International audience | Land-use change is a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Although biodiversity often shows a delayed response to land-use change, previous studies have typically focused on a narrow range of current landscape factors and have largely ignored the role of land-use history in shaping plant and animal communities and their functional characteristics. Here, we used a unique database of 220,000 land-use records to investigate how 20-y of land-use changes have affected functional diversity across multiple trophic groups (primary producers, mutualists, herbivores, invertebrate predators, and vertebrate predators) in 75 grassland fields with a broad range of land-use histories. The effects of land-use history on multitrophic trait diversity were as strong as other drivers known to impact biodiversity, e.g., grassland management and current landscape composition. The diversity of animal mobility and resource-acquisition traits was lower in landscapes where much of the land had been historically converted from grassland to crop. In contrast, functional biodiversity was higher in landscapes containing old permanent grasslands, most likely because they offer a stable and high-quality habitat refuge for species with low mobility and specialized feeding niches. Our study shows that grassland-to-crop conversion has long-lasting impacts on the functional biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems. Accordingly, land-use legacy effects must be considered in conservation programs aiming to protect agricultural biodiversity. In particular, the retention of permanent grassland sanctuaries within intensive landscapes may offset ecological debts.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg. | Twenty-five years after the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), much emphasis has been placed on the integration of biodiversity priorities and concerns into the development sectors. South Africa has made substantial progress in this regard. The understanding of threats to biodiversity, ecosystem services, sustainable development, and the link between ecosystem services and human well-being, in high levels of government, were fundamental factors in mainstreaming biodiversity in South Africa. The change in government and democratisation in 1994 has also facilitated the positive outcomes for integrating biodiversity into development. It has become a mandate for local government to address the socio-economic development needs of communities. Within the local land-use planning arena, the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) has been used as a comprehensive tool for guiding local development objectives. However, the promulgation of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (Act 16 of 2013) has elevated the status of the Spatial Development Framework (SDF) to guide other municipal plans. It has been suggested that integrating biodiversity priorities and conservation plans into comprehensive planning tools, such as the SDF, yields greater opportunity for biodiversity conservation to be prioritised in development planning and implementation. In contrast, the consideration of biodiversity priorities and conservation plans by local land-use planners during reactive post-hoc decision-making processes yields the least potential for biodiversity conservation. The main objective of this study was to assess the ability of local government to incorporate the principles of biodiversity conservation plans into their SDFs, and the implementation of these plans during their daily land use planning processes. I assess both suggestions in chapter 2 and chapter 3 of this thesis respectively. In chapter 2, I assess the review schedules, and the text making up the SDFs, and the integration of conservation plans into the Gert Sibande local municipalities SDFs, using geographic information systems (GIS) techniques. Biodiversity priorities were considered in the SDFs, and biodiversity conservation maps were integrated in the SDF. However, much of this integration can be credited to the outsourced service providers (consultants) who assist municipalities to develop the SDFs, as opposed to the land-use planners within government themselves. In chapter 3, I conducted interviews with the local municipality land-use planners, in order to gain insight into the extent to which they consider biodiversity priorities, and their use of conservation plans, during daily implementation/compliance processes. The consideration of biodiversity priorities, and the use of biodiversity conservation products, was largely inadequate during daily compliance processes. Another key finding was that there were still human capacity and financial constraints at the local level that prevented the proper and effective functioning of municipal government. Increased competency, and awareness about the importance of integrating biodiversity into local land-use planning, must be raised at local government, especially amongst local land-use planners. The findings of this study have implications for local level biodiversity conservation. A better understanding of the barriers to mainstreaming biodiversity into land-use planning is required by both land-use planners and conservation planners. Resolving these barriers could prevent biodiversity loss and improve biodiversity mainstreaming. At a broader scale, the insufficient use of conservation planning products in local government can have a major impact on efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, and the CBD objectives.

The Paris Agreement to keep global temperature increase to well-below 2 °C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 °C requires to formulate ambitious climate-change mitigation scenarios to reduce CO2 emissions and to enhance carbon sequestration. These scenarios likely require significant land-use change. Failing to mitigate climate change will result in an unprecedented warming with significant biodiversity loss. The mitigation potential on land is high. However, how land-based mitigation options potentially affect biodiversity is poorly understood. Some land-based mitigation options could also counter the biodiversity loss. Here we reviewed the recently scientific literature to assess twenty land-based mitigation options that are implemented in different mitigation pathways to comply with the Paris Agreement for their biodiversity impacts by using the Mean Species Abundance (MSALU) indicator for land use. We showed the likely land-use transition and potential MSALU changes for each option, compared their carbon sequestration opportunities (tC per ha) and assessed the resulting biodiversity change in two case scenarios. Our results showed that most options benefit biodiversity. Reforestation of cultivated and managed areas together with restoration of wetlands deliver the largest MSALU increases, if land is allowed to reach a mature state over time. A quarter of the assessed options, including intensification of agricultural areas and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, decreased MSALU. Options, such as afforestation and reduced deforestation, either positively or negatively affected MSALU. This depends on their local implementation and adopted forest-conservation schemes. Comparing the different options showed that avoiding deforestation by implementing agroforestry at the expense of pastures delivered both the largest MSALU increases and the highest carbon sequestration opportunities. However, agroforestry that leads to deforestation, enhanced carbon sequestration slightly but with a marginal MSALU increase. This stresses the importance of avoiding forest conversion. Our study advances the understanding on current and future benefits and adverse effects of land-based mitigation options on biodiversity. This certainly helps biodiversity conservation and determines the regions with large land-based mitigation potential.

