Analyzing the relative importance of habitat quantity and quality for boosting pollinator populations in agricultural landscapes

To increase pollinator populations, international policy targets minimum levels of seminatural habitat cover, but it is unknown whether improving the quality of existing habitats could bring similar benefits without the need of reducing cropland area. Using data we collected in 26 Italian agricultural landscapes during the entire flying season, we explored the relative importance of habitat quantity (seminatural habitat cover) and quality (flower availability) on pollinator densities in seminatural habitats. We obtained transect-based counts and estimated the effect of habitat quantity (proportion of seminatural habitat) and quality (flower cover and richness) on wild bee and hoverfly densities. We used the relationships revealed in the data to simulate pollinator population sizes in landscapes with varying habitat quantity and quality. Wild bee densities were only related to flower availability, whereas hoverfly densities were additionally related to seminatural habitat cover. We found that in complex agricultural landscapes (above 15% seminatural habitat cover), improving habitat quality increased pollinator populations more effectively than increasing habitat quantity. However, increasing habitat quantity was by far the most effective approach for boosting pollinator populations in simple landscapes.

Lessons from Ethiopian coffee landscapes for global conservation in a post-wild world

The reality for conservation of biodiversity across our planet is that all ecosystems are modified by humans in some way or another. Thus, biodiversity conservation needs to be implemented in multifunctional landscapes. In this paper we use a fascinating coffee-dominated landscape in southwest Ethiopia as our lens to derive general lessons for biodiversity conservation in a post-wild world. Considering a hierarchy of scales from genes to multi-species interactions and social-ecological system contexts, we focus on (i) threats to the genetic diversity of crop wild relatives, (ii) the mechanisms behind trade-offs between biodiversity and agricultural yields, (iii) underexplored species interactions suppressing pest and disease levels, (iv) how the interactions of climate change and land-use change sometimes provide opportunities for restoration, and finally, (v) how to work closely with stakeholders to identify scenarios for sustainable development. The story on how the ecology and evolution of coffee within its indigenous distribution shape biodiversity conservation from genes to social-ecological systems can inspire us to view other landscapes with fresh eyes. The ubiquitous presence of human-nature interactions demands proactive, creative solutions to foster biodiversity conservation not only in remote protected areas but across entire landscapes inhabited by people.

Reassessing science communication for effective farmland biodiversity conservation

Integrating biodiversity conservation into agriculture is a pressing challenge promoted by conservationists. Although biodiversity can also provide important benefits to farmers, the adoption of biodiversity-enhancing measures is lagging behind the scientific evidence. This may partially be related to the way scientists position themselves. If scientists do not convincingly communicate about the implications of their evidence, other interested stakeholders will drive the conversations. To increase societal impact, scientists must understand the complex communication environment and take an informed and strategic position. We describe the prevailing conservation and farming narratives, highlighting how the term 'biodiversity' can be used to start dialogues between parties with conflicting demands and exemplifying how scientists can build effective narratives.

Body-size-dependent effects of landscape-level resource energetics on pollinator abundance in woodland remnants

Land use change alters floral resource availability, thereby contributing to declines in important pollinators. However, the severity of land use impact varies by species, influenced by factors such as dispersal ability and resource specialization, both of which can correlate with body size. Here. we test whether floral resource availability in the surrounding landscape (the 'matrix') influences bee species' abundance in isolated remnant woodlands, and whether this effect varies with body size. We sampled quantitative flower-visitation networks within woodland remnants and quantified floral energy resources (nectar and pollen calories) available to each bee species both within the woodland and the matrix. Bee abundance in woodland increased with floral energy resources in the surrounding matrix, with strongest effects on larger-bodied species. Our findings suggest important but size-dependent effects of declining matrix floral resources on the persistence of bees in remnant woodlands, highlighting the need to incorporate landscape-level floral resources in conservation planning for pollinators in threatened natural habitats.

Unveiling the resistance of native weed communities: insights for managing invasive weed species in disturbed environments

Weed communities influence the dynamics of ecosystems, particularly in disturbed environments where anthropogenic activities often result in higher pollution. Understanding the dynamics existing between native weed communities and invasive species in disturbed environments is crucial for effective management and normal ecosystem functioning. Recognising the potential resistance of native weed communities to invasion in disturbed environments can help identify suitable native plants for restoration operations. This review aims to investigate the adaptations exhibited by native and non-native weeds that may affect invasions within disturbed environments. Factors such as ecological characteristics, altered soil conditions, and adaptations of native weed communities that potentially confer a competitive advantage relative to non-native or invasive weeds in disturbed environments are analysed. Moreover, the roles of biotic interactions such as competition, mutualistic relationships, and allelopathy in shaping the invasion resistance of native weed communities are described. Emphasis is given to the consideration of the resistance of native weeds as a key factor in invasion dynamics that provides insights for conservation and restoration efforts in disturbed environments. Additionally, this review underscores the need for further research to unravel the underlying mechanisms and to devise targeted management strategies. These strategies aim to promote the resistance of native weed communities and mitigate the negative effects of invasive weed species in disturbed environments. By delving deeper into these insights, we can gain an understanding of the ecological dynamics within disturbed ecosystems and develop valuable insights for the management of invasive species, and to restore long-term ecosystem sustainability.

A case for stronger integration of physical landscape processes in conservation science and practice

I argue that the dynamic nature of contemporary, landscape-shaping (geomorphic) processes deserves more consideration in conservation science and practice. In an analysis of a sample of fundamental terms related to geomorphology and area-based conservation in the Web of Science, I found that the terms co-occurred in <2% of the analyzed entries (titles, abstracts, and keywords) from 2000 to 2020. This result is indicative of the rather peripheral attention that, more broadly, landscape-shaping processes seem to receive in the conservation literature. Among conservation scientists and practitioners, landforms that define the physical structure of habitat are often perceived as largely static, whereas the consideration of their dynamic adjustments to geomorphic processes is often limited to extreme events. I use examples derived from river-floodplain environments to illustrate strong, multifaceted, and reciprocal interactions between biota and various erosional and depositional processes. These ubiquitous interdependencies clearly demonstrate that geomorphic processes are an integral part of ecosystem dynamics at time scales relevant for conservation. Crucially, erosional and depositional processes modulate many environmental impacts of past and current anthropogenic activities. I conclude that the absence of a more explicit and widespread consideration of geomorphic processes in conservation science and practice is surprising and detrimental to their effectiveness. I call for bolstered efforts among the conservation and geoscience communities to better integrate landscape dynamics within the field of conservation. The rise of the ecosystem-based and social-ecological systems approaches to conservation and the growth of interdisciplinary geoscience branches (e.g., biogeomorphology, ecohydraulics, and geoconservation) will facilitate such an integration.

