Elinympäristöjen tilan edistämisen priorisoinnin periaatteet ja menetelmä

Tieteen tori: Metsien kestävä käyttö biotalouden aikan

Flexible timing of reproductive effort as an alternative mating tactic in black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) males

Alternative reproductive tactics often take the form of dichotomous behavioural phenotypes. Focusing attention on such obvious dichotomy means that flexible patterns of behaviour within tactics is largely ignored. Using a long-term dataset of black grouse Lyrurus tetrix lek behaviours, we tested whether there were fine-scale differences in reproductive effort (lek attendance, fighting rates) and whether these were related to age and phenotype. Yearling males increased their lek attendance and fighting rate to a peak when adult male effort was declining. Adults and yearlings allocated reproductive effort according to their body mass but this was unrelated to differences in timing of effort. In adult males, different patterns of lek attendance were associated with different costs of reproduction, measured by mass loss or gain. Overall, our work demonstrates that individuals can use flexible patterns of reproductive effort both in terms of their own condition, their age and the likely costs of behaviours

Framework for assessing and reversing ecosystem degradation – Report of the Finnish restoration prioritization working group on the options and costs of meeting the Aichi biodiversity target of restoring at least 15 percent of degraded ecosystems in Finland

This report is an abridged and revised English language edition of the original proposition of the Finnish restoration prioritization working group on the options and costs of restoring 15 percent of degraded ecosystems in Finland. We start with the key findings and the original propositions of the working group. Based on the experiences from Finland, we also provide a few new propositions for the international readership to help to plan and implement work towards meeting the global target of restoring 15 percent of the degraded ecosystems. In the beginning of the report, we describe the conceptual background of the work, i.e. that ecosystem degradation or improvement has a minimum of two components: the extent of area that has become degraded or restored and the magnitude of the degradation, or its counterpart improvement, at any given location. We then describe the procedure that we developed to systematically measure the magnitude of degradation from which the 15 percent can be calculated and the magnitude of improvement that different restoration measures can offer. The guiding principle adopted for the development of the procedure was to treat all ecosystems that are not in their natural state as degraded. However, it is worth emphasizing that the objective is not to reach the natural state of the ecosystems, but to reduce the degree of ecosystem degradation by restoration. With an example from herb-rich forests, we show how we prioritized restoration measures within an ecosystem. The prioritization was based on the effects of restoration measures on biodiversity and on the costs of the measures. We also considered the effect of restoration measures on some key ecosystem services. In addition to the restoration measures within each ecosystem, we also conducted prioritization among ecosystems. The prioritization among ecosystems is based on an analysis identifying the ecosystems where reasonable investments bring the greatest reduction in the degree of ecosystem degradation. The procedure thus enabled us to find the balanced and cost-effective restoration measure portfolios within each ecosystem type and to allocate resources effectively to those ecosystem types that provided highest benefits in terms of biodiversity and reduction of the degree of ecosystem degradation. To our knowledge, this report is the first to estimate the cost of meeting the 15 percent restoration target across all relevant terrestrial ecosystems in one country. Our work exemplifies that simultaneous prioritization among all major terrestrial ecosystems greatly reduces the overall cost of meeting the 15 percent restoration target. Indeed, if we focus on restoring 15 per cent of one ecosystem type at a time, which is the modus operandi in many parts of the world, the overall cost of meeting the 15 percent restoration target is more than twice compared to the prioritization approach we have adopted here. Rather than getting fixed on the 15 percent target, we also decided to provide additional options for decision makers. Thus, the report gives alternative answers to the question of which ecosystem restoration measures to take, at which scale and in which ecosystem types, in order to meet the overall target for ecosystem restoration in Finland

Pathways towards a sustainable future envisioned by early-career conservation researchers

Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservation, and adoption of a transformation-oriented social–ecological systems approach to research. The respondents and participants had diverse perspectives on how to achieve sustainability. Reformist actions were emphasized as paving the way for more radical changes in the economic system and societal values linked to the environment and inequality. Our findings suggest that achieving sustainability requires a strategy that (1) incorporates the multiplicity of people's views, (2) places a greater value on nature, and (3) encourages systemic transformation across political, social, educational, and economic realms on multiple levels. We introduce a framework for ECRs to inspire their research and practice within conservation science to achieve real change in protecting biological diversity.Additional co-authors: Thijs Fijen, Heather Hemmingmoore, Sara Hocevar, Liam Kendall, Jussi Lampinen, Emma-Liina Marjakangas, Jake M. Martin, Rebekah A. Oomen, Hila Segre, William Sidemo-Holm, André P. Silva, Susanna Huneide Thorbjørnsen, Miquel Torrents-Ticó, Di Zhang, Jasmin Ziemack

