Tag: nature reserves

Monitoring and methods, Research summaries, Restoration

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

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Forests, Invasive species, Plant and soil ecology, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Seed additions facilitate herb-layer restoration in a temperate oak woodland

Originally posted and adapted from Natural History of Ecological Restoration blog. Andrew Kaul and colleagues present their latest research exploring whether seed additions can improve restoration outcomes in oak woodlands. Throughout most of the eastern United States, oak woodlands were once a widespread and dominant ecosystem. These woodlands experienced periodic fires, which prevented woody trees and shrubs from growing so densely that the overstory canopy … Continue reading Seed additions facilitate herb-layer restoration in a temperate oak woodland

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Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries, Urban ecosystems

FAR-sighted conservation: Facing the inevitability of ongoing environmental change

Chris Thomas and colleagues describe their latest Perspective article outlining a new framework – Facilitate-Accept-Resist (FAR) – that operationalizes conservation decision-making in a way that leads to greater adoption of positive biodiversity change. Conservation is in a bind. The biological world is changing, and so are our human priorities. When we declare a nature reserve on the basis of a particular species, for example, is … Continue reading FAR-sighted conservation: Facing the inevitability of ongoing environmental change

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Citizen science, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research stories: Strava, GBIF and Citizen Science

Lead author Caitlin Mandeville recalls how she and her co-authors kept their focus close to home in their latest research that explores connections between citizen science and recreation in natural areas. Just about every community has some small, unassuming natural areas that are mainly known to locals: a neighbourhood park, a small wildlife preserve, a field on the edge of town. These places might not … Continue reading Research stories: Strava, GBIF and Citizen Science

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Freshwater, Grasslands, Practitioners, Research summaries

Electric fencing safeguards declining wader populations

Originally posted and adapted from a RSPB Centre for Conservation Science and Vogelbescherming Nederland blog. Insufficient reproduction as a consequence of predation is a major determinant of population decline in ground-nesting birds. Malcolm Burgess and colleagues discuss their latest study on the effectiveness of using electric fences as a preventative measure. A common driver of the decline of ground-nesting meadow birds, especially waders, is insufficient … Continue reading Electric fencing safeguards declining wader populations

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Human-wildlife interactions, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries, Urban ecosystems

De Frenne & Vangansbeke: How dogs fertilize nature reserves and woodlands close to cities

Research by De Frenne et al. published earlier this year revealed that dogs excrements contribute a significant amount of nutrients to nature reserves and warned of their potential negative impact on local biodiversity. Here, the authors respond to the international media coverage and the subsequent questions and comments they have received since their study went global. We recently published an article in Ecological Solutions and … Continue reading De Frenne & Vangansbeke: How dogs fertilize nature reserves and woodlands close to cities

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Careers, Human-wildlife interactions, Journal news, Restoration, The Applied Ecologist community

Chico Mendes Prize 2021: early career practitioner winner announced

We’re excited to announce Alexandro Leverkus as the winner of the 2021 Chico Mendes Prize, celebrating the best Practice Insights article in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Winner: Alexandro Leverkus Research: Enabling conditions for the implementation and conservation outcomes of a private nature reserve About the study Public nature reserves are often the cornerstone of nature conservation but are … Continue reading Chico Mendes Prize 2021: early career practitioner winner announced

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Citizen science, Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries, Themed collections

Can ‘Citizen Scientists’ play a valid role in conservation management?

The emergence of citizen science in biodiversity monitoring has transformed the methods by which biodiversity surveys can be conducted. With the recent development of automatic visual identification tools, Pierre Bonnet and colleagues present two distinct case studies implementing citizen science and the use of Pl@ntNet, an automatic plant identification platform. This article is part of the BES cross-journal special feature on Citizen Science. Effective monitoring … Continue reading Can ‘Citizen Scientists’ play a valid role in conservation management?

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Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries, Restoration, Video

Lessons from an exemplary private wildlife reserve in Spain

Global conservation targets mostly lean on public initiatives and resources but expanding conservation efforts to private land is paramount to halt biodiversity loss and recover wildlife. In their latest From Practice article, two applied scientists and two practitioners analyse a success story of a private wildlife reserve – the Los Barranquillos Wildlife Refuge in central Spain – which has been running for the past two … Continue reading Lessons from an exemplary private wildlife reserve in Spain

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Agriculture, Forests, Research summaries

Forest patches in working landscapes offer surprising opportunities to conserve neotropical birds

A Spanish version of this post is available here. After years of research into the biodiversity value of agricultural countrysides, it has become clear that, while there is great potential to conserve wildlife alongside humanity in ‘working landscapes’, wildlife communities remain distinct from those in nature reserves. But can working landscapes ever support vulnerable, reserve-affiliated species? New research from Costa Rica by Karp et al. … Continue reading Forest patches in working landscapes offer surprising opportunities to conserve neotropical birds

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