Habitat remediation followed by managed connectivity reduces unwanted changes in evolutionary trajectory of high extirpation risk populations

As we continue to convert green spaces into roadways and buildings, connectivity between populations and biodiversity will continue to decline. In threatened and endangered species, this trend is particularly concerning because the cessation of immigration can cause increased inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity, leading to lower adaptability and higher extirpation probabilities in these populations. Unfortunately, monitoring changes in genetic diversity from management actions such as assisted migration and predicting the extent of introduced genetic variation that is needed to prevent extirpation is difficult and costly in situ. Therefore, we designed an agent-based model to link population-wide genetic variability and the influx of unique alleles via immigration to population stability and extirpation outcomes. These models showed that management of connectivity can be critical in restoring at-risk populations and reducing the effects of inbreeding depression. However, the rescued populations were more similar to the migrant source population (average FST range 0.05-0.10) compared to the historical recipient population (average FST range 0.23-0.37). This means that these management actions not only recovered the populations from the effects of inbreeding depression, but they did so in a way that changed the evolutionary trajectory that was predicted and expected for these populations prior to the population crash. This change was most extreme in populations with the smallest population sizes, which are representative of critically endangered species that could reasonably be considered candidates for restored connectivity or translocation strategies. Understanding how these at-risk populations change in response to varying management interventions has broad implications for the long-term adaptability of these populations and can improve future efforts for protecting locally adapted allele complexes when connectivity is restored.

Ethnobotany and diversity of Citrus spp. (Rutaceae) as a source of "Kem-kem" traditional medicine used among the Karo sub-ethnic in North Sumatra, Indonesia

The Karo sub-ethnic is one of five Batak sub-ethnicities in the Karo Regency, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. They are famous for their local knowledge about the traditional use of medicinal plants to treat various diseases. The "Kem-kem" traditional medicine is one of the traditional healing practices that involve using plants passed down through generations from their ancestors. One of the plant genus group in the Rutaceae family utilized in the traditional "Kem-kem" healing practice is a citrus known as "Rimo". This study aims to document the local knowledge about the diversity of Citrus spp. as Kem-kem's herbal medicinal plant. This study was conducted from April to July 2023 in the Kabanjahe and Berastagi districts, Karo Regency, North Sumatra. Data was collected using interviews with traditional healers, herbal medicine vendors, and direct observations at traditional markets, involving a total of 8 Citrus spp. The Karo uses "Rimo" with different local names as sources of traditional medicinal ingredients in practicing "Kem-kem". There are 15 local names comprising eight species of Citrus. Four are hybrids, i.e., Citrus x aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle, Citrus × aurantium L, Citrus × junos Siebold ex Yu.Tanaka, and Citrus × taitensis Risso. Two of the remaining species are recognized in infraspecific rank, one variety (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis (Hoola van Nooten) Swingle) and one form (Citrus × aurantium f. deliciosa (Ten.) M.Hiroe). They were used as material sources for Kem-kem traditional medicine to treat at least nine health problems. There are two species with six local names included in the Least Concern (LC) category, namely C. medica (Rimo Gawang, Rimo Hantuantu, Rimo Kayu), C. medica var. sarcodactylis (Rimo Kuku Harimau), and C. medica (Rimo Telur Buaya), C. maxima (Burm.) Merr. (Rimo Malem). Nine local names are included in the Not Evaluated (NE) category, namely C. × junos (Rimo Kejaren), C. × taitensis (Rimo Jungga), C. × aurantium f. deliciosa (Rimo Keling), C. × aurantium (Rimo Kersik), Citrus hystrix DC. (Rimo Mukur), C. × taitensis (Rimo Puraga), C. × aurantium (Rimo Kalele), Citrus swinglei Burkill ex Harms (Rimo Pagar), and C. x aurantiifolia (Rimo Bunga). Rimo Kejaren (C. × junos) is a species that has the most benefits.

Traditional paddy field-supported bird diversity ignored by forest-focused protection of ecosystems in tropical China

Biodiversity in tropical regions is facing threats from agricultural expansion and intensification. Therefore, a promising future for local ecosystem conservation depends not only on traditional protected areas but also on well-managed agricultural landscapes. In this study, we compared the ecological traits of bird species in paddy fields outside of protected areas and natural forests within the protected areas of Xishuangbanna, southern China. There were 148 species in total, of which 98 were in forests and 55 in paddy fields. The abundance of birds in paddy fields was 176 per kilometer, which was much higher than the 60 per kilometer in forests. There were 26 law-protected species observed, half of which were found in each habitat. The main functional groups living in nature reserves are invertivores and frugivores, whereas paddy fields provide habitats for aquatic predator and granivore bird species. Our results indicate that paddy fields act as a refuge for wetland and grassland bird species when natural wetlands disappear, highlighting the urgent need to focus more on wetland protection and eco-friendly agricultural schemes at the landscape scale in future conservation policies.

Transformation scenarios towards multifunctional landscapes: A multi-criteria land-use allocation model applied to Jambi Province, Indonesia

In tropical regions, shifting from forests and traditional agroforestry to intensive plantations generates conflicts between human welfare (farmers' demands and societal needs) and environmental protection. Achieving sustainability in this transformation will inevitably involve trade-offs between multiple ecological and socioeconomic functions. To address these trade-offs, our study used a new methodological approach allowing the identification of transformation scenarios, including theoretical landscape compositions that satisfy multiple ecological functions (i.e., structural complexity, microclimatic conditions, organic carbon in plant biomass, soil organic carbon and nutrient leaching losses), and farmers needs (i.e., labor and input requirements, total income to land, and return to land and labor) while accounting for the uncertain provision of these functions and having an actual potential for adoption by farmers. We combined a robust, multi-objective optimization approach with an iterative search algorithm allowing the identification of ecological and socioeconomic functions that best explain current land-use decisions. The model then optimized the theoretical land-use composition that satisfied multiple ecological and socioeconomic functions. Between these ends, we simulated transformation scenarios reflecting the transition from current land-use composition towards a normative multifunctional optimum. These transformation scenarios involve increasing the number of optimized socioeconomic or ecological functions, leading to higher functional richness (i.e., number of functions). We applied this method to smallholder farms in the Jambi Province, Indonesia, where traditional rubber agroforestry, rubber plantations, and oil palm plantations are the main land-use systems. Given the currently practiced land-use systems, our study revealed short-term returns to land as the principal factor in explaining current land-use decisions. Fostering an alternative composition that satisfies additional socioeconomic functions would require minor changes ("low-hanging fruits"). However, satisfying even a single ecological indicator (e.g., reduction of nutrient leaching losses) would demand substantial changes in the current land-use composition ("moonshot"). This would inevitably lead to a profit decline, underscoring the need for incentives if the societal goal is to establish multifunctional agricultural landscapes. With many oil palm plantations nearing the end of their production cycles in the Jambi province, there is a unique window of opportunity to transform agricultural landscapes.

Land-use intensification dominates China's land provisioning services: From the perspective of land system science

A pressing challenge to global sustainability is meeting the escalating needs of a growing population while safeguarding land resources from degradation. In recent decades, China's rapid growth, expanding population, urban sprawl, and diminishing high-quality farmland have presented a compelling case suitable for exploring solutions and challenges related to this critical issue. Therefore, there is an urgent need for comprehensive and detailed information regarding land systems. Here, we developed the first fine-scale dataset of the China Land System at a spatial resolution of 1 km, covering the period from 2000 to 2015. By leveraging this comprehensive land information, we identified five primary types of land systems and their respective subsystems, thereby delineating distinct patterns of human-environmental interaction. Land system dynamics followed diverse developmental trajectories characterized by incremental shifts toward more functionally centralized systems. Land use intensification played a significant role in increasing the population capacity and food production in China, contributing nearly 93.94% and 84.99%, respectively. In contrast, land cover changes accounted for only 4.69% and 11.43%, respectively. These findings underscore the tendency of previous studies to overestimate the impact of land cover change and underestimate the influence of land use intensification in meeting the growing demands of land-based production. This study emphasizes the importance of transcending traditional land cover-based approaches and integrating land systems into land representation and global land change scenario simulations to promote sustainability.

