Community-level enhancements of biodiversity and ecosystem services |
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Authors: | Stephen J Morreale and Kristi L Sullivan |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Organismal Biology, Division of Zoology and Functional Anatomy, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria;(2) Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK;(3) Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), Department of Environmental Economics, Szent Istv?n University, P?ter K?roly u.1., 2100 G?d?ll?, Hungary;(4) Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands;(5) Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, and Centre for Agricultural Biodiversity, Faculty of Agrisciences, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa;(6) Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai St. 40, Tartu, 51005, Estonia |
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Abstract: | A common management technique for preserving and maintaining biodiversity is the establishment of large refuges and preserves.
Although extensive sanctuaries can provide crucial protection for many organisms and ecosystems, they cannot fulfill all the
needs of regional conservation. An alternative to a few large refuges is to create many different habitats across the landscape
that enhance and improve local and regional biodiversity and provide immediate benefits to nearby communities in the form
of ecosystem services. Furthermore, these can all be initiated and achieved by individuals or communities. Some key landscape
enhancements can be undertaken on a local level: the creation or expansion of small wooded areas, windbreaks, or hedgerows;
the construction of small wetlands; and the release of some lands from heavy pressure for the reestablishment of natural ecological
processes, namely, the natural accumulation of woody and other organic materials. Newly created ecosystems can be inoculated
at the outset with soil biota such as seed banks, microbes, fungi, and organic material that can accelerate ecological functioning
and balance. In addition to increasing much local and regional biodiversity, locally enhanced areas can provide fuel, plant
and animal food and medicinal products, and agroforestry products directly to the nearby community. These small ecological
oases can serve as nesting and overwintering sites for numerous pollinators that are hugely beneficial to agricultural production.
Moreover, several ecosystem enhancements may contribute positively to local and regional hydrologic cycles and prevent prolonged
droughts. Enhancements to local landscapes can take on many forms. We believe that any changes that increase structural complexity
in natural systems almost certainly lead to increases in local biological complexity. In addition, wider landscape level considerations,
such as corridors and connectivity of populations, can be integrated on a broader scale to improve regional biodiversity and
ecosystem services. Small landscape enhancements undoubtedly cannot provide for all conservation needs, but they can greatly
increase widespread biodiversity, restore local ecosystem services, and can be used to complement the relatively few larger
parks. |
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