Academic literature on the topic 'Biodiverse ecosystems'

River ecosystems are highly biodiverse, influence global biogeochemical cycles, and provide valued services. However, humans are increasingly degrading fluvial ecosystems by altering their streamflows. Effective river restoration requires advancing our mechanistic understanding of how flow regimes affect biota and ecosystem processes. Here, we review emerging advances in hydroecology relevant to this goal. Spatiotemporal variation in flow exerts direct and indirect control on the composition, structure, and dynamics of communities at local to regional scales. Streamflows also influence ecosystem processes, such as nutrient uptake and transformation, organic matter processing, and ecosystem metabolism. We are deepening our understanding of how biological processes, not just static patterns, affect and are affected by stream ecosystem processes. However, research on this nexus of flow-biota-ecosystem processes is at an early stage. We illustrate this frontier with evidence from highly altered regulated rivers and urban streams. We also identify research challenges that should be prioritized to advance process-based river restoration.

Tropical forests and coral reefs host a disproportionately large share of global biodiversity and provide ecosystem functions and services used by millions of people. Yet, ongoing climate change is leading to an increase in frequency and magnitude of extreme climatic events in the tropics, which, in combination with other local human disturbances, is leading to unprecedented negative ecological consequences for tropical forests and coral reefs. Here, we provide an overview of how and where climate extremes are affecting the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and summarize how interactions between global, regional and local stressors are affecting tropical forest and coral reef systems through impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. We also discuss some key challenges and opportunities to promote mitigation and adaptation to a changing climate at local and global scales. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'.

Tropical Oceania, including Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia and northern Australia, is one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. Climate change impacts have already occurred in the region and will become one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and people. Climate projections indicate that sea levels will rise in many places but not uniformly. Islands will warm and annual rainfall will increase and exhibit strong decadal variations. Increases in global atmospheric CO2 concentration are causing ocean acidification, compromising the ability of organisms such as corals to maintain their calcium carbonate skeletons. We discuss these climate threats and their implications for the biodiversity of several ecosystems (coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves) in the region. We highlight current adaptation approaches designed to address these threats, including efforts to integrate ecosystem and community-based approaches. Finally, we identify guiding principles for developing effective ecosystem-based adaptation strategies. Despite broad differences in governance and social systems within the region, particularly between Australia and the rest of the Pacific, threats and planning objectives are similar. Ensuring community awareness and participation are essential everywhere. The science underpinning ecosystem-based adaptation strategies is in its infancy but there is great opportunity for communicating approaches and lessons learnt between developing and developed nations in tropical Oceania.

We assess biodiversity status of Rotifera known from India to-date based on our studies from various regions of this country and evaluation of other viable records, and highlight notable features of biogeography and richness. The Indian fauna reveals 434 valid species belonging to 68 genera and 25 families and thus indicates the most biodiverse Rotifera vis-àvis south and Southeast Asia, and records ~25% and ~41% species of global and regional biogeographic interest. It depicts the littoral-periphytic nature, broadly tropical character, the limited reports of cold-water species from the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan latitudes, paucity of the endemics and Bdelloids, and cryptic diversity awaits analyses. The richest diversity and distinct biogeographic identity of Rotifera of Northeast India (NEI) is attributed to location of this region in the ‘Himalayan and Indo-Burmese’ biodiversity hot-spots, ‘Assam gateway’ – the biogeographic corridor, and the ‘Rotiferologist effect’. Regional disparity and spatial heterogeneity of biodiversity elsewhere from India are attributed to the limited sampling, inadequate collections from diverse ecosystems, unidentified species, and paucity of attention on smaller species. The biodiverse rotifer assemblages of the floodplain lakes including Deepor Beel and Loktak Lake, the two Ramsar sites and globally megadiverse ecosystems, are hypothesized to habitat diversity of these ecotones, while ‘Rotifera paradox’ depict speciose constellations per sample. The species-rich small floodplain and urban wetlands focus interest on rotifer diversity in small water bodies. We estimate more diverse Indian Rotifera following analyses of collections from underexplored and unexplored regions and ecosystems, and the bdelloid and sessile rotifers using integrative taxonomic approaches.