Overcoming confusion and stigma in habitat fragmentation research

Anthropogenic habitat loss is widely recognized as a primary environmental concern. By contrast, debates on the effects of habitat fragmentation persist. To facilitate overcoming these debates, here we: (i) review the state of the literature on habitat fragmentation, finding widespread confusion and stigma; (ii) identify consequences of this for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management; and (iii) suggest ways in which research can move forward to resolve these problems. Confusion is evident from the 25 most-cited fragmentation articles published between 2017 and 2021. These articles use five distinct concepts of habitat fragmentation, only one of which clearly distinguishes habitat fragmentation from habitat area and other factors ('fragmentation per se'). Stigmatization is evident from our new findings that fragmentation papers are more charged with negative sentiments when compared to papers from other subfields in the environmental sciences, and that fragmentation papers with more negative sentiments are cited more. While most empirical studies of habitat fragmentation per se find neutral or positive effects on species and biodiversity outcomes, which implies that small habitat patches have a high cumulative value, confusion and stigma in reporting and discussing such results have led to suboptimal habitat protection policy. For example, government agencies, conservation organizations, and land trusts impose minimum habitat patch sizes on habitat protection. Given the high cumulative value of small patches, such policies mean that many opportunities for conservation are being missed. Our review highlights the importance of reducing confusion and stigma in habitat fragmentation research. To this end, we propose implementing study designs in which multiple sample landscapes are selected across independent gradients of habitat amount and fragmentation, measured as patch density. We show that such designs are possible for forest habitat across Earth's biomes. As such study designs are adopted, and as language becomes more precise, we expect that confusion and stigma in habitat fragmentation research will dissipate. We also expect important breakthroughs in understanding the situations where effects of habitat fragmentation per se are neutral, positive, or negative, and the reasons for these differences. Ultimately this will improve efficacy of area-based conservation policies, to the benefit of biodiversity and people.

Effects of agriculture and nature reserves on avian behavior in northwestern Costa Rica

Behavioral changes are often animals' first responses to environmental change and may act as a bellwether for population viability. Nonetheless, most studies of habitat conversion focus on changes in species occurrences or abundances. We analyzed >14,000 behavioral observations across 55 bird species in communities in northwestern Costa Rica to determine how land use affects reproductive, foraging, and other passive kinds of behaviors not associated with either foraging or reproduction. Specifically, we quantified differences in behaviors between farms, privately owned forests, and protected areas and implemented a novel modeling framework to account for variation in detection among behaviors. This framework entailed estimating abundances of birds performing different behaviors while allowing detection probabilities of individuals to vary by behavior. Birds were 1.2 times more likely to exhibit reproductive behaviors in forest than in agriculture and 1.5 times more likely to exhibit reproductive behaviors in protected areas than in private forests. Species were not always most abundant in the habitats where they were most likely to exhibit foraging or reproductive behaviors. Finally, species of higher conservation concern were less abundant in agriculture than in forest. Together, our results highlight the importance of behavioral analyses for elucidating the conservation value of different land uses.

Influence of microclimate and forest management on bat species faced with global change

Climate refugia, areas where climate is expected to remain relatively stable, can offer a near-term safe haven for species sensitive to warming temperatures and drought. Understanding the influence of temperature, moisture, and disturbance on sensitive species is critical during this time of rapid climate change. Coastal habitats can serve as important refugia. Many of these areas consist of working forestlands, and there is a growing recognition that conservation efforts worldwide must consider the habitat value of working lands, in addition to protected areas, to effectively manage large landscapes that support biodiversity. The sensitivity of forest bats to climate and habitat disturbance makes them a useful indicator taxon. We tested how microclimate and forest management influence habitat use for 13 species of insectivorous bats in a large climate refugium in a global biodiversity hotspot. We examined whether bat activity during the summer dry season is greater in forests where coastal fog provides moisture and more stable temperatures across both protected mature stands and those regularly logged. Acoustic monitoring was conducted at a landscape scale with 20 study sites, and generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the influence of habitat variables. Six species were positively associated with warmer nighttime temperature, and 5 species had a negative relationship with humidity or a positive relationship with climatic moisture deficit. Our results suggest that these mammals may have greater climate adaptive capacity than expected, and, for now, that habitat use may be more related to optimal foraging conditions than to avoidance of warming temperatures and drought. We also determined that 12 of the 13 regionally present bat species were regularly detected in commercial timberland stands. Because forest bats are highly mobile, forage over long distances, and frequently change roosts, the stewardship of working forests must be addressed to protect these species.

Bird species responses to rangeland management in relation to their traits: Rio de la Plata Grasslands as a case study

Areas used for livestock production and dominated by native grasses represent a unique opportunity to reconcile biodiversity conservation and livestock production. However, limited knowledge of individual species' responses to rangeland management restricts our capacity to design grazing practices that favor endangered species and other priority birds. In this work, we applied Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (HMSC) to study individual species responses, as well as the influence of traits on such responses, to variables related to rangeland management using birds of the Rio de la Plata Grasslands as a case study. Based on presence-absence data collected in 454 paddocks across 46 ranches we inferred the response of 69 species considering imperfect detection. This degree of detail fills a major gap in rangeland management, as species-level responses can be used to achieve targeted conservation goals other than maximizing richness or abundance. We found that artificial pastures had an overall negative impact on many bird species, whereas the presence of tussocks had a positive effect, including all threatened species. Grassland specialists were in general sensitive to grass height and tended to respond positively to tussocks but negatively to tree cover. Controlling grass height via adjustments in stocking rate can be a useful tool to favor grassland specialists. To favor a wide range of bird species in ranches, a mosaic of short and tall native grasslands with patches of tussocks and trees is desirable. We also found that species-specific responses were modulated by their traits: small-sized birds responded positively to tussocks and tree cover while large species responded negatively to increasing grass height. Ground foragers preferred short grass while birds that scarcely use this stratum were not affected by grass height. Results on the influence of traits on bird responses are an important novelty in relation to previous work in rangelands and potentially increase our predicting capacity and model transferability across grassland regions.

The importance of worldwide linguistic and cultural diversity for climate change resilience

Local minority languages and dialects, through the local knowledge and expertise associated with them, can play major roles in analysing climate change and biodiversity loss, in facilitating community awareness of environmental crises and in setting up locally-adapted resilience and sustainability strategies. While the situation and contribution of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples are of emblematic importance, the issue of the relationships between cultural and linguistic diversity and environmental awareness and protection does not solely concern peripheral highly-specialized communities in specific ecosystems of the Global South, but constitutes a worldwide challenge, throughout all of the countries, whatever their geographical location, their economical development, or their political status. Environmental emergency and climate change resilience should therefore raise international awareness on the need to promote the survival and development of minority languages and dialects and to take into account their creativity and expertise in relation to the dynamics of their local environments.

