structures (such as cultural context, social capital and power distribution). Some levels of participation may support the existing power hierarchy, others benefit organized stakeholder groups and special interests, and still others foster deliberative democratic outcomes. We argue that wise choice of levels of participation in particular contexts shapes the balance of participation’s benefits and pitfalls

Interactions between changing climate and biodiversity: Shaping humanity's future

Scientists have known for more than a century aboutpotential human impacts on climate (1). In the last 30 y,estimates of these impacts have been confirmed andrefined through increasingly precise climate assess-ments (2). Other global-scale human impacts, includingland use change, overharvesting, air and water pollu-tion, and increased disease risk from antibiotic resis-tance, have risen to critical levels, seriously jeopardizingthe prospects that future generations can thrive (3–5).Earth has entered a stage characterized by humandomination of critical Earth system processes (6–8).Although the basic trajectories of these changes arewell known, many of the likely consequences areshrouded in uncertainty because of poorly understoodinteractions among these drivers of change and there-fore their effects on ecosystems and societies.Fil: Stuart Chapin III, F.. University of Alaska; Estados UnidosFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Reflections on Planning Education at UNC-Chapel Hill

As the Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill nears its 50th anniversary, it is timely to look back on its origins and ponder how it came to be one of the leading schools of planning in the country. My reflections examine the first thirty years of the department. They describe DCRP's beginnings and identify some highlights of planning education and urban research at Chapel Hill, and conclude with a few observations on the key strengths of the department in this period

Urban Land Use Policy in an Era of Constraints

These are times of widespread interest in "land use." But as land use has gained currency, it has come to mean different things to different interest groups. To some, it has to do with national resource use—the use of land for agriculture, grazing, forestry, extraction, or wildlife sanctuaries. To others, it has to do with use of state resources—the seacoast, lake country, mountains, or other areas of critical environmental concern. And to still others, it refers to land development in the urban scene for industrial, business, residential, or other uses. There are both positive and negative associations with land use. To many, land use is a tangible reflection of economic vitality and strength; to others, it means problems or destructive tendencies in man's activities. One common denominator to these different perspectives is the interface between growth and finite resources—the need to come to terms with environmental overloads, energy resource shortages, and other resource problems that may adversely affect the economy and the well-being of millions of households. The seventies will undoubtedly be marked as a watershed, a time when Americans came to realize that many finite resources long taken for granted were after all limited, many of them nonrenewable or irreversibly damageable. In this essay, I shall be less concerned with this precarious balance as a problem than with governmental responses to this problem and how these impact on land use policies of local governments. Let me begin with the initiatives of the federal government and work downward to the local level

Changes in the surface energy budget after fire in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: An annual perspective

Understanding links between the disturbance regime and regional climate in boreal regions requires observations of the surface energy budget from ecosystems in various stages of secondary succession. While several studies have characterized fire‐induced differences in surface energy fluxes from boreal ecosystems during summer months, much less is known about these differences over the full annual cycle. Here we measured components of the surface energy budget (including both radiative and turbulent fluxes) at three sites from a fire chronosequence in interior Alaska for a 1‐year period. Our sites consisted of large burn scars resulting from fires in 1999, 1987, and ∼1920 (hereinafter referred to as the 3‐, 15‐, and 80‐year sites, respectively). Vegetation cover consisted primarily of bunch grasses at the 3‐year site, aspen and willow at the 15‐year site, and black spruce at the 80‐year site. Annual net radiation declined by 31% (17 W m^(−2)) for both the 3‐ and the 15‐year sites as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 55 W m^(−2)). Annual sensible heat fluxes were reduced by an even greater amount, by 55% at the 3‐year site and by 52% at the 15‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 21 W m^(−2)). Absolute differences between the postfire ecosystems and the mature black spruce forest for both net radiation and sensible heat fluxes were greatest during spring (because of differences in snow cover and surface albedo), substantial during summer and winter, and relatively small during fall. Fire‐induced disturbance also initially reduced annual evapotranspiration (ET). Annual ET decreased by 33% (99 mm yr^(−1)) at the 3‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual flux of 301 mm yr^(−1)). Annual ET at the 15‐year site (283 mm yr^(−1)) was approximately the same as that from the 80‐year site, even though the 15‐year site had substantially higher ET during July. Our study suggests that differences in annual ET between deciduous and conifer stands may be smaller than that inferred solely from summer observations. This study provides a direct means to validate land surface processes in global climate models attempting to capture vegetation‐climate feedbacks in northern terrestrial regions

Changing Forests in a Warming World

Severe fires can dramatically alter the future growth of a spruce forest. A severe fire is likely to change the forest to one dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees, especially in drier places.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c