Pathways towards a sustainable future envisioned by early-career conservation researchers

Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservation, and adoption of a transformation-oriented social–ecological systems approach to research. The respondents and participants had diverse perspectives on how to achieve sustainability. Reformist actions were emphasized as paving the way for more radical changes in the economic system and societal values linked to the environment and inequality. Our findings suggest that achieving sustainability requires a strategy that (1) incorporates the multiplicity of people's views, (2) places a greater value on nature, and (3) encourages systemic transformation across political, social, educational, and economic realms on multiple levels. We introduce a framework for ECRs to inspire their research and practice within conservation science to achieve real change in protecting biological diversity.</p

Timing of reproductive effort as an alternative mating strategy in young black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) males

Seksuaalivalinta aiheuttaa yksilöiden välille kilpailua parittelukumppaneista, minkä johdosta osa yksilöistä lisääntyy toisia enemmän. Elinkiertoteorian mukaan yksilöt eivät niukkojen resurssien vuoksi pysty tehokkaasti kohdentamaan energiaa samanaikaisesti useisiin toimintoihin, kuten kasvuun, selviytymiseen ja lisääntymiseen. Ikä, suuri koko ja näyttävät seksuaaliornamentit ovat seksuaalivalinnassa menestyvän yksilön merkkejä, sillä tällaisilla yksilöillä riittää energiaa elintärkeiden toimintojen lisäksi myös lisääntymiseen. Tavallisesti ne menestyvätkin parhaiten kilpailussa parittelukumppaneista. Nuoret tai huonokuntoiset yksilöt voivat kuitenkin turvautua vaihtoehtoisiin lisääntymisstrategioihin välttääkseen suoraa kilpailua dominoivien yksilöiden kanssa ja parantaakseen lisääntymismenestystään. Tässä tutkimuksessa perehdyttiin nuorten teerikukkojen (Tetrao tetrix) soidinvireyden ajoittamiseen vertaamalla 1-vuotiaiden ja aikuisten kukkojen soidinkäyttäytymistä eli läsnäoloa ja tappeluaktiivisuutta, sekä morfologisten ominaisuuksien eli ruumiinpainon ja pyrstön pituuden vaikutusta soidinkäyttäytymiseen. Mittava pitkäaikaisaineisto kerättiin vuosina 2003–2013 kolmelta keskisuomalaiselta soitimelta. Aineisto analysoitiin lineaarisia sekamalleja (GLMM) hyväksikäyttäen. Eniten soitimella läsnä olleiden nuorten kukkojen havaittiin ajoittavan soidinvireytensä aikuisia kukkoja myöhemmin. Tätä vaihtoehtoista lisääntymisstrategiaa noudattavat nuoret kukot olivat paitsi ahkerasti läsnä soitimella, myös aktiivisia tappelijoita ja kooltaan suurempia kuin muut 1-vuotiaat kukot. Todennäköisesti nämä nuoret kukot pystyivät panostamaan soidinkauteen huomattavasti ikätovereitaan enemmän, mutta kuitenkin aikuisia kukkoja vähemmän, minkä johdosta ne ehkä hyötyivät myöhemmästä soidinvireyden ajoituksesta eniten. Nuorten kukkojen vaihtoehtoinen lisääntymisstrategia voi asettaa lisää valintapaineita myös aikuisille kukoille hidastamalla kilpailun vähenemistä soidinkauden lopulla. Tämä tutkimus osoittaakin epäsuorasti, että niin sanotulla kestävyyskilpailulla (”endurance rivalry”) voi olla sijansa teeren seksuaalivalinnassa.Sexual selection generates competition over mates producing differences in reproductive success between individuals. The life history theory predicts that because of scarce resources individuals face the problem in allocating energy to different functions such as growth, survival, and reproduction. As a consequence, older age, large body size, and impressive sexual ornaments are the common characters of dominant individuals, who are often superior in competition over mates thus enjoying the highest reproductive success. Nevertheless, young or unfit individuals may have alternative mating strategies which assist them to avoid competition with superior individuals and increase their reproductive success. In this study timing of reproductive effort as a potentially alternative mating strategy of young lekking black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) males was investigated. The behavioural (lek attendance and fighting rate) features of yearling and adult males were compared, and the effect of morphological (body mass and tail length) traits on the behaviour were studied. The large long-term dataset was gathered in years 2003–2013 from three study sites, and analysed by generalized linear mixed effects models (GLMM). Yearling males, who were the most present on the lek arena, scheduled their reproductive effort later in the lekking season compared to adult males. The yearling males showing this alternative mating strategy proved to be of a high quality: compared to other yearlings, they were diligently present on the lek arena, fought actively and had larger body mass. Probably they were able to invest substantially more to the lekking season than most of the yearlings, but less than adults, and therefore profited from the alternative mating strategy. Later timing of effort in yearling males may also set more selection pressure for adult males by delaying the decrease of intensive competition in the end of the lekking season. Hence, this study supports indirectly the idea that endurance rivalry may operate on black grouse leks