Designing mosaic landscapes for sustainable outcome: Evaluating land-use options on ecosystem service provisioning in southwestern Ghana

The landscape in southwestern Ghana faces rampant modification due to socio-economic activities, posing threats to ecosystem service provision and environmental sustainability. Addressing these threats involves empowering land-use actors to design landscapes that offer multiple benefits concurrently. This study employs a geodesign framework, integrating participatory ecosystem service assessment and spatial simulations. This geodesign framework aims to design the landscape in a collaborative manner in a way that supports multiple benefits concurrently, mitigating the threats posed by landscape modification. Reflecting on local land-use perceptions during a workshop, we developed land-use options and land management strategies based on selected land-cover types. We identified urban greens, open space restoration, rubber mixed-stands, mangrove restoration, selective-cutting land preparation, soil conservation, and relay cropping as land-use options to target selected land-cover types of shrubland, cropland, smallholder rubber, smallholder palm, wetland, and settlement. The land management strategies translated into landscape scenarios based on local need conditions. We generated the local need conditions which translated into the landscape scenarios by reflecting on the location of land-cover types, 'change-effect' conditions within rubber, settlement, and cropland, and 'no-change'conditions within cropland. Results indicate synergies between the created landscape scenarios and ecosystem service provisioning, with 'no-change' within cropland providing the highest synergy and 'change-effect' within rubber providing the least synergy. Spatial modeling of local perceptions forms the novelty of this study, as the fusion of participatory assessments and spatial modeling allows for a more holistic understanding of the landscape, its services, and the potential implications of different management strategies. The geodesign framework facilitated the design of the complex heterogeneous landscape to visualize possibilities of maximizing multiple benefits and can be used for future planning on the landscape.

Traditional soil fertility management ameliorates climate change impacts on traditional Andean crops within smallholder farming systems

Global changes, particularly rising temperatures, threaten food security in smallholder mountain communities by impacting the suitability of cultivation areas for many crops. Land-use intensification, associated with agrochemical use and tillage, threatens soil health and overall agroecosystem resilience. In the Andean region, farmers often cultivate crops at multiple elevations. Warming climates have led to a shift in cultivation upslope, but this is not feasible in many areas. Traditional soil fertility management practices together with a focus on traditional (orphan) crops offers promise to cope with rapid climate warming in the region. To understand the impacts of warming and changing nutrient management, we established two side-by-side experiments using the traditional Andean crops Oxalis tuberosa (Oca) and Lupinus mutabilis (Tarwi) at three elevations, each with two fertility treatments (organic and synthetic). Soil and climate data (i.e., temperature and precipitation) were collected throughout the growing season, and crop performance was evaluated through impacts on yield and other growth metrics (e.g., biomass, pest incidence). We used two-way ANOVA to assess the influence of site (elevation) and management type (organic vs. synthetic) on crop performance. Results indicated that warmer climates (i.e., lowest elevation) negatively impact the production and performance of O. tuberosa, but that organic fertilization (sheep manure) can help maintain crop yield and biomass production in warmer conditions relatively to synthetic nutrient inputs. In contrast, L. mutabilis showed accelerated growth in warmer conditions, but grain yield and biomass production were not significantly affected by site and showed no interaction with nutrient management. Our findings highlight that climate warming represents a serious threat to small-scale crop production in the Peruvian Andes and could cause severe declines in the production of locally important crops. Additionally, the continued reliance on traditional crops with organic inputs, instead of synthetic fertilizers, may help support agricultural productivity and resilience under climate change.

Maximum temperatures determine the habitat affiliations of North American mammals

Addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis requires identifying the winners and losers of global change. Species are often categorized based on how they respond to habitat loss; for example, species restricted to natural environments, those that most often occur in anthropogenic habitats, and generalists that do well in both. However, species might switch habitat affiliations across time and space: an organism may venture into human-modified areas in benign regions but retreat into thermally buffered forested habitats in areas with high temperatures. Here, we apply community occupancy models to a large-scale camera trapping dataset with 29 mammal species distributed over 2,485 sites across the continental United States, to ask three questions. First, are species' responses to forest and anthropogenic habitats consistent across continental scales? Second, do macroclimatic conditions explain spatial variation in species responses to land use? Third, can species traits elucidate which taxa are most likely to show climate-dependent habitat associations? We found that all species exhibited significant spatial variation in how they respond to land-use, tending to avoid anthropogenic areas and increasingly use forests in hotter regions. In the hottest regions, species occupancy was 50% higher in forested compared to open habitats, whereas in the coldest regions, the trend reversed. Larger species with larger ranges, herbivores, and primary predators were more likely to change their habitat affiliations than top predators, which consistently affiliated with high forest cover. Our findings suggest that climatic conditions influence species' space-use and that maintaining forest cover can help protect mammals from warming climates.

Reimagining infrastructure for a biodiverse future

Civil infrastructure will be essential to face the interlinked existential threats of climate change and rising resource demands while ensuring a livable Anthropocene for all. However, conventional infrastructure planning largely neglects the contributions and maintenance of Earth's ecological life support systems, which provide irreplaceable services supporting human well-being. The stability and performance of these services depend on biodiversity, but conventional infrastructure practices, narrowly focused on controlling natural capital, have inadvertently degraded biodiversity while perpetuating social inequities. Here, we envision a new infrastructure paradigm wherein biodiversity and ecosystem services are a central objective of civil engineering. In particular, we reimagine infrastructure practice such that 1) ecosystem integrity and species conservation are explicit objectives from the outset of project planning; 2) infrastructure practices integrate biodiversity into diverse project portfolios along a spectrum from conventional to nature-based solutions and natural habitats; 3) ecosystem functions reinforce and enhance the performance and lifespan of infrastructure assets; and 4) civil engineering promotes environmental justice by counteracting legacies of social inequity in infrastructure development and nature conservation. This vision calls for a fundamental rethinking of the standards, practices, and mission of infrastructure development agencies and a broadening of scope for conservation science. We critically examine the legal and professional precedents for this paradigm shift, as well as the moral and economic imperatives for manifesting equitable infrastructure planning that mainstreams biodiversity and nature's benefits to people. Finally, we set an applied research agenda for supporting this vision and highlight financial, professional, and policy pathways for achieving it.

First-ever satellite tracking of Black Terns (Chlidonias niger): Insights into home range and habitat selection

Understanding animal movement across the annual cycle is critical for developing appropriate conservation plans, but the large size and high cost of tracking devices can limit the spatial and temporal resolution at which movement data can be collected, especially for small avian species. Furthermore, for species with low breeding site fidelity, the ability to obtain tracking data from small, archival tags is hindered by low recapture rates. We deployed satellite tracking devices on four adult Black Terns (Chlidonias niger), a declining waterbird with low site fidelity, to examine space use and selection of resources within individual breeding home ranges. We also provide a preliminary assessment of habitat use during fall stopover. We found that home ranges were extensive (mean 283.7 km2) and distances travelled from the nest substantially larger (up to 35 km) than previously thought (~2.5 km). Terns showed selection for wetlands and open water on the breeding grounds, but also showed selection for developed areas. This may reflect humans selecting similar landscape features for recreation and development as terns, and suggests that terns can tolerate the light degree of development (e.g. cottages, boat launches, etc.) within our study area. Despite a small sample size, this is the first study to track individual Black Terns at a high resolution with implications for conservation and wetland management practices relevant to the spatial scales at which habitat is used by the species.