Warming climates are rapidly transforming lake ecosystems worldwide, but the breadth of changes in tropical lakes is poorly documented. Sustainable management of freshwater fisheries and biodiversity requires accounting for historical and ongoing stressors such as climate change and harvest intensity. This is problematic in tropical Africa, where records of ecosystem change are limited and local populations rely heavily on lakes for nutrition. Here, using a ∼1,500-y paleoecological record, we show that declines in fishery species and endemic molluscs began well before commercial fishing in Lake Tanganyika, Africa’s deepest and oldest lake. Paleoclimate and instrumental records demonstrate sustained warming in this lake during the last ∼150 y, which affects biota by strengthening and shallowing stratification of the water column. Reductions in lake mixing have depressed algal production and shrunk the oxygenated benthic habitat by 38% in our study areas, yielding fish and mollusc declines. Late-20th century fish fossil abundances at two of three sites were lower than at any other time in the last millennium and fell in concert with reduced diatom abundance and warming water. A negative correlation between lake temperature and fish and mollusc fossils over the last ∼500 y indicates that climate warming and intensifying stratification have almost certainly reduced potential fishery production, helping to explain ongoing declines in fish catches. Long-term declines of both benthic and pelagic species underscore the urgency of strategic efforts to sustain Lake Tanganyika’s extraordinary biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse biological systems on earth. Corals are classified as marine invertebrates and filter the surrounding food and other particles in seawater, including pathogens such as viruses. Viruses act as both pathogen and symbiont for metazoans. Marine viruses that are abundant in the ocean are mostly single-, double stranded DNA and single-, double stranded RNA viruses. These discoveries were made via advanced identification methods which have detected their presence in coral reef ecosystems including PCR analyses, metagenomic analyses, transcriptomic analyses and electron microscopy. This review discusses the discovery of viruses in the marine environment and their hosts, viral diversity in corals, presence of virus in corallivorous fish communities in reef ecosystems, detection methods, and occurrence of marine viral communities in marine sponges.

Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, and provide critical ecosystem services such as protein provisioning, coastal protection, and tourism revenue. Despite these benefits, coral reefs have been declining precipitously across the globe due to human impacts and climate change. Recent efforts to combat these declines are increasingly turning to restoration to help reseed corals and speed-up recovery processes. Coastal restoration theory and practice has historically favored transplanting designs that reduce potentially harmful negative species interactions, such as competition between transplants. However, recent research in salt marsh ecosystems has shown that shifting this theory to strategically incorporate positive interactions significantly enhances restoration yield with little additional cost or investment. Although some coral restoration efforts plant corals in protected areas in order to benefit from the facilitative effects of herbivores that reduce competitive macroalgae, little systematic effort has been made in coral restoration to identify the entire suite of positive interactions that could promote population enhancement efforts. Here, we highlight key positive species interactions that managers and restoration practitioners should utilize to facilitate the restoration of corals, including (i) trophic facilitation, (ii) mutualisms, (iii) long-distance facilitation, (iv) positive density-dependence, (v) positive legacy effects, and (vi) synergisms between biodiversity and ecosystem function. As live coral cover continues to decline and resources are limited to restore coral populations, innovative solutions that increase efficiency of restoration efforts will be critical to conserving and maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems and the human communities that rely on them.

Abstract. Phosphorus (P) availability decreases with soil age and potentially limits the productivity of ecosystems growing on old and weathered soils. Despite growing on ancient soils, ecosystems of lowland Amazonia are highly productive and are among the most biodiverse on Earth. P eroded and weathered in the Andes is transported by the rivers and deposited in floodplains of the lowland Amazon basin creating hotspots of P fertility. We hypothesize that animals feeding on vegetation and detritus in these hotspots may redistribute P to P-depleted areas, thus contributing to dissipate the P gradient across the landscape. Using a mathematical model, we show that animal-driven spatial redistribution of P from rivers to land and from seasonally flooded to terra firme (upland) ecosystems may sustain the P cycle of Amazonian lowlands. Our results show how P imported to land by terrestrial piscivores in combination with spatial redistribution of herbivores and detritivores can significantly enhance the P content in terra firme ecosystems, thereby highlighting the importance of food webs for the biogeochemical cycling of Amazonia.

