Suchergebnisse

Die Auswirkungen des globalen Wandel gefährden die Biodiversität und das Funktionieren der Ökosysteme. In dieser Studie wurden die Auswirkungen von Klimawandel, Landnutzungswandel und Einfuhr von nichteinheimischen Arten auf die Verbreitung von Pflanzen analysiert. Mit Hilfe von Art-Verbreitungsmodellen konnte beschrieben werden, dass unter Klima- und Landnutzungszenarien die Verbreitung vieler Arten in Deutschland zurückgeht, während sich südeuropäische Arten nach Norden ausbreiten können. Der Invasionserfolg von eingeführten Zierpflanzen in Deutschland war größer, wenn die Arten häufig angepflanzt wurden und eine breite ökologische Nische hatten. Die Vorhersagefehler der Art-Verbreitungsmodelle waren von den Merkmalen der modellierten Arten und von den Eigenschaften der Kartierungseinheit abhängig. Nur mit Rücksicht auf diese Fehler ist es möglich, die Auswirkungen des globalen Wandels auf die Verbreitung von Arten verlässlich zu beschreiben und negative Auswirkungen zu minimieren.

Wildlife disease is an emerging threat to biodiversity. The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which causes the disease chytridiomycosis, has been documented in over 500 amphibian species globally. Understanding conditions under which amphibians are vulnerable to Bd is important for evaluating species risk and developing surveillance strategies. Here, we investigate the spatial distribution of Bd infection in the ephemeral pond-breeding yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata, a species of high conservation concern in the European Union. We sampled 550 toads from 60 ponds in a traditional agricultural landscape in Southern Transylvania, Romania. Overall, Bd prevalence was low in B.variegata, but infected toads were widely dispersed through the landscape and were found in a quarter of all sampled ephemeral ponds. At the pond level, increased Bd occurrence was associated with short distances to perennial water sources and high forest cover. These findings suggest that perennial water sources may act as source habitat for Bd, with amphibian movements resulting in Bd spillover into ephemeral ponds. Increased Bd occurrence in ponds surrounded by high levels of forest cover is likely related to cooler and wetter conditions that are more favourable for Bd. Throughout the study landscape, patchy environmental suitability for Bd appears to restrict the pathogen to a subset of B.variegata habitat. Ephemeral ponds in open landscapes, without nearby perennial habitat, likely provide an environmental refuge from Bd, where the risk of infection is low. From a conservation perspective, these findings highlight the importance of maintaining ephemeral ponds in open landscapes, but these are currently threatened by land-use change.

Wildlife disease is an emerging threat to biodiversity. The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which causes the disease chytridiomycosis, has been documented in over 500 amphibian species globally. Understanding conditions under which amphibians are vulnerable to Bd is important for evaluating species risk and developing surveillance strategies. Here, we investigate the spatial distribution of Bd infection in the ephemeral pond-breeding yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata, a species of high conservation concern in the European Union. We sampled 550 toads from 60 ponds in a traditional agricultural landscape in Southern Transylvania, Romania. Overall, Bd prevalence was low in B.variegata, but infected toads were widely dispersed through the landscape and were found in a quarter of all sampled ephemeral ponds. At the pond level, increased Bd occurrence was associated with short distances to perennial water sources and high forest cover. These findings suggest that perennial water sources may act as source habitat for Bd, with amphibian movements resulting in Bd spillover into ephemeral ponds. Increased Bd occurrence in ponds surrounded by high levels of forest cover is likely related to cooler and wetter conditions that are more favourable for Bd. Throughout the study landscape, patchy environmental suitability for Bd appears to restrict the pathogen to a subset of B.variegata habitat. Ephemeral ponds in open landscapes, without nearby perennial habitat, likely provide an environmental refuge from Bd, where the risk of infection is low. From a conservation perspective, these findings highlight the importance of maintaining ephemeral ponds in open landscapes, but these are currently threatened by land-use change.

Current sustainability challenges demand approaches that acknowledge a plurality of human-nature interactions and worldviews, for which biocultural approaches are considered appropriate and timely. This systematic review analyses the application of biocultural approaches to sustainability in scientific journal articles published between 1990 and 2018 through a mixed methods approach combining qualitative content analysis and quantitative multivariate methods. The study identifies seven distinct biocultural lenses, that is, different ways of understanding and applying biocultural approaches, which to different degrees consider the key aspects of sustainability science-inter- and transdisciplinarity, social justice and normativity. The review suggests that biocultural approaches in sustainability science need to move from describing how nature and culture are co-produced to co-producing knowledge for sustainability solutions, and in so doing, better account for questions of power, gender and transformations, which has been largely neglected thus far. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. ; Peer reviewed

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape.

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape.