Restoring Landscapes: When restoration actions don’t lead to restoration outcomes

As part of the ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series, author Jake Williams presents a case study illustrating the value of satellite data in filling the knowledge gap on the effect of passive restoration efforts in different climatic and ecological contexts. With the launch of the ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series, it is a timely moment to reflect on the connection between the actions we call “restoration” and … Continue reading Restoring Landscapes: When restoration actions don’t lead to restoration outcomes

Local and landscape scale factors influence pollinators at solar parks

Authors Hollie Blaydes and Alona Armstrong describe their latest research to better understand how pollinators respond to increasing solar park developments. Ground mounted solar parks are becoming increasingly common features of our landscapes and are set to play a pivotal role on the path to net zero. Currently taking up ~15,000 hectares across the UK, more land will be needed for solar parks to meet … Continue reading Local and landscape scale factors influence pollinators at solar parks

Regulation is required to mitigate the high cumulative propagule pressure exerted by escaped pet parrots

Margaret Stanley, Ellery McNaughton, Rachel Fewster and Josie Galbraith talk us through their recent research that uses reports of lost pet birds to estimate the cumulative propagule pressure that the pet trade exerts on the establishment of introduced bird species. Although concerns about the billion-dollar global pet trade industry have usually focused on issues associated with the trade of endangered species, the pet trade also … Continue reading Regulation is required to mitigate the high cumulative propagule pressure exerted by escaped pet parrots

Editor’s Choice 60:1 Weed communities are more diverse, but not more abundant, in dense and complex bocage landscapes

Associate Editor Pieter De Frenne talks us through a new research article by Boinot et al which found that the weed communities in bocage landscapes were functionally more diverse, creating important implications for the management of agricultural bocage landscapes. One of the cornerstones of many national and international agricultural policies, such as the EU Green Deal, is to transition to a sustainable food system and … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 60:1 Weed communities are more diverse, but not more abundant, in dense and complex bocage landscapes

De relatie tussen oogstvermindering en begrazingsdruk door ganzen – implicaties voor beheer

Nelleke Buitendijk bespreekt het nieuwste onderzoek van haar team uit het nieuw verschenen artikel. Hoogtepunten zijn onder meer dat het verminderen van de overvloed aan herbivoren zich mogelijk niet direct vertaalt in een verminderd opbrengstverlies en dat beheersinstrumenten met zorg moeten worden gebruikt. Continue reading De relatie tussen oogstvermindering en begrazingsdruk door ganzen – implicaties voor beheer

The relationship between yield loss and goose grazing pressure – implications for management of wild herbivores

This post is also available in Dutch here. Nelleke Buitendijk discusses a newly published study from her and her colleagues on the impact of grazing on agricultural grasslands. Highlights include that decreasing herbivore abundance may not directly translate to a decreased yield loss, and that management tools should be used with care. Grazing by geese can cause a lot of damage to agricultural crops. Goose … Continue reading The relationship between yield loss and goose grazing pressure – implications for management of wild herbivores

Making optimal adaptive management accessible to everyone

Author Sam Nicol describes his team’s latest research developing a new model to help managers easily identify and employ adaptive management interventions to protect threatened species. Adaptive management—what’s the problem? Adaptive management has been the coolest thing in conservation for almost 40 years – everyone wants to do it. Way back in the ‘80s, the elegant seminal formulations by Hollings and Walters proposed that conservation … Continue reading Making optimal adaptive management accessible to everyone

Twenty years of tallgrass prairie restoration in northern Illinois, USA

Elizabeth Bach and Bill Kleiman share their latest findings from monitoring long-term ecosystem restoration on The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grassland preserve. The challenges facing our planet can feel overwhelming and paralyzing. Climate is changing, biodiversity is declining, people are struggling to be in community with one another. However, there are signs of hope. The United Nations declared 2021-2030 as the Decade on Restoration, upholding ecosystem … Continue reading Twenty years of tallgrass prairie restoration in northern Illinois, USA

Connect the dogs: A framework to inform countrywide connectivity conservation of India’s wild dogs

Conserving threatened species requires taking a landscape or regional scale approach to maintain connectivity among populations. In a new study, Rodrigues and colleagues propose a framework for informing countrywide connectivity conservation for large carnivores, focusing on the endangered Asiatic wild dog in India. Why conserve connectivity? The increase in human footprint and rapid changes in land-use patterns threaten the existence of several endangered species. Recent … Continue reading Connect the dogs: A framework to inform countrywide connectivity conservation of India’s wild dogs

A framework to prioritize disease risk between wildlife and livestock

In their latest research, Khanyari and colleagues develop a three-step framework to assess cross-species disease transmission risk between migrating wildlife and livestock in data-limited circumstances and across social-ecological scale. Shared use of land between wildlife and livestock can lead to disease transmission, harming agricultural livelihoods and impacting wildlife conservation. This is especially problematic when endangered wildlife live in close proximity to largely resource poor people. … Continue reading A framework to prioritize disease risk between wildlife and livestock