Ecosystem Services and Opportunity Costs Shift Spatial Priorities for Conserving Forest Biodiversity

Inclusion of spatially explicit information on ecosystem services in conservation planning is a fairly new practice. This study analyses how the incorporation of ecosystem services as conservation features can affect conservation of forest biodiversity and how different opportunity cost constraints can change spatial priorities for conservation. We created spatially explicit cost-effective conservation scenarios for 59 forest biodiversity features and five ecosystem services in the county of Telemark (Norway) with the help of the heuristic optimisation planning software, Marxan with Zones. We combined a mix of conservation instruments where forestry is either completely (non-use zone) or partially restricted (partial use zone). Opportunity costs were measured in terms of foregone timber harvest, an important provisioning service in Telemark. Including a number of ecosystem services shifted priority conservation sites compared to a case where only biodiversity was considered, and increased the area of both the partial (+36.2%) and the non-use zone (+3.2%). Furthermore, opportunity costs increased (+6.6%), which suggests that ecosystem services may not be a side-benefit of biodiversity conservation in this area. Opportunity cost levels were systematically changed to analyse their effect on spatial conservation priorities. Conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services trades off against timber harvest. Currently designated nature reserves and landscape protection areas achieve a very low proportion (9.1%) of the conservation targets we set in our scenario, which illustrates the high importance given to timber production at present. A trade-off curve indicated that large marginal increases in conservation target achievement are possible when the budget for conservation is increased. Forty percent of the maximum hypothetical opportunity costs would yield an average conservation target achievement of 79%

Optimising UK urban road verge contributions to biodiversity and ecosystem services with cost-effective management

Urban road verges can contain significant biodiversity, contribute to structural connectivity between other urban greenspaces, and due to their proximity to road traffic are well placed to provide ecosystem services. Using the UK as a case study we review and critically evaluate a broad range of evidence to assess how this considerable potential can be enhanced despite financial, contractual and public opinion constraints. Reduced mowing frequency and other alterations would enhance biodiversity, aesthetics and pollination services, whilst delivering costs savings and potentially being publically acceptable. Retaining mature trees and planting additional ones is favourable to residents and would enhance biodiversity, pollution and climate regulation, carbon storage, and stormwater management. Optimising these services requires improved selection of tree species, and creating a more diverse tree stock. Due to establishment costs additional tree planting and maintenance could benefit from payment for ecosystem service schemes. Verges could also provide areas for cultivation of biofuels and possibly food production. Maximising the contribution of verges to urban biodiversity and ecosystem services is economical and becoming an increasingly urgent priority as the road network expands and other urban greenspace is lost, requiring enhancement of existing greenspace to facilitate sustainable urban development

The Nature Index: A General Framework for Synthesizing Knowledge on the State of Biodiversity

The magnitude and urgency of the biodiversity crisis is widely recognized within scientific and political organizations. However, a lack of integrated measures for biodiversity has greatly constrained the national and international response to the biodiversity crisis. Thus, integrated biodiversity indexes will greatly facilitate information transfer from science toward other areas of human society. The Nature Index framework samples scientific information on biodiversity from a variety of sources, synthesizes this information, and then transmits it in a simplified form to environmental managers, policymakers, and the public. The Nature Index optimizes information use by incorporating expert judgment, monitoring-based estimates, and model-based estimates. The index relies on a network of scientific experts, each of whom is responsible for one or more biodiversity indicators. The resulting set of indicators is supposed to represent the best available knowledge on the state of biodiversity and ecosystems in any given area. The value of each indicator is scaled relative to a reference state, i.e., a predicted value assessed by each expert for a hypothetical undisturbed or sustainably managed ecosystem. Scaled indicator values can be aggregated or disaggregated over different axes representing spatiotemporal dimensions or thematic groups. A range of scaling models can be applied to allow for different ways of interpreting the reference states, e.g., optimal situations or minimum sustainable levels. Statistical testing for differences in space or time can be implemented using Monte-Carlo simulations. This study presents the Nature Index framework and details its implementation in Norway. The results suggest that the framework is a functional, efficient, and pragmatic approach for gathering and synthesizing scientific knowledge on the state of biodiversity in any marine or terrestrial ecosystem and has general applicability worldwide

Classification of Rhinoentomophthoromycosis into Atypical, Early, Intermediate, and Late Disease: A Proposal

Rhinoentomophthoromycosis, or rhino-facial conidiobolomycosis, is a rare, grossly disfiguring disease due to an infection with entomophthoralean fungi. We report a case of rhinoentomophthoromycosis from Gabon and suggest a staging system, which provides information on the prognosis and duration of antifungal therapy