How are our cities using nature-based solutions to confront the challenges posed by a warming climate, the loss of biodiversity and major resource depletion? This article discusses the opportunities and benefits of applying the concepts of regreening and rewilding of cities. The article engages with key sources and summarizes the background and development of regreening and nature-based solutions and important policies, concerns and perspectives of international and national organizations. It introduces the integration of nature-based solutions (NBS) as a strategy in urban planning with the aim to strengthen urban resilience and to slow down the biodiversity decline. Rewilding areas in cities has become a powerful strategy to bring back butterflies, insects, birds, and wildlife. In contrast to highly managed parks and gardens, these rewilding initiatives are leaving allotted spaces mostly uncultivated and self-regulated. Contact to nature is essential for human existence, urban wellbeing, and good quality of life. Green spaces in cities—big or small—all contribute to the health and wellbeing of residents. However, many cities do not offer residents easy access to green space within the city. Improving the better distribution of and access to green spaces and extending gardens and parks is likely to deliver a large number of benefits, such as: ecosystem services, better water management for enhanced urban flood control, slowing down the biodiversity loss, contributing to food security, and restoring damaged ecosystems. Furthermore, additional green space and NBS help to keep cities cool during heatwaves and improve the urban microclimate. Rewilding has emerged as an important part of new public parks and gardens. The next step is to up-scale citywide climate intervention strategies deployed to keep cities cool. However, as the discussion of this article shows, it is essential that the design of these NBS strategies is fully integrated with other complementary planning interventions and seeks synergies across all sectors.