Central Asian grasslands are extensively used for pastoral livestock grazing. This traditional land use is nowadays characterized by intensifying grasslands into more productive pastures. This change affects biodiversity and diminishes grasslands’ ecological role. Biodiversity impacts are probably also exacerbated by climate change. These changes in biodiversity are poorly studied in Central Asia. Here, we estimated potential biodiversity changes in the Central Asian grasslands using the latest shared socio-economic pathways and the representative concentration pathways (i.e., SSP-RCP scenario framework). We selected scenarios with contrasting socio-economic and climate conditions (i.e., SSP1-RCP4.5, SSP3-RCP8.5, SSP4-RCP4.5, and SSP5-RCP8.5) and further detailed the land-use scenarios for the region using stakeholders’ input. We indicated future biodiversity by the mean species abundance indicator. The contrasting scenario combinations showed that grasslands’ biodiversity will decline under each scenario. The strongest impact on biodiversity is expected in SSP5-RCP8.5, where half of the grasslands are likely to lose most of their local originally occurring species by 2100. The lowest impact is expected in SSP4-RCP4.5. Our study stresses the potential vulnerability of this region to increasing land-use intensity and climate change. These impact projections can help regional decision makers to develop and implement better biodiversity-conservation and sustainable management policies for these grasslands.

Interactive Excel data sheets to analyse potential interventions (i.e. changes in land use type and intensity) in the Dutch dairy production system towards conserving biodiversity. The tool uses the Dutch dairy sector as a case study and represents the current land use by dairy farmers in the Netherlands. The measures applied result in different landscapes that satisfy different biodiversity targets. At the same time, the tool measures the (negative) impact on food production.

Central Asian grasslands are extensively used for pastoral livestock grazing. This traditional land use is nowadays characterized by intensifying grasslands into more productive pastures. This change affects biodiversity and diminishes grasslands’ ecological role. Biodiversity impacts are probably also exacerbated by climate change. These changes in biodiversity are poorly studied in Central Asia. Here, we estimated potential biodiversity changes in the Central Asian grasslands using the latest shared socio-economic pathways and the representative concentration pathways (i.e., SSP-RCP scenario framework). We selected scenarios with contrasting socio-economic and climate conditions (i.e., SSP1-RCP4.5, SSP3-RCP8.5, SSP4-RCP4.5, and SSP5-RCP8.5) and further detailed the land-use scenarios for the region using stakeholders’ input. We indicated future biodiversity by the mean species abundance indicator. The contrasting scenario combinations showed that grasslands’ biodiversity will decline under each scenario. The strongest impact on biodiversity is expected in SSP5-RCP8.5, where half of the grasslands are likely to lose most of their local originally occurring species by 2100. The lowest impact is expected in SSP4-RCP4.5. Our study stresses the potential vulnerability of this region to increasing land-use intensity and climate change. These impact projections can help regional decision makers to develop and implement better biodiversity-conservation and sustainable management policies for these grasslands.

Land use types and seasonal conditions are effective factors on soil properties and soil quality. One of the criteria of soil quality is biological indicators. The effects of different land use types and seasonal changes on soil biological quality have been investigated with biological indicators. For this purpose, the amount and biodiversity of Collembola in the soil and the QBS-c index (Soil Biological Quality Index based on Collembolans) were used. For this purpose, three replications samplings were carried out for 4 seasons from the area representing 4 different land use types, consisting of afforested area, bush area, natural meadow area and tillage area in the Kılavuzlar village, Karabuk. Soil samples were taken with 5x5 cm cylinders and extracted. Collembolans in the examples are classified at the family level. Collembolans were evaluated in terms of amount and biodiversity as well as the QBS-c index depending on their ecological morphological properties and statistical analyzes were performed. As a result of the research, an annual average of 12853 individuals/m² Collembola was found in the study area. Different land use types did not affect amount and biodiversity of Collembola. The average amount of Collembola is the highest in spring and autumn (20,500 individuals/m²) and the lowest in summer (2761 individuals/m²) and is significantly different. Although the QBS-c index value is similar among land use types, it was found to be seasonally different. In this study, the QBS-c index value and the quantity and biodiversity values of Collembolans gave similar results as soil quality indicators and are interchangeable. Since the QBS-c index is an easier method that does not require counting all individuals in the sample, it can be recommended for practical applications.

As the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011–2020 comes to a close and countries prepare to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, this edition of The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) examines the contributions of forests, and of the people who use and manage them, to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Forests cover just over 30 percent of the global land area, yet they provide habitat for the vast majority of the terrestrial plant and animal species known to science. Unfortunately, forests and the biodiversity they contain continue to be under threat from actions to convert the land to agriculture or unsustainable levels of exploitation, much of it illegal. The State of the World’s Forests 2020 assesses progress to date in meeting global targets and goals related to forest biodiversity and examines the effectiveness of policies, actions and approaches, in terms of both conservation and sustainable development outcomes. A series of case studies provide examples of innovative practices that combine conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity to create balanced solutions for both people and the planet.

Land-use transitions can enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farmers but potential economic-ecological trade-offs remain poorly understood. Here, we present an interdisciplinary study of the environmental, social and economic consequences of land-use transitions in a tropical smallholder landscape on Sumatra, Indonesia. We find widespread biodiversity-profit trade-offs resulting from land-use transitions from forest and agroforestry systems to rubber and oil palm monocultures, for 26,894 aboveground and belowground species and whole-ecosystem multidiversity. Despite variation between ecosystem functions, profit gains come at the expense of ecosystem multifunctionality, indicating far-reaching ecosystem deterioration. We identify landscape compositions that can mitigate trade-offs under optimal land-use allocation but also show that intensive monocultures always lead to higher profits. These findings suggest that, to reduce losses in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, changes in economic incentive structures through well-designed policies are urgently needed. | The datasets related with this article are only referential