Land use diversification may mitigate on-site land use impacts on mammal populations and assemblages

Land use is a major cause of biodiversity decline worldwide. Agricultural and forestry diversification measures, such as the inclusion of natural elements or diversified crop types, may reduce impacts on biodiversity. However, the extent to which such measures may compensate for the negative impacts of land use remains unknown. To fill that gap, we synthesised data from 99 studies that recorded mammal populations or assemblages in natural reference sites and in cropland and forest plantations, with or without diversification measures. We quantified the responses to diversification measures based on individual species abundance, species richness and assemblage intactness as quantified by the mean species abundance indicator. In cropland with natural elements, mammal species abundance and richness were, on average, similar to natural conditions, while in cropland without natural elements they were reduced by 28% and 34%, respectively. We found that mammal species richness was comparable between diversified forest plantations and natural reference sites, and 32% lower in plantations without natural elements. In both cropland and plantations, assemblage intactness was reduced compared with natural reference conditions, but the reduction was smaller if diversification measures were in place. In addition, we found that responses to land use were modified by species traits and environmental context. While habitat specialist populations were reduced in cropland without diversification and in forest plantations, habitat generalists benefited. Furthermore, assemblages were impacted more by land use in tropical regions and landscapes containing a larger share of (semi)natural habitat compared with temperate regions and more converted landscapes. Given that mammal assemblage intactness is reduced also when diversification measures are in place, special attention should be directed to species that suffer from land use impacts. That said, our results suggest potential for reconciling land use and mammal conservation, provided that the diversification measures do not compromise yield.

Agriculture and hot temperatures interactively erode the nest success of habitat generalist birds across the United States

Habitat conversion and climate change are fundamental drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide but are often analyzed in isolation. We used a continental-scale, decades-long database of more than 150,000 bird nesting attempts to explore how extreme heat affects avian reproduction in forests, grasslands, and agricultural and developed areas across the US. We found that in forests, extreme heat increased nest success, but birds nesting in agricultural settings were much less likely to successfully fledge young when temperatures reached anomalously high levels. Species that build exposed cup nests and species of higher conservation concern were particularly vulnerable to maximum temperature anomalies in agricultural settings. Finally, future projections suggested that ongoing climate change may exacerbate the negative effects of habitat conversion on avian nesting success, thereby compromising conservation efforts in human-dominated landscapes.

Modelling elephant corridors over two decades reveals opportunities for conserving connectivity across a large protected area network

Protected area (PA) connectivity is pivotal for the persistence of wide-ranging wildlife species, but is challenged by habitat loss and fragmentation. We analyzed habitat suitability and connectivity for the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) across PAs in south-western Tanzania in 2000, 2010, and 2019. We quantified land-use changes through remote sensing data; estimated habitat suitability through aerial survey data, remotely sensed variables and ensemble species distribution models; modelled least-cost corridors; identified the relative importance of each corridor for the connectivity of the PA network and potential bottlenecks over time through circuit theory; and validated corridors through local ecological knowledge and ground wildlife surveys. From 2000 to 2019, cropland increased from 7% to 13% in the region, with an average expansion of 634 km2 per year. Distance from cropland influenced elephant distribution models the most. Despite cropland expansion, the locations of the modelled elephant corridors (n = 10) remained similar throughout the survey period. Based on local ecological knowledge, nine of the modelled corridors were active, whereas one modelled corridor had been inactive since the 1970s. Based on circuit theory, we prioritize three corridors for PA connectivity. Key indicators of corridor quality varied over time, whereas elephant movement through some corridors appears to have become costlier over time. Our results suggest that, over the past two decades, functional connectivity across the surveyed landscape has largely persisted. Beyond providing crucial information for spatial prioritization of conservation actions, our approach highlights the importance of modeling functional connectivity over time and verifying corridor models with ground-truthed data.

Complementary ecosystem services from multiple land uses highlight the importance of tropical mosaic landscapes

Tropical agricultural landscapes often consist of a mosaic of different land uses, yet little is known about the spectrum of ecosystem service bundles and materials they provide to rural households. We interviewed 320 households on the different benefits received from prevalent land-use types in north-eastern Madagascar (old-growth forests, forest fragments, vanilla agroforests, woody fallows, herbaceous fallows, and rice paddies) in terms of ecosystem services and plant uses. Old-growth forests and forest fragments were reported as important for regulating services (e.g. water regulation), whilst fallow lands and vanilla agroforests as important for provisioning services (food, medicine, fodder). Households reported the usage of 285 plant species (56% non-endemics) and collected plants from woody fallows for varying purposes, whilst plants from forest fragments, predominantly endemics, were used for construction and weaving. Multiple land-use types are thus complementary for providing ecosystem services, with fallow lands being particularly important. Hence, balancing societal needs and conservation goals should be based on diversified and comprehensive land management.

Balancing the trade-offs between land productivity, labor productivity and labor intensity

Agricultural intensification, through increased yields, and raising incomes, through enhanced labor productivity, are two dimensions prioritized for sustainable agricultural development. Prioritizing these two outcomes leaves labor intensity as a hidden adjustment variable. Yet, when agriculture is mainstay and the prospects of labor absorption in other sectors are scarce, the density of agricultural employment is central for livelihoods. We revise relationships of land and labor productivity and labor intensity with farm size, using standardized data for 32 developing countries. We show that labor productivity increases with farm size, while land productivity and labor intensity decrease with farm size nonlinearly. Technical efficiency increases with farm size. We further systematize the evidence on how, beyond the farm level, local contexts can be pivotal in choosing how to prioritize the dimensions of the trade-off space. Our findings contribute to debates on the fate of small-scale farmers, and call for contextualized decisions.

Obstruction of biodiversity conservation by minimum patch size criteria

Minimum patch size criteria for habitat protection reflect the conservation principle that a single large (SL) patch of habitat has higher biodiversity than several small (SS) patches of the same total area (SL > SS). Nonetheless, this principle is often incorrect, and biodiversity conservation requires placing more emphasis on protection of large numbers of small patches (SS > SL). We used a global database reporting the abundances of species across hundreds of patches to assess the SL > SS principle in systems where small patches are much smaller than the typical minimum patch size criteria applied for biodiversity conservation (i.e., ∼85% of patches <100 ha). The 76 metacommunities we examined included 4401 species in 1190 patches. From each metacommunity, we resampled species-area accumulation curves to evaluate how biodiversity responded to habitat existing as a few large patches or as many small patches. Counter to the SL > SS principle and consistent with previous syntheses, species richness accumulated more rapidly when adding several small patches (45.2% SS > SL vs. 19.9% SL > SS) to reach the same cumulative area, even for the very small patches in our data set. Responses of taxa to habitat fragmentation differed, which suggests that when a given total area of habitat is to be protected, overall biodiversity conservation will be most effective if that habitat is composed of as many small patches as possible, plus a few large ones. Because minimum patch size criteria often require larger patches than the small patches we examined, our results suggest that such criteria hinder efforts to protect biodiversity.

