Land-cover change and ecosystem degradation may lead to biotic homogenization, yet our understanding of this phenomenon over large spatial scales and different biotic groups remains weak. We used a multi-taxa dataset from 335 sites and 36 heterogeneous landscapes in the Brazilian Amazon to examine the potential for landscape-scale processes to modulate the cumulative effects of local disturbances. Biotic homogenization was high in production areas but much less in disturbed and regenerating forests, where high levels of among-site and among-landscape β-diversity appeared to attenuate species loss at larger scales. We found consistently high levels of β-diversity among landscapes for all land cover classes, providing support for landscape-scale divergence in species composition. Our findings support concerns that β-diversity has been underestimated as a driver of biodiversity change and underscore the importance of maintaining a distributed network of reserves, including remaining areas of undisturbed primary forest, but also disturbed and regenerating forests, to conserve regional biota.

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network ( Rede Amazônia Sustentável , RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.

Pollinators underpin sustainable livelihoods that link ecosystems, spiritual and cultural values, and customary governance systems with indigenous peoples a and local communities (IPLC) across the world. Biocultural diversity is a shorthand term for this great variety of people-nature interlinkages that have developed over time in specific ecosystems. Biocultural approaches to conservation explicitly build on the conservation practices inherent in sustaining these livelihoods. We used the Conceptual Framework of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to analyse the biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation by indigenous peoples and local communities globally. The analysis identified biocultural approaches to pollinators across all six elements of the Conceptual Framework, with conservation-related practices occurring in sixty countries, in all continents except Antarctica. Practices of IPLC that are significant for biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation can be grouped into three categories: the practice of valuing diversity and fostering biocultural diversity; landscape management practices; and diversified farming systems. Particular IPLCs may use some or all of these practices. Policies that recognise customary tenure over traditional lands, strengthen Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas, promote heritage listing and support diversified farming within a food sovereignty approach, are among several identified that strengthen biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation, and thereby deliver mutual benefits for pollinators and people. a Here we follow the global norm of using lower case for "indigenous" while recognising the norm in Australia and New Zealand is to use upper case, following Johnson, J.T. et al. (2007) Creating anti-colonial geographies: Embracing indigenous peoples' knowledges and rights. Geographical Research 45 (2), 117-120.

Stingless honey bees— commonly known as stingless bees— have long provided food and materials to the inhabitants of tropical America. We conducted a literature search to codify available information, including non-peer reviewed ‘grey literature’, on the purported value of stingless bees to indigenous people. Among >400 species of Neotropical stingless bees several are widely used in beekeeping. Varied cultural and economic values are associated with their use, and in some cases husbandry, as a consequence of ongoing contact between people and these social insects. Adapting new species to husbandry is being attempted in many countries. The bees remain culturally important, and beliefs associated with them are significant for different groups, beyond utilization as commodities. We find values in food, craft, religion and medicine, with cultural values ranging from utilitarian to mythological.Values transmitted across generations allow cohesion and communal identity of native organisms associated with any indigenous society. Such cultural values seem in danger of extinction, primarily due to external factors. We provide examples of successful regional strategies in averting cultural and economic loss in natural human heritage, in this case bees that provide honey and other benefits. Preserving stingless bees and the cultural heritage around them provides a good example on how the sustainable use of native species can help in the development of indigenous communities. Bees are important agents for conservation of the environment.

The açaí palm Euterpe oleracea Mart. in the Amazon river delta has seen rapid expansion to meet increased demand for its fruit. This has been achieved by transforming lowland forest habitats (floodplains) into simplified agroforests and intensive plantation in upland areas. As açaí palm makes an important contribution to the economy and food security of local communities, identifying management approaches that support biodiversity and ecosystem processes that underpin fruit production on açaí farms is essential. We compared flower‐visitor communities and açaí fruit production in floodplain forests and upland plantations, across gradients of local management intensity (i.e. açaí density per ha) and surrounding forest cover. The relative contribution of biotic pollination and degree of pollen limitation were assessed using insect exclusion and hand‐pollination experiments. We found that açaí flower visitors are highly diverse (c. 200 distinct taxa) and had variable responses to disturbance. Bee visitation was higher in floodplains and positively related to surrounding forest cover, but other flower visitors, including specialised curculionid beetles, were unresponsive to changes in surrounding forest cover. However, intensive management practices (i.e. high açaí palm densities) in floodplains and uplands had contrasting effects on flower‐visitor communities, with flower‐visitor richness being lower on intensively managed floodplain farms and ant densities being higher on intensive upland farms. Pollination experiments revealed açaí palm to be highly dependent on biotic pollination. Fruit set in open‐pollinated inflorescences was positively related to flower‐visitor richness and specialised curculionid beetle visitation, whereas the presence of ants on inflorescences had a negative effect. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that pollinators are essential for açaí fruit production, but that intensive farming practices have eroded the relationship between surrounding forest cover and ecosystem function in floodplains (i.e. conversion of native forest into simplified agroforests) and increased the frequency of antagonistic interactions in uplands (e.g. high ant densities). These findings underline the value of extensive management practices, such as the maintenance of other tree species within farms and adjacent unmanaged forest patches, to ensure the long‐term sustainability of açaí fruit production in the Amazon river delta.