Articles | Volume 25, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-25-29-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-25-29-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
AGORA: Ideas and Concepts
| Highlight paper
| 
05 Feb 2025
AGORA: Ideas and Concepts | Highlight paper |
| 05 Feb 2025
| 05 Feb 2025
Biodiversity futures: digital approaches to knowledge and conservation of biological diversity
Helena Freitas
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
UNESCO Chair in Biodiversity Safeguard for Sustainable Development, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
UNESCO Chair in Biodiversity Safeguard for Sustainable Development, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
Related subject area
Biodiversity
Tracking ranavirus infections: an integrative review of epidemiological research on pathogen dynamics in anurans
Revisiting the debate: documenting biodiversity in the age of digital and artificially generated images
Pollination supply models from a local to global scale
Invasive shallow-water foraminifera impacts local biodiversity mostly at densities above 20 %: the case of Corfu Island
Effects of management cessation on hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) across Austrian and Swiss mountain meadows
Ödenwinkel: an Alpine platform for observational and experimental research on the emergence of multidiversity and ecosystem complexity
Pollen morphological variability correlates with a large-scale gradient of aridity
The influence of plant species richness on stress recovery of humans
The relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services and the effects of grazing cessation in semi-natural grasslands
Modelling plant invasion pathways in protected areas under climate change: implication for invasion management
Genetic diversity in the Alpine flatworm Crenobia alpina
Incorporating natural and human factors in habitat modelling and spatial prioritisation for the Lynx lynx martinoi
Relations between environmental gradients and diversity indices of benthic invertebrates in lotic systems of northern Italy
The first shoots of a modern morphometrics approach to the origins of agriculture
Do tree-species richness, stand structure and ecological factors affect the photosynthetic efficiency in European forests?
Comment on "Opinion paper: Forest management and biodiversity": the role of protected areas is greater than the sum of its number of species
Partitioning of diversity: the "within communities" component
Diversity did not influence soil water use of tree clusters in a temperate mixed forest
Davi dos Santos Rodrigues, Rita de Cássia Carvalho Maia, Geraldo Jorge Barbosa de Moura, Ricardo Luiz Moro de Sousa, and José Wilton Pinheiro Junior
Web Ecol., 24, 115–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-24-115-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-24-115-2024, 2024
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Ranavirus infections in amphibians, especially anurans, have been increasingly documented, raising concerns over their role in population declines. This integrative review examines the prevalence, epidemiology, and global distribution of ranavirus in anurans over the past decade. The study concludes with recommendations for enhancing global surveillance and risk assessment strategies, particularly in biodiversity hotspots, where vulnerable species face a high risk of extinction.
Diego Sousa Campos, Rafael Ferreira de Oliveira, Lucas de Oliveira Vieira, Pedro Henrique Negreiros de Bragança, Jorge Luiz Silva Nunes, Erick Cristofore Guimarães, and Felipe Polivanov Ottoni
Web Ecol., 23, 135–144, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-135-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-135-2023, 2023
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This study examines the risks of relying solely on images for biodiversity documentation. We conducted an experiment with 621 participants, revealing challenges in distinguishing artificial-intelligence-generated images. Trust is vital in biodiversity documentation, but eroded trust can hinder conservation. We call for improved communication, collaboration, and journal policies for data validation to preserve scientific credibility amidst technological advancements.
Angel Giménez-García, Alfonso Allen-Perkins, Ignasi Bartomeus, Stefano Balbi, Jessica L. Knapp, Violeta Hevia, Ben Alex Woodcock, Guy Smagghe, Marcos Miñarro, Maxime Eeraerts, Jonathan F. Colville, Juliana Hipólito, Pablo Cavigliasso, Guiomar Nates-Parra, José M. Herrera, Sarah Cusser, Benno I. Simmons, Volkmar Wolters, Shalene Jha, Breno M. Freitas, Finbarr G. Horgan, Derek R. Artz, C. Sheena Sidhu, Mark Otieno, Virginie Boreux, David J. Biddinger, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Neelendra K. Joshi, Rebecca I. A. Stewart, Matthias Albrecht, Charlie C. Nicholson, Alison D. O'Reilly, David William Crowder, Katherine L. W. Burns, Diego Nicolás Nabaes Jodar, Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi, Louis Sutter, Yoko L. Dupont, Bo Dalsgaard, Jeferson Gabriel da Encarnação Coutinho, Amparo Lázaro, Georg K. S. Andersson, Nigel E. Raine, Smitha Krishnan, Matteo Dainese, Wopke van der Werf, Henrik G. Smith, and Ainhoa Magrach
Web Ecol., 23, 99–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-99-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-99-2023, 2023
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Modelling tools may provide a method of measuring pollination supply and promote the use of ecological intensification techniques among farmers and decision-makers. This study benchmarks different modelling approaches to provide clear guidance on which pollination supply models perform best at different spatial scales. These findings are an important step in bridging the gap between academia and stakeholders in modelling ecosystem service delivery under ecological intensification.