Efficient agricultural drip irrigation inspired by fig leaf morphology

Irrigation is limited by water scarcity. Here, we show how a drip irrigation system inspired by the leaf of the fig tree Ficus religiosa (also known as the bodhi tree) can improve irrigation efficiency. The reverse curvature of the leaf regulates the convergence process of multiple water streams, while its long-tail apex allows for fast water drainage with the droplet separation centroid beyond the leaf apex. We explain why drip frequency increases after the break-up of contact line pinning at the apex tip by using scaling laws for drip volume and analyzing drainage dynamics. We build a drip irrigation emitter inspired by the bodhi leaf apex and compare the germination efficiency of wheat, cotton, and maize under different irrigation modes. These results show that the proposed bodhi-leaf-apex-mimetic (BLAM) drip irrigation can improve water saving while ensuring germination and seedling growth.

Landscape structure influences natural pest suppression in a rice agroecosystem

Agricultural landscapes are constantly changing as farmers adopt new production practices and respond to changing environmental conditions. Some of these changes alter landscape structure with impacts on natural pest control, pesticide use, and conservation of biodiversity. In rice agroecosystems the effect of landscape structure on natural enemies and pest suppression is often poorly understood. Here we investigate the effect of landscape composition and configuration on a key pest of rice, the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens). Using N. lugens as sentinel prey coupled with predator exclusions, we investigated landscape effects on herbivore suppression and rice grain yield at multiple spatial scales in two regions of Bangladesh. Ladybird beetles and spiders were the most abundant natural enemies of N. lugens with landscape effects observed at all scales on ladybird beetles. Specifically, ladybird beetles were positively influenced by road edges, and fallow land, while spiders were strongly influenced only by rice phenology. Predator exclusion cages showed that N. lugens abundance significantly increased in caged plots, reducing rice gain yield. We also used an estimated biocontrol service index that showed a significant positive relationship with landscape diversity and a significant negative impact on pest density and yield loss. These results suggest that promoting fallow lands and fragmented patches between rice fields could lead to more sustainable insect pest management in rice agroecosystems, potentially reducing the practice of prophylactic insecticide use.

Perspective: sustainability challenges, opportunities and solutions for long-term ecosystem observations

As interest in natural capital grows and society increasingly recognizes the value of biodiversity, we must discuss how ecosystem observations to detect changes in biodiversity can be sustained through collaboration across regions and sectors. However, there are many barriers to establishing and sustaining large-scale, fine-resolution ecosystem observations. First, comprehensive monitoring data on both biodiversity and possible anthropogenic factors are lacking. Second, some in situ ecosystem observations cannot be systematically established and maintained across locations. Third, equitable solutions across sectors and countries are needed to build a global network. Here, by examining individual cases and emerging frameworks, mainly from (but not limited to) Japan, we illustrate how ecological science relies on long-term data and how neglecting basic monitoring of our home planet further reduces our chances of overcoming the environmental crisis. We also discuss emerging techniques and opportunities, such as environmental DNA and citizen science as well as using the existing and forgotten sites of monitoring, that can help overcome some of the difficulties in establishing and sustaining ecosystem observations at a large scale with fine resolution. Overall, this paper presents a call to action for joint monitoring of biodiversity and anthropogenic factors, the systematic establishment and maintenance of in situ observations, and equitable solutions across sectors and countries to build a global network, beyond cultures, languages, and economic status. We hope that our proposed framework and the examples from Japan can serve as a starting point for further discussions and collaborations among stakeholders across multiple sectors of society. It is time to take the next step in detecting changes in socio-ecological systems, and if monitoring and observation can be made more equitable and feasible, they will play an even more important role in ensuring global sustainability for future generations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Detecting and attributing the causes of biodiversity change: needs, gaps and solutions'.

Biodiversity and pollination benefits trade off against profit in an intensive farming system

Agricultural expansion and intensification have boosted global food production but have come at the cost of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Biodiversity-friendly farming that boosts ecosystem services, such as pollination and natural pest control, is widely being advocated to maintain and improve agricultural productivity while safeguarding biodiversity. A vast body of evidence showing the agronomic benefits of enhanced ecosystem service delivery represent important incentives to adopt practices enhancing biodiversity. However, the costs of biodiversity-friendly management are rarely taken into account and may represent a major barrier impeding uptake by farmers. Whether and how biodiversity conservation, ecosystem service delivery, and farm profit can go hand in hand is unknown. Here, we quantify the ecological, agronomic, and net economic benefits of biodiversity-friendly farming in an intensive grassland-sunflower system in Southwest France. We found that reducing land-use intensity on agricultural grasslands drastically enhances flower availability and wild bee diversity, including rare species. Biodiversity-friendly management on grasslands furthermore resulted in an up to 17% higher revenue on neighboring sunflower fields through positive effects on pollination service delivery. However, the opportunity costs of reduced grassland forage yields consistently exceeded the economic benefits of enhanced sunflower pollination. Our results highlight that profitability is often a key constraint hampering adoption of biodiversity-based farming and uptake critically depends on society's willingness to pay for associated delivery of public goods such as biodiversity.

Insights into the coexistence of birds and humans in cropland through meta-analyses of bird exclosure studies, crop loss mitigation experiments, and social surveys

Birds share lands with humans at a substantial scale and affect crops. Yet, at a global scale, systematic evaluations of human-bird coexistence in croplands are scarce. Here, we compiled and used meta-analysis approaches to synthesize multiple global datasets of ecological and social dimensions to understand this complex coexistence system. Our result shows that birds usually increase woody, but not herbaceous, crop production, implying that crop loss mitigation efforts are critical for a better coexistence. We reveal that many nonlethal technical measures are more effective in reducing crop loss, e.g., using scaring devices and changing sow practices, than other available methods. Besides, we find that stakeholders from low-income countries are more likely to perceive the crop losses caused by birds and are less positive toward birds than those from high-income ones. Based on our evidence, we identified potential regional clusters, particularly in tropical areas, for implementing win-win coexistence strategies. Overall, we provide an evidence-based knowledge flow and solutions for stakeholders to integrate the conservation and management of birds in croplands.

Tree islands enhance biodiversity and functioning in oil palm landscapes

In the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration1, large knowledge gaps persist on how to increase biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in cash crop-dominated tropical landscapes2. Here, we present findings from a large-scale, 5-year ecosystem restoration experiment in an oil palm landscape enriched with 52 tree islands, encompassing assessments of ten indicators of biodiversity and 19 indicators of ecosystem functioning. Overall, indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as multidiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality, were higher in tree islands compared to conventionally managed oil palm. Larger tree islands led to larger gains in multidiversity through changes in vegetation structure. Furthermore, tree enrichment did not decrease landscape-scale oil palm yield. Our results demonstrate that enriching oil palm-dominated landscapes with tree islands is a promising ecological restoration strategy, yet should not replace the protection of remaining forests.