Floodplains are amongst the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems. The structure and functioning of floodplains is controlled by the interaction of intermittent inundation with the floodplain landscape. These interactions create highly complex and dynamic ecosystems that are difficult to study at large scales. Consequently, most research of floodplains has been conducted at small spatial and temporal scales. Inundation of floodplains can extend over many square kilometres, however, which unifies the floodplain landscape into an integrated ecosystem operating at the landscape scale. The lack of data and poor understanding of the landscape-scale structure and functioning of floodplains limits the possibility of managing floodplains sustainably as pressure for exploitation of their resources increases. This thesis quantifies the landscape-scale relationship between the frequency and patterns of inundation, the composition and structure of the landscape, and the functioning of the floodplain landscape in terms of the distribution and dynamics of plant growth vigour over an area of approximately 376,000 ha on the Lower Balonne Floodplain; highly biodiverse, semi-arid floodplain ecosystem that straddles the state border between New South Wales and Queensland approximately 500 km inland from the eastern coast of Australia. Mean annual rainfall at St.George, to the north of the study area, is approximately 400�450 mm per year, and median annual evaporation is approximately 2000 mm per year. Plants and animals on the floodplain are therefore heavily dependent upon flooding for survival. This project is based on the analysis of 13 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images captured over a 10-year period during which land and water resource development increased substantially. There is now concern that development activities have affected the functioning of the floodplain to the detriment of the natural environment and agricultural productivity. The impacts from these activities on the functioning of the floodplain are not yet known, however. Inundation of the Lower Balonne Floodplain was mapped using a two-part process involving a band ratio to identify deep clear water, and a change detection analysis to identify areas of shallower inundation. This analysis shows that, in contrast with most floodplains, the main flowpath of the Lower Balonne Floodplain runs along its central axis away from river channels, which flow along the floodplain�s outer edges. Inundation propagates from the centre of the floodplain out towards river channels as flood discharge volumes increase. Variations in the spatial pattern of inundated patches within the inundated extent create distinctive aquatic habitat and connectivity conditions at different flow levels. These can be described in terms of three connectivity phases: (I) Disconnected, in which isolated patches of inundation occur at low flows and river channels are hydrologically dislocated from the floodplain; (II) Interaction, where increased hydrological connectivity between inundated patches, and between the floodplain and the river channels at moderate flows, may enable significant exchange of materials, organisms and energy; and (III) Integration, in which almost the entire floodplain landscape is connected by open water during large magnitude floods. There is an abrupt transition in inundation patterns as flows increase between 60,000 ML day-1 and 65,000 ML day-1 (ARI 2 to 2.3 years) in which inundation patterns transform from being relatively disconnected into a highly integrated network of patches. These patterns may have significant consequences for the structure and functioning of the floodplain. Increases in flows across this small range may therefore mark an important ecological flow threshold on this system. Water resource development impacts have changed the relative frequency of flows on the Lower Balonne Floodplain, which will probably affect the sequence of connectivity phases over time. The most likely impact of these changes will be to create a floodplain that is drier overall than under natural flow conditions, and that has a smaller and wetter area of high inundation frequency. The relationship between inundation and the structure of the floodplain landscape was examined by comparing a landcover map showing the distribution and character of 10 landcover types to the inundation frequency maps. Landcover types were mapped from a multi-date Reference Image composite of seven images captured over a period of 10 years. The Reference Image improves landcover discrimination by at least 14% over classification of a single-date image, and has an overall accuracy between 82.5% and 85% at the landscape-scale. The Reference Image shows that the landscape of the Lower Balonne Floodplain is a highly fragmented mosaic of diverse landcover types distributed in association with inundation frequency. Stratifying the floodplain into zones of frequent and rare inundation shows that frequently inundated areas have a less fragmented but less diverse landscape structure than rarely inundated areas. Assessment of the functioning of each landcover types within the floodplain ecosystem, based on landscape pattern metric analysis, indicates that the function of landcover types also changes between inundation frequency zones. Most importantly, these changes include a transformation of the matrix landcover type, which controls the character and dynamics of the ecosystem overall, from Open Grassland to Coolibah Open Woodland in the frequently inundated zone. The landscape structure of the Lower Balonne Floodplain has been affected by development impacts, which include clearing of native vegetation, isolation of parts of the floodplain from natural inundation events by the construction of levee banks and drainage channels, and grazing impacts. Changes to the inundation regime may also affect the structure of the floodplain landscape. Over the long term, these changes are likely to create a larger area of Open Grassland and a smaller area of Coolibah Open Woodland as the zone of frequent inundation becomes smaller and wetter. To examine the functioning of the floodplain ecosystem, the inundation maps were compared to remotely sensed indexes of plant growth vigour at the landscape and landcover-type scales. The dynamics of plant growth vigour over time are influenced by factors operating at the regional, landscape and patch scales. Evaporation is the major control of growth vigour levels at the landscape scale, but each landcover type has a distinctive pattern of growth vigour dynamics that is related to its composition and location, and possibly its landscape structure. The association between the spatial distribution of plant growth vigour and inundation frequency is non-linear, with the highest growth vigour occurring where inundation occurs approximately once per year. This indicates a subsidy-stress interaction with water in which plant growth vigour is limited by soil anoxia in areas of frequent or long term inundation, and by drought stress in rarely inundated areas. A landscape-scale model of growth vigour dynamics, founded on the principles of Hierarchical Patch Dynamics and Landscape Ecology, was created from growth vigour measurements of each landcover type over time. This model was used to examine possible impacts of development activities on the functioning of the floodplain ecosystem. This model shows that the response of plant growth vigour development activities can be complex and subtle, and include a change in mean long-term growth vigour and an increased susceptibility to drought. The model also indicates that periods of high growth vigour can occur in substantially altered floodplain ecosystems. The model was also used to explore the levels of landcover change that might cause a threshold change in the functioning of the ecosystem, which may substantially alter the disturbance-response characteristics of the floodplain ecosystem. The model indicates a threshold change when the extent of Open Grassland is reduced by 30% of its extent in 1993, in which plant growth vigour response to disturbance is virtually inverted from that observed in the images. The temporal variability of plant growth vigour levels increases as the extent of Open Grassland is further reduced. This thesis makes a number of important contributions to our understanding of floodplain structure and functioning. It includes the development of new techniques suited to studying large diverse and complex landscapes at the landscape scale from satellite images, and provides quantitative data describing the links between the structure of floodplain landscapes and their functioning at the landscape scale. This work improves the understanding of floodplain ecosystems by integrating models of floodplain structure and functioning, which have been developed largely from smaller-scale studies of temperate and tropical floodplains, with landscape-scale measurements of this semi-arid system. This thesis also has implications for the Lower Balonne Floodplain by improving the level of information about this important ecosystem and providing baseline data against which the condition of the floodplain can be assessed in future.