Anna E. Weinmann, Olga Koukousioura, Maria V. Triantaphyllou, and Martin R. Langer
Web Ecol., 23, 71–86, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-71-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-71-2023, 2023
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This study analyzes the diversity of benthic foraminifera at the range expansion front of the invasive species Amphistegina lobifera in Corfu (central Mediterranean). The species has been suggested to impact local diversity and community structures, and our results confirm these effects as soon as A. lobifera exceeds a specific abundance threshold (> 20 %). Nevertheless, we found that the study area reveals an overall high biodiversity that can be attributed to its unique location.
Ronnie Walcher, Raja Imran Hussain, Johannes Karrer, Andreas Bohner, David Brandl, Johann G. Zaller, Arne Arnberger, and Thomas Frank
Web Ecol., 20, 143–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-20-143-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-20-143-2020, 2020
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The abandonment of extensively managed mountainous meadows affects the diversity of both plants and associated pollinators. However, not much is known about the effects of abandonment on hoverflies which consitute an important pollinator group in grasslands. Our research suggests that extensive management is most beneficial in preserving hoverfly richness in mountainous grasslands.
Robert R. Junker, Maximilian Hanusch, Xie He, Victoria Ruiz-Hernández, Jan-Christoph Otto, Sabine Kraushaar, Kristina Bauch, Florian Griessenberger, Lisa-Maria Ohler, and Wolfgang Trutschnig
Web Ecol., 20, 95–106, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-20-95-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-20-95-2020, 2020
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We introduce the Alpine research platform Ödenwinkel to promote observational and experimental research on the emergence of multidiversity and ecosystem complexity. The Ödenwinkel platform will be available as a long-term ecological research site where researchers from various disciplines can contribute to the accumulation of knowledge on ecological successions and on how interactions between various taxonomic groups structure ecological complexity in this Alpine environment.
Hindel Fatmi, Souhaïl Mâalem, Bouchra Harsa, Ahmed Dekak, and Haroun Chenchouni
Web Ecol., 20, 19–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-20-19-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-20-19-2020, 2020
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This study determines the diversity of pollen morphotypes of Atriplex halimus (Amaranthaceae) along a large-scale climatic gradient. Occurrences of 10 pollen grain shapes were quantified at seven climates across a humid-to-hyperarid gradient. We discuss how the evolutionary effects of climate gradients on pollen morphology and variability in dryland induce a high level of specialization to maximize trade-offs between adaptation to severe ecological conditions and pollination efficiency.
Petra Lindemann-Matthies and Diethart Matthies
Web Ecol., 18, 121–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-121-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-121-2018, 2018
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We studied the influence of plant diversity on recovery from stress. The blood pressure of stressed people decreased more strongly when they were looking at species-rich vegetation instead of bare ground or vegetation consisting of only a few species during relaxation. Our results indicate that species-rich vegetation may contribute to recovery from stress, which should be considered in landscape management and planning.
Sølvi Wehn, Knut Anders Hovstad, and Line Johansen
Web Ecol., 18, 55–65, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-55-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-55-2018, 2018
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We studied the effect of abandonment of extensively managed semi-natural grasslands on indicators of ecosystem services (ES) and found both positive and negative effects. We also studied relationships between ESs and plant species richness and whether abandonment affect these relationships. For several ESs we observed positive relationships. However, the relationships differed often between the abandoned and managed grasslands because the relationships were less pronounced in the managed.
