Ten-year assessment of the 100 priority questions for global biodiversity conservation

In 2008, a group of conservation scientists compiled a list of 100 priority questions for the conservation of the world's biodiversity. However, now almost a decade later, no one has yet published a study gauging how much progress has been made in addressing these 100 high-priority questions in the peer-reviewed literature. We took a first step toward reexamining the 100 questions to identify key knowledge gaps that remain. Through a combination of a questionnaire and a literature review, we evaluated each question on the basis of 2 criteria: relevance and effort. We defined highly relevant questions as those that - if answered - would have the greatest impact on global biodiversity conservation and quantified effort based on the number of review publications addressing a particular question, which we used as a proxy for research effort. Using this approach, we identified a set of questions that, despite being perceived as highly relevant, have been the focus of relatively few review publications over the past 10 years. These questions covered a broad range of topics but predominantly tackled 3 major themes: conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems, role of societal structures in shaping interactions between people and the environment, and impacts of conservation interventions. We believe these questions represent important knowledge gaps that have received insufficient attention and may need to be prioritized in future research.

Dynamics of novel forests of Castilla elastica in Puerto Rico: from species to ecosystems

Novel forests (NFs)-forests that contain a combination of introduced and native species-are a consequence of intense anthropogenic disturbances and the natural resilience of disturbed ecosystems. The extent to which NFs have similar forest function as comparable native secondary forests is a matter of debate in the scientific community. Little is known about the performance of individual species in those forests. This study focuses on the functional attributes of Castilla elastica NFs in Puerto Rico and on the differences between introduced and native species growing side by side in these forests. Rates of processes measured here were later compared with data from literature about NSFs. I hypothesize that juvenile plants of C. elastica in NFs have higher survival rate than those of native species and that C. elastica trees have faster biomass fluxes than native trees. To test the hypotheses, I measured survival rates of juvenile plants and tree growth and characterized the aboveground litter fluxes and storage. Although juvenile plants of native species displayed higher survival rates than those of C. elastica (53% vs. 28%), the latter was dominant in the understory (96%). Stand biomass growth rate was 2.0 ± 0.4 (average ± one standard deviation) Mg·ha(-1)·year(-1) for the whole forest, and Guarea guidonia, a native species, exhibited the highest tree growth. Total litter fall was 9.6 ± 0.5 Mg·ha(-1)·year(-1), and mean litter standing stock was 4.4 ± 0.1 Mg·ha(-1). Castilla elastica litter fall decomposed twice as fast as that of native species (5.8 ± 1.1 vs. 3.03 ± 1 k·year(-1)). Literature comparisons show that the present NFs differ in some rates of processes from NSFs. This study brings unique and detailed supporting data about the ecological dynamics under mature novel forest stands. Further comprehensive studies about NFs are important to strengthen the body of knowledge about the wide range of variation of emerging tropical ecosystems. Due to the large increase in the area covered by NFs, greater attention is needed to understand their functioning, delivery of ecological services and management requirements.

Biomasse aérienne, volume de bois, stocks de nutriments et litière de feuilles au sein de nouvelles forêts, mis en comparaison avec des forêts naturelles et des plantations à Puerto Rico

L'article présente une étude comparative de données de biomasse aérienne, de volume de bois, de stocks de nutriments (N, P, K) et de litière dans différents types de forêts à Puerto Rico. L'objectif de l'étude a été de procéder à une évaluation comparative de nouvelles forêts à Castilla elastica, arbre à caoutchouc, et Spathodea campanulata, tulipier du Gabon, avec des plantations et des forêts naturelles (aussi bien secondaires que matures). Il s'avère que ces deux types de nouvelles forêts peuvent rapidement accumuler en hauteur de grandes quantités de nutriments et de biomasse, produisant ainsi d'importantes chutes de feuillage. Elles peuvent égaler voire dépasser les plantations et les forêts naturelles pour tous les paramètres à l'exception de l'accumulation d'azote au niveau aérien. Ces résultats confirment bien le fait que ces nouvelles forêts peuvent contribuer à la restauration de la biomasse et des nutriments dans les sites déboisés. Cependant, à l'échelle de l'île dans son ensemble, les valeurs obtenues pour la biomasse dans plusieurs types de nouvelles forêts sont inférieures par rapport à celles observées dans cette étude pour les forêts à Spathodea et à Castilla. L'âge des peuplements et les conditions de site seraient ainsi des déterminants critiques du niveau d'accumulation d'éléments nutritifs et de biomasse dans ces forêts.