How to protect nature – Boreal mire conservation in Finland

Nature’s resources enable the existence of humankind. Due to our very intensive resource extraction, many ecosystem functions are deteriorating and species’ populations, distributions, and assemblages changing, which jeopardize our contemporary societies. Conservation areas effectively slow down these trajectories. However, conservation benefits and costs are often incommensurable, and spatially and temporally unevenly distributed, so their reliable evaluation is complex. I studied how conservation decision-making could produce ecologically, socially, and economically effective and acceptable conservation solutions. I implemented the study in the context of boreal mire conservation network complementation in Finland. Mires need to be set aside as spatially and functionally continuous entities to safeguard their hydrology and long-term existence. In Finland, mires are mostly privately owned and landownership is fragmented within single mires. As a result, conflicts could not be avoided. However, trade-offs between ecological gains, landowners’ conservation preferences, and conservation costs could have been alleviated, if alternative conservation solutions were recognized, their consequences studied, and some of the current legislation revised. Furthermore, not all assumed conflicts proved to be true since landowners of wooded mires did not engage in systematic pre-emptive loggings. The results also show that spatial prioritization methods can fill the science-practice gap by supporting conservation planning and decision-making in diverse ways. They can serve simultaneously as site selection tools and as platforms to decision-making, enhancing sharing and analytical use of expert knowledge. They also allow quantification of interrelationships between different conservation-related factors, which enables informing decision-makers about the consequences of alternative conservation solutions. Boreal mire conservation in Finland reflects the very same challenges than nature conservation around the world, so its solutions can help to resolve global conservation problems. Keywords: Conservation decision-making; involuntary conservation; peatland; pre-emptive behavior; trade-offs; voluntary conservation; Zonation.Ihmiskunta on täysin riippuvainen luonnon ekosysteemien toiminnasta. Olemme kuitenkin valjastaneet luonnon niin tehokkaasti omaan käyttöömme, että monet ekosysteemit ovat heikentyneet ja niiden lajisto uhanalaistunut tai kadonnut. Tämä vaarantaa myös ihmisen tulevaisuuden. Luonnonsuojelualueet estävät ja hidastavat tätä kehitystä, mutta usein suojelu on vaikeaa. Sen haittoja ja hyötyjä ei ole helppo arvioida, koska ne eivät jakaudu tasaisesti ihmisten kesken eivätkä ole yhteismitallisia. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkin, miten luonnonsuojelun päätöksenteko voisi edistää ekologisesti, yhteiskunnallisesti ja taloudellisesti kestävää suojelua. Tutkimustapauksena hyödynsin soidensuojelun täydennysohjelmaa Suomessa. Ohjelma on ollut konfliktien kirjoma. Alun perin se piti toteuttaa luonnonsuojelulakiin perustuvana suojeluohjelmana mahdollistaen maan lunastukset suojelutarkoituksiin, mutta sittemmin se muutettiin maanomistajan suojeluhalukkuuteen perustuvaksi. Osoitin, että suojeltavan monimuotoisuuden määrä ja suojelun taloudelliset kustannukset riippuvat siitä, millä tavalla maanomistajien mielipiteet huomioidaan suojelusuunnittelussa. Havaitsin, että suojelun ekologisten, taloudellisten ja sosiaalisten näkökulmien välisiä ristiriitoja voidaan vähentää. Tämä kuitenkin edellyttää eri suojeluvaihtoehtojen huomaamista ja niiden seurausten ennakkoanalysointia. Osoitin, että suojelun priorisointimenetelmillä voidaan monin eri tavoin edistää suojelupäätöksentekoa. Ne toki soveltuvat perinteiseen suojelualueiden kohdevalintaan, mutta tämän lisäksi ne mahdollistavat eri suojeluvaihtoehtojen seurausten analysoinnin sekä niin sanotun hiljaisen asiantuntijatiedon jakamisen ja analyyttisen käytön. Havaitsin myös, että kaikki täydennysohjelmaan liitetyt konfliktit eivät ole totta, sillä maanomistajat eivät systemaattisesti aavistushakanneet puustoisia soitaan. Soiden suojelu Suomessa heijastelee haasteita, joita luonnonsuojelu kohtaa kaikkialla maailmassa. Näin ollen suomalaisen luonnonsuojelun ratkaisut voivat auttaa selättämään globaaleja suojelun ongelmia. Avainsanat: Aavistushakkuu; luonnonsuojelupolitiikka; monimuotoisuus; pakkosuojelu; päätöksenteko; vapaaehtoinen luonnonsuojelu; Zonation