The Present and Future of Insect Biodiversity Conservation in the Neotropics: Policy Gaps and Recommendations

Emerging evidence suggests that insect populations may be declining at local and global scales, threatening the sustainability of the ecosystem services that insects provide. Insect declines are of particular concern in the Neotropics, which holds several of the world's hotspots of insect endemism and diversity. Conservation policies are one way to prevent and mitigate insect declines, yet these policies are usually biased toward vertebrate species. Here, we outline some key policy instruments for biodiversity conservation in the Neotropics and discuss their potential contribution and shortcomings for insect biodiversity conservation. These include species-specific action policies, protected areas and Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), sectoral policies, biodiversity offsetting, market-based mechanisms, and the international policy instruments that underpin these efforts. We highlight that although these policies can potentially benefit insect biodiversity indirectly, there are avenues in which we could better incorporate the specific needs of insects into policy to mitigate the declines mentioned above. We propose several areas of improvement. Firstly, evaluating the extinction risk of more Neotropical insects to better target at-risk species with species-specific policies and conserve their habitats within area-based interventions. Secondly, alternative pest control methods and enhanced monitoring of insects in a range of land-based production sectors. Thirdly, incorporating measurable and achievable insect conservation targets into international policies and conventions. Finally, we emphasise the important roles of community engagement and enhanced public awareness in achieving these improvements to insect conservation policies.

Integrating ecosystem services and complex network theory to construct and optimize ecological security patterns: a case study of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

The urban agglomerations' rapid expansion and population growth have led to the fragmentation of landscape patterns and the degradation of ecosystems, seriously threatening regional ecological security. Ecological security pattern (ESP) is a spatial planning approach to effectively balance the development of urbanization and ecological protection. However, previous studies have ignored the difference in the importance of ecosystem services and the spatial compactness of ecological sources. The quantitative management objectives for maintaining the resilience of ESP are also rarely discussed. In this study, taking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as an example, ecological sources were identified by simulating multiple ES weight assignment scenarios through GeoSOS area optimization. Ecological corridors and strategic points were extracted by Linkage Mapper. The robustness analysis based on complex network theory was performed to quantify the management objectives of ESPs. The results showed that ESPs include 26,130.61 km² ecological sources (accounting for 46.6% of the area of GBA), 557 ecological corridors, and 112 ecological strategic points. In more detail, ecological sources are mainly distributed in the western and eastern mountainous areas, and ecological corridors primarily link peripheral edge areas of GBA in a circular radial shape. Compared with the current nature reserves, the identified ecological sources are more compact in landscape pattern. According to the robustness analysis, at least 23% of the important ecological sources should be strictly restricted from development activities to maintain the ESP's ability to resist ecological risks. This study also proposed corresponding differentiated ESPs management strategies. By optimizing the existing ESPs construction method and clarifying the ESPs management strategies, this study provides a completely scientific framework for the construction and management of ESPs in urban agglomerations.

Projected landscape-scale repercussions of global action for climate and biodiversity protection

Land conservation and increased carbon uptake on land are fundamental to achieving the ambitious targets of the climate and biodiversity conventions. Yet, it remains largely unknown how such ambitions, along with an increasing demand for agricultural products, could drive landscape-scale changes and affect other key regulating nature's contributions to people (NCP) that sustain land productivity outside conservation priority areas. By using an integrated, globally consistent modelling approach, we show that ambitious carbon-focused land restoration action and the enlargement of protected areas alone may be insufficient to reverse negative trends in landscape heterogeneity, pollination supply, and soil loss. However, we also find that these actions could be combined with dedicated interventions that support critical NCP and biodiversity conservation outside of protected areas. In particular, our models indicate that conserving at least 20% semi-natural habitat within farmed landscapes could primarily be achieved by spatially relocating cropland outside conservation priority areas, without additional carbon losses from land-use change, primary land conversion or reductions in agricultural productivity.

Protected areas not likely to serve as steppingstones for species undergoing climate-induced range shifts

Species across the planet are shifting their ranges to track suitable climate conditions in response to climate change. Given that protected areas have higher quality habitat and often harbor higher levels of biodiversity compared to unprotected lands, it is often assumed that protected areas can serve as steppingstones for species undergoing climate-induced range shifts. However, there are several factors that may impede successful range shifts among protected areas, including the distance that must be traveled, unfavorable human land uses and climate conditions along potential movement routes, and lack of analogous climates. Through a species-agnostic lens, we evaluate these factors across the global terrestrial protected area network as measures of climate connectivity, which is defined as the ability of a landscape to facilitate or impede climate-induced movement. We found that over half of protected land area and two-thirds of the number of protected units across the globe are at risk of climate connectivity failure, casting doubt on whether many species can successfully undergo climate-induced range shifts among protected areas. Consequently, protected areas are unlikely to serve as steppingstones for a large number of species under a warming climate. As species disappear from protected areas without commensurate immigration of species suited to the emerging climate (due to climate connectivity failure), many protected areas may be left with a depauperate suite of species under climate change. Our findings are highly relevant given recent pledges to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030 (30 × 30), underscore the need for innovative land management strategies that allow for species range shifts, and suggest that assisted colonization may be necessary to promote species that are adapted to the emerging climate.

Exploring scenarios for the food system-zoonotic risk interface

The unprecedented economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown the global necessity of mitigating the underlying drivers of zoonotic spillover events, which occur at the human-wildlife and domesticated animal interface. Spillover events are associated to varying degrees with high habitat fragmentation, biodiversity loss through land use change, high livestock densities, agricultural inputs, and wildlife hunting-all facets of food systems. As such, the structure and characteristics of food systems can be considered key determinants of modern pandemic risks. This means that emerging infectious diseases should be more explicitly addressed in the discourse of food systems to mitigate the likelihood and impacts of spillover events. Here, we adopt a scenario framework to highlight the many connections among food systems, zoonotic diseases, and sustainability. We identify two overarching dimensions: the extent of land use for food production and the agricultural practices employed that shape four archetypal food systems, each with a distinct risk profile with respect to zoonotic spillovers and differing dimensions of sustainability. Prophylactic measures to curb the emergence of zoonotic diseases are therefore closely linked to diets and food policies. Future research directions should explore more closely how they impact the risk of spillover events.

Perspective article: Food security in tropical Africa through climate-smart plant health management

Each year, Africa loses half of its harvest to pests (insects, pathogens, nematodes, weeds). To offset these losses and improve food security, pest management needs to be revamped urgently. Based on a synthesis of all 58 pest management projects conducted by IITA in its 55-year history, we advocate here for the implementation of the five following key climate-smart interventions, which have been shown to increase yields and decreasing CO₂ outputs compared to the current practices that are largely based on the use of synthetic pesticides: 1. Sanitation at the country's borders and at the field level is the most cost-efficient way to prevent pest damage and losses from exotic pests entering new territories. 2. Good soil management strengthens the crop plant and enhances the effectiveness of all other interventions. 3. Biological control is the quickest and in the long run most cost-effective way to control invading insect pests and weeds. 4. Resistant varieties are often the only way to control already established diseases and are a mainstay control method in combination with other practices. 5. Various bio-pesticides based on viruses, bacteria and fungi against insects have been commercialized or can be produced on-farm; they are to replace synthetic pesticides, which continue to have large negative impacts on the environment and human health. To apply these five practices, new decision-support and climate services tools should be used to empower low-literacy farmers to take timely decisions about pest control and to act as business partners. Meanwhile, all actors in the pest control community should account for their environmental costs, which up to now are born solely by the community, while profits from pesticide sales are pocketed privately. To successfully disseminate these practices across the continent, enhanced and harmonized policy support is required.

