Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – http://www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Open-pit coal mining causes strong negative impacts on biodiversity because this activity completely removes thick layers of soil. Focusing on ants as functional agents responding to mine site rehabilitation has proven useful in improving restoration practices. This study sought to evaluate the success of the 20-year-old ecological rehabilitation program at El Cerrejón, one of the world's largest open-pit coal mining operation located in a vulnerable dry tropical forest region of Colombia. This study compared ant assemblages in 13 sites classified along a gradient of rehabilitation sites aged 0-14 years, as well as in three forest reference areas. Two sampling methods (pitfall traps and visual search) were conducted during three sampling periods. Seed removal by ants was also quantified at seven of the 13 sites using seed bait from native plants.Eighty-two ant species, belonging to 29 genera, were found. The highest number of ant species were found inside the forests. Ant species richness increased with rehabilitation age of sites, along with higher canopy cover and milder soil temperature. Rehabilitation actions enhancing these ecological factors might, therefore, favor the presence of wild fauna such as ants. The oldest area (14 years) was the most similar to the forests, both in terms of functional ant groups (guilds) and dominant species. Seed movement was highest in the 14-year-old restored area and was similar to that of the forests, suggesting that this ecological function has been partially restored and that the movement of seed dispersal agents across the landscape would be enhanced.

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