The potential biodiversity effects of voluntary peatland conservation in Finland

Extending conservation area networks is one of the most important measures in the struggle against biodiversity loss. Many areas with high conservation effect locate in privately owned land so establishing new protected areas on private land is often seen necessary. In many countries, protection of private land has traditionally been top-down controlled and landowners have had little or no power to affect conservation decisions. A good example is European Union’s Natura 2000 programme that led to conservation conflicts locally. To avoid conflicts and to increase acceptability of new protected areas located in privately owned land, many voluntary and incentive-based conservation measures have been already widely applied. Many scientific papers report of successful protection through voluntary measures and celebrate their ability to make conservation socially more acceptable. However, voluntary measures do not affect only the social aspects of conservation, but also the biodiversity representation, by limiting the different options for protection. We studied the second phase of Finnish Peatland Conservation Programme that was originally planned to be implemented as a statutory programme enabling land expropriations, but was later changed as a programme of voluntary protection. We constructed three structurally different spatial prioritization analyses for three different scenarios: 1. Total acceptance; the analysis removes all the opposed peatlands from the solution despite their biodiversity representation. 2. Partial acceptance; the analysis considers landowners’ resistance as a continuous variable seeking a balance between resistance and biodiversity’s irreplaceability, while trying to maximize biodiversity representation with connectivity considerations. 3. Forced protection; the analysis maximises biodiversity representation and connectivity without considering landowners’ resistance to protection. Preliminary results show that demanding landowners’ total acceptance in peatland protection means a solution with significantly lower biodiversity representation for legal protection than the two other solutions. Instead, considering landowners’ acceptance partially leads to the solution that enables protection of practically as much biodiversity as forced protection. Our study shows that when high quality substitutive areas do not exist, categorical consideration of landowners’ resistance to protection leads to inefficient use of conservation resources. To avoid this, the ecologically most valuable areas should be allowed to be protected in spite of landowners’ opinion. Our results also indicate that a great deal of landowners’ resistance can be considered without a major decline in biodiversity representation in the solution, if conservation planners integrate landowners’ opinions as part of a planning process from the very beginning.peerReviewe

Quantifying trade-offs between ecological gains, economic costs, and landowners’ preferences in boreal mire protection

Private land often encompasses biodiversity features of high conservation value, but its protection is not straightforward. Commonly, landowners’ perspectives are rightfully allowed to influence conservation actions. This unlikely comes without consequences on biodiversity or other aspects such as economic considerations, but these consequences are rarely quantitatively considered in decision-making. In the context of boreal mire protection in Finland, we report how acknowledging landowners’ resistance to protection changes the combination of mires selected to conservation compared to ignoring landowners’ opinions. Using spatial prioritization, we quantify trade-offs arising between the amount of landowners’ resistance, protected biodiversity, and financial costs in different conservation scenarios. Results show that the trade-offs cannot be fully avoided. Nevertheless, we show that the systematic examination of the trade-offs opens up options to alleviate them. This can promote the evaluation of different conservation policy outcomes, enabling better-informed conservation decisions and more effective and socially sustainable allocation of conservation resources.peerReviewe

Elinympäristöjen tilan edistämisen priorisoinnin periaatteet ja menetelmä

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