What drives bat activity at field boundaries?

Field boundaries are important habitat for bats in agricultural landscapes, serving as commuting and foraging areas for many species. The goal of our study was to better understand the drivers of bat activity in agricultural landscapes to inform conservation policy and make specific recommendations for habitat management. We placed sixty-four full spectrum bat detectors at random recording locations, weekly, along field boundaries in North Somerset between July and October 2020. We used an automated classifier to analyse recordings and performed error rate modelling to account for and remove the majority of error in automated classifications. We used generalised additive models to explore bat response to recording location metrics, controlling for spatial-autocorrelation and temporal differences in sampling. We validated our models with k-fold cross-validation and explored the utility of our models for predicting bat activity at new sites. We found that field boundary characteristics better describe bat activity than adjacent field characteristics or measures of local landscape for the majority of species studied. Bat activity was higher along tall, wide, vegetated field boundaries containing trees; there was lower activity at arable recording locations. Still, bat activity was highly variable and predictive error was high. We found a large spatial effect driving activity patterns, meaning models are not able to predict activity beyond the extent of the study area. We recommend management strategies that give incentives to farmers for replacing fences with hedgerows, planting hedgerow trees, and maintaining tall and outgrown field boundaries.

Ecosystem services as systemic enablers for transformation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: an analytical synthesis

Centre-staging ecosystem services within development paradigms can improve understanding on the flow of benefits from nature to human societies across time, scale and geographies, and trigger well-being-oriented societal and policy responses in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. This region is amongst the world's most biodiverse, has high-value nature-society interactions, supports one-fourth of humanity and faces several developmental challenges. An assessment of the existing evidence establishes that substantial benefits and values can be gained by nurturing the relationship between ecosystems and socio-economic systems. Mainstreaming ecosystem services in the development agenda helps address poverty and intersectionality, preserves culture and heritage, and enables holistic transformation in the region. The Nature Futures Framework of the IPBES is used to develop and apply an analytical framework for the region, in which ecosystem service-oriented action pathways are considered to be relevant and feasible for attaining sustainability. Three pathways, labelled as Prevention, Restoration and Development innovation, incorporate strategies and actions that mainstream ecosystem services and uphold the multiple values placed on nature by society. Illustrations are used to demonstrate the significant potential for policy action in creating positive impacts on both nature and society with the adoption of a Nature Futures framing for the region. The region has the potential to demonstrate the operationalisation of an integrated framework for nurturing nature-people relationships, in the pursuit of transformative change as envisioned under the sustainable development agenda. Ecosystem services can enable such transformative change, acting as triggers for action that mainstream nature into developmental decision-making.

Human impacts outpace natural processes in the Amazon

Amazonian environments are being degraded by modern industrial and agricultural activities at a pace far above anything previously known, imperiling its vast biodiversity reserves and globally important ecosystem services. The most substantial threats come from regional deforestation, because of export market demands, and global climate change. The Amazon is currently perched to transition rapidly from a largely forested to a nonforested landscape. These changes are happening much too rapidly for Amazonian species, peoples, and ecosystems to respond adaptively. Policies to prevent the worst outcomes are known and must be enacted immediately. We now need political will and leadership to act on this information. To fail the Amazon is to fail the biosphere, and we fail to act at our peril.

The dynamic relationships between landscape structure and ecosystem services: An empirical analysis from the Wuhan metropolitan area, China

Environmental managers have been striving to optimize landscape structure to achieve a sustained supply of ecosystem services (ESs). However, we still lack a full understanding of the relationships between landscape structure and ESs due to the absence of thorough investigations on the variability of these relationships in space and time. To fill this critical gap, we assessed landscape structure alongside four important ESs (agricultural production (AP), carbon sequestration (CS), soil conservation (SC), and water retention (WR)) in the Wuhan metropolitan area (WMA), and then analyzed the spatiotemporal impacts of landscape structure on ESs from 2000 to 2020 using Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression. The results show only AP maintained a stable growth trend over the past two decades, while the other ESs fluctuated considerably with a noticeable decline in SC and WR. The importance of landscape structure in influencing ESs varies by time and place, depending on the local landscape composition and configuration. In general, landscape composition has a stronger and less temporally stable impact on ESs compared to configuration. Furthermore, increases in landscape diversity, as measured through Shannon's diversity index, and the percentage of woodlands were found to contribute to the simultaneous benefits of multiple ESs, but in most cases the effects of landscape structure on different ESs were different or even opposite, suggesting that trade-offs are critical in landscape management. The findings highlight the complex response of ESs to dramatically changing landscapes in the WMA and can guide decision-makers in precise spatial arrangement and temporal adjustments to improve current landscape management.

Next-generation technologies unlock new possibilities to track rangeland productivity and quantify multi-scale conservation outcomes

Historically, relying on plot-level inventories impeded our ability to quantify large-scale change in plant biomass, a key indicator of conservation practice outcomes in rangeland systems. Recent technological advances enable assessment at scales appropriate to inform management by providing spatially comprehensive estimates of productivity that are partitioned by plant functional group across all contiguous US rangelands. We partnered with the Sage Grouse and Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiatives and the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project to demonstrate the ability of these new datasets to quantify multi-scale changes and heterogeneity in plant biomass following mechanical tree removal, prescribed fire, and prescribed grazing. In Oregon's sagebrush steppe, for example, juniper tree removal resulted in a 21% increase in one pasture's productivity and an 18% decline in another. In Nebraska's Loess Canyons, perennial grass productivity initially declined 80% at sites invaded by trees that were prescriptively burned, but then fully recovered post-fire, representing a 492% increase from nadir. In Kansas' Shortgrass Prairie, plant biomass increased 4-fold (966,809 kg/ha) in pastures that were prescriptively grazed, with gains highly dependent upon precipitation as evidenced by sensitivity of remotely sensed estimates (SD ± 951,308 kg/ha). Our results emphasize that next-generation remote sensing datasets empower land managers to move beyond simplistic control versus treatment study designs to explore nuances in plant biomass in unprecedented ways. The products of new remote sensing technologies also accelerate adaptive management and help communicate wildlife and livestock forage benefits from management to diverse stakeholders.

A framework for identifying bird conservation priority areas in croplands at national level

Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework requires each country to fulfill the conservation targets in biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning. Croplands provide habitat and food for many species, making them crucial for biodiversity conservation in addition to food production. Assessing conservation priorities in cropland is a prerequisite to allocate conservation resources and plan actions for better conservation outcomes. Yet quantitative methods to assess cropland conservation priority for biodiversity conservation at a national scale are still lacking. We proposed a framework for identifying the conservation priority in cropland for bird species at a national scale and applied the framework in China. We calculated the suitable habitat for each species and used a complementarity-based approach to designate the irreplaceable conservation priority areas considering richness, threatened level, and conservation percentage targets. We identified cropland taking up 6.76% of China's land area as a bird conservation priority, partially covering the suitable habitat of all the study species. By analyzing the landscape pattern of the priority areas and species' foraging traits, we provided policy-making suggestions according to area-specific characteristics. This framework can be used to identify priority areas for large-scale biodiversity conservation for different countries.