Challenges and solutions to biodiversity conservation in arid lands

Zhang, Yuanming; Tariq, Akash; Hughes, Alice C.; De‐Yuan, Hong; Wei, Fuwen; Sun, Hang; Sardans, Jordi; Peñuelas, Josep; Perry, Gad; Qiao, Jing; Kurban, Alishir; Jia, Xiaojun; Raimondo, Domitilla; Pan, Bo‐Rong; Yang, Weikang; Zhang, Daoyuan; Li, Wenjun; Ahmed, Zeeshan; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Lazkov, Georgy; Toderich, Kristina; Karryeva, Shirin; Dehkonov, Davron; Hisoriev, Hikmat; Dimeyeva, L. A.; Milko, Dmitry; Soule, Ahmedou; Suska-Malawska, Malgozhata; Saparmuradov, Jumamurat; Bekzod, Alilov; Allin, Paul; Diéye, Sidy; Cissse, Birane; Whibesilassie, Wondmagegne; Ma, Keping

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159695

Cited by 46 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 103 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…When implementing recovery efforts, it is critical to give priority to disturbed landscapes that could enable biodiversity conservation, especially of endemic species which are more vulnerable to extinction [ 9 ]. As a result of climate change, it can be challenging for conservation managers to decide where to restore and how to recover when attempting to restore species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Human Activities, the Significant Dynamic Drivers of Himalayan Goral Distribution (Naemorhedus goral)

Haq

Waheed

Ahmad

et al. 2023

Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The distribution of large ungulates is more often negatively impacted by the changing climate, especially global warming and species with limited distributional zones. While developing conservation action plans for the threatened species such as the Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral Hardwicke 1825; a mountain goat that mostly inhabits rocky cliffs), it is imperative to comprehend how future distributions might vary based on predicted climate change. In this work, MaxEnt modeling was employed to assess the habitat suitability of the target species under varying climate scenarios. Such studies have provided highly useful information but to date no such research work has been conducted that considers this endemic animal species of the Himalayas. A total of 81 species presence points, 19 bioclimatic and 3 topographic variables were employed in the species distribution modeling (SDM), and MaxEnt calibration and optimization were performed to select the best candidate model. For predicted climate scenarios, the future data is drawn from SSPs 245 and SSPs 585 of the 2050s and 2070s. Out of total 20 variables, annual precipitation, elevation, precipitation of driest month, slope aspect, minimum temperature of coldest month, slope, precipitation of warmest quarter, and temperature annual range (in order) were detected as the most influential drivers. A high accuracy value (AUC-ROC > 0.9) was observed for all the predicted scenarios. The habitat suitability of the targeted species might expand (about 3.7 to 13%) under all the future climate change scenarios. The same is evident according to local residents as species which are locally considered extinct in most of the area, might be shifting northwards along the elevation gradient away from human settlements. This study recommends additional research is conducted to prevent potential population collapses, and to identify other possible causes of local extinction events. Our findings will aid in formulating conservation plans for the Himalayan goral in a changing climate and serve as a basis for future monitoring of the species.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Human Activities, the Significant Dynamic Drivers of Himalayan Goral Distribution (Naemorhedus goral)

Haq

Waheed

Ahmad

et al. 2023

Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Drylands account for ~41% of the global land surface, and sustain ~38% of the world's human populations (Huang et al., 2016; Reynolds et al., 2007), and are home to ~30% of the world's endangered and endemic species, thus being of high significance for global biodiversity conservation efforts (Lian et al., 2021; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Biodiversity in drylands is threatened by multiple anthropogenic pressures such as agricultural development, unsustainable resource extraction, habitat degradation and fragmentation and climate change (Huang et al., 2016, 2017; Lian et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2023). Over the past century, surface warming over global drylands (1.2–1.3°C) has surpassed that of humid regions (0.8–1.0°C) by 20%–40% (Huang et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biodiversity in drylands is threatened by multiple anthropogenic pressures such as agricultural development, unsustainable resource extraction, habitat degradation and fragmentation and climate change (Huang et al, 2016(Huang et al, , 2017Lian et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2023). Over the past century, surface warming over global drylands (1.2-1.3°C) has surpassed that of humid regions (0.8-1.0°C) by 20%-40% (Huang et al, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the global vulnerability of dryland birds to heatwaves