[Truncated abstract] Mediterranean southwest Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot, has nutrient deficient soils, exacting climatic conditions and is species rich with 7380 native vascular plant species, of which 49% are endemic. The region is expected to experience one of the world's highest degrees of biodiversity loss and change in the coming decades, with introduced species presenting a major threat. Limited knowledge is available on the mechanisms of ecosystem change associated with invasion and fire in this biodiversity hotspot region. Banksia woodland, an iconic complex species-rich natural ecosystem is one of the major vegetation types of the coastal sandplain, extending from 15 to 90 km inland and 400 kms along the west coast. The following hypothesis was tested to explore the ecological impacts of invasion: Is invasion of Banksia woodland by the introduced species Ehrharta calycina and Pelargonium capitatum accompanied by an alteration in ecosystem properties and processes, whereby the degree of change is related to fire frequency and abundance of introduced species? Different vegetation conditions, i.e. Good Condition (GC), Medium Condition (MC), Poor Condition invaded by Ehrharta calycina (PCe) and Poor Condition invaded by Pelargonium capitatum (PCp) were utilized for field assessments. ... In the soil seed bank, species numbers and germinant density decreased significantly for native and seeder (fire sensitive) species between GC sites and invaded sites. Surprisingly 52% of germinants at GC sites were from introduced species, with much of the introduced soil seed bank being persistent. Native species were dominated by perennial shrubs, herbs and sedges, while introduced species were dominated by perennial and annual grasses and herbs. Invasion by introduced species, associated with frequency of fire, altered the ecosystem, thus disadvantaging native species and improving conditions for even greater invasion within the Banksia woodland. Significantly higher soil phosphorus P (total) and P (HCO3) were found at PCe and PCp sites compared to GC sites. Leaf nutrient concentrations of phosphorus were significantly higher, and potassium and copper significantly lower in PCe and PCp sites, with introduced species having significantly greater concentrations than native species (except Manganese). This study demonstrated the key role of phosphorus in the Banksia woodland, in contrast to other research which identified nitrogen as the major nutrient affected by invasion. Higher levels of soil and leaf phosphorus, loss of species diversity and function, changes in fire ecology and canopy cover and a limited native soil seed bank make restoration of a structural and functional Banksia woodland from the soil seed bank alone unlikely. Without management intervention, continuing future fire is likely to result in a transition of vegetation states from GC to MC and MC to PC. The knowledge gained from this study provides a better ecological understanding of the invasive process. This enhanced understanding will enable the development of adaptive management strategies to improve conservation practices within a biodiversity hotspot and reduce the impact of the key threatening process of invasion.