Chun-Jing Wang, Ji-Zhong Wan, Hong Qu, and Zhi-Xiang Zhang
Web Ecol., 17, 69–77, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-17-69-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-17-69-2017, 2017
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We used an original global approach to explore the potential relationship between PAs and the intentional movement of IPS based on climate change. Climate change developed the potential pathways for IPS in PAs, and the ability of natural dispersal encourages IPS to invade non-native habitats in the potential movement pathways in PAs. This study shows the importance of the development of global conservation planning for PAs and biological invasion.
Martin Brändle, Jan Sauer, Lars Opgenoorth, and Roland Brandl
Web Ecol., 17, 29–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-17-29-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-17-29-2017, 2017
K. Laze and A. Gordon
Web Ecol., 16, 17–31, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-16-17-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-16-17-2016, 2016
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We show areas for extending current protected areas and creating new ones for endangered sub-species of the Lynx lynx martinoi in the Albania–Macedonia–Kosovo and Montenegro–Albania–Kosovo cross-border areas. Our results highlight the importance international cooperation can have for lynx conservation. We used local knowledge on forests in the study area, our analytical skills, and our full interest in the lynx conservation. We did this study working remotely.
V. G. Aschonitis, G. Castaldelli, and E. A. Fano
Web Ecol., 16, 13–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-16-13-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-16-13-2016, 2016
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The relations between environmental gradients and traditional diversity indices (taxonomic richness, diversity and evenness) of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the lotic systems of northern Italy were analyzed. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to describe the response of taxa to environmental gradients. Diversity indices were analyzed using generalized linear models (GLMs) with explanatory variables the first two major RDA axes.
V. Bonhomme, E. Forster, M. Wallace, E. Stillman, M. Charles, and G. Jones
Web Ecol., 16, 1–2, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-16-1-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-16-1-2016, 2016
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The transition from a mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settled agriculture is arguably the most fundamental change in the development of human society (Lev-Yadun et al., 2000). The establishment of agricultural economies, emerging initially in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East (Nesbitt, 2002), required the domestication of crops; ancient plant remains recovered from early
farming sites provide direct evidence for this process of domestication.
F. Bussotti and M. Pollastrini
Web Ecol., 15, 39–41, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-15-39-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-15-39-2015, 2015
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The effects of tree diversity on the photosynthetic efficiency of tree species were assessed on six European mature forests (distributed along a latitudinal gradient) and in forest stands planted ad hoc with different levels of tree-species richness. The behaviour of Picea abies (spruce) was compared at the different sites. Site-specific responses were detected in relation to the age of the stands and their developmental stage.
M. Mikoláš, M. Svoboda, V. Pouska, R. C. Morrissey, D. C. Donato, W. S. Keeton, T. A. Nagel, V. D. Popescu, J. Müller, C. Bässler, J. Knorn, L. Rozylowicz, C. M. Enescu, V. Trotsiuk, P. Janda, H. Mrhalová, Z. Michalová, F. Krumm, and D. Kraus
Web Ecol., 14, 61–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-14-61-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-14-61-2014, 2014
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Clear-fellings to introduce heterogeneity can be an important component of a forest management plan. However, it is misleading to compare clear-fellings to protected areas dominated by old-growth forests using a simplistic measure of biodiversity and without a landscape perspective. To minimize the well-documented role of protected areas can have adverse effects on forested landscapes, primary forest remnants, and taxa that rely on forest structural elements characteristic of old-growth forests.
H.-R. Gregorius
Web Ecol., 14, 51–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-14-51-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-14-51-2014, 2014
M. Meißner, M. Köhler, and D. Hölscher
Web Ecol., 13, 31–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-13-31-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-13-31-2013, 2013
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Short summary
Digital technologies offer a powerful toolkit to protect our planet's biodiversity. From satellite imagery to citizen science apps, they can help us monitor ecosystems, track species, and understand the impact of human activities. However, challenges like data access and environmental costs must be addressed. By working together, scientists, policymakers, communities, and technology experts can use digital solutions to safeguard our planet's biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future.
Digital technologies offer a powerful toolkit to protect our planet's biodiversity. From...
