Permanent grasslands in Europe : Land use change and intensification decrease their multifunctionality

Acknowledgments We acknowledge the financial support of this work by European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreement 774124, project SUPER-G (Developing Sustainable Permanent Grassland Systems and Policies).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Population size and social structure of lions in a west African protected area

Abstract: To inform the conservation of the Regionally Critically Endangered West African lion, we studied lion population size and social structure in Niokolo Koba National Park (NKNP), Senegal. Calling station and camera trap surveys were conducted and opportunistic lion observations were documented from 2015 to 2020. The average lion density was calculated as 0.50 lion/100 km(2) and the population size was estimated as 28-56 individuals. Average lion group size was 2.1 +/- 1.45 lions (range 1-8 lions). There were no significant differences between observations of single individuals (43%), groups of two (22%), three (19%), four (4%) and more than four (5%) individual lions (X-2 = 30.021, p-value = 0.06452). Sex ratio showed a ratio of male:female of 1:1.1 to 1:2.8. About 13.59% of the lion population was composed of cubs while, respectively, 81.22% and 5.17% were adults and subadults. Based on the analysis of activity patterns, lions in NKNP are mainly nocturno-crepuscular (18:00-01:00) and matutinal (06:00-08:00). Lion population size and density are still low in NKNP compared to earlier estimates from the same area, in the late 1990s. We therefore conclude that the conservation of lions in NKNP must be further improved to safeguard this population in the long term

Permanent grasslands in Europe: Land use change and intensification decrease their multifunctionality

Permanent grasslands cover 34% of the European Union's agricultural area and are vital for a wide variety of ecosystem services essential for our society. Over recent decades, the permanent grassland area has declined and land use change continues to threaten its extent. Simultaneously, the management intensity of permanent grasslands increased. We performed a systematic literature review on the multifunctionality of permanent grasslands in Europe, examining the effects of land use and management on 19 grassland ecosystem service indicators. Based on the evidence in 696 out of 70,456 screened papers, published since 1980, we found that both land use change and intensification of management decreased multifunctionality. In particular, preventing conversion of permanent grasslands to croplands secured the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. A lower management intensity was associated with benefits for biodiversity, climate regulation and water purification, but impacted the provision of high-quality animal feed. Increasing the number of species in the sward enhanced multifunctionality of permanent grassland without significant trade-offs such as losses in production. Our review covered many aspects of land use, management and ecosystem services, but we also identified areas with no or only few studies. The most prominent gaps were related to comparisons between permanent and temporary grasslands, and effects of management practices on the provision of cultural values, and on erosion and flood control. We suggest that, despite apparent changes in human dietary preferences, the protection of permanent grasslands in Europe must be prioritised. At the same time, considering the need to reduce ruminant livestock's contribution to climate change, the time seems ripe to increase support for low-intensity grassland management to optimise the provision of essential ecosystem services from Europe's permanent grasslands

Delivery of ecosystem services from permanent grasslands in Europe: a systematic review

Permanent grasslands cover 34% of the European Union’s agricultural area and are vital for the delivery of essential ecosystem services. Over recent decades, permanent grasslands have suffered a significant decline and land use change continues to threaten their area. We performed a systematic review on the multifunctionality of permanent grasslands in Europe, examining the effects of land use change and management practices on 18 ecosystem service indicators. Based on the evidence in 696 out of 70,456 screened papers, we found that both land use change and intensification decreased multifunctionality. A lower management intensity was associated with benefits for biodiversity, climate regulation and water purification, but had a negative effect on the provision of high-quality animal feed. Increasing the number of species in the sward enhanced multifunctionality of permanent grassland without significant trade-offs such as losses in production. We suggest that a combined approach of protection and management extensification will help secure multiple benefits from permanent grasslands

Data from: Permanent grasslands in Europe: land use change and intensification decrease their multifunctionality

In an extensive systematic review of the literature on permanent grassland in Europe we show that reducing the management intensity of permanent grasslands and preventing the conversion of permanent grasslands to croplands secures the provision of multiple ecosystem services. The evidence is based on 696 out of 70,456 screened papers