R??sum?? : La d??composition des liti??res v??g??tales a ??t?? d??crite comme ??tant la deuxi??me plus importante fonction ??cosyst??mique sur terre, apr??s la productivit?? primaire. Alors que la photosynth??se fournit les apports ??nerg??tiques ?? la plupart des cha??nes alimentaires, la d??composition recycle les nutriments, permet leur utilisation future par d???autres organismes et relargue dans l???atmosph??re le carbone fix?? photosynth??tiquement. Dans un contexte de changement climatique, un grand int??r??t est port?? sur la d??composition des liti??res, car il s???agit, ?? l?????chelle globale, de la plus grande source d?????mission de CO[indice inf??rieur 2] dans l???atmosph??re. Les taux de d??composition des liti??res sont principalement d??termin??s par trois facteurs: les variables climatiques, la structure des communaut??s de d??composeurs et les propri??t??s chimiques et physiques de la liti??re. La structure de la communaut?? v??g??tale h??te dans laquelle se produit la d??composition et d???o?? provient la liti??re peut influencer l???ensemble de ces trois facteurs. Des changements dans la structure de la communaut?? v??g??tale pourraient donc affecter les futurs taux de d??composition et modifier significativement les dynamiques globales du carbone. Malgr?? cela, la communaut?? h??te est rarement prise en compte dans les ??tudes sur la d??composition des liti??res. Des exp??riences enl??vent souvent la liti??re de son environnment naturel de d??composition, mesurant la d??composition des liti??res ?? partir de monolithes ou de microcosmes en laboratoire, afin de contr??ler les variations ind??sirables des propri??t??s du sol. Dans ce m??moire, j?????tudie les effets de plusieurs propri??t??s fonctionnelles de la communaut?? v??g??tale h??te sur les taux de d??composition des liti??res et leur contribution ?? la respiration du sol. En utilisant une plantation exp??rimentale d???arbres qui permet de manipuler la structure de leur communaut??, je teste l???effet de l???identit?? fonctionnelle des arbres, des esp??ces et de la diversit?? fonctionnelle, ainsi que des interactions entre d??composeurs et arbres sur ces processus ??cosyst??miques. La d??composition des liti??res et la respiration du sol sont li??es aux propri??t??s fonctionnelles des plantes. La d??composition des liti??res est bien pr??dite par les valeurs moyennes de traits fonctionnels des liti??res, mais plus faiblement corr??l??e ?? la diversit?? sp??cifique. D???apr??s mes r??sultats, le nombre d???esp??ces en m??lange de liti??res ne constitue pas un facteur important pour la d??composition, ?? cause des interactions globalement idiosyncratiques entre types de liti??res. Cependant, l???augmentation conjointe de la diversit?? fonctionnelle des m??langes d???esp??ces en liti??res et de la communaut?? d???arbres-h??tes acc??l??re les taux de d??composition et la respiration du sol. Les premi??res phases de d??composition de liti??res en surface ne sont que faiblement affect??es par la diversit?? des plantes, alors que pour la respiration du sol, qui prend en compte les derni??res phases de d??composition de liti??re et de mati??re organique du sol, la diversit?? est la propri??t?? fonctionnelle de plantes qui fournit le meilleur pouvoir de pr??diction. De plus, j???ai trouv?? que les apports sp??cifiques de liti??res ?? long terme pouvaient cr??er des conditions qui favorisent la d??composition des liti??res native et pouvaient modifier l???effet de la diversit?? des arbres sur la d??composition. J???attribue cet effet aux r??troactions entre la liti??re et les organismes d??composeurs du sol. Ce travail de recherche fournit une nouvelle perspective sur les effets des changements de structure de communaut?? foresti??re sur les processus de d??composition. La compr??hension de ces effets est n??cessaire pour pr??dire les taux de d??composition de liti??res et les dynamiques globales du carbone. // Abstract : The decomposition of plant litter has been described as the second most important ecosystem function for sustaining life on earth, after primary productivity. Whereas photosynthesis provides the energy input for most food chains, decomposition recycles nutrients for future use by other organisms and returns photosynthetically fixed carbon back to the atmosphere. In the context of climate change, litter decomposition is of specific interest because it represents one of the largest sources of CO[subscript 2] to the atmosphere globally. Rates of litter decomposition are largely determined by three factors: climatic variables, the structure of the decomposer community, and the chemical and physical properties of the litter. The structure of the host plant community under which decomposition takes place and from which the litter is derived can influence all three of these factors. Therefore, any systematic changes in plant community structure could affect future decomposition rates and significantly alter global carbon dynamics. Despite this, the host plant community is rarely considered in litter decomposition studies. Experiments often remove litter from its natural decomposition environment, instead measuring decomposition of litter in common garden settings and laboratory microcosms to control for unwanted variation in soil properties. In this thesis I investigate the effect of several functional properties of the host plant community on rates of litter decomposition and its contribution to soil respiration. Using an experimental tree plantation that manipulates tree community structure, I test the effect of tree functional identity, species and functional diversity, and tree-decomposer interactions on these ecosystem processes. Both litter decomposition and soil respiration were related to plant functional properties. Litter decomposition was best predicted by average-values of litter functional traits and was poorly related to species diversity. The number of species in a litter mixture does not seem to be important for decomposition, as interactions between litter types were idiosyncratic. However increasing the functional diversity both of mixed-species litter and of the host tree community accelerated rates of litter decomposition and soil respiration. Early stages of surface litter decomposition were only marginally affected by plant diversity. In contrast, diversity was the best predictor of soil respiration, which includes latter stages of litter and soil organic matter decomposition. Furthermore, I found that specific repeated litter input to the soil can result in conditions that favour the decomposition of the long-term litter type and can mediate the effect of tree diversity on decomposition. I attribute this effect to feedbacks between the litter and soil decomposer organisms. This research provides insight into the effect of changing forest community structure on decomposition processes. Such an understanding is necessary to predict future rates of litter decomposition and global carbon dynamics.

