New Research on Biodiversity and Nature
A round-up of recent work published in scientific journals
Carbon emissions and extinction risks. Mining waste in protected areas. Flowers helping farmers. Legal trade in endangered species. Cultural rewilding. How community forests are good for people and planet. A reality check for regenerative cattle farming.
How much carbon is enough to slay a species? Researchers have tried to quantify the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on species extinctions. They calculate that one extinction is expected to result from every 4.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. To put that in perspective, global emissions are about 40 billion metric tons each year! The researchers use their findings to estimate the contributions to extinction of three large businesses (an airline, a manufacturer and a data service provider), then repeat the exercise for Belgium, Namibia, Qatar and Singapore. Read the full paper in Global Change Biology.
Waste from mining threatens protected areas: Researchers found that hundreds of facilities storing waste — called tailings — from mineral processing are located inside or very near to protected areas. Tailings have caused major environmental disasters when storage facilities have failed, so the researchers are concerned that biodiversity is rarely considered in risk assessments for new tailings storage facilities. Read the full paper in Nature Sustainability, or read the press release here.
Flower power boosts crops in India: In the first study of its kind in India, researchers have shown that planting flowers alongside food crops on farms attracts bees, boosts pollination and improves crop yield and quality. Read the press release or the full paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
A few countries dominate legal exports of endangered species: Researchers looked at patterns of trade in threatened species between 2000 and 2020 among countries that are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Just a few countries are responsible for most exports of CITES-listed species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Half of all wild-sourced birds came from Senegal; 34 percent of reptiles were exported from Indonesia; and 30 percent of mammals originated in Argentina. A whopping 87 percent of amphibians came from Madagascar. The United States was a key exporter of both mammals and reptiles. Imports of CITES-listed animals were more evenly spread among countries. Parties with legislation that meets all the Convention’s legal requirements had faster-declining bird, mammal, and reptile import volumes than those without. Read the full paper in Global Ecology and Conservation.
Rewilding can combine ecological and cultural restoration goals: This case study describes how Indigenous knowledge, ceremony, and cultural monitoring were woven into the reintroduction of 16 plains bison to Canada’s Banff National Park. In six years, the bison herd has grown to more than 100 animals. If the population continues to grow, it will likely be managed by Indigenous harvesting. Read the full paper in Frontiers in Conservation Science.
Community forests provide multiple benefits: Forests managed by Indigenous and local communities have improved outcomes for carbon storage, biodiversity and livelihoods, according to this study. It is based on data on more than 300 community-managed forests in 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read the press release or the full paper in Nature Climate Change.
Soil carbon cannot offset emissions from livestock. Proponents of grass-fed cattle production claim it can help tackle climate change as grassland soil stores carbon. But this study shows that soils simple do not store enough carbon to offset the emissions created by cattle raised for meat or milk production. Read the full paper in Nature.
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