The 2018 Boden Conference: Ecological Surprises and Rapid Collapse of Ecosystems in a Changing World In recent years the world has witnessed the ‘collapse’ of a range of ecosystems including the mass bleaching of coral reefs, the sudden disappearance of giant kelp forests and the withering of subantarctic alpine tundra (to name a few systems […]
Good decisions produce results AND help you learn KEY MESSAGES: Ecosystems are poorly understood, but often require immediate management action Adaptive management allows action to be taken immediately, and also helps learning Though commonly cited, true adaptive management is rarely applied Changing management because of ongoing monitoring at management sites is not adaptive management Adaptive […]
Should we restore or protect, on land or in the sea, to best benefit marine ecosystems? KEY MESSAGES: We developed a model that compared restoration to protection, on either the land or in the ocean, to maximise the extent of coastal marine ecosystems We found that direct active marine restoration can be the most cost-effective […]
Improving the estimation of ecological equivalence within offset exchanges Key messages: Ecologically robust, user-friendly decision support tools improve the transparency of biodiversity offsetting and assist in the decision making process We developed a disaggregated accounting model to balance biodiversity trades within a ‘no-net-loss’ framework The model improves on other models that use aggregated metrics by […]
With climate change now posing a clear and present danger all around the planet, scientists are calling for more intelligence in the decisions we make about how we adapt, especially in relation to our ecosystems. In many cases, leaving these ecosystems intact would be the smartest and most cost-effective insurance policy we could have. That’s […]
Exploring options in an abandoned agricultural project in Kalimantan Conservation and economic paradigms are shifting. In decades past it seemed fine to dedicate land to either conservation or production. But more recently we realise that this is inadequate to save all biodiversity, particularly where we want and need it. We live in a world of […]
A new text on novel ecosystems Land conversion, climate change and species invasions are contributing to the widespread emergence of novel ecosystems. Dealing with them demands a shift in how we think about traditional approaches to conservation, restoration and environmental management. These systems are novel because they exist without historical precedents and are self-sustaining. Traditional […]
Measuring levels of biological invasion It is all very well having an academic definition of novel ecosystems, but how do we identify them in practice? In reality, ecosystems and communities are always in a state of flux – they are never stable – so there will be constant, continuous changes in species assemblages. Species will […]
Setting environmental objectives in novel ecosystems In a rapidly changing world full of strange new assemblages of species, the goal posts for conservation aren’t as clear as they once were. What is it we’re trying to conserve, and against what threat? And where do we look for guidance on how to do it when the […]