Simone Pfeiffer

Interannual variation in land-use intensity enhances grassland multidiversity

Significance Land-use intensification is a major threat to biodiversity. So far, however, studies on biodiversity impacts of land-use intensity (LUI) have been limited to a single or few groups of organisms and have not considered temporal variation in LUI. Therefore, we examined total ecosystem biodiversity in grasslands varying in LUI with a newly developed index called multidiversity, which integrates the species richness of 49 different organism groups ranging from bacteria to birds. Multidiversity declined strongly with increasing LUI, but changing LUI across years increased multidiversity, particularly of rarer species. We conclude that encouraging farmers to change the intensity of their land use over time could be an important strategy to maintain high biodiversity in grasslands. Although temporal heterogeneity is a well-accepted driver of biodiversity, effects of interannual variation in land-use intensity (LUI) have not been addressed yet. Additionally, responses to land use can differ greatly among different organisms; therefore, overall effects of land-use on total local biodiversity are hardly known. To test for effects of LUI (quantified as the combined intensity of fertilization, grazing, and mowing) and interannual variation in LUI (SD in LUI across time), we introduce a unique measure of whole-ecosystem biodiversity, multidiversity. This synthesizes individual diversity measures across up to 49 taxonomic groups of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria from 150 grasslands. Multidiversity declined with increasing LUI among grasslands, particularly for rarer species and aboveground organisms, whereas common species and belowground groups were less sensitive. However, a high level of interannual variation in LUI increased overall multidiversity at low LUI and was even more beneficial for rarer species because it slowed the rate at which the multidiversity of rare species declined with increasing LUI. In more intensively managed grasslands, the diversity of rarer species was, on average, 18% of the maximum diversity across all grasslands when LUI was static over time but increased to 31% of the maximum when LUI changed maximally over time. In addition to decreasing overall LUI, we suggest varying LUI across years as a complementary strategy to promote biodiversity conservation.

Environmental monitoring and management proposals for the Fildes Region, King George Island, Antarctica

The Antarctic terrestrial environment is under increasing pressure from human activities. The Fildes Region is characterized by high biodiversity, but is also a major logistic centre for the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Different interests, from scientific research, nature conservation, protection of geological and historical values, station operations, transport logistics and tourism, regularly overlap in space and time. This has led to increasing conflict among the multiple uses of the region and breaches of the legal requirements for environmental protection that apply in the area. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of human activities in the Fildes Region by monitoring the distribution of bird and seal breeding sites and recording human activities and their associated environmental impacts. Data from an initial monitoring period 2003–06 were compared with data from 2008–10. We observed similar or increased levels of air, land and ship traffic, but fewer violations of overflight limits near Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 150 Ardley Island. Open waste dumping and oil contamination are still major environmental impacts. Scientific and outdoor leisure activities undertaken by station personnel are more frequent than tourist activities and are likely to have a commensurate level of environmental impact. Despite the initial success of some existing management measures, it is essential that scientific and environmental values continue to be safeguarded, otherwise environmental impacts will increase and the habitat will be further degraded. We argue that the Fildes Region should be considered for designation as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area, a measure that has proven effective for environmental management of vulnerable areas of the Antarctic.

Environmental Assessment and Management Challenges of the Fildes Peninsula Region

Since the inception of the Antarctic Treaty, numerous regulations for environmental protection were adopted by the Treaty parties to minimise negative environmental impacts of human activity. Nevertheless, the concentration of a variety of human activities in some Antarctic regions leads to a conflict of interest. The Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, in the Antarctic Peninsula, represents a unique example of increasing human pressure due to multiple human uses. Scientific research, station operations, transport logistics, tourism, nature conservation and protection of geological and historical values regularly overlap in space and time. A standardised assessment of fauna, flora and impact of human activities on the terrestrial ecosystem was conducted between 2003–2006 and 2008–2011 to provide a comprehensive dataset that documents the environmental state of the Fildes Peninsula. Management measures are suggested to mitigate these impacts, such as the designation of an Antarctic Specially Managed Area. The political debate amongst the Treaty parties about regulatory measures is on-going, but we strongly recommend immediate action.

Exploratories for Large-Scale and Long-Term Functional Biodiversity Research

Current changes in biodiversity and their functional consequences for ecosystem processes matter for both fundamental and applied reasons. In most places the most important anthropogenic determinant of biodiversity is land use. The effects of type and intensity of land use are modulated by climate and atmospheric change, nutrient deposition and pollution and by feedback effects of changed biological processes. However, it is not known whether the genetic and species diversity of different taxa responds to land-use change in similar ways. Moreover, consequences of changing diversity for ecosystem processes have almost exclusively been studied in model experiments of limited scope. Clearly, there is an urgent scientific and societal demand to investigate the relationships between land use, biodiversity and ecosystem processes in many replicate study sites in the context of actual landscapes. Furthermore, these studies need to be set up in long-term frameworks. Moreover, because monitoring and comparative observation cannot unravel causal mechanisms they need to be complemented by manipulative experiments. In the ‘Exploratories for large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research’ (see http://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de), we provide a platform for such successful long-term biodiversity research. The biodiversity exploratories aim at contributing to a better understanding of causal relationships affecting diversity patterns and their change, developing applied measures in order to mitigate loss of diversity and functionality, integrating a strong research community to its full potential, training a new generation of biodiversity explorers, extending the integrated view of functional biodiversity research to society and stimulating long-term ecological research in Germany and globally. Our experience has several implications for long-term ecological research and the LTER network including the necessity of formulating common research questions, establishing a joint database, applying modern tools for meta-analysis or quantitative review and developing standardised experimental and measurement protocols for facilitating future data synthesis.