Reefs and the coral life that builds them were for centuries a source of mystery to naturalists and hazard to seafarers. Many ideas were developed of what built them and why they all existed so close to sea level but never above it. Darwin developed the theory of how they were built, which was proven a century later. The coral polyp is central to each coral colony and to the reef. Each houses countless symbiotic algal cells that provide the energy that supports the coral reef ecosystem, and the energy needed to extract minerals from seawater to deposit as solid limestone. These are the ocean’s most biodiverse ecosystem. The islands perched on them include many entire nations, and reefs provide land, food, and protection to these as well as parts of many others. The diversity and abundance of other species, from microbial systems that are key to nutrient and energy transfer, to the large predatory fish, are similarly vast, and various components of the reef system have been researched intensively since the advent of scuba techniques. Today, however, local impacts and pressures from pollution to overfishing have degraded and damaged many, and more recently, warming of ocean water resulting from climate change is causing an existential threat to the survival of this rich ecosystem. Arresting the decline is no longer a scientific problem but one for society and governments, and failure to do so will result, indeed already is, in untold damage to human societies that depend on coral reefs.

Abstract Horkeimer and Adorno, and later Lynn White Jr, blame the anti-animist strain in Western Christianity, its origination of the scientific and industrial revolutions, and the European Enlightenment, as the cultural roots of the ecological crisis. But evidence shows there is no necessary connection between animism and care for other kind. I propose that a more fruitful approach is to reconsider the post-Reformation and scientific eschewal of agency in nonhuman beings and ecosystems such as forests, rivers, and the oceans. Rediscovering the “agency of the others” is also essential as a means to resolve the ecological crisis, since humans alone cannot restore or “save” the Earth from the systemic effects of 200 years of industrial pollution and destruction of resilient biodiverse habitats. Christian eschatological hope has valuable resources for this approach including evidence that in the lives of the saints new friendships were formed between humans and other animals. Analogously, recent developments in ecological restoration and “rewilding” indicate a new peaceable partnership between humans and other kind and, in the light of Christian messianism, and the “theory of hope,” may be said to anticipate a wider ecological reconciliation between humans and other kind.