Ding,

Newbold,

Ameca

2024

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As global average surface temperature increases, extreme climatic events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, which can drive biodiversity responses such as rapid population declines and/or shifts in species distributions and even local extirpations. However, the impacts of extreme climatic events are largely ignored in conservation plans. Birds are known to be susceptible to heatwaves, especially in dryland ecosystems. Understanding which birds are most vulnerable to heatwaves, and where these birds occur, can offer a scientific basis for adaptive management and conservation. We assessed the relative vulnerability of 1196 dryland bird species to heatwaves using a trait‐based approach. Among them, 888 bird species are estimated to be vulnerable to heatwaves (170 highly vulnerable, eight extremely vulnerable), of which ~91% are currently considered non‐threatened by the IUCN, which suggests that many species will likely become newly threatened with intensifying climate change. We identified the top three hotspot areas of heatwave‐vulnerable species in Australia (208 species), Southern Africa (125 species) and Eastern Africa (99 species). Populations of vulnerable species recorded in the Living Planet Database were found to be declining significantly faster than those of non‐vulnerable species (p = .048) after heatwaves occurred. In contrast, no significant difference in population trends between vulnerable and non‐vulnerable species was detected when no heatwave occurred (p = .34). This suggests that our vulnerability framework correctly identified vulnerable species and that heatwaves are already impacting the population trends of these species. Our findings will help prioritize heatwave‐vulnerable birds in dryland ecosystems in risk mitigation and adaptation management as the frequency of heatwaves accelerates in the coming decades.

show abstract

“…Previous studies found that anthropogenic disturbance interacted with aridity variables, causing higher diversity loss in arid regions than in humid ones (Arnan et al, 2018; Peters et al, 2019). Nowadays, the agricultural cover is lower in low AET regions than in high AET ones but arid habitats will expand with climate warming and so the demand of agricultural land (Mahmoud & Gan, 2018; van der Esch et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2023). Therefore, climatic and anthropogenic variables must be considered together to better understand the changes in species richness across regions with different environmental conditions in a changing world.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographical trends of soil‐associated biodiversity changes due to tree plantations in South America: Biome and climate constraints revealed through meta‐analysis

Ribero

Filloy

2023

Global Ecol Biogeogr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AimTo evaluate the interaction between climate and biome structure when explaining changes in species richness of soil‐associated communities due to tree plantations developed in different biomes. Compare the response of plants, soil invertebrates and soil microorganisms, and to test whether they should be considered sensitive‐coupled biotas.LocationContinental South America.Time Period1996–2023.Major Taxa StudiedPlants, soil invertebrates and soil microorganisms.MethodsThrough a meta‐analysis, the change in species richness (i.e. response ratio) associated with tree plantations was evaluated in 127 points of study across South America, considering soil‐associated communities of plants, invertebrates and microorganisms. The influence of biome structure (open vs. closed habitats) on the response ratio, and its interaction with the actual evapotranspiration (AET) and temperature seasonality was evaluated. Differentiated responses of different taxa were tested by comparing models with and without an interaction term referring to the taxon studied. The regional agricultural cover and plantation age were considered as anthropogenic variables.ResultsModels containing the AET were better at explaining the trend of change in species richness than those with temperature seasonality. The response of the change in species richness was oppositely related to the AET in open and closed biomes. Plants presented a higher loss in species richness than soil invertebrates and microorganisms. The three taxa were positively associated with AET, while seasonality was not relevant in any case. Both anthropogenic variables significantly lessened the change in species richness in all models.Main ConclusionsThe structural contrast between the anthropogenic habitat and the biome where it is developed is a key factor influencing the response of soil‐associated communities to tree plantations. Nevertheless, its influence must be assessed together with climatic and anthropogenic variables given that their interaction can explain different geographical trends in the change in species richness across regions.

show abstract

Challenges and solutions to biodiversity conservation in arid lands

Cited by 46 publications

References 103 publications

Climate Change and Human Activities, the Significant Dynamic Drivers of Himalayan Goral Distribution (Naemorhedus goral)

Climate Change and Human Activities, the Significant Dynamic Drivers of Himalayan Goral Distribution (Naemorhedus goral)

Assessing the global vulnerability of dryland birds to heatwaves

Geographical trends of soil‐associated biodiversity changes due to tree plantations in South America: Biome and climate constraints revealed through meta‐analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About