AbstractLagoons are a common feature of the low-lying West African coastline. These lagoons are resource-rich and biodiverse. The small-scale fishing communities, which border them, are dependent on the resources and ecosystem services for their livelihoods and well-being. Climate change has had significant and diverse effects on both the lagoons and their surrounding communities. Sea level rise has caused erosion of the coast and increased the risk of floods. Changes to rainfall patterns have caused shifts in lagoon ecosystems and physical cycles. Of particular relevance to lagoon fishing communities is the fluctuation in quantity and distribution of fish catch that they rely upon for economic livelihood. Understanding the vulnerability of these communities to the effects of climate change is critical to supporting and developing successful adaptations. Using a case study from Ghana, sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) and vulnerability framework are used to characterize the community vulnerability, giving insight into the temporal and spatial dynamics of vulnerability and how subsections of the community may be identified and prioritized for adaptation interventions. A scalar analysis of the relevant coastal and environmental frameworks and policy to support climate change adaptation in coastal communities reveals the common challenges in implementing adaptation interventions and strategies in the region. A policy gap exists between high level, institutional coastal, and climate directives and implementation of climate adaptations at the local level. That gap might be bridged by a participatory approach that places coastal communities at the center of creating and enacting climate change adaptations.

AbstractThe Colombian Pacific region is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, but several anthropic pressures threaten its ecosystems and the ethnic groups who live there. Since the colonial era, the region has experienced two different key strategies of landscape appropriation: (1) diversification of activities in the landscape; and (2) specialisation focusing on a few landscape products. These two strategies fall at opposite ends of a modified continuum over time, including a range of intermediate situations that combine elements of the diversified and specialised strategies. The first strategy is characteristic of Afro-descendant communities, based on harmony with nature and favoring human well-being, while providing multiple ecosystem services and cultural or spiritual values.In this context, this chapter reviews the relationship of Afro-descendants with their environment in the Colombian Pacific region, taking as an example the San Marcos locality. Through interviews with key informants and participant observation, we investigate the productive and extractive practices in San Marcos. Results show that the appropriation strategy combines different sources of income. This denotes a great local ecological knowledge geared to maintenance of biodiversity. Despite Law 70 (1993) stipulating Afro-descendant communities to have guaranteed autonomy and the right to collectively manage their ancestral lands, this socio-ecological production landscape is endangered due to pressures from the dominant society towards conversion to a specialised strategy. Finally, we also analyse “transformative change” in the context of governance of San Marcos. Such change could guide a profound transformation in conservation strategies based on a fundamental reorientation of human values.

AbstractLagoons are a common feature of the low-lying West African coastline. These lagoons are resource-rich and biodiverse. The small-scale fishing communities, which border them, are dependent on the resources and ecosystem services for their livelihoods and well-being. Climate change has had significant and diverse effects on both the lagoons and their surrounding communities. Sea level rise has caused erosion of the coast and increased the risk of floods. Changes to rainfall patterns have caused shifts in lagoon ecosystems and physical cycles. Of particular relevance to lagoon fishing communities is the fluctuation in quantity and distribution of fish catch that they rely upon for economic livelihood. Understanding the vulnerability of these communities to the effects of climate change is critical to supporting and developing successful adaptations. Using a case study from Ghana, sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) and vulnerability framework are used to characterize the community vulnerability, giving insight into the temporal and spatial dynamics of vulnerability and how subsections of the community may be identified and prioritized for adaptation interventions. A scalar analysis of the relevant coastal and environmental frameworks and policy to support climate change adaptation in coastal communities reveals the common challenges in implementing adaptation interventions and strategies in the region. A policy gap exists between high level, institutional coastal, and climate directives and implementation of climate adaptations at the local level. That gap might be bridged by a participatory approach that places coastal communities at the center of creating and enacting climate change adaptations.

Insect pollinators are a rich and diverse group of species that have coevolved with plants to create biodiverse and productive landscapes that support ecosystem services. Bees, beetles, flies, butterflies, moths, and even ants participating in moving pollen within and between flowers, assisting the reproduction of more than 80% of all flowering plants. The value of insect pollinators to ecosystems and economies is both large and immeasurable. One of three bites of food eaten is pollinated, and countless raw materials and natural products are the result of the visitation of flowers by insects. Yet, these keystone species face survival challenges driven by habitat loss, pests, disease, pesticides, and climate change. Conservation, restoration, and management seek to build back resilience into these systems, without which our